CHARLESTON, SC (June 25, 2025) International Longshoremen’s Association Locals 1422, 1422-A and 1771 in the Port of Charleston, South Carolina, hosted a 25th Anniversary Celebration of the “Charleston Five” Campaign on Tuesday, June 24, 2025, with labor leaders from across America and around the world, joining together in this Port City for a day-long reflection of a major labor and civil rights victory a quarter of a century ago. Leaders from the ILA and International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) were joined by prominent AFL-CIO Labor Federation officials and international labor representatives from Europe and Australia remembered a pivotal event that began on the evening of January 20, 2000 when 150 peaceful ILA protesters at the Port of Charleston were attacked by a 600 strong and armed police force, the subsequent indictment of five of those ILA members, and the nearly two-year world-wide campaign to “Free the Charleston Five.”
Kenneth Riley, the President of ILA Local 1422 in the Port of Charleston and an International Vice President, welcomed the hundreds of guests to the 25th Anniversary event that he called a celebration because of the ultimate outcome when the “Charleston Five” were freed. He reminded the audience that they were in a Port City with the grim history of slavery.
“We who once were the cargo, now move the cargo,” ILA’s Kenneth Riley said somberly. The attack and incarceration of the ILA’s Charleston Five was another sad chapter in the City’s history.
Armand Derfner, former legal counsel to ILA Local 1422, provided a detailed account of the seemingly impossible legal hurdles that needed to be overcome to secure this victory. Mr. Derfner read off a long list of those who were instrumental in helping the Charleston Five.
ILA’s Executive Vice President Dennis Daggett noted that the Charleston Five struggles were born “not out of conflict, but of courage: and named the Charleston Five: Kenneth Jefferson, Elijah Ford, Jr., Peter Washington, Richy Simmons and Jason Edgerton.
“These five union men were arrested and later indicted on felony charges, Daggett continued. “Why? Because they had the audacity to demand fair treatment and protect union labor,”
Key to the eventually success for the Charleston Five, Dennis Daggett noted, was the perseverance and determination of the leader of ILA Local 1422 in Charleston – its president Kenneth Riley.
Donna Dewitt, former South Carolina AFL-CIO State President and Jimmy Hyde, AFL-CIO Organizer and Field Representative, recalled their efforts to secure assistance for the Charleston Five Campaign from the National Labor Federation and other religious and community groups.
“Fighting for what is right, is never wrong,” Dewitt said.
Pat Riley, former president of ILA Local 273 in St. John, New Brunswick, Canada reflected on the powerful march on Columbia to Free the Charleston Five in June of 2001. He credited the demonstration of International Solidarity at the Columbia march was a turning point in the campaign for Free the Charleston Five.
Bill Fletcher, former Special Assistant to AFL-CIO President John Sweeney and a key advisor to Ken Riley throughout the Charleston Five campaign, drew the parallel that “an energized labor movement energizes democracy.”
Suzan Erem, co-author of “On the Global Waterfront: The Fight to Free the Charleston Five” spoke about her research to write this book, and her admiration for the heroic struggles on the ILA in the Port of Charleston.
Andy Green, European Coordinator for the International Dockworkers Council (IDC); Bobby Overa, Jr., International President, ILWU; Paul Keating, Secretary of the Syndey Branch of the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) and Regional Coordinator of teh Asia-Pacific Zone of the IDC; and Jordi Aragunde, International Coordinator, IDC, offered reflections during the afternoon session of the 25th Anniversary celebration.
“The story of the Charleston Five was similar to other struggles Dockworkers have faced throughout Europe, starting with the attack on Liverpool Dockers,” said Andy Green.
The ILWU leader Bobby Olvera, Jr., said the courage of the five ILA members who became known as the Charleston Five “will continue to be an inspiration to young workers for many years to come.”
Paul Keating of the MUA spoke of the importance of continuing to build this international labor force and fight for protections against automation and for safe work standards for all dockworkers.
The IDC’s Jordi Aragunde shared a story how he first learned of the struggles of the Charleston Five from his father, a dockworker in Barcelna, Spain, who joined in an International Day of Protest to support the five ILA members in Charleston.
“My Dad told me that the Charleston Five was about solidarity, and about duty,” Aragunde said.
Kenny Riley concluded the historic 25th Anniversary Charleston Five Celebration by thanking the sponsors of the event, his ILA staff and the continued support of the International Dockers community.
