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| James Haughton, Who Fought Racial Barriers in Building Trades, Dies at 86 | James Haughton, Who Fought Racial Barriers in Building Trades, Dies at 86 |
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| James Haughton, a civil rights advocate who aggressively challenged racial barriers to hiring at construction sites in the 1960s and ’70s and promoted programs to train black and Hispanic apprentices in the building trades, died on April 17 in Manhattan. He was 86. | James Haughton, a civil rights advocate who aggressively challenged racial barriers to hiring at construction sites in the 1960s and ’70s and promoted programs to train black and Hispanic apprentices in the building trades, died on April 17 in Manhattan. He was 86. |
| The cause was a chronic urinary tract infection, his partner, Ronnie Asbell, said. | The cause was a chronic urinary tract infection, his partner, Ronnie Asbell, said. |
| Mr. Haughton, a construction worker’s son, was best known for breaking with more moderate proponents of equal opportunity in hiring and housing to form what became known in 1969 as Fight Back, a group based in Harlem. | Mr. Haughton, a construction worker’s son, was best known for breaking with more moderate proponents of equal opportunity in hiring and housing to form what became known in 1969 as Fight Back, a group based in Harlem. |
| Fight Back documented discrimination; staged boycotts, protests and sit-down strikes; and filed lawsuits (sometimes with Columbia University’s Center on Social Welfare Policy and Law) against contractors and unions that were closed to newcomers, a consequence, the group said, of nepotism and racism. | Fight Back documented discrimination; staged boycotts, protests and sit-down strikes; and filed lawsuits (sometimes with Columbia University’s Center on Social Welfare Policy and Law) against contractors and unions that were closed to newcomers, a consequence, the group said, of nepotism and racism. |
| Fight Back also provided counseling and placement services when jobs became available. | Fight Back also provided counseling and placement services when jobs became available. |
| In 1972, racial minorities made up more than a third of New York City’s population but accounted for only about 2 percent of union members in skilled construction jobs. Today, minorities make up about two-thirds of the city’s population and about half the membership of unions affiliated with the Building and Construction Trades Council, the organization says. | In 1972, racial minorities made up more than a third of New York City’s population but accounted for only about 2 percent of union members in skilled construction jobs. Today, minorities make up about two-thirds of the city’s population and about half the membership of unions affiliated with the Building and Construction Trades Council, the organization says. |
| “The construction trades have changed a lot since then,” said Michael Merrill, dean of the Harry Van Arsdale Jr. Center for Labor Studies at Empire State College of the State University of New York. “Haughton was part of the tide, and he brought visibility and prominence to the issue.” | |
| Mr. Haughton also lobbied for greater investment by the federal government in housing, both to improve living conditions and to provide employment. Timothy J. Cooney, an assistant city housing administrator, was so impressed with Mr. Haughton, who had been picketing his office in 1967 seeking more minority jobs, that he quit his municipal post and joined Fight Back. | Mr. Haughton also lobbied for greater investment by the federal government in housing, both to improve living conditions and to provide employment. Timothy J. Cooney, an assistant city housing administrator, was so impressed with Mr. Haughton, who had been picketing his office in 1967 seeking more minority jobs, that he quit his municipal post and joined Fight Back. |
| “He was the first black man I’d ever met who had a real feeling for the potential power of a housing public-works program to put black and Puerto Rican people to work,” Mr. Cooney told The New Yorker in 1970. | “He was the first black man I’d ever met who had a real feeling for the potential power of a housing public-works program to put black and Puerto Rican people to work,” Mr. Cooney told The New Yorker in 1970. |
| James Haughton Jr. was born in Brooklyn on Oct. 8, 1929, the son of West Indian immigrants, James Haughton Sr. and the former Mary Miller. He grew up near the Fort Greene section and graduated from Boys High School and, in 1951, the City College of New York. He served as an Army lieutenant during the Korean War and received a master of public administration degree from New York University in 1960. | James Haughton Jr. was born in Brooklyn on Oct. 8, 1929, the son of West Indian immigrants, James Haughton Sr. and the former Mary Miller. He grew up near the Fort Greene section and graduated from Boys High School and, in 1951, the City College of New York. He served as an Army lieutenant during the Korean War and received a master of public administration degree from New York University in 1960. |
| His wife, Eleanor Burke Leacock, an anthropologist, died in 1987. Besides Ms. Asbell, he is survived by four stepchildren, Elspeth, Claudia, David and Robert Leacock; and six step-grandchildren. | His wife, Eleanor Burke Leacock, an anthropologist, died in 1987. Besides Ms. Asbell, he is survived by four stepchildren, Elspeth, Claudia, David and Robert Leacock; and six step-grandchildren. |
| After serving in Korea, Mr. Haughton worked as a youth counselor with street gangs in New York and Los Angeles and as an assistant to A. Philip Randolph, the president of what in 1960 was called the Negro American Labor Council. Mr. Haughton left in 1964 and founded the Harlem Unemployment Center, which also dealt with hiring in other industries. | After serving in Korea, Mr. Haughton worked as a youth counselor with street gangs in New York and Los Angeles and as an assistant to A. Philip Randolph, the president of what in 1960 was called the Negro American Labor Council. Mr. Haughton left in 1964 and founded the Harlem Unemployment Center, which also dealt with hiring in other industries. |
| In “Constructing Affirmative Action: The Struggle for Equal Employment Opportunity” (2011), David Hamilton Golland gave credit to Fight Back for increasing the number of skilled blacks employed in the construction of SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, the Harlem State Office Building and the World Trade Center. | In “Constructing Affirmative Action: The Struggle for Equal Employment Opportunity” (2011), David Hamilton Golland gave credit to Fight Back for increasing the number of skilled blacks employed in the construction of SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, the Harlem State Office Building and the World Trade Center. |
| Mr. Haughton’s assertive tactics, in which hundreds of demonstrators were arrested, won concessions from public agencies and private developers on hiring goals and job training, although a number of contractors complained of excessive pressure by some local groups to hire neighborhood residents, as community coordinators or security guards. | Mr. Haughton’s assertive tactics, in which hundreds of demonstrators were arrested, won concessions from public agencies and private developers on hiring goals and job training, although a number of contractors complained of excessive pressure by some local groups to hire neighborhood residents, as community coordinators or security guards. |
| Mr. Haughton argued that “community pressure on contractors is the only way these workers can obtain jobs.” | Mr. Haughton argued that “community pressure on contractors is the only way these workers can obtain jobs.” |
| “The criminality is with the government, for not giving jobs to black and Hispanic workers,” he said. | “The criminality is with the government, for not giving jobs to black and Hispanic workers,” he said. |