Labor History Commons^™

Buffalo Soldier, Deserter, Criminal: The Remarkably Complicated Life Of Charles Ringo, Cicero Fain

History Faculty Research

This case study chronicles the remarkably complicated life of Charles Ringo who served nearly two enlistments as a Buffalo Soldier before deserting and embarking on a life of petty crime. It details his military service, his nomadic occupational life, his marriage, his acquittal of two sets of murders--one of his stepsons in West Virginia, the other of a white married couple in Illinois, and the assistance of white authorities who intervened to save and protect Ringo from the predations of angry mobs and racist courts. It situates Ringo’s exploits within the oppositional/alternative nature of African American working-class life, the failure …

Constructing The World's Largest Prison: Understanding Identity By Examining Labor, Hubert J. Gibson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

A Civil War prison camp operated by the Confederacy known as Camp Lawton was once considered the largest prison in the world. This label was attributed to the fact that Lawton’s stockade enclosed 42 acres. The historical record does not have a clear picture of who built it. Newspaper interviews claim the construction was carried out by 500 impressed slave laborers and 300 Union POWs, but these lack the credibility of official orders. Unfortunately, many Confederate documents were lost when Sherman’s army came through Millen, GA. This study archaeologically examines construction techniques utilized for building stockades in an effort …

The Ideological And Organizational Origins Of The United Federation Of Teachers' Opposition To The Community Control Movement In The New York City Public Schools, 1960-1968, Stephen Brier

Publications and Research

This article explores the origins and ideological practice of public school teacher unionism as it was articulated and revealed in New York City before and during the epochal strike against an experiment in community control of neighborhood schools undertaken by the United Federation of Teachers in the fall of 1968 that closed down the city’s massive public school system for weeks and put almost 1 million school children in the street. How and why did unionized New York City public school teachers support the particular kind of trade unionism that the UFT and its president, Albert Shanker, embodied and practiced …

Black Radicals And Marxist Internationalism: From The Iwma To The Fourth International, 1864-1948, Charles R. Holm

Department of History: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This project investigates historical relationships between Black Radicalism and Marxist internationalism from the mid-nineteenth through the first half of the twentieth century. It argues that contrary to scholarly accounts that emphasize Marxist Euro-centrism, or that theorize the incompatibility of “Black” and “Western” radical projects, Black Radicals helped shape and produce Marxist theory and political movements, developing theoretical and organizational innovations that drew on both Black Radical and Marxist traditions of internationalism. These innovations were produced through experiences of struggle within international political movements ranging from the abolition of slavery in the nineteenth century to the early Pan-African movements and struggles …

Introduction To The Workplace Constitution From The New Deal To The New Right, Sophia Z. Lee

All Faculty Scholarship

Today, most American workers do not have constitutional rights on the job. As The Workplace Constitution shows, this outcome was far from inevitable. Instead, American workers have a long history of fighting for such rights. Beginning in the 1930s, civil rights advocates sought constitutional protections against racial discrimination by employers and unions. At the same time, a conservative right-to-work movement argued that the Constitution protected workers from having to join or support unions. Those two movements, with their shared aim of extending constitutional protections to American workers, were a potentially powerful combination. But they sought to use those protections to …

[Review Of The Book Meatpackers: An Oral History Of Black Packinghouse Workers And Their Struggle For Racial And Economic Equality], Nick Salvatore

Nick Salvatore

[Excerpt] The Halpern and Horowitz volume, Meatpackers, follows creditably in this oral history tradition, even if it does not approach the power and complexity of Rosengarten's work. Instead of focusing on one individual, the book presents selections culled from a massive collection of oral interviews conducted by the authors with more than 125 former members of the United Packinghouse Workers of America (UPWA). The interviewees are black, white, and Hispanic, male and female, with records of activism in the union as far back as the 1930s and as recent as the 1980s. The events they recount occurred in five cities, …

A Company Of Shadows: Slaves And Poor Free Menial Laborers In Cumberland County, Maine, 1760 – 1775, Charles P.M. Outwin

Maine History

Although slaves and poor, free menial laborers were by no means a majority of the population in late colonial-era Maine, they represented a culturally and socioeconomically significant part of commercial society there, especially at Falmouth in Casco Bay (now Portland) and in coastal Cumberland County. This essay uncovers the lives of the Falmouth’s small slave population and its larger poor menial laborer population from 1760 up to the port city’s destruction by the British in 1775. The author was granted a Ph.D. in history from the University of Maine in 2009. He is a member of the Maine Historical Society, …

