Jamaica-born Waterloo labor leader gives back

Miriam Tyson headed communcations union, served on college board, ran for Congress

Mar 31, 2023

Miriam Brown Tyson wasn't supposed to be in Iowa. She wasn't supposed to be a union leader - neither lead a union local, nor participate in national contract negotiations with a major employer. And she sure wasn't supposed to run for Congress or be elected to the board of a community college.

She did all of those. And beat breast cancer -- twice in 12 years.

She’s never let anyone tell her what she couldn't do. Now she's telling others what they can do.

Especially students of color and women chasing their dreams.
As a Black immigrant woman in Iowa, Tyson broke down a lot of barriers. She was born in Jamaica, came of age in Mason City and lived most of her adult life in Waterloo.

Now, she's heading up an initiative called Cedar Valley Faces of Excellence. It's a program to recognize high school and college graduates, focused on but not limited to students of color. The objective, Tyson said, to congratulate, uplift and promote the self worth of graduates who might be economically disadvantaged or coming out of tough home situations.

"There are some kids here whose parents couldn't afford to get them a graduation picture," Tyson said. They’ll get one, professionally taken. "We have a reception for them. There's some kids that never have cake and punch."

In short, the initiative is to recognize students for whom simply graduating, at any level, is a triumph in itself.

"What I do is try to get to as many schools in the Cedar Valley" as possible, "private and public schools, and let them know we're proud of them," Tyson said.

The faith-based organization holds a traditional baccalaureate ceremony for graduates. "The coalition's mission is to preserve and continue the African American long-standing tradition of recognizing our students' accomplishments," said an announcement of this year's service. It will be 4 p.m. June 4 at Waterloo's Antioch Baptist Church, with a Saturday rehearsal from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. At that time the students may also attend job and life skills workshops ranging from money management to resume writing to promoting themselves.

"I want to grow this organization," Tyson said. "I've been trying to get mentors" to work with the graduates as the move on to their next phase in life, whether it's work or higher education. If it's the latter, "what I want is to be able to a have somebody people can reach out to, no matter where they go to school...I want all of our students who graduate from here to get the resources we need."

Miriam Brown Tyson in a 2007 photo, when she served on the Hawkeye Community Collee board of trustees (Courtesy photo published in Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier)

She took on and revived the decades-dormant program in 2015 at the request of Martha Frazier of Antioch Baptist Christian Education, on behalf of a coalition of historically African American churches. Tyson headed up a solid board of directors and lined up support from 17 local businesses.
"What I'm trying to do is to create resources for students," Tyson said. For example, she encourages and helps high school graduates aspiring to college to follow through and complete the sometimes-daunting federal financial aid application form known and FAFSA, or Free Application for Federal Student Aid.
The Faces of Excellence initiative may complement, or even duplicate, some services available elsewhere. That doesn't matter to Tyson. "We think we need to have as many spots and spaces for students to get access to this,” she said. “Sometimes they'll start out with FAFSA and say 'oh, it's so overwhelming,' and they stop. Some start it' they don't finish it." She suggested the group might host an event with students and parents to work on those forms.

As part of the baccalaureate event, the organization might host workshops with potential employers on the same day as the rehearsal.

"I think there's a need to have a lot of different people delivering this stuff," Tyson said. "There are lots of resources available but I want to be the catch-all," to serve students who fall through the cracks because they may not meet criteria to be served by other organizations.

More students besides the straight-A students need and deserve the help, Tyson said. "I'm not shaming everybody else, but I want this to be all inclusive. I don't want any criteria or limitations. All you have to do with Cedar Valley Faces of Excellence is to graduate."

About 20 to 25 students per year go through Cedar Valley Students of Excellence. in 2022, the classes of 2020, 2021 and 2022 were included and about 40 students were honored. it could be bigger with more help. "Each year, we're getting stronger, gaining more ideas, making more connections," she said.

And Tyson's used to pushing stones uphill.

Thsi is a June 1986 photo of Miriam tyson being comforted by her mother during a labor dispute wtih AT&T. (Waterloo Courier photo by Robin Scholz)

Tyson came to Mason City in 1967 when she was 13 and she graduated from Mason City High School in 1972. She worked at what was then Northwestern Bell while in high school and her job eventually was transferred to Waterloo.

She was president of 200-member Communications Workers of America Local 7108 in Waterloo from 1984 to 1999. In the 1990s she was a member of union's national negotiating team in collective bargaining talks with US West Communications, a successor to Northwestern Bell and predecessor company to CenturyLink. In that task she represented employees over multiple Midwestern and Western states.

In 1996, she ran for Congress, losing in a hotly contested Democratic primary to sitting Dubuque County Supervisor Donna Smith, who was ultimately defeated by U.S. Rep. Jim Nussle, later budget director to President George W. Bush. Local Democratic officials said it was the first time two women had faced each other in a congressional primary. At that point no woman of either party in Iowa had been elected to Congress, the Senate or as governor. Tyson subsequently was elected to multiple terms on the Hawkeye Community College Board of Trustees.
She later worked for then-Secretary of State Chet Culver, helping local auditors to update their equipment and meet provisions of the Help America Vote Act. She also was part of Culver's transition team when he was elected governor in 2006.

In between all those career accomplishments, she obtained an associate’s degree from Hawkeye Community College, bachelor’s degree from Wartburg College in Waverly, a master’s degreee from the University of Northern Iowa and a doctorate at Iowa State University.
She’s bringing all those experiences to bear in guiding the Cedar Valley Faces of Excellence program becasue she has quite a bit of empathy for students striving to obatain degrees in a variety of life situations.

“Absolutely. I really want students to achieve,” she said. “For me it was continuous learning and you don’t stop.
"We want to recognize our students when they have an accomplishment, when they graduate from high school or college. Every time they get an educational accomplishment, we want them to participate” Tyson said. “We want to provide support for them while they're in school, no matter where they are," and in the workplace if they go on to employment. “We want to be inclusive.”
"That's my goal. Because I think it's very difficult to pursue your studies and take care of the things you need,” she said. “We want to recognize them provide them with life tips. And provide a place where their family and friends can come and celebrate with them. You never know when someone's last meal was. We as a community in Waterloo, and as a faith-based organization, need to be able to help."

And help people dream big.

Miriam Tyson as a canddate for Congress in 1996. (Courtesy photo published in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier)

When Tyson was running for Congress and was told by campaign staff she would lose the primary, "I don't care if I didn't win. I won,” she said. ‘I did what I wanted to do and I didn't care what anybody said." She said visiting people made her see that poverty crosses rural and urban lines, and being able to connect with those in need "changed my life," she said.

And not only dream big, but give back.
"I grew up in a country where I had two different families and they each spoke different types of English," she said. "So, as a kid, I have to bring that together, it was hard. And coming here, I didn't have a clue. But all I knew is, people were kind to me in Mason City. A lot more people were kind to me in Waterloo. Why wouldn't I want to give back?"
She’s formulating a similar workshop empowerment initiative for women.
While one needs to be prepared, and develop a plan, Tyson said, “don’t let anyone stop you.”

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