watching pbs and just noticed that Stokely Carmichael, as he outlines for a TV reporter the basis of black power during his mobile debate with King during the James Meredith March, is wearing an 1199 hat.

I wouldn't have been surprised if King had been wearing the hat - he had a warm relationship with the union and often supported them. The union's antiracist, anti-imperialist organizing among black and puerto rican NYC hospital workers from the 50's on even attracted Malcolm X's support and admiration. The only labor rally Malcolm ever spoke at was an 1199 rally but that statistic belies a deeper and more important series of connections between 1199 and transnational black radicalisms.

Stokely Carmichael (Kwame Toure) was born in Trinidad but grew up in N.Y. (went to Bronx Science) during the height of 1199's radical ferment, so his support for the union makes a great deal of sense, aprticularly given their support for the kinds of radical nationalist projects Carmichael sought to build and nurture. But it's still notable, because this was in Mississippi, and this was Stokely Carmichael.