"Color means something": Black pioneers, white resistance, and interracial unionism in the southern textile industry, 1957-1980

Labor History

Volumn 39, Issue 2, 1998, Pages 109-133

  Minchin, Timothy J ^a  

^a NONE

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[No Author keywords available]

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EID: 0032371009     PISSN: 0023656X     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/00236679812331387300     Document Type: Article

References (152)

1. Gladys Trawick interview with author on February 2, 1996 in Andalusia, Alabama.
2. Dr Vivian W. Henderson, president of Clark College in Atlanta, declared in 1967 that, "The textile industry in the South has an extremely poor record on Negro employment. The industry has a vicious history of outright exclusion and sheer discrimination regarding Negroes from the workforce in the various plants. The only manufacturing industry, in my judgement, that parallels the textile industry - and this can be supported by data - in terms of Negro exclusion from employment in the South is apparel, an allied industry." Transcript of EEOC Textile Employment Forum Proceedings, 26, 32, Jan. 12-13, 1967, Part 2, Reel 2, Civil Rights During the Johnson Administration Papers, material microfilmed from the Lyndon Baines Johnson presidential library and held at Cambridge University library, hereafter cited as LBJ Papers.
3. Richard L. Rowan, "The Negro in the Textile Industry," in Herbert R. Northrup, et al., eds., Negro Employment in Southern Industry: A Study of Racial Policies in Five Industries (Philadelphia: Industrial Research Unit, Wharton School of Finance and Commerce, University of Pennsylvania, 1970), 54; Mary Frederickson, "Four Decades of Change: Black Workers in Southern Textiles, 1941-1981," in James Green, ed., Workers' Struggles, Past and Present: A 'Radical America' Reader (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1983), 62-82, statistic drawn from 62.
4. Richard L. Rowan, "The Negro in the Textile Industry," in Herbert R. Northrup, et al., eds., Negro Employment in Southern Industry: A Study of Racial Policies in Five Industries (Philadelphia: Industrial Research Unit, Wharton School of Finance and Commerce, University of Pennsylvania, 1970), 54; Mary Frederickson, "Four Decades of Change: Black Workers in Southern Textiles, 1941-1981," in James Green, ed., Workers' Struggles, Past and Present: A 'Radical America' Reader (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1983), 62-82, statistic drawn from 62.
5. "Negro Employment in the Textile Industry," ATMI Press Release, April 1969, in Folder 39, Box 12, Wharton School Papers, held at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, hereafter cited as Wharton School Papers.
6. David R, Goldfield, Black, White, and Southern: Race Relations and Southern Culture, 1940 to the Present (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1990), 204.
7. Robert H. Zieger, "Textile Workers and Historians," in Robert H. Zieger, ed., Organized Labor in the Twentieth-Century South (Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1991), 36; "Textile Production In South Soars," Greensboro Daily News, April 17, 1963, clipping in "Textile Industry Background Data," folder, Box 7, Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union-North Carolina Joint Board Papers, held at the Southern Labor Archives, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, hereafter cited as ACTWU-NCJB Papers.
8. Robert H. Zieger, "Textile Workers and Historians," in Robert H. Zieger, ed., Organized Labor in the Twentieth-Century South (Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1991), 36; "Textile Production In South Soars," Greensboro Daily News, April 17, 1963, clipping in "Textile Industry Background Data," folder, Box 7, Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union-North Carolina Joint Board Papers, held at the Southern Labor Archives, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, hereafter cited as ACTWU-NCJB Papers.
9. Robert H. Zieger, "Textile Workers and Historians," in Robert H. Zieger, ed., Organized Labor in the Twentieth-Century South (Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1991), 36; "Textile Production In South Soars," Greensboro Daily News, April 17, 1963, clipping in "Textile Industry Background Data," folder, Box 7, Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union-North Carolina Joint Board Papers, held at the Southern Labor Archives, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, hereafter cited as ACTWU-NCJB Papers.
10. Examples of this literature include, Jacquelyn Dowd Hall, et al., Like a Family: The-Making of a Southern Cotton Mill World (Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1987); Barbara S. Griffith, The Crisis of American Labor: Operation Dixie and the Defeat of the CIO (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1988); Gary M. Fink, The Fulton Bag and Cotton Mills Strike of 1914-1915: Espionage, Labor Conflict, and New South Industrial Relations (Ithaca, NY: ILR Press, 1993); David L. Carlton, Mill and Town in South Carolina, 1880-1920 (Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press, 1982); I. A. Newby, Plain Folk in the New South: Social Change and Cultural Persistence, 1880-1915 (Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press, 1989); James A. Hodges, New Deal Labor Policy and the Southern Cotton Textile Industry, 1933-1941 (Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1986). The best overview of this literature is Robert H. Zieger, "Textile Workers and Historians," in Zieger, ed., Organized Labor in the Twentieth-Century South, 35-59.
11. Examples of this literature include, Jacquelyn Dowd Hall, et al., Like a Family: The-Making of a Southern Cotton Mill World (Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1987); Barbara S. Griffith, The Crisis of American Labor: Operation Dixie and the Defeat of the CIO (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1988); Gary M. Fink, The Fulton Bag and Cotton Mills Strike of 1914-1915: Espionage, Labor Conflict, and New South Industrial Relations (Ithaca, NY: ILR Press, 1993); David L. Carlton, Mill and Town in South Carolina, 1880-1920 (Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press, 1982); I. A. Newby, Plain Folk in the New South: Social Change and Cultural Persistence, 1880-1915 (Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press, 1989); James A. Hodges, New Deal Labor Policy and the Southern Cotton Textile Industry, 1933-1941 (Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1986). The best overview of this literature is Robert H. Zieger, "Textile Workers and Historians," in Zieger, ed., Organized Labor in the Twentieth-Century South, 35-59.
12. Examples of this literature include, Jacquelyn Dowd Hall, et al., Like a Family: The-Making of a Southern Cotton Mill World (Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1987); Barbara S. Griffith, The Crisis of American Labor: Operation Dixie and the Defeat of the CIO (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1988); Gary M. Fink, The Fulton Bag and Cotton Mills Strike of 1914-1915: Espionage, Labor Conflict, and New South Industrial Relations (Ithaca, NY: ILR Press, 1993); David L. Carlton, Mill and Town in South Carolina, 1880-1920 (Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press, 1982); I. A. Newby, Plain Folk in the New South: Social Change and Cultural Persistence, 1880-1915 (Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press, 1989); James A. Hodges, New Deal Labor Policy and the Southern Cotton Textile Industry, 1933-1941 (Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1986). The best overview of this literature is Robert H. Zieger, "Textile Workers and Historians," in Zieger, ed., Organized Labor in the Twentieth-Century South, 35-59.
