GWD-9-Q21 to GWD-9-Q23:

In the 1930’s and 1940’s,

African American industrial

workers in the southern United

Line States, who constituted 80 per-

(5) cent of the unskilled factory labor

force there, strongly supported

unionization. While the American

Federation of Labor (AFL) either

excluded African Americans or

(10 ) maintained racially segregated

unions, the Congress of Industrial

Organizations (CIO) organized

integrated unions nationwide on the

basis of a stated policy of equal

(15) rights for all, and African American

unionists provided the CIO’s backbone（骨干，中枢）.

Yet it can be argued that

through contracts negotiated and

enforced by White union mem-

(20) bers, unions—CIO unions not

excluded—were often instrumental（有帮助的，起作用的）

in maintaining the occupational

segregation（种族隔离） and other forms of

racial discrimination that kept

(25) African Americans socially and

economically oppressed during

this period. However, recognizing

employers’ power over workers

as a central factor in African

(30) Americans’ economic marginal-

ization, African American workers

saw the need to join with White

workers in seeking change despite

White unionists’ toleration of or

(35) support for racial discrimination.

The persistent efforts of African

American unionists eventually paid

off: many became highly effective

organizers, gaining the respect of

(40) even racist White unionists by winning

victories for White as well as

African American workers. African

American unionists thus succeeded

in strengthening the unions while

(45) using them as instruments of

African Americans’ economic

empowerment.

Q22: According to the passage, which of the following was true of many racist White unionists during the period discussed in the passage?

A. Their attitudes toward African American union organizers changed once they recognized that the activities of these organizers were serving workers' interests.

B. They were a powerful element in the southern labor movement because they constituted the majority of the unskilled factory labor force in the southern United States.

C. They persisted in opposing the CIO's adoption of a stated policy of equal rights for all.

D. Their primary goal was to strengthen the negotiating power of the unions through increasing White union membership.