JOHN W. BLAND

1940-2020

John Bland brought a history-making thirst for justice to the Texas labor and civil rights movements. 

On March 4, 1960, at the age of 19, Bland joined 12 other Texas Southern University students in a march from campus and sat in at the lunch counter of Weingarten’s supermarket, waiting long hours peacefully to be served. The protest drew national attention and helped bring about the desegregation of Houston lunch counters, movie theaters, department stores, and other businesses. 

Brother Bland’s quest for dignity for all extended to the labor movement. As a major figure in Transport Workers Union Local 260 for decades, Bland organized workers in the Gulf Coast region and beyond to better their working lives while insisting on human rights for all. Leaders in Houston, Austin, and Washington, D.C. sought out Bland’s advice and support on progressive initiatives, and as a long-time member of the Texas AFL-CIO Executive Board and leader in the A. Philip Randolph Institute and Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, Bland was an indispensable resource. 

An Army veteran, a deacon and trustee at Bethany Baptist Church, a leading organizer of community service projects, and a wonderful husband and great-grandfather, John Bland remains amazingly modest amid extraordinary accomplishments. His contribution to the struggle for inclusion, respect, and justice lives on.