13. Examples of this literature include, Jacquelyn Dowd Hall, et al., Like a Family: The-Making of a Southern Cotton Mill World (Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1987); Barbara S. Griffith, The Crisis of American Labor: Operation Dixie and the Defeat of the CIO (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1988); Gary M. Fink, The Fulton Bag and Cotton Mills Strike of 1914-1915: Espionage, Labor Conflict, and New South Industrial Relations (Ithaca, NY: ILR Press, 1993); David L. Carlton, Mill and Town in South Carolina, 1880-1920 (Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press, 1982); I. A. Newby, Plain Folk in the New South: Social Change and Cultural Persistence, 1880-1915 (Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press, 1989); James A. Hodges, New Deal Labor Policy and the Southern Cotton Textile Industry, 1933-1941 (Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1986). The best overview of this literature is Robert H. Zieger, "Textile Workers and Historians," in Zieger, ed., Organized Labor in the Twentieth-Century South, 35-59.
14. Examples of this literature include, Jacquelyn Dowd Hall, et al., Like a Family: The-Making of a Southern Cotton Mill World (Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1987); Barbara S. Griffith, The Crisis of American Labor: Operation Dixie and the Defeat of the CIO (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1988); Gary M. Fink, The Fulton Bag and Cotton Mills Strike of 1914-1915: Espionage, Labor Conflict, and New South Industrial Relations (Ithaca, NY: ILR Press, 1993); David L. Carlton, Mill and Town in South Carolina, 1880-1920 (Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press, 1982); I. A. Newby, Plain Folk in the New South: Social Change and Cultural Persistence, 1880-1915 (Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press, 1989); James A. Hodges, New Deal Labor Policy and the Southern Cotton Textile Industry, 1933-1941 (Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1986). The best overview of this literature is Robert H. Zieger, "Textile Workers and Historians," in Zieger, ed., Organized Labor in the Twentieth-Century South, 35-59.
15. Examples of this literature include, Jacquelyn Dowd Hall, et al., Like a Family: The-Making of a Southern Cotton Mill World (Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1987); Barbara S. Griffith, The Crisis of American Labor: Operation Dixie and the Defeat of the CIO (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1988); Gary M. Fink, The Fulton Bag and Cotton Mills Strike of 1914-1915: Espionage, Labor Conflict, and New South Industrial Relations (Ithaca, NY: ILR Press, 1993); David L. Carlton, Mill and Town in South Carolina, 1880-1920 (Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press, 1982); I. A. Newby, Plain Folk in the New South: Social Change and Cultural Persistence, 1880-1915 (Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press, 1989); James A. Hodges, New Deal Labor Policy and the Southern Cotton Textile Industry, 1933-1941 (Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1986). The best overview of this literature is Robert H. Zieger, "Textile Workers and Historians," in Zieger, ed., Organized Labor in the Twentieth-Century South, 35-59.
16. Examples of this literature include, Jacquelyn Dowd Hall, et al., Like a Family: The-Making of a Southern Cotton Mill World (Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1987); Barbara S. Griffith, The Crisis of American Labor: Operation Dixie and the Defeat of the CIO (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1988); Gary M. Fink, The Fulton Bag and Cotton Mills Strike of 1914-1915: Espionage, Labor Conflict, and New South Industrial Relations (Ithaca, NY: ILR Press, 1993); David L. Carlton, Mill and Town in South Carolina, 1880-1920 (Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press, 1982); I. A. Newby, Plain Folk in the New South: Social Change and Cultural Persistence, 1880-1915 (Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press, 1989); James A. Hodges, New Deal Labor Policy and the Southern Cotton Textile Industry, 1933-1941 (Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1986). The best overview of this literature is Robert H. Zieger, "Textile Workers and Historians," in Zieger, ed., Organized Labor in the Twentieth-Century South, 35-59.
17. Among the works that do cover the post-war period are Timothy J. Minchin, What Do We Need A Union For?: The TWUA in the South, 1945-1955 (Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1997); Douglas Flamming, Creating the Modern South: Millhands and Managers in Dalton, Georgia, 1884-1984 (Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1992). Although Flamming's work does cover the integration years, it does not cover racial integration because the mill it studies, Crown Cotton Mills, "never hired a black person for any kind of job. Ever.", xxx.
18. Among the works that do cover the post-war period are Timothy J. Minchin, What Do We Need A Union For?: The TWUA in the South, 1945-1955 (Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1997); Douglas Flamming, Creating the Modern South: Millhands and Managers in Dalton, Georgia, 1884-1984 (Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1992). Although Flamming's work does cover the integration years, it does not cover racial integration because the mill it studies, Crown Cotton Mills, "never hired a black person for any kind of job. Ever.", xxx.
19. Gavin Wright, "Economic Consequences of the Southern Protest Movement," in Armstead L., Robinson and Patricia Sullivan, eds., New Directions in Civil Rights Studies (Charlottesville, VA: University Press of Virginia, 1991), 175-183, quote on 178-179. The integration is also treated in an overview article by Frederickson, "Four Decades of Change," 62-82. Frederickson cites Rowan's view that the black influx represented a "virtual revolution in employment in the southern textile plants" on 71. The second quote is Frederickson's own observation and is also on 71. Books based on oral history also have some interview material on black textile workers. See especially Victoria Byerly, Hard Times Cotton Mill Girls: Personal Histories of Womanhood and Poverty in the South (Ithaca, NY: ILR Press, 1986), esp. 125-160; Mimi Conway, Rise, Gonna Rise: A Portrait of Southern Textile Workers (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1979), esp. 90-128.
20. Gavin Wright, "Economic Consequences of the Southern Protest Movement," in Armstead L., Robinson and Patricia Sullivan, eds., New Directions in Civil Rights Studies (Charlottesville, VA: University Press of Virginia, 1991), 175-183, quote on 178-179. The integration is also treated in an overview article by Frederickson, "Four Decades of Change," 62-82. Frederickson cites Rowan's view that the black influx represented a "virtual revolution in employment in the southern textile plants" on 71. The second quote is Frederickson's own observation and is also on 71. Books based on oral history also have some interview material on black textile workers. See especially Victoria Byerly, Hard Times Cotton Mill Girls: Personal Histories of Womanhood and Poverty in the South (Ithaca, NY: ILR Press, 1986), esp. 125-160; Mimi Conway, Rise, Gonna Rise: A Portrait of Southern Textile Workers (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1979), esp. 90-128.
