Albert Squire, Jr. entered Chapter Invisible on February 26, 2025, at age 78. On January 25, 1947, he was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi to Albert Squire, Sr., and Arnetta Lucille Squire. He was the oldest of Albert and Arnetta’s two children. He had a younger sister, Arnetta Lucille. His mother was called home to the Lord when Albert and Arnetta were young children. In 1955, his father remarried to the former Clara Mae Harris. Together, they raised Albert Jr. and Arnetta into adulthood.

Affectionately known as “Junior” to friends and family of his youth, he was an avid athlete, playing basketball, baseball, and football throughout his childhood and high school years. Additionally, being an astute scholar from an early age, he skipped multiple grades, graduating from St. Mary’s Catholic High School in 1963 at age 16, and entered Tougaloo College in Tougaloo, Mississippi, right outside of Jackson. On his first day as an undergraduate, he met and began courting a fellow incoming freshman from Washington, DC, Laura Ann Bradley. Graduating in 1967 with a Bachelor of Science in Physical Education, minoring in Political Science, he went on to pursue his Masters’ degree from the University of South Carolina (USC). He and Laura married in 1968 after she completed her undergraduate studies.

Upon graduating USC, the two moved to Laura’s hometown of Washington, DC, where he began his career as an elementary school physical education teacher in various schools throughout Prince George’s County, Maryland. In the 1970s, he became involved in Maryland politics, serving as an elected member of Maryland’s Democratic Party. He also left the classroom for his calling with the teachers’ union, working for the National Education Association (NEA).

In 1980, Albert left the NEA to become a National Representative with the American Federation of Teachers (AFT). As a National Representative, he was assigned mostly to AFT’s Southern Region, encompassing Washington, DC, Virginia, the Carolinas, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Louisiana, Tennessee, and the US Virgin Islands. A challenged region heavily opposed to unionizing, he took on the tough assignment as a field organizer, initiating and managing multiple key projects, successfully combating the region’s historic stronghold of unfair labor practices. Reputed as a standout organizer and leader, he was promoted to Deputy Director of AFT’s Southern Region in 1985. Here, Albert worked closely with AFT’s Southern Region Director, implementing, and directing teacher union organization initiatives and growth at a strategic level.

When AFT’s Southern Region Director retired in 1998, Albert replaced him, holding this position until his 2017 retirement. His 37-year career not only saw the positive changing tide of organized educational labor in the Southeastern United States, but also the significant growth of the AFT’s tally of union locals and membership. Though retired, Albert never gave up his passion for the plight of a person’s right to organize. He continued to serve as a board member for the A. Phillip Randolph Institute.

Albert was a 1964 initiate of the Tougaloo College Chapter, the Gamma Rho of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Incorporated. Albert was a Life Member, 50-Year Brother and Charter Member of the Hyattsville/Landover (MD) Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Incorporated and served as the first Vice Polemarch of the chapter. Remaining an extremely active stalwart in the chapter, he also served as an incorporator and initial director of the Kappa Foundation of Prince George’s County, Inc.

Finally, always a dedicated servant to our Lord, he maintained his membership with Michigan Park Christian Church, located in Washington, DC.

Albert was preceded in death by his parents and sister. He is survived by his college sweetheart and wife of 56 years Laura, and son Albert, a 2004 initiate of the Dayton (OH) Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Incorporated, grandchildren Kaleb and Arabella, and a host of cousins and friends.