Book Review (Paul Frymer's Black And Blue: African Americans, The Labor Movement, And The Decline Of The Democratic Party)., Sophia Z. Lee

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

'Stubborn And Disposed To Stand Their Ground': Sugar Workers And The Dynamics Of Collective Action In The Louisiana Sugar Bowl, 1863-87, Rebecca J. Scott

Book Chapters

There are several ways to fit these events into narratives of southern history in this period. The presence of black and white Knights of Labor organizers encourages one to view the strike as an unusually bold instance of the cautious policy of cross-racial alliance followed by the Knights in this period. The failure of the strike, and the inability of the Knights to protect their members from repression, might be seen to illuminate the limits of that policy. Alternatively, one can situate this conflict in the story of modernization and consolidation of industry, a Sugar Bowl variant on the Gilded …

Black Labor At Pine Grove & Caledonia Furnaces, 1789-1860, Troy D. Harman

Adams County History

Black labor operating under various degrees of freedom found a suitable working environment, if not a safe haven, in several iron forges of South Central Pennsylvania, from the late 1790s through the 1850s. Primary accounts indicate that two in particular, Pine Grove Furnace of Cumberland County, and Caledonia Furnace of Franklin County, harbored runaway slaves to augment their work force. Pine Grove records, dating from 1789 – 1801, specify names of “negro” employees, verifying that black labor coexisted with white, but day books, journals, and ledgers do not denote status.1 Whether they were free men, or slaves rented out by …

Adams County History 2008

Adams County History

No abstract provided.

Review Of Only One Place Of Redress: African Americans, Labor Regulations, And The Courts From Reconstruction To The New Deal, Brian D. Behnken

Brian D. Behnken

In Only One Place of Redress, David Bernstein contends that between 1890 and 1937 American courts aided black workers in labor disputes. The court did this by upholding the freedom of contract doctrine enshrined in Lochner v. New York, the 1905 case that invalidated legislation limiting the hours a baker could work. "Lochnerism" or "Lochnerian jurisprudence," as Bernstein calls it, benefited blacks by voiding discriminatory labor laws, and he illuminates how these labor regulations harmed African Americans. "The Supreme Court," he writes, "was relatively sympathetic to plaintiffs who challenged government regulations, especially occupational regulations, as violations of the implicit constitutional …

Ms. Joanna Boley-Lee On Leisure, Maureen Elgersman Lee

We Exist Series 4: Quotes

Interviewer: Maureen Elgersman Lee.

Interviewee: Ms. Joanna Boley-Lee (age 66; born 1937 in Newark, New Jersey; lived in Maine for 8 ½ years)

“I think my closing reflections would be that when I came to Lewiston I remember walking across the bridge that goes across the Androscoggin, the extension of Main Street, just sort of looking out, and there was a black man with a camera and I thought, good, there's a black person. So I went up to him and I introduced myself, told him I was new in the area and he tells me he was visiting. I …

Mrs. Rose Jackson On Employment, Hamida Suja

Quotes

Mrs. Rose Jackson Full Interview

Rose Jackson was born in Louisville, Mississippi, to Willie O Clayton Hathorne and Bertha Ophelia (Young) Hathorne; she had three sisters and three brothers. She left school at fifteen to marry her first husband, with whom she had five children; after his death, she married John Jackson, with whom she had another daughter. She worked as a cleaner and hairdresser, and received her diploma from Portland High night school. At the time of this interview, she had been living in Maine 40 years; her family moved here because she had a brother-in-law who had been …

Reverend Albert Jackson And Mrs. Clemmie Jackson On Leisure, Maureen Elgersman Lee

We Exist Series 4: Quotes

Interviewer: Maureen Elgersman Lee

Interviewees: Reverend Albert Jackson (born in Slabfork, Virginia; age 61; lived in Maine for 43 years) and Mrs. Clemmie Jackson (born March 1948 in Marengo County, Alabama; age 55; lived in Maine for 3.5 years)

“Well I like it. You know, I describe it as, ah, a place where you can shop. I notice when it rain, a lot of people go out to eat. They like to eat here in Maine. And I've noticed -- I've (inaudible) –but this is a good area to live in.”