21. Gavin Wright, "Economic Consequences of the Southern Protest Movement," in Armstead L., Robinson and Patricia Sullivan, eds., New Directions in Civil Rights Studies (Charlottesville, VA: University Press of Virginia, 1991), 175-183, quote on 178-179. The integration is also treated in an overview article by Frederickson, "Four Decades of Change," 62-82. Frederickson cites Rowan's view that the black influx represented a "virtual revolution in employment in the southern textile plants" on 71. The second quote is Frederickson's own observation and is also on 71. Books based on oral history also have some interview material on black textile workers. See especially Victoria Byerly, Hard Times Cotton Mill Girls: Personal Histories of Womanhood and Poverty in the South (Ithaca, NY: ILR Press, 1986), esp. 125-160; Mimi Conway, Rise, Gonna Rise: A Portrait of Southern Textile Workers (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1979), esp. 90-128.
22. Gavin Wright, "Economic Consequences of the Southern Protest Movement," in Armstead L., Robinson and Patricia Sullivan, eds., New Directions in Civil Rights Studies (Charlottesville, VA: University Press of Virginia, 1991), 175-183, quote on 178-179. The integration is also treated in an overview article by Frederickson, "Four Decades of Change," 62-82. Frederickson cites Rowan's view that the black influx represented a "virtual revolution in employment in the southern textile plants" on 71. The second quote is Frederickson's own observation and is also on 71. Books based on oral history also have some interview material on black textile workers. See especially Victoria Byerly, Hard Times Cotton Mill Girls: Personal Histories of Womanhood and Poverty in the South (Ithaca, NY: ILR Press, 1986), esp. 125-160; Mimi Conway, Rise, Gonna Rise: A Portrait of Southern Textile Workers (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1979), esp. 90-128.
23. Reese Cleghorn, "The Mill: A Giant Step for the Southern Negro," The New York Times Magazine, Nov. 9, 1969, 35; "Negroes Gain Foothold in South's Mills," The New York Times, Jan. 12, 1969, F17; "Textile Plants in South Now Woo Negro Workers Seeking Better Jobs," The New York Times, May 19, 1969, 42; "Blacks in the Mills," Newsweek, Nov. 2, 1970, 50; Henry P. Leifermann, "Trouble in the South's First Industry: The Unions are Coming," The New York Times Magazine, Aug. 5, 1973, 26.
24. Reese Cleghorn, "The Mill: A Giant Step for the Southern Negro," The New York Times Magazine, Nov. 9, 1969, 35; "Negroes Gain Foothold in South's Mills," The New York Times, Jan. 12, 1969, F17; "Textile Plants in South Now Woo Negro Workers Seeking Better Jobs," The New York Times, May 19, 1969, 42; "Blacks in the Mills," Newsweek, Nov. 2, 1970, 50; Henry P. Leifermann, "Trouble in the South's First Industry: The Unions are Coming," The New York Times Magazine, Aug. 5, 1973, 26.
25. Reese Cleghorn, "The Mill: A Giant Step for the Southern Negro," The New York Times Magazine, Nov. 9, 1969, 35; "Negroes Gain Foothold in South's Mills," The New York Times, Jan. 12, 1969, F17; "Textile Plants in South Now Woo Negro Workers Seeking Better Jobs," The New York Times, May 19, 1969, 42; "Blacks in the Mills," Newsweek, Nov. 2, 1970, 50; Henry P. Leifermann, "Trouble in the South's First Industry: The Unions are Coming," The New York Times Magazine, Aug. 5, 1973, 26.
26. Reese Cleghorn, "The Mill: A Giant Step for the Southern Negro," The New York Times Magazine, Nov. 9, 1969, 35; "Negroes Gain Foothold in South's Mills," The New York Times, Jan. 12, 1969, F17; "Textile Plants in South Now Woo Negro Workers Seeking Better Jobs," The New York Times, May 19, 1969, 42; "Blacks in the Mills," Newsweek, Nov. 2, 1970, 50; Henry P. Leifermann, "Trouble in the South's First Industry: The Unions are Coming," The New York Times Magazine, Aug. 5, 1973, 26.
27. Reese Cleghorn, "The Mill: A Giant Step for the Southern Negro," The New York Times Magazine, Nov. 9, 1969, 35; "Negroes Gain Foothold in South's Mills," The New York Times, Jan. 12, 1969, F17; "Textile Plants in South Now Woo Negro Workers Seeking Better Jobs," The New York Times, May 19, 1969, 42; "Blacks in the Mills," Newsweek, Nov. 2, 1970, 50; Henry P. Leifermann, "Trouble in the South's First Industry: The Unions are Coming," The New York Times Magazine, Aug. 5, 1973, 26.
28. Rowan, "The Negro in the Textile Industry," 132.
29. The only detailed information about a black pioneer that the author is aware of is an oral history interview in Byerly, Hard Times Cotton Mill Girls, 143-160. Frederickson's article provides an overview of integration, while Rowan's focus is essentially on the reasons for the shift in management thinking rather than exploring the experiences of black workers.
30. Hall et al., Like A Family, 66; Rowan, "The Negro in the Textile Industry," 54.
31. Hall et al., Like A Family, 66; Rowan, "The Negro in the Textile Industry," 54.
32. Sammy Glover interview with author on Feb. 2, 1996 in Andalusia, Alabama.
33. Samuel Alston interview with author on Feb. 9, 1996 in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina.
34. Jacob Little interview with author on Jan. 18, 1996 in Columbus, Georgia.
35. Deposition of Donald R. Aichner, Sep. 19, 1973, Adams et al. v Dan River Mills, 72-73, legal records held at the Federal Records Center in Philadelphia, hereafter cited as FRC-Philadelphia; Rowan, "The Negro in the Textile Industry," 15.
36. West Point Pepperell visit, July 14, 1969, Folder 18, Box 13, Wharton School Papers.
37. Fulton Cotton Mills visit, June 3, 1969, Folder 18, Box 13, Wharton School Papers.
38. DuPont visit, May 16, 1969, Folder 75, Box 12, Wharton School Papers.
39. Employer Experiences in Dublin, Georgia, Folder 57, Box 13, Wharton School Papers.
40. Order on Final Pre-Trial Conference, Sep. 28, 1978, Seibles v Cone Mills, 2, legal records held at the Federal Records Center in East Point, Georgia, hereafter cited as FRC-East Point.
