Robert Battle was the President of the Trade Union Leadership Council and second vice-president of the UAW Ford Local 600. This interview describes his work with the Ford Motor Company and the employment of blacks, Ford Organizing Drive, and origins…
Joseph Billups was one of the earliest black members of UAW Ford Local 600. In this interview Billups discusses pre-UAW auto unionism, black and left-wing activities, and Detroit during the Depression. Also included are discussions on the Ford Hunger…
Geraldine Bledsoe was the former director of Equal Employment Opportunity Michigan Employment Security Commission. In this interview Bledsoe describes the CIO and the black community, the Detroit chapter of the NAACP, Reverend Charles Hill and civil…
Joseph Coles was a Black Democratic leader and former assistant director of the Detroit Commission on Community Relations. In this interview he describes the Sweet trials, the black political shift from Republican to Democratic Party, and the Detroit…
In this interview George Crockett describes the Detroit Recorder’s Court, his youth and education, and activities as attorney for FEPC. Crockett also recalls his experiences as executive director of the UAW’s Fair Practice Committee and the…
Father Dade was a priest at St. Cyprian’s Presbyterian Evangelical Church in Detroit. This interview discusses his involvement with the Ford Motor Co. and the black Church, the Ford organizing drive and the relationship of the UAW to black community.
Nick DiGaetano is a UAW Local 7 retiree. This interview discusses DiGaetano’s recollections of the ethnic groups among Detroit workers, the IWW-Industrial Workers of the World, and blacks in the auto plants and in the UAW.
Edward Doty was a plumber and black unionist in Chicago Illinois. In this interview Doty recalls the problem of discrimination in the Chicago area building trades, especially in electricians’ and plumbers’ unions. Doty also describes the organization…
Snow Grigsby was a Black church and labor leader and a former post office employee. In this interview Grigsby recalls the race relations in Detroit following World War I and the organization and activities of the Detroit Civic League, particularly in…
Ray Hatcher was the Deputy Director of the Detroit Regional office of Housing and Urban Development Department. In this interview he describes his role with the Detroit Urban League in the early 1940’s, discrimination in housing and Sojourner Truth…