Interviewer: “Are there any events in Lewiston and Auburn's …

Reverend Albert Jackson And Mrs. Clemmie Jackson On Employment, Maureen Elgersman-Lee

Quotes

Reverend Albert Jackson and Mrs. Clemmie Jackson Full Interview

(Clemmie not pictured)

Rev. Albert Jackson was born in Slabfork, West Virginia, in 1942. At the time of this interview, he had been living in the Lewiston Auburn area for around forty three years. Clemmie Jackson, Rev. Jackson’s wife, was born in Marengo County, Alabama, in 1948; at the time of this interview, she had been living in Lewiston Auburn for around three years. The couple had three sons. Rev. Jackson graduated from high school in Lewiston Auburn; Mrs. Jackson graduated high school in Alabama, and received a degree in …

Reverend Albert Jackson And Mrs. Clemmie Jackson On Education, Maureen Elgersman-Lee

Quotes

Reverend Albert Jackson and Mrs. Clemmie Jackson Full Interview

Rev. Albert Jackson was born in Slabfork, West Virginia, in 1942. At the time of this interview, he had been living in the Lewiston Auburn area for around forty three years. Clemmie Jackson, Rev. Jackson’s wife, was born in Marengo County, Alabama, in 1948; at the time of this interview, she had been living in Lewiston Auburn for around three years. The couple had three sons. Rev. Jackson graduated from high school in Lewiston Auburn; Mrs. Jackson graduated high school in Alabama, and received a degree in sociology with a minor …

Mr. James Sheppard On Leisure, Sanela Zukic

We Exist Series 4: Quotes

Interviewer: Sanela Zukic

Interviewee: Mr. James Sheppard (born in New York City in 1924; both his parents immigrated from Antigua in the West Indies to Canada, then they came to the United States in 1923; moved to Maine in 1971).

“But in addition to that we'd have lots of summer events: picnics and that sort. But that's separate; that's a different thing.”

“Between my wife and I, we saw to it that they did a lot of reading. And we did a lot of traveling. We did a lot of traveling to the Caribbean and South America, and we took …

Emma Jackson On Employment, Maureen Elgersman-Lee

Quotes

Emma Jackson Full Interview

Emma Jackson was born in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1941. She and her husband John Isaac Jackson had three children, and at the time of the interview she had been living in the Lewiston-Auburn area for forty five years. She spent the first ten years of her life in Maine doing domestic work, and then worked in the nursing field for thirty years, at a number of different facilities owned by Central Maine Medical Center. She discusses her life in Lewiston, challenges in finding housing she and her husband faced when they first moved to the area, …

Mr. Richard Terrence On Leisure, Rachel Talbot-Ross

We Exist Series 4: Quotes

Interviewer: Rachel Talbot-Ross

Interviewee: Mr. Richard Terrence (age 57; born 1945 in Cleveland, Ohio; moved to Maine in October 1975)

“And, you know, raising my children is interesting in that as they grew older and as they noticed the very differences, they were starting to mix in very well. They were making friends, and, you know, they were involved in sporting activities and community.”

Mr. Richard Terrence On Education And Employment, Rachel Talbot Ross

Quotes

Mr. Richard Terrence Full Interview

Richard Tarrence was born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1945, the second-oldest of seven siblings. His parents moved to Ohio from the South in the 1930s; his maternal grandfather was a bishop in the AME church, and his paternal grandfather was a sharecropper. He was drafted in 1965 and spent four years in the Air Force, including time in Vietnam. He married his ex-wife, Loretta Wilson, who was from Maine, and they moved to Portland in 1975. He completed a degree in Criminal Justice at USM in 1979, and spent twenty-two years working for Allstate Insurance. …

Mrs. Emma Jackson On Leisure, Maureen Elgersman-Lee

We Exist Series 4: Quotes

Interviewer: Maureen Elgersman Lee

Interviewee: Mrs. Emma Jackson (age 62; born 1941 in Atlanta Georgia; lived in Maine for 46 years; has three children)

“Because it wasn't ever in the - the -- the, ah, club scenes, or any scenes like that. Actually, we live, ah, a really sheltered life. We went to church. We were involved. But the church was our main focus and our main goal. And I -- and -- and our lives were wrapped -- revolved around that. So that might be -- which would be a reason why we didn't--”

Mr. Edgar Anderson On Leisure, Amber Panzella

We Exist Series 4: Quotes

Interviewer: Amber Panzella

Interviewee: Mr. Edgar Anderson (Male; age 51; born 1950 in Chicago suburb called Harvey; Moved to Portland Maine in 1985)

