Rev. Addie L. Wyatt: A trailblazer who left a profound legacy in labor, civil rights and human rights

By Juanita Bratcher

 

Wherever road she traveled, Rev. Dr. Addie L. Wyatt was a strong beacon of support for many worthy causes, a woman who carved a profound legacy in so many different directions – as a labor leader, a civil rights leader, and a fighter for women and human rights. But first and foremost, she was a religious leader, a champion for God. She was a prayerful woman who believed in the power of prayer.

Wyatt and my late husband, Neal A. Bratcher, Sr., were both in the labor movement. Neal was the Executive Director of Council 19, an umbrella of several labor unions in Chicago, and a Vice president on the International Board of AFL-CIO. He was endeared with her leadership skills and ability, as with many others who knew her. Neal and Addie would sometimes consult with each other on various labor issues and with former Congressman Charles Hayes, who was a union leader prior to being elected to the U.S. House.

When my husband died in 1997, Wyatt was on the phone offering her condolences, and in her inspiring spiritual voice said to me, “Let’s have prayer.” And she prayed for me – for guidance and strength. She knew that Neal and I were a very close and loving couple. That was the kind of person Wyatt was – always there to help and offer inspiration to others.

In 1992, Wyatt was the keynote speaker at State Senator Margaret Smith Circle’s annual program at Bethsaida Missionary Baptist Church in Chicago. I had recently started by publication, CopyLine Magazine, after being a news reporter for years at the Chicago Defender. I attended Senator Smith’s program (a respected friend) to cover the event for my publication. In her speech, Wyatt acknowledged that her “heart grieves when I see young people and they don’t know about God.”

Wyatt was born March 8, 1924, in Brookhaven, Miss. Her mother , Maggie Nolan Cameron, was a school teacher, and her father, Ambrose, was a tailor. Wyatt died March 28, 2012. She was 88 years old. I was saddened to hear of her death.

Wyatt climbed the ladder to success, but she never lost that common touch. She touched the lives of so many people. She was elegant, well-versed and knowledgeable. And she shared that knowledge freely with so many people – and the many who sought her advice.

Wyatt was actively involved in the civil rights movement with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a friend; she was co-founder of several organizations – Operation PUSH, National Organization of Women (NOW). She was the founder of the Coalition of Labor Union Women. In 1961, she was appointed by former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt to serve on President John F. Kennedy’s Commisssion on the Status of Women; and in 1977, was appointed by President Jimmy Carter to serve on the International Women’s Commission. She was a labor advisor to the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), served with the Chicago Freedom Movement, and active in Operation Breadbasket.

Wyatt was the first female international vice president of a major American labor union, the Amalgamated Meat Cutters Union. In 1975, Wyatt was voted one of Time Magazine’s Women of the Year, and was one of Ebony Magazine’s 100 most influential Black Americans.

In 1955, Wyatt was ordained as a Church of God minister. Her husband, Claude S. Wyatt, Jr. was also an ordained Church of God minister. She and her husband co-founded Vernon Park Church of God. Her husband preceded her in death.

Wyatt and her husband had two sons, Renaldo Wyatt and Claude S. Wyatt III.

As keynote speaker at Senator Smith’s program, CopyLine’s reprint of the artle follows:

Blacks Must Not let Foreparents’ Legacy Die

  The Rev. Addie Wyatt said Blacks have a legacy left by their foreparents “that we can’t let die.”

Acknowledging that Harriet Tubbman is one of her favorites, Wyatt said Tubbman overcame great odds; that although she had her own freedom (with a bounty over her head), she was still concerned about those (slaves) left behind.

“God has ordained three institutions – family, church and government to carry out the work,” Wyatt said. “We come from a great group of black people. Some gave up on the way. Some endured. Freedom, justice, equality and the cost sometimes cause some of us to tremble. But we have a legacy of our foreparents that we can’t let die here.

“Freedom, justice, peace and equality, we’ve got to have it. We must build our black families…our children’s lives are at stake. My heart grieves when I see young people and they don’t know about God.”

Wyatt added: “There’s a scheme to set us back, to destroy us, to destroy our churches; and many can’t see the handwriting on the wall.

“There is a legacy of hope. God has blessed us” in her 52-year marriage to husband, Claude.

“I’ve been part of this struggle because I don’t want the legacy to die with me…we’ve got to move forward and let nobody turn us back.”

Wyatt made the statements at the Margaret Smith Circle’s annual program at Bethsaida Missionary Baptist Church in November 1992. After her speech, Senator Margaret Smith hailed Wyatt as  “A woman for all reasons.”

Wyatt left a legacy we can all be proud of. I feel honored having known her and of following her prominent career over the years. We lived in the same neighborhood where Vernon Park Church of God is also located, and I attended many Sundays in worship there.

Those who knew her will always remember the advice that she gave at Bethsaida Missionary Baptist Church, that “Blacks have a legacy left by their foreparents that we can’t let die.” We will heed that advice, remember and honor her legacy and those of other great leaders and never let them die – many of whom, like her, left their indelible footprints in the sands of time.

Juanita Bratcher is the Publisher of www.copylinemagazine.com, the author of several books, songwriter and poet. She has been a Journalist for more than 35 years covering politics, education and a wide-range of other topics.