41. EEOC Charge Form of Edward Price, Mar. 26, 1968, EEOC v Graniteville Company, FRC-East Point.
42. Deposition of Henry Wilson, Feb. 10, 1970, Adams et al. v Dan River Mills, 13-14, FRC-Philadelphia. Robert Ford, a TEAM representative, also found separate bathrooms at a textile company in Greenville, SC in Sep., 1968. Robert Ford, Four Months Activity Report, Sep. 1968, Reel 163, Southern Regional Council Papers, held on microfilm at the National Archives-Manuscript Division, hereafter cited as Southern Regional Council Papers. TEAM also found "de facto segregation in rest rooms" at Ace Sweater Company in Union County, SC in 1968. See Minutes of TEAM Meeting, Aug. 28, 1968, Reel 163, Southern Regional Council Papers, 4. In an NLRB case against J.P. Stevens in 1966, the trial examiner severely condemned the practice of the company of maintaining segregated toilet facilities which was revealed at the hearing. Statement of the Textile Workers Union of America at the Textile Employment Forum, Jan. 12-13, 1967, Box 316, Textile Workers Union of America Papers, 4, held at the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, Madison, hereafter cited as TWUA Papers.
43. Deposition of Henry Wilson, Feb. 10, 1970, Adams et al. v Dan River Mills, 13-14, FRC-Philadelphia. Robert Ford, a TEAM representative, also found separate bathrooms at a textile company in Greenville, SC in Sep., 1968. Robert Ford, Four Months Activity Report, Sep. 1968, Reel 163, Southern Regional Council Papers, held on microfilm at the National Archives-Manuscript Division, hereafter cited as Southern Regional Council Papers. TEAM also found "de facto segregation in rest rooms" at Ace Sweater Company in Union County, SC in 1968. See Minutes of TEAM Meeting, Aug. 28, 1968, Reel 163, Southern Regional Council Papers, 4. In an NLRB case against J.P. Stevens in 1966, the trial examiner severely condemned the practice of the company of maintaining segregated toilet facilities which was revealed at the hearing. Statement of the Textile Workers Union of America at the Textile Employment Forum, Jan. 12-13, 1967, Box 316, Textile Workers Union of America Papers, 4, held at the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, Madison, hereafter cited as TWUA Papers.
44. Deposition of Henry Wilson, Feb. 10, 1970, Adams et al. v Dan River Mills, 13-14, FRC-Philadelphia. Robert Ford, a TEAM representative, also found separate bathrooms at a textile company in Greenville, SC in Sep., 1968. Robert Ford, Four Months Activity Report, Sep. 1968, Reel 163, Southern Regional Council Papers, held on microfilm at the National Archives-Manuscript Division, hereafter cited as Southern Regional Council Papers. TEAM also found "de facto segregation in rest rooms" at Ace Sweater Company in Union County, SC in 1968. See Minutes of TEAM Meeting, Aug. 28, 1968, Reel 163, Southern Regional Council Papers, 4. In an NLRB case against J.P. Stevens in 1966, the trial examiner severely condemned the practice of the company of maintaining segregated toilet facilities which was revealed at the hearing. Statement of the Textile Workers Union of America at the Textile Employment Forum, Jan. 12-13, 1967, Box 316, Textile Workers Union of America Papers, 4, held at the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, Madison, hereafter cited as TWUA Papers.
45. Willie Long interview with author on Jan. 18, 1996 in Columbus, Georgia.
46. Celanese Plant Visit, July 28-29, 1969, Folder 18, Box 13, Wharton School Papers.
47. "Powerful C. A. Cannon Rules Kannapolis But He Faces Challenge," Wall Street Journal, April 29, 1969, clipping in Folder 46, Box 13, Wharton School Papers.
48. Joe Gaines interview with author on Jan. 25, 1996 in Opelika, Alabama.
49. James McGhee interview with author on Feb. 2, 1996 in Andalusia, Alabama.
50. Local Union Questionnaire, White Oak Local 1391, Folder 11, Box 1277, Emory Via Papers, held at the Southern Labor Archives at Georgia State University in Atlanta, hereafter cited as Via Papers.
51. Answers to Defendant's First Interrogatories to Plaintiff, May 31, 1977, Foster v Fieldcrest, 2-3, FRC-East Point; Robert H. Foster to Harris A. Williams of EEOC, Nov. 20, 1975, Foster v Fieldcrest, FRC-East Point.
52. Similar resistance to an African-American being promoted to a weaving position was the subject of Lindsay v Cone Mills. See, for example, Geraldine Lindsay to the EEOC, Jan. 3, 1974, Lindsay v Cone Mills, FRC-East Point.
53. Willie Long interview with author on Jan. 18, 1996 in Columbus, Georgia.
54. James Johnson interview with author on April 1, 1996 in Andrews, South Carolina.
55. "A Consultation on the South: The Ethical Demands of Integration," Dec. 27-29, 1962, folder marked "Merit Employment Program Conference: Ethical Demands of Integration," Box marked "South Eastern Regional Office, 1960 to 1962," American Friends Service Committee Papers, held at the American Friends Service Committee Center in Philadelphia, hereafter cited as AFSC Papers.
56. In Ellison et al. v Rock Hill Printing and Finishing Company, for example, one of the major complaints was that the company maintained departments that were "segregated on a basis of race, so that when employees are hired, assigned, promoted, or demoted, they are placed in a job that, is either a 'white job' or 'Negro job.'" In Ellison, African-American workers described their jobs as "black" jobs and claimed that the company still did not want them to move into "white" jobs. Lead plaintiff Leroy Ellison testified in 1973 that, "blacks were and are still doing what has been done as all black jobs. They have what they have called the white jobs and they are still being operated by white." Ellison claimed that the company was "still sending too many blacks to predominantly black jobs," Complaint, Mar. 3, 1972, Ellison et al. v Rock Hill Printing and Finishing Company, 5, FRC-East Point; Deposition of Leroy Ellison, Aug. 17, 1972, Ellison et al. v Rock Hill Printing and Finishing Company, 25, FRC-East Point.
