Oral History of Mary Moultrie, William Saunders and Rosetta Simmons, interviewed by Kieran Walsh Taylor, 5 March, 2009
Title
Oral History of Mary Moultrie, William Saunders and Rosetta Simmons, interviewed by Kieran Walsh Taylor, 5 March, 2009
Subject
Description
For over three months in 1969, four hundred African-American hospital workers from the Medical College of South Carolina and Charleston County Hospital walked off their jobs in protest over discrimination and the right to form a union. The state government and hospital boards argued that workers receiving pay from public funds could not engage in collective bargaining. The hospital strikers were mostly women, some of whom earned below the federal minimum wage; white hospital workers performing the same jobs were paid higher. This interview details the experiences of two women involved in the strike, Mary Moultrie and Rosetta Simmons, and a local civil rights activist who helped organize the strike, William Saunders. Moultrie and Simmons describe the working conditions before the strike and their demand for “respect as human beings.” Saunders remembers the racial tension in the city during the strike, detailing threats made by local officials and the false arrests of activists. All three interviewees report that African Americans at the hospital today are “afraid” to push for better pay and working conditions. Saunders also comments on the fact that “nothing is illegal in South Carolina,” referring to the fact that the state continues to deny public sector workers the right to collectively bargain. The session, which took place at the office of the union representing City workers (Local 1199-Charleston), was part of a Citadel graduate course on local history. Citadel history professor Kerry Taylor guided the initial portion of the conversation and various students followed with their own questions. For additional interviews related to the hospital workers strike, visit the Southern Oral History Program collection at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the Avery Research Center at the College of Charleston.
Listen to the audio on the Lowcountry Digital Library
Source
Charleston and the Long Civil Rights Movement
Publisher
The Citadel Archives & Museum
Date
Rights
Materials in The Citadel Archives & Museum Digital Collections are intended for educational and research use. The user assumes all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any claimants of copyright. For more information contact The Citadel Archives & Museum, The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, 29409.
Format
application/pdf
Language
English
Type
Text
Identifier
https://citadeldigitalarchives.omeka.net/items/show/192
Coverage
Charleston (S.C.)
Duration
2 hours, 28 minutes
Interviewer
Kieran Walsh Taylor
Interviewee
Mary Moultrie
William Saunders
Rosetta Simmons
Location
Charleston, South Carolina
Collection
Citation
The Charleston Oral History Program at the Citadel, “Oral History of Mary Moultrie, William Saunders and Rosetta Simmons, interviewed by Kieran Walsh Taylor, 5 March, 2009,” The Citadel Archives Digital Collections, accessed April 27, 2024, https://citadeldigitalarchives.omeka.net/items/show/192.