Dorothy Bolden was taken into police custody for refusing to wash another dish after hours.

The white family who employed her assumed the help was too dumb and helpless to exercise her rights.

But they never expected she'd call her sisters for backup. This is Two Minute Black History,

what you didn't learn in school.

She rode the same buses, heard the horror stories, and since the age of nine,

had experienced first-hand the realities of domestic work. Long hours, terrible wages,

zero safety protections, and no political power to change any of it.

Seeking to unionize her cohorts, Atlanta civil rights activist Dorothy Bolden asked her neighbor,

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to lead the charge. His answer came as a surprise.

You do it. King encouraged the 45-year-old advocate, and that she did. Bolden founded the National

Domestic Workers Union in 1968. Right away, her movement stood apart from many others that came

before. Tired of being characterized as illiterate, non-threatening, cheap work mules for white

families, Bolden mandated that every N-D-W-U-U-A member registered a vote, while simultaneously providing

education, advocacy, training, and job placement opportunities.

Leading lobbying efforts and earning political clout that got results, Bolden's base proved

she was right when she said, we aren't Aunt Jemima women. We are politically strong and independent.

For decades, their powers scaled and so did benefits to members, including better wages,

protections from employers' mistreatment, and even wage negotiation trainings.

Bolden continued to hold domestic work positions throughout her tenure.

Her work elevated the dignity of their profession and bolstered the power and self-respect

of black women who courageously fought for their best interests by her side.

In order to move towards the future, you've got to look to the past. This has been,

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