57. Discriminatory seniority systems were a major issue in several cases. In the class action case of Sledge et al. v J.P. Stevens, the company's attorney Whiteford Blakeney gave a good description of the way that departmental seniority often proved to be discriminatory for black workers in non-production departments, "the blacks, say, were in a warehouse, a heavy number of blacks in a warehouse. That's a low-paying job. The blacks had a right to leave the warehouse and seek another opening in another department, but he would lose seniority if he went over there. Therefore, it was a handicap on him to get out of the warehouse. If he went somewhere else in another department, he would go in there without any seniority; and therefore, departmental seniority was a disadvantage to him in the sense of mobility," In Ellison et al. v Rock Hill Printing and Finishing Company, one of the main issues between the two sides was a departmental seniority system that hindered black promotion into production departments from the all-black shipping department. The plaintiffs' lawyer noted in 1980 that both the company and union had continually fought to maintain a departmental seniority system as "something sacred." Hearing of Feb. 24, 1976, Sledge et al v J.P. Stevens, 58-59, legal records held at the United States District Court, for the eastern district of North Carolina in Raleigh, hereafter cited as U.S. District Court-Raleigh; Jonathan Wallas to Robert W. Hemphill, Oct. 1 5, 1980, Ellison et al. v Rock Hill Printing and Finishing Company, FRC-East Point.
58. Deposition of Leroy Ellison, Oct. 31, 1973, Ellison el al. v Rock Hill Printing and Finishing Company, 9-20, FRC-East Point.
59. Fletcher Beck interview with author on Jan. 29, 1996 in Rock Hill, South Carolina.
60. Bench Brief, nd; Complaint, May 25, 1979; Affidavit of Norman Youngblood, June 29,1979, Youngblood v Rock Hill Printing and finishing Company, FRC-East Point.
61. Deposition of A. C. Sherrill, Mar. 18, 1974, Sherrill et al. v J.P. Stevens, 93-98, 104, FRC-East Point.
62. Plaintiffs' Proposed Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, Feb. 18, 1975, Sherrill et al. v J.P. Stevens, 17, FRC-East Point.
63. Plaintiffs' Proposed Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, Feb. 18, 1975, Sherrill et al. v J.P. Stevens, 17, FRC-East Point; Deposition of A.C. Sherrill, March 18, 1974, Sherrill et al. v J.P. Stevens, 58, 116-117, FRC-East Point.
64. ACTWU stood for the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers' Union. It was formed in 1976 when the Textile Workers' Union of America (TWUA) merged with the Amalgamated Clothing Workers' Union. A further merger with the Needletrades' Union in 1995 saw ACTWU change its name to UNITE (Union of Needletrades, Industrial, and Textile Employees).
65. Joe Gaines interview with author on Jan. 25, 1996 in Opelika, Alabama.
66. Clinton Davis interview with author on Jan. 19, 1996 in Columbus, Georgia.
67. At J.P. Stevens' plants in Roanoke Rapids, veteran black worker Sammy Alston recalled that "a lot of them (i.e. whites) quit" when blacks began to be hired in larger numbers in the late 1960s. Sammy Alston interview with author on Feb. 9, 1996 in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina.
68. George Waldrep interview with author on July 24, 1995 in Summerfield, North Carolina.
69. Celanese plant visit, July 28-29, 1969, Folder 18, Box 13, Wharton School Papers.
70. George Waldrep interview with author on July 24, 1995 in Summerfield, North Carolina.
71. At Pacific Mills in Columbia, South Carolina, for example, it was reported that "one colored man's coat was torn up" when the first black workers were hired in the plant in 1962. H.S. Williams to William Pollock, Jan. 2, 1962, Series 3, Box 316, TWUA Papers.
72. Deposition of James Montgomery, Mar. 11 1970, Adams et al. v Dan River, 20, FRC-Philadelphia.
73. Complaint, Dec. 1, 1976, Harris v Golden Belt Manufacturing Company, 3, FRC-East Point.
74. Joann W. Calhoun to Mr Foster, nd, Lewis et al. v Bloomsburg Mills, FRC-East Point.
75. Transcript of EEOC Textile Employment Forum Proceedings, Jan. 12-13, 1967, Part 2, Reel 2, LBJ Papers, 6, 22-23.
76. As one black woman in the textile town of Kannapolis, North Carolina, remembered, "Most of the white people in Kannapolis didn't clean their houses. That was what black women were for. That was how black women would get their income, how they survived." Katie Geneva Cannon interviewed in Byerly, Hard Times, 38-39.
77. B.J. Gordon interview with author on April 11, 1996 in Andrews, South Carolina.
78. Deposition of Tom Waters, April 24, 1968, U.S. v Southern Weaving, 19-20, FRC-East Point; Deposition of Fred Cisson, Feb. 26, 1968, U.S. v Southern Weaving, 79, FRC-East Point.
79. Deposition of Miles Luckey, Oct. 24, 1973, Sherill et al. v J.P. Stevens, 7, 10, 16-30, 34, FRC-East Point.
80. EEOC Review Report for Russell Mills, Mar. 13, 1968, Folder 3, Box 14, Wharton School Papers.
81. Robert Lincks interview with author on July 17, 1995 in Greensboro, North Carolina.
82. Riegel plant visit, June 30, 1969, Folder 18, Box 13, Wharton School Papers; "The New South: Negroes in the Textile Industry," Daily News Record, Dec. 1, 1965, clipping in Box 652, TWUA Papers.
83. "The New South: Negroes in the Textile Industry," Daily News Record, Dec. 1, 1965, clipping in Box 652, TWUA Papers.
84. Corinne Lyttle Cannon interview with author on Mar. 11, 1996 in Kannapolis, North Carolina.
85. Blanche and Kay Willis interview, tape G8/G9, pp. 1, 8, Uprising of '34 Papers, held at the Southern Labor Archives, Georgia State University, Atlanta.
86. Robert Lincks interview with author on July 17, 1995 in Greensboro, North Carolina.
87. At the Alatex company in Andalusia, Alabama, Gladys Trawick, the first black woman hired into a production job in 1965, felt that she was chosen because she had worked as a waitress at the Rotary Club where mill executives frequently went. As she had catered to "the most elite crowds" they all knew her by name. Miss Trawick also felt that the three other women selected to go into the mill with her were chosen for their family backgrounds and community reputation: "All four of us that was picked was people that went to church, and had family backgrounds that was good in all four of us." Like other female pioneers, all four Alatex women were asked if they wanted a job rather than applying to the company first. Similar stories emerge from other female pioneers across the South. Gladys Trawick interview with author on Feb. 2, 1996 in Andalusia, Alabama; Louise Peddaway interview with author on July 20, 1995 in Tarboro, North Carolina; Bobbie Harrison interview with author on Feb. 3, 1996 in Columbus, Georgia.
