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"I done twelve, fourteen, and some hours fifteen hundred bags of sugar....Mitchell come to me...'You done so much work.' I said 'Ain't that what you sent me up there to do?' 'Oh yeah. Keep up the good work.'" -Abraham Moses Abraham Moses, born in 1889, worked for fifty years as a dockworker, beginning on the waterfront in Mobile, Alabama at the age of seventeen. He migrated to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1916, where he began working for a contractor named Trist building Piers 96 and 98. Upon completion of the piers, Moses began to look for other jobs and found one working on the docks with flour and grain. Afterwards, he worked for the Atlantic Transport Company unloading and loading ships. Finally, he found himself working for Jarka in the early 1920s where he continued to work for thirty years. Soon after beginning his work at Jarka, he was promoted to gang boss, responsible for hiring and managing a large group of workers. In this clip, Moses recalls how he hired his first gang in the early 1920s.
In their own words
“You ought to be able to get a gang together in about…I'll say three weeks to a month…How long do you think that it would take you to get a good gang together?’ I said, ‘About 10 minutes.’… ‘You mean to tell me you, you could go out there, you could hire a gang of men, and it’d be sufficiently to get producement, and stow the cargo correct, and all of that.’ I said, ‘Why certainly.’ I said, ‘You know why?’ I say, ‘I know everybody from Pier 1 to 179 East boat Richmond.’ I said, ‘Now you send me out there to work.’ I said…‘I'd be a dumb man to start with, to go out there and hire men that wasn't going to do your work.’ Said, ‘That'd be a lost cat right there.’ |
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"You don't play kindergarten games in the fire department. Every move must be the right move, or a good move, because ... men's lives have to be protected." -Joseph Marshall Joseph Marshall was not just a dedicated firefighter who studied "the game" as a matter of life and death, he was also extremely committed to the African-American men he worked with in the segregated firehouse of Engine Company No. 11. In the field, Marshall described his responsibility with the utmost seriousness; off the field and in the firehouse, they were family. Marshall talks about Bill Sheaf, one of the senior members of Engine Company No. 11.
In Their own words
"Everybody highly respected Bill (Sheaf), that is, the members of the company, the officers included. And Bill apparently came into the department, later than the average. And his health began to break down, to the point where the officers and the men on the platoon would look after Bill. They'd help him out, constantly. A lot of jobs Bill used to do on the fire ground [that] he couldn't do at that particular time due rheumatism or arthritis. He couldn't get around. He was a heavy man, big man. And no one objected to helping Bill Sheaf out. I think Bill developed complications, and he passed. He was missed by everyone because he possessed a very jolly nature. Quite a chap. We thought so much of Bill. During one of the Christmas dinners--the last one [at] the Johnson Ink Works they used to do every Christmas, Bill was home sick. So someone suggested, let's go around and get Bill and bring him over to the firehouse, so he can betake of the meal--which we did. One of the boys had a car, and I was asked to go along, so, I gladly did of course. And so, we got him dressed in his Sunday best, and we had to pick him up and just actually carry him out of the house and set him in the car. And when we got around to the firehouse, we carried him up the steps to the second floor, front room, where the dinner was going to be served in the sitting room. And he sat there, and smoked his usual cigar, puffing on that. And the battalion chief was there, along with our officers, and all of the off-duty men, and we had quite an affair. We put Bill at the head of the table, because he was the oldest active fireman. We gave him that honor, and we were all hoping that he enjoyed the meal. Whether he did or not, I don't know. However he enjoyed the fellowship of the men present." |
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"He appointed me a cashier of his retail business. And he said I did a very fine job. And he, elevate me, elevated me to the management of one of his branches." -Charles Ealy Charles Ealy had one of the best work ethics around. R.R. Wright, Jr. and R.R. Wright, Sr. put a great deal of hard work and dedication in establishing Citizens' and Southern Bank in the early 1920s. When Wright, Sr. was looking for someone to run the daily operations of Citizens' and Southern Bank, he was not looking for just anyone. Ealy was a highly recommended candidate due to his strong work ethic. Citizens' and Southern Bank made it through the collapse of Brown & Stevens Bank, The Great Depression and even President Roosevelt closing all the banks. The bank survived because of Ealy's hard work and determination. One of the main reasons Major Wright and Ealy worked so well together was because of their shared ideal of working hard for Black Philadelphians.
In their own words
“Major Wright was looking for someone who, had some banking knowledge, to come to Philadelphia, to work with him. And he made a search, in the biggest banks in the South. Everybody was tied up in the institution that they were employed, and they weren’t interested in coming North. So a former professor of his at Georgia State College told them about me. And he asked him if he would, interview me, to see if I could be, if I would be interested. And which he did. And I told him I would, I would no doubt consider it. And Major Wright came to Philadel-- Jacksonville on two occasions, and talked with me. I decided, I would, make a trial of it and see what we could do together. However, the bank where I was employed told me if I did not like Philadelphia, my job, would be open so I could return within a reasonable length of time.” |
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"But, seems that I could take that discrimination. I could take it, you know, because I knew that there wasn't no other hope for me." -Leon Grimes Like many other African Americans during the first Great Migration, especially those employed in the hospitality industry, Leon Grimes was the victim of unfair hiring and promotion practices. All too often, companies located in Philadelphia during the first half of the twentieth century were more than happy to hire African Americans as janitors, cooks, and busboys--basically anything that happened "behind the scenes" or where they were not to be in a position of power.
in their own words
“But I was really a head cook, I could do anything in the whole firm, no matter what it was, as far as cooking. And organizing kitchens and things like that. Anyhow, they'd bring the white boy in to me, many times I seen this happen. They’d bring the white boy into me, say, "Grimes, we got a boy here we want you to train." Say, "Yeah, all right." They say, "Show him the ropes." I says, "All right." So sometimes we'd train the boy, and make a long story short, before you know it, he was the manager over me. And I'd been there all my life, you see what I'm talking about?” |