WEBVTT - Short Stuff: The Atlanta Washer Woman Strike

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<v Speaker 1>Hey, and welcome to the Short Stuff. I'm Josh, there's

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<v Speaker 1>Chuck and Dave's here sitting in on his own uh podcast,

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<v Speaker 1>how about that? And this is just a funeral, right? Uh? No,

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<v Speaker 1>definitely not. No, this is a much more happy occasion

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<v Speaker 1>because it's an episode of Short Stuff. And what's happier

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<v Speaker 1>than that? I agree? So, Chuck, we're talking about something

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<v Speaker 1>that you dug up. I had never heard of this,

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<v Speaker 1>despite living in Atlanta for more than half of my life. Um,

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<v Speaker 1>something called Atlanta's washer Women's Strike. Granted I was not

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<v Speaker 1>alive in the eighteen eighties, but I'm still kind of surprised.

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<v Speaker 1>I never heard of it. I had not heard of

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<v Speaker 1>it until I went to, uh, you know, the fantastic

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<v Speaker 1>Oakland Cemetery here in Atlanta. Every Halloween they have what's

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<v Speaker 1>called Capturing the Spirit of Halloween tour and it is

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<v Speaker 1>Oakland Cemeteries, Atlanta's you know, historic, their Parade de Lachey.

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<v Speaker 1>We're quite a few prominent people are buried and it's

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<v Speaker 1>our our big in town old cemetery and you walk

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<v Speaker 1>around during Halloween with a drink. They serve drinks in

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<v Speaker 1>groups of like twelve to fift and then it's a

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<v Speaker 1>good size. And what they have is I think five

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<v Speaker 1>different stories being told by actors in costume. Uh, next

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<v Speaker 1>to the graves of the people whose story it is.

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<v Speaker 1>Do they tell the stories like this? They do a

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<v Speaker 1>but if that got really old, so we all just

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<v Speaker 1>said we please stop. So it's different stories every year. Um,

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<v Speaker 1>they find different stories from the people buried there. And

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<v Speaker 1>one of the stories was a woman who was part

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<v Speaker 1>of this washer woman strike. And Emily and I both

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<v Speaker 1>were like, I've never heard of this, What a great story.

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<v Speaker 1>She's like, you gotta do this on stuff you should know?

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<v Speaker 1>And I said, why are you telling me what to

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<v Speaker 1>do the stuff you should know? You've never even listened

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<v Speaker 1>to stuff you should know? And she said, well, I'd

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<v Speaker 1>listen to this if you ever did anything I'm interested in, Emily,

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<v Speaker 1>she might listen to this one. So I said that

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<v Speaker 1>that's actually a perfect short stuff. So here we go. Okay,

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<v Speaker 1>two things. There's a documentary about Oakland Cemetery and if

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<v Speaker 1>you watch it closely, our colleague Robert Lamb from Stuff

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<v Speaker 1>to Blow Your Mind is in it. He's like in

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<v Speaker 1>in the crowd, surprised it's an uncredited cameo. The other

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<v Speaker 1>thing is you and I were over there the other

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<v Speaker 1>day to see We went to the Eastern for the

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<v Speaker 1>first time to see a show. Yeah, yeah, it was

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<v Speaker 1>really cool. And um, the the whole area, I didn't

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<v Speaker 1>even recognize it until I looked at the street name.

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<v Speaker 1>I was like, oh my god, we're like right by

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<v Speaker 1>the cemetery. It's just completely changed. Uh, well, yeah, that

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<v Speaker 1>area is definitely different over there now, but it's five

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<v Speaker 1>minutes down the road, so I've seen the slow gradual.

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<v Speaker 1>To me, it was like night and day. Well, yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>I guess when you don't go by there, I'm a

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<v Speaker 1>little offended that you didn't. You were that close and

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<v Speaker 1>you didn't come by and like throw a paperbag full

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<v Speaker 1>of poop on my doorstep and light it on fire. No,

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<v Speaker 1>we were in and out. Momo wasn't with us, which

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<v Speaker 1>means we have three hours. We don't leave in a

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<v Speaker 1>crate for longer than three hours, so we had three

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<v Speaker 1>hours to get there and back, and um, we got

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<v Speaker 1>to see most of a violent fem show, which was

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<v Speaker 1>really really good. Um, and we just didn't have time.

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<v Speaker 1>You mean, was like, should we And I was like,

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<v Speaker 1>we just don't have time. Well, the only better in

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<v Speaker 1>was just like, we gotta missiencore through. This's exactly right.

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<v Speaker 1>So okay, back to it, Chuck, we understand where this

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<v Speaker 1>idea came from. Thank you, Emily, but let's tell everybody

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<v Speaker 1>about it, because this was a huge, um, a watershed moment,

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<v Speaker 1>you could say, in um the history of labor in Atlanta,

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<v Speaker 1>which sounds way more boring than it actually is. Yeah

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<v Speaker 1>and big thanks to Washington Post is a great article

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<v Speaker 1>on this and a I can't remember the website, but

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<v Speaker 1>a very pro union website. I think it was the

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<v Speaker 1>nfl c i oh website for real. Okay, yeah, that

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<v Speaker 1>sounds about right. Uh So, to paint a picture of

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<v Speaker 1>Atlanta in the eighties, it was a city trying to

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<v Speaker 1>be uh sort of the big thing in a South,

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<v Speaker 1>which it ended up being, but at the time it

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<v Speaker 1>was still on its way and had unpaid streets and

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<v Speaker 1>you know, it wasn't quite where it needed to be.