88. Walter N. Rozelle, "The Mill and the Negro: Let's Tell It Like It Is," Textile Industries, Nov. 1968, 61.
89. Noyes Collinson to Tant Bell, April 18, 1962, "Southern Program High Point-Atlanta Employment on Merit," folder, Box labelled "Community Relations 1962 Southern Program," AFSC Papers.
90. Gladys Trawick interview with author on Feb. 1996 in Andalusia, Alabama; B.J. Gordon interview with author on April 11, 1996 in Andrews, South Carolina; Bobbie Hamson interview with author on Feb. 3, 1996 in Columbus, Georgia; Blanche and Kay Willis interview, Uprising of '34 Papers, tape G8/G9, 5, held at the Southern Labor Archives at Georgia State University in Atlanta.
91. Nick Builder interview with author on Feb. 5, 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia; B.J. Gordon interview with author on April 11, 1996 in Andrews, South Carolina. Similarly, in Andalusia, Alabama, Gladys Trawick remembered that the company picked the "bravest" women to be pioneers. Gladys Trawick interview with author on Feb. 2, 1996 in Andalusia, Alabama.
92. Sarah Herbin to E.T. Kehrer, Feb. 3, 1967, Folder 10, Box 2857, AFL-CIO Southern Area Civil Rights Department Papers, held at Southern Labor Archives, Georgia State University, Atlanta.
93. Charlotte Observer, July 7, 1968.
94. At Oneita Knitting Mills in Andrews, South Carolina, for example, several of the first African-American women hired into production positions had attended college. B.J. Gordon interview with author on April 11, 1996 in Andrews, South Carolina.
95. Sarah Herbin to Jean Fairfax, April 18, 1963, "Southern Program High Point Employment on Merit 1963", folder, Box labelled "Community Relations Division 1963 Southern Program," AFSC Papers; Sarah Herbin to Jean Fairfax, Sep. 25, 1962, "Southern Program: High Point Employment on Merit 1962," folder, Box labelled "Community Relations 1962 Southern Program," AFSC Papers.
96. Transcript of EEOC Textile Employment Forum, 24, 36-37, 43, Jan. 12-13, 1967, Part 2, Reel 2, LBJ Papers.
97. Robinson was the first black major league baseball player, and in order to enter the majors in 1947 he had to be an exceptional talent. Indeed, Robinson proved that he was better than most whites, leading the National League batting averages in 1949 and entering the illustrious Hall of Fame in 1962. The Jackie Robinson story was to be used repeatedly as a metaphor by those who remembered the integration of the southern textile industry. The Baseball Encyclopaedia: The Complete and Official Record of Major League Baseball (New York: MacMillan Publishing Co., 1974), 157-158, 752.
98. Robert Lincks interview with author on July 17, 1995 in Greensboro, North Carolina.
99. Sarah Herbin's remarks at EEOC Textile Forum, sent to E. T. Kehrer, Feb. 3, 1967, Folder 10, Box 2857, AFL-CIO Southern Area Civil Rights Department Papers.
100. Jettie Purnell interview with author on Feb. 9, 1996 in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina; Lucy Sledge quoted in Mimi Conway, Rise Gonna Rise: A Portrait of Southern Textile Workers (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1979), 109.
101. Bennett Taylor interview with author on Feb. 9, 1996 in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina.
102. Rick Halpern, "Organized labour, black workers and the twentieth century South: the emerging revision," Social History, 19 (1994), 359-383; Daniel Letwin, "Interracial Unionism, Gender, and 'Social Equality' in the Alabama Coalfields, 1878-1908." Journal of Southern History, 61 (1995) 519-554; Eric Arnesen, "'Like Banquo's Ghost, It Will Not Down': The Race Question and the American Railroad Brotherhoods, 1880-1920," The American Historical Review, 99 (1994), 1601-1633.
103. Rick Halpern, "Organized labour, black workers and the twentieth century South: the emerging revision," Social History, 19 (1994), 359-383; Daniel Letwin, "Interracial Unionism, Gender, and 'Social Equality' in the Alabama Coalfields, 1878-1908." Journal of Southern History, 61 (1995) 519-554; Eric Arnesen, "'Like Banquo's Ghost, It Will Not Down': The Race Question and the American Railroad Brotherhoods, 1880-1920," The American Historical Review, 99 (1994), 1601-1633.
104. Rick Halpern, "Organized labour, black workers and the twentieth century South: the emerging revision," Social History, 19 (1994), 359-383; Daniel Letwin, "Interracial Unionism, Gender, and 'Social Equality' in the Alabama Coalfields, 1878-1908." Journal of Southern History, 61 (1995) 519-554; Eric Arnesen, "'Like Banquo's Ghost, It Will Not Down': The Race Question and the American Railroad Brotherhoods, 1880-1920," The American Historical Review, 99 (1994), 1601-1633.
105. Much of the scholarship has concentrated on the packinghouse and steel industries. See, for example, Judith Stein, "Southern Workers in National Unions: Birmingham Steelworkers, 1936-1951," in Zieger, ed., Organized Labor, 183-222; James R. Barrett, Life and Work in the Jungle: Chicago's Packinghouse Workers 1894-1922 (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1987); Robert J. Norrell, "Caste in Steel: Jim Crow Careers in Birmingham, Alabama," Journal of American History, 73 (1986), 669-694; Bruce Nelson, "Organized Labor and the Struggle for Black Equality in Mobile during World War II," Journal of American History, 80 (1993), 952-988; Rick Halpern, "Interracial Unionism in the Southwest: Fort Worth's Packinghouse Workers, 1937-1954," in Zieger, ed., Organized Labor, 158-182.
106. Much of the scholarship has concentrated on the packinghouse and steel industries. See, for example, Judith Stein, "Southern Workers in National Unions: Birmingham Steelworkers, 1936-1951," in Zieger, ed., Organized Labor, 183-222; James R. Barrett, Life and Work in the Jungle: Chicago's Packinghouse Workers 1894-1922 (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1987); Robert J. Norrell, "Caste in Steel: Jim Crow Careers in Birmingham, Alabama," Journal of American History, 73 (1986), 669-694; Bruce Nelson, "Organized Labor and the Struggle for Black Equality in Mobile during World War II," Journal of American History, 80 (1993), 952-988; Rick Halpern, "Interracial Unionism in the Southwest: Fort Worth's Packinghouse Workers, 1937-1954," in Zieger, ed., Organized Labor, 158-182.
