| Summary: | Electrician and labor activist Charles Vernon Stewart was born on August 7, 1910 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. He was raised in Omaha, Nebraska and Chicago, Illinois. In Chicago, Stewart attended Dore Elementary School, Phillips High School and graduated from Greer College, a trade school for electricians. Inspired by his stepfather, Sam Taylor, Stewart became an electrician. Since he was not allowed to join the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union 134, Stewart and twenty other African American electricians organized under their own union charter in 1929. By 1943, Stewart and his African American colleagues were admitted to Local 134. Stewart was hired by Berry Electric in 1942, and became its first black foreman. Stewart built racially integrated teams, which excelled in large jobs, like the Jewell Grand Bazaar and the River Oaks Shopping Mall. Stewart, who retired from Berry Electric after thirty-seven years, lived on Chicago's south side. Stewart passed away on February 13, 2006, at age 95.
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