Jie Zhang
Professor, Department of Education, Languages, and Instructional Design
Jie is an active member of our Chapter at Brockport, who serves as a Chapter Delegate, and a member of our Statewide Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. Recently Jie participated in the MLK Conference.
Report on the 2026 ALF-CIO MLK Civil and Human Rights Conference.
I was honored to be selected by UUP President Fred Kowal to attend the 2026 ALF-CIO Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Civil and Human Rights Conference, which was held in Baltimore, MD from Jan. 15-18, 2026. I was humbled to join a record 1,100 participants, making it the largest MLK conference in its history.
Guided by the theme of “Honoring our history, fighting for our future”, this annual conference brought together labor leaders, educators, organizers, and community advocates from across the nation to advance civil and human rights and to fight for economic, racial, and social justice. The program offered a variety of best practices, tools, and knowledge that connected the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with today’s pressing challenges in equity, worker rights, fundamental freedoms, and social justice. It focused on strengthening community-labor partnerships, addressing systemic inequities, and promoting inclusive leadership to ensure that all workers can live lives of dignity and respect through the labor movement.
In addition to attending keynote sessions, plenaries, panel discussions, workshops, and non-violent civil resistance training, I also participated in several activities at the conference. Thanks to the information shared by Carolyn Kube, UUP Vice President for Professionals, and Jeri O’Bryan-Losee, UUP Statewide Secretary/Treasurer, in the morning of Jan. 17, I joined the AFT Delegation meeting, which emphasized AFT’s goals of “fighting for an affordable life, strengthening public schools and higher education, and a democracy that works for all” and network building.
On Jan. 18, I attended the faith service in the morning, which highlighted the critical connection between labor and faith. During the community service in that afternoon, I worked with Jeri and other colleagues and made four no sew blankets. Collectively, conference attendees/community service participants produced a total of 200 blankets, 1,500 winter warmth kits, and other materials, which will be distributed to local communities for people in need.
As Dr. Eddie Glaude Jr., one of the invited plenary speakers, writes in his book, We are the leaders we have been looking for, “… when we fly and when we acknowledge the wind beneath our wings, we become the hope this dark world desperately needs” (p. 19). Rev. Terry Melvin, another featured plenary speaker, reinforced this joint call to action, “We are more powerful through solidarity than we are apart… Together, we can shape the future.”
Attending this conference provided me with invaluable opportunities to learn best practices for advancing diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice; to engage with experts, practitioners, and labor leaders; and to build networks for ongoing professional growth and potential collaboration. It reminded me of our shared responsibility to lead with courage, compassion, and collaboration. Most importantly, it reinforced the importance of taking action: standing up,speaking up, and showing up to build one community and work toward common goals.
I am grateful for UUP’s generous sponsorship, which made it possible for me to participate in this impactful and inspiring conference. I will bring back the strategies, insights, and resources learned from the conference to inform and strengthen our union work. I also want to express my appreciation to Fred for providing this wonderful opportunity, to Carolyn and Jeri for sharing the AFT meeting information, and to Jeri for her guidance and mentorship throughout the conference. A special thank-you to Lynn Alderman, UUP Executive Assistant to the President & Director of Administration, and Kenya Coleman, Administration and Fields Services, for their communication and help with conference logistics and paperwork. All your kind support made my first MLK conference a memorable and meaningful learning experience! Jie Zhang