107. Much of the scholarship has concentrated on the packinghouse and steel industries. See, for example, Judith Stein, "Southern Workers in National Unions: Birmingham Steelworkers, 1936-1951," in Zieger, ed., Organized Labor, 183-222; James R. Barrett, Life and Work in the Jungle: Chicago's Packinghouse Workers 1894-1922 (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1987); Robert J. Norrell, "Caste in Steel: Jim Crow Careers in Birmingham, Alabama," Journal of American History, 73 (1986), 669-694; Bruce Nelson, "Organized Labor and the Struggle for Black Equality in Mobile during World War II," Journal of American History, 80 (1993), 952-988; Rick Halpern, "Interracial Unionism in the Southwest: Fort Worth's Packinghouse Workers, 1937-1954," in Zieger, ed., Organized Labor, 158-182.
108. Much of the scholarship has concentrated on the packinghouse and steel industries. See, for example, Judith Stein, "Southern Workers in National Unions: Birmingham Steelworkers, 1936-1951," in Zieger, ed., Organized Labor, 183-222; James R. Barrett, Life and Work in the Jungle: Chicago's Packinghouse Workers 1894-1922 (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1987); Robert J. Norrell, "Caste in Steel: Jim Crow Careers in Birmingham, Alabama," Journal of American History, 73 (1986), 669-694; Bruce Nelson, "Organized Labor and the Struggle for Black Equality in Mobile during World War II," Journal of American History, 80 (1993), 952-988; Rick Halpern, "Interracial Unionism in the Southwest: Fort Worth's Packinghouse Workers, 1937-1954," in Zieger, ed., Organized Labor, 158-182.
109. Much of the scholarship has concentrated on the packinghouse and steel industries. See, for example, Judith Stein, "Southern Workers in National Unions: Birmingham Steelworkers, 1936-1951," in Zieger, ed., Organized Labor, 183-222; James R. Barrett, Life and Work in the Jungle: Chicago's Packinghouse Workers 1894-1922 (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1987); Robert J. Norrell, "Caste in Steel: Jim Crow Careers in Birmingham, Alabama," Journal of American History, 73 (1986), 669-694; Bruce Nelson, "Organized Labor and the Struggle for Black Equality in Mobile during World War II," Journal of American History, 80 (1993), 952-988; Rick Halpern, "Interracial Unionism in the Southwest: Fort Worth's Packinghouse Workers, 1937-1954," in Zieger, ed., Organized Labor, 158-182.
110. Southern Union Staff Training Seminar, nd, Folder 19, Box 1278, Via Papers.
111. At the Granite Local of Cone Mills in Haw River, North Carolina, it was reported that, "There is a strong Citizen's Council.... Some of our members and many nonmembers belong to this organization." A picture of Walter Reuther donating money to the NAACP had caused an "uproar" among the local's members and had led to mass resignations. Local Union Questionnaire, Granite Local 1113, Folder 11, Box 1277, Via Papers.
112. "Citizens' Council Leader Urges Law, Not Violence," Rock Hill Evening Herald, Feb. 17, 1960, 1.
113. David Terry to H.S. Williams, April 24, 1961, Box 638, TWUA Papers.
114. Bruce Raynor interview with author on July 28, 1995 in Greensboro, North Carolina; Joan Carter interview with author on Nov. 20, 1995 in Atlanta, Georgia.
115. In 1970, TWUA Southern Director Paul Swaity sent a detailed memo to union president William Pollock describing how "The climate for organizing textile workers in the south is better today than it's been since the early '40s." Swaity explained that the mood in the industry was very favorable to organization largely due to the entry of black workers. These black workers saw union activity as an extension of the civil rights movement, "The black workers pride themselves on what they've achieved through unity and confrontation in the civil rights field. They know these same techniques are applicable to economic progress. Their attitude to a union is, therefore, generally favorable." Paul Swaity to President Pollock, June 9, 1970, Box 652, TWUA Papers.
116. UNITE! is the name now given to the main union in the textile field. It stands for Union of Needletrades, Industrial, and Textile Employees. It was formed in 1995 following a merger of the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers' Union (ACTWU) and the Needletrades' Union.
117. Bruce Raynor interview with author on July 28, 1995 in Greensboro, North Carolina.
118. Organizers wrote from a campaign to organize a J.P. Stevens plant in Goldsboro, North Carolina, for example, that "Co. spread rumors of black unionism." Stevens indeed used this tactic in all the campaigns. "J.P. Stevens Workers Meeting," June 27, 1978, Box 46, Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers' Union-Southern Regional Office Papers, held at the Southern Labor Archives, Georgia State University, Atlanta, hereafter cited as ACTWU-SRO Papers.
119. At Fieldcrest Mills in Columbus, Georgia, workers remembered the racial divisions that occurred when the union tried to organize in the 1970s. Ollie Seals, a black pro-union worker, remembered that the supporters of the union were predominantly black, while very few whites were willing to join. White workers "would often speak their opinions, sometimes they would say, 'well it's a black union, that I don't see nothing but black people in this department that is in die union.'" Ollie Seals interview with author on Jan. 24, 1996 in Columbus, Georgia.
120. Testimony of the Textile Workers Union of America before the House of Representatives Committee on Education and Labor, Subcommittee on Labor-Management Relations, Mar. 15, 1976, copy in Box 51, ACTWU-SRO Papers, 5; Paul Swaity to Charles Buff, Feb. 21, 1974, Box 22, ACTWU-SRO Papers.
121. Ed McConville, "Two Years After Union 'Victory': The Southern Textile War," Nation, Oct. 2, 1976, 294-299, quote on 295-296.
122. "Current Campaign Status, November 6, 1978," Box 48, ACTWU-SRO Papers. From a Stevens campaign in Montgomery, Alabama, it was reported in an organizing probe that around 60% of the mill was black, but there were "still a relatively large number of older white females that would prove our weakest point." W.E. South to Harold McIver, July 27, 1973, Box 22, ACTWU-SRO Papers.
