Gifted and Black: Leadership, resilience and the next generation

When Charleeka Thompson first stepped into union leadership, she quickly understood that not every room was built with her in mind.

In her local, she saw leadership that reflected her community – Black leaders who encouraged her to take up space. But in broader spaces, she was often underestimated. As a young Black women serving as a steward and later grievance chair, she quickly learned that preparation was power. She came to every meeting ready – contract language marked, investigations thorough and arguments firmly grounded in fact.

She refused to shrink.

“Education gives you confidence,” she said. “And confidence gives you the power to advocate.”

That belief now shapes her work as Director of the USW NextGen program. She has watched young activists walk into her training unsure of themselves and walk out transformed. She described it as a spark catching flames – when members see themselves reflected in leadership, something shifts in them. Seeing becomes believing. Believing becomes action.

For Charleeka, Gifted and Black is about pride, potential and collective responsibility. Black workers have long been foundational to both the labour and civil rights movements, advancing not only their own communities but also expanding opportunity for others.

Her message to young Black women wondering if they belong is unwavering: “Baby, you belong.”

Anita Bryan, USW District 6 NextGen Co-ordinator and a Black queer woman, reminds us why the work must continue: “We have to keep pushing barriers. Every space we claim creates room for someone else to rise.”

The promise of the labour movement lives in that continued push forward – together.

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