“I just spent last weekend down in Massachusetts with-as I said before-with my daughter who played in basketball tournaments Saturday and Sunday, so we spent the weekend in Massachusetts playing basketball. This weekend her mom will spend time with her in Hudson, New Hampshire, playing softball. She's also a softball player…Yeah, and two weeks from now we're gonna be in Connecticut, and the week after that we'll be playing basketball in D.C. So we're very involved with …

Mr. Edgar Anderson On Employment, Amber Panzella

Quotes

Mr. Edgar Anderson Full Interview

Edgar Anderson was born in Chicago in 1950, the second-oldest of six children. On his mother’s side, he has black, German, and Cree Native American ancestry; on his father’s side, he is descended from sharecroppers and former slaves from Mississippi. He attended high school in Chicago, and then went to the Military Academy at West Point in 1968, where he was one of ten black cadets in his class of 1200. He spent time in the Army as a basic training officer, and then received a graduate degree from Yale in business management and human …

Mr. Edgar Anderson On Education, Amber Panzella

Quotes

Mr. Edgar Anderson Full Interview

Edgar Anderson was born in Chicago in 1950, the second-oldest of six children. On his mother’s side, he has black, German, and Cree Native American ancestry; on his father’s side, he is descended from sharecroppers and former slaves from Mississippi. He attended high school in Chicago, and then went to the Military Academy at West Point in 1968, where he was one of ten black cadets in his class of 1200. He spent time in the Army as a basic training officer, and then received a graduate degree from Yale in business management and human …

Mrs. Odessa Barret On Leisure, Usm African American Collection

We Exist Series 4: Quotes

Interviewer: -

Interviewee: Odessa Barret (born in Port Arthur, Texas, 1948)

“Life for me as a child was bitter sweet. I was between the youngest boy and girl so I was never alone. Church was the focal point of our lives. It was a time of "White Only" restrooms and drinking fountains, but we were spared a lot of that because we owned our own car so public transportation was not a worry for us. Traveling food for us was a basket of fried sausage and biscuits if it was morning and fried chicken and bread if it was lunch …

Mrs. Rose Jackson On Leisure, Hamida Suja

We Exist Series 4: Quotes

Interviewer: Hamida Suja

Interviewee: Mrs. Rose Jackson (age 66; born in Louisville, Mississippi; lives in South Portland for 39 years; married 34 years; has six children; had five children with her first husband; he died and she remarried and had a child with the current husband)

“And we would get together, like, have a fish fry on the weekend with our white friends, our white neighbors. And when we would get out and fish, my daddy and them would go down and get in the water and just muddy the water up with hoes-what you chop cotton with-and the fish …

Ms. Lucille Young On Leisure, Anab Osman

We Exist Series 4: Quotes

Interviewer: Anab Osman

Interviewee: Ms. Lucille Young (age 73; born 1928 in Jackson, Mississippi; moved to Maine in 1967) “[Barbeque] Yeah. We have four picnic tables in the backyard, and chairs, and we have a grill. And I have a swimming pool, so they’re always there. They’re always at my house. Which I’m trying to get rid of half of them, but I know it’ll never happen.”

Mrs. Rose Jackson On Education, Hamida Suja

Quotes

Mrs. Rose Jackson Full Interview

Rose Jackson was born in Louisville, Mississippi, to Willie O Clayton Hathorne and Bertha Ophelia (Young) Hathorne; she had three sisters and three brothers. She left school at fifteen to marry her first husband, with whom she had five children; after his death, she married John Jackson, with whom she had another daughter. She worked as a cleaner and hairdresser, and received her diploma from Portland High night school. At the time of this interview, she had been living in Maine 40 years; her family moved here because she had a brother-in-law who had been …

Mrs. June Mckenzie On Leisure, Aretha Williams

We Exist Series 4: Quotes

Interviewer: Aretha Williams

Interviewee: Mrs. June McKenzie (age 72; born 1929 in Portland Maine; fifth-generation Mainer; lived in Maine all her life)

“Oh, yes we do, and they're really big. My sister in Connecticut has, what, seven children, and my sister in the islands has three, and my other sister has one. And all our families and our grandchildren and everything, we all get together on Fourth of July and have a picnic at Sebago Lake, which started out as a big church thing. Our church did it every year, and we've just kept up the tradition.”

“Well, my neighborhood …