123. ACTWU Staff Organizers' Weekly Report for Vonnie Mines, week ending Oct. 14, 1978, Box 56, ACTWU-SRO Papers.
124. Thus, Wallace Hines wrote that the union campaign was faltering because the vast majority of supporters were black, while white workers refused to join: "We are still having trouble getting the whites involved.... Most of the 125 cards we have signed are from the black workers. We still have some departments that don't have a committee person." ACTWU Staff Organizers' Weekly Report for Vonnie Mines, week ending Aug. 23, 1980, and Oct. 25, 1980, Box 50, ACTWU-SRO Papers.
125. ACTWU Staff Organizers' Weekly Report for Robert Ross, week ending May 10, 1980, Box 55, ACTWU-SRO Papers.
126. Mel Tate, "Using Social Services to Build a Local Union in Tifton and Milledgville," Box 48, ACTWU-SRO Papers.
127. White worker Donald Tifton quoted in "Special Issue Southern Textile Workers," Mountain Life and Work, Sep. 1978, 13, copy in Box 58, ACTWU-SRO Papers.
128. NiCk Builder interview with author on Feb. 5, 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia.
129. Reese Cleghorn, "The Mill: A Giant Step for the Southern Negro," The New York Times Magazine, Nov. 9, 1969, 142.
130. Paul Swaity to President Pollock, June 29, 1970, Box 652, TWUA Papers.
131. Peter Brandon, "A History of the Cone Textile Strike," in Reel 163, Southern Regional Council Papers, p. 1.
132. One militant white worker interviewed in 1974 in Carrboro, North Carolina felt that she was "glad" when the civil rights movement came about. She felt that textile workers should begin asserting their rights and uniting in order to win improvements as blacks had done. Valerie Quinney, "Textile Women: Three Generations in The Mill," Southern Exposure, 3 (1976, Part 4), 72.
133. Nick Builder interview with author on Feb. 5, 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia.
134. Nick Builder interview with author on Feb. 5, 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia.
135. Laura Ann Pope interview with author on April 1, 1996 in Andrews, South Carolina; "Fact Sheet for Press: The Oneita Knitting Mills Strike," nd, held in Laura Ann Pope's Personal Papers, copy in author's possession.
136. Carmela McCutchen quoted in "A Talk with the Oneita Strikers," The Call, June 1973, 12-13; Laura Ann Pope interview with author on April 1, 1996 in Andrews, South Carolina.
137. In February 1971, for example, the TWUA reported that workers at Keller Dye and Finish in Rome, Georgia had walked out on strike when the company had fired two leading black union members during contract negotiations. The strike was supported by many white members who were keen to ensure that the contract was renewed successfully. Scott Hoyman to William Pollock, Feb. 24, 1971, Box 90, TWUA Papers.
138. Paul Swaity to President Stetin, April 24, 1974, Box 22, ACTWU-SRO Papers. Workers who had been active in the Roanoke Rapids campaign remembered how damaging racial divisions were. Black worker Jettie Purnell remembered that many white workers refused to support the union because they believed the company's propaganda that it was a pro-black institution, "that's the reason the whites resented the union because they was told that union would elevate black above them, and they believed that ... So that's why they didn't want it to happen." Jettie Purnell interview with author on Feb. 9, 1996 in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina.
139. Bennett Taylor interview with author on Feb. 9, 1996 in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina.
140. Joe Gaines interview with author on Jan. 25, 1996 in Opelika, Alabama.
141. Joe Gaines interview with author on Jan. 25, 1996 in Opelika, Alabama.
142. Builder felt that the message of this story was clear, "What that shows is that people can understand what it's going to take to ally, and it's an alliance rather than a real merger or a single movement, to ally at work in order to get a union and consider that to be a desirable goal even though they may maintain really reactionary attitudes." Nick Builder interview with author on Feb. 5, 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia.
143. Earl Moore interview with author on Feb. 3, 1996 in Columbus, Georgia.
144. Robert B. Lincks interview with author; George Waldrep interview with author; Hoyman quoted in John R. Earle, Dean D. Knudsen, and Donald W. Shriver, Spindles and Spires: A Re-Study of Religion and Social Change in Gastonia (Atlanta: John Knox University Press, 1976), 303.
145. Nick Atkins interview with author on Nov 22, 1995 in Atlanta, Georgia.
146. At a local in Clover, South Carolina, for example, most white members were reported to be strongly opposed to school integration and to be in favor of segregation "in general." At the same time, these white workers were reported to have "strong loyalty" to their local and international union. They would not consider leaving the union over the issue of integration. Blacks were members of the union and relations were said to be good "in problems that arise in the mill." Local Union Questionnaire, Clover Local 1386, Folder 11, Box 1277, Via Papers.
147. Local Union Questionnaire, White Oak Local 1391, Folder 11, Box 1277, Via Papers. Even at TWUA Local 253 in Columbia, South Carolina, the same pattern emerged. This local was one of the most prominent in opposing the union's 1956 resolution condemning citizens' councils. The local's business agent, M.L. Wood, spoke at the convention in opposition to the resolution, claiming that his own wife called him a "nigger-lover" for working for the union. Even in this local, however, whites were reported to have strong loyalty to the international union and to be acceptant of black membership in their local union. 1956 TWUA Convention Proceedings, 162-163; Local Union Questionnaire, Columbia Local 253, Folder 11, Box 1277, Via Papers.
148. As the Southern Regional Council's Emory Via put it, "Many union guys, though white and prejudiced, recognize the practical necessity of guaranteeing bargaining rights, adequate grievance machinery, and equal pay for equal work for their Negro membership." "Comments by Emory Via on his Participation in the ICWU Southern Labor School, Lake Junaluska Assembly, North Carolina, May 19-May 24, 1957," Folder 13, Box 1278, Via Papers.
149. Arnesen, "The Race Question," 1603.
150. Mary Frederickson, in contrast, portrays the integration as meeting no resistance because of firm management action. She argues that by 1969 "the transition was over." Frederickson, "Four Decades of Change," 73.
151. This argument was frequently made by representatives of the American Friends Service Committee, who ran a merit employment program in the South in the 1950s and 1960s. See, for example. Visit to Cone Mills, June 4, 1958, "Merit Employment Program Visits to Businesses, Southeastern Regional Office 1957," folder, Box labelled "Southeastern Regional Office 1957-1959," AFSC Papers.
152. Willie Long interview with author on Jan. 18, 1996 in Columbus, Georgia.