Oral History of Richard Polite, interviewed by Kieran Walsh Taylor, 10 April, 2009
Title
Oral History of Richard Polite, interviewed by Kieran Walsh Taylor, 10 April, 2009
Subject
Description
Richard Polite was born in Charleston in 1951 and raised on Strawberry Lane before his family moved to Cannon St. near President St. After attending Burke High School, where he played football, Polite served in the U.S. Army and served one tour in Vietnam. In this interview, Polite recalls growing up in segregated Charleston and later working at the Naval Shipyard. He explains why he enjoys the job he has now held for 12 years driving a truck for the City of Charleston’s environmental services department. The job affords him the opportunity to serve and interact with the public. Hazardous working conditions and mismanagement have nevertheless led Polite and many of his coworkers to establish a union this past year. While there is no shortage of dissatisfaction among his coworkers, fear of losing their jobs in a poor economy has kept many of them on the sidelines.
This interview is a part of the COHP’s “Working Charleston” series. Working Charleston documents the on and off job experiences of the longshoremen and lawyers, the bartenders and carriage drivers, hospital aides and high tech workers who make Charleston among the nation’s prime tourist destinations and vital centers of global trade. The digital recordings and transcripts are part of The Citadel Oral History Program Collection at The Citadel Archives & Museum.
Listen to the audio on the Lowcountry Digital Library.
Source
Working Charleston
Charleston City Workers
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/203
Coverage
Charleston (S.C.)
Duration
1 hour, 18 minutes
Interviewer
Kieran Walsh Taylor
Interviewee
Richard Polite
Location
Charleston, South Carolina
Collection
Citation
The Charleston Oral History Program at the Citadel, “Oral History of Richard Polite, interviewed by Kieran Walsh Taylor, 10 April, 2009,” The Citadel Archives Digital Collections, accessed April 29, 2024, https://citadeldigitalarchives.omeka.net/items/show/203.