Interview with Morris Benson
In this interview, Morris Benson discusses his involvement in the union and his working life at the Ensley Steel Plant (TCI). He details his involvement in organizing labor, beginning in 1936. He was a deacon of a church and was asked to find out how other black workers felt about organizing. Benson...
| Format: | Electronic |
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University of Alabama Libraries
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| Online Access: | http://purl.lib.ua.edu/54289 |
| Summary: | In this interview, Morris Benson discusses his involvement in the union and his working life at the Ensley Steel Plant (TCI). He details his involvement in organizing labor, beginning in 1936. He was a deacon of a church and was asked to find out how other black workers felt about organizing. Benson says he tried to get everyone to join. He recounts early strikes in the 1940s and recalls early segregated union meetings. Benson details how the union helped him get a raise and a promotion. He also talks about company spies. Regarding his early life, Benson says he got a sixth grade education, explaining that "colored folks" in the country could not go further in school. Benson describes FDR as the "greatest president we ever had" and goes on to say that he "brought us out of that hole that Hoover put us in." Benson also discusses his involvement in the church and the role of the church in the black community. He discusses revivals and offers up differences between city and country churches.The digitization of this collection was funded by a gift from EBSCO Industries. |
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