Eric Mann facts for kids

Eric Mann (born December 4, 1942) is an American organizer who has worked for over 50 years to make the world a better place. He has been involved in many important movements, including those for civil rights, against war, for workers' rights, and for a healthier environment.

Eric Mann has worked with groups like the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), and the Black Panther Party. He also spent eight years working on car assembly lines and was active in the United Automobile Workers (UAW) union. He helped keep a General Motors car factory in Van Nuys, California open for ten years, saving many jobs.

Mann is also known for helping to shape the environmental justice movement in the U.S. This movement works to make sure that all communities, especially those with lower incomes and people of color, have a healthy environment. He started the Labor/Community Strategy Center in Los Angeles, California, and has been its director for 25 years. He also co-founded the Bus Riders Union. This group successfully sued the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority to improve bus services for everyone, especially for Black and Latino riders.

Eric Mann has written several books about organizing and social change. He also hosts a weekly radio show called Voices from the Frontlines: Your National Movement-Building Show on KPFK Pacifica Radio in Los Angeles.

Early Life and Activism

Growing Up in New York

Eric Mann was born on December 4, 1942, in Brooklyn, New York. His family had a strong history of fighting against unfairness. They were Jewish and had come to the U.S. to escape difficult times in the early 1900s. His family believed in supporting workers, fighting against racism, and working with people from all over the world.

Joining the Civil Rights Movement

In 1964, Eric Mann graduated from Cornell University. He studied political science and labor relations. Organizers from the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee visited Cornell to encourage students to join the civil rights movement. At 21, Mann decided to work for the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE).

At CORE, Mann worked to fight against unfair treatment at the Trailways Bus Company. Black and Latino workers there were not being promoted. Mann helped organize a boycott of Trailways and sit-ins at bus terminals. He also helped file a civil rights complaint to stop the unfair treatment of employees.

Student Protests and Incarceration

In 1965, Mann joined the Newark Community Union Project. He worked with community leaders and students to help low-income people in Newark fight against poor housing and police brutality. He also worked as a public school teacher but was fired for challenging unfair rules and teaching sex education.

In 1968, Mann moved to Boston to become a leader for Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) in New England. He helped lead a student strike at Columbia University. The students wanted the university to stop its ties with a defense research group and make its gym equally open to all students.

Mann organized and spoke at many rallies at colleges across New England. He believed that student movements could make big changes in the country. He was elected to the national committee of SDS in 1968. He spoke about the need for ongoing action against big corporations and their policies.

In 1969, Mann was part of a group within SDS called the Weathermen (later known as the Weather Underground). This group believed in taking strong actions to challenge powerful institutions. Mann and others were arrested in September 1969 for protesting against the Harvard Center for International Affairs. He was later sentenced to two years in prison for his activism and spent 18 months in different prisons.

After his release, from 1972 to 1974, Mann worked as a journalist. He wrote for several newspapers, including The Boston Globe. He also wrote his first book, Comrade George, about the prison movement.

Fighting for Workers and the Environment

Saving Jobs at General Motors

In 1975, Eric Mann joined the August 29th Movement. He later became an active member of the United Automobile Workers (UAW) union. He worked on car assembly lines from 1978 to 1986.

When car factories were facing closure, Mann helped start a group called the Campaign to Keep GM Van Nuys Open. He led this group for ten years. Thousands of workers, many of whom were Latino and Black, joined the effort. They formed a strong team with community members. Because of their efforts, General Motors kept the plant open for ten years, saving many jobs.

Leading Environmental Justice Efforts

In 1989, Eric Mann and other Black and Latino leaders started the Labor/Community Strategy Center (LCSC). This group works to train organizers and lead campaigns for workers' rights, environmental justice, and civil rights.

Mann's work with the LCSC helped define environmental justice. His 1992 book, L.A.’s Lethal Air, showed how unfair environmental problems often affect communities based on their race and income.

After the 1992 Los Angeles riots, Mann helped write a plan to rebuild Los Angeles. This plan connected transportation, the environment, and jobs. It called for building new green technologies and improving public transportation. Because of the LCSC's work, a "right to know" law was passed. This law gave people information about the chemicals they were exposed to and the companies producing them.

Improving Bus Services in Los Angeles

In 1992, Mann and the Strategy Center founded the Bus Riders Union (BRU). This group, made up of Black and Latino bus riders, started organizing on Los Angeles buses.

The BRU filed a civil rights lawsuit against the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. They argued that the bus system was unfair to Black and Latino riders, while more money was spent on rail projects for wealthier people. The BRU's "billions for buses" campaign used sit-ins and community organizing. Their efforts led to a major agreement that required the Los Angeles MTA to improve its bus system. This included replacing old diesel buses with new, cleaner natural gas buses. The story of the Bus Riders Union is even featured in a film called Bus Riders Union.

In the early 2000s, Mann also helped lead the Community Rights Campaign. This campaign worked to improve transportation for minority students in the Los Angeles Unified School District. They pushed for more buses and fewer police in schools. Their efforts led to easier access to low-cost student bus passes. They also worked to stop unfair truancy tickets and charges against students.

Since 2012, Mann and the Strategy Center have focused on the "Fight for the Soul of the Cities" campaign. This campaign works against the privatization of public services, pollution, and unfair policing. It aims to make sure that cities prioritize the needs of working-class Black and Latino communities.

Mann also helped start the National School for Strategic Organizing. This school trains young people to become leaders in social movements. Based on his experiences, Mann wrote Playbook for Progressives, which shares his ideas on how to be a successful organizer.

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