Knights of Labor: Black Workers Organize Interracially

The Knights of Labor admitted Black workers on equal terms in the mid-1880s, reaching an estimated 60,000 Black members by 1886 — roughly 10% of total membership. Black assemblies organized across the South, particularly in sugar, tobacco, and dock labor. The Knights' 1886 Richmond convention caused controversy when Grand Master Terence Powderly refused to ostracize Black delegates despite pressure from Southern white members.