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<v Speaker 1>But politicians wanted to sort of send message to the north, like, hey,

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<v Speaker 1>Atlanta's ripe for business down here. We got a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of labor down here that you don't have to pay much.

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<v Speaker 1>It's not too far after the Civil war. Wink wink.

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<v Speaker 1>If you know what I mean and bring your business

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<v Speaker 1>down here. Yeah, like this was a huge push at

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<v Speaker 1>the time because the South was still you know, under

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<v Speaker 1>reconstruction and rebuilding um and at the time there was

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<v Speaker 1>something like nine percent of black working women because again

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<v Speaker 1>these were emancipated, enslaved people, but they weren't being paid

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<v Speaker 1>very much. They weren't being treated very well. And one

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<v Speaker 1>of the most prominent UM occupations of black working women

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<v Speaker 1>was to be a laundress or a washer woman. And

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<v Speaker 1>the reason why is because it was not fun work

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<v Speaker 1>at all and the washer women who were performing this

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<v Speaker 1>this work, this service were paid so little that even

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<v Speaker 1>like generally poor white families could afford to hire a

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<v Speaker 1>local black laundress to do the laundry for the family. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>they didn't have up north. They already had um like

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<v Speaker 1>professional cleaning, industrialized cleaning businesses for clothing, but there were

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<v Speaker 1>you know, manufactured cloth had come along. There were just

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<v Speaker 1>a lot more clothes now. And like you said, if

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<v Speaker 1>you had if you had any extra money as a family,

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<v Speaker 1>one of the first things you might do is to

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<v Speaker 1>pay for your clothes to be done because it was

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<v Speaker 1>you know that this didn't have washing machines. You had

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<v Speaker 1>to like wash clothes by hand, you had to boil clothes,

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<v Speaker 1>you had to iron them with irons that you uh

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<v Speaker 1>heat it up by fire and hang them up all

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<v Speaker 1>over the place to dry. So these uh, these young

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<v Speaker 1>women were you know, they started work anywhere from you know,

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<v Speaker 1>ten to twelve, thirteen, fourteen years old, and they basically

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<v Speaker 1>for the next fifty years doing this kind of work

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<v Speaker 1>for four to eight dollars a month and that today's

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<v Speaker 1>a hundred and sixteen to two thirty two dollars a month,

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<v Speaker 1>which it doesn't matter what time you live in, that

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<v Speaker 1>is not enough to live on. And yet there are

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of black moms, especially a lot of black

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<v Speaker 1>single moms, who managed to eke out a life for

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<v Speaker 1>them and their families from those wages just by working really,

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<v Speaker 1>really hard. Because as you progressed and became better at it,

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<v Speaker 1>it's not like you started making more money. The way

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<v Speaker 1>to make more money was to work harder and harder

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<v Speaker 1>and to take on more and more clients. Right. Um.

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<v Speaker 1>So one of the things about this this profession, though,

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<v Speaker 1>I think attracted so many black women was it was

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<v Speaker 1>one of the most autonomous professions around. Like if you're

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<v Speaker 1>a washerwoman. You didn't answer to anybody but yourself. It

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<v Speaker 1>was one of the first ways that you could be

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<v Speaker 1>an independent business person in the South after the Civil War.

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<v Speaker 1>And um, that was that was really important to a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of the workers, especially because they had just been

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<v Speaker 1>you know, freed from being slaves, like they had literally

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<v Speaker 1>been slaves just you know a couple of a couple

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<v Speaker 1>of years before. And now they're able to run their

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<v Speaker 1>own lives and run their own business as washer women. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>and notably, they did this work at their own homes,

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<v Speaker 1>so they made their own uh, washing soap. They would

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<v Speaker 1>get the clothes dropped off on a Monday, and then

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<v Speaker 1>they would do everything all week long and then drop

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<v Speaker 1>the clothes back off on a Saturday. So there at

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<v Speaker 1>least they're at home. They're doing this work. Uh. It

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<v Speaker 1>is tough, backbreaking work, but like you said, it provided

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<v Speaker 1>some autonomy, but the wages weren't going anywhere, which set up,

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<v Speaker 1>uh set the stage basically for the summer of one

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<v Speaker 1>and I think we should take a break'll talk about

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<v Speaker 1>what happened. M Alright, So now we're in the summer

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<v Speaker 1>of eight one, super hot in Atlanta hot doing this

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<v Speaker 1>kind of work and twenty of these washer women. Uh,

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<v Speaker 1>they met up and they said, all right, here's what

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<v Speaker 1>we need to do. Our money is going nowhere. The

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<v Speaker 1>only way to get more is to work harder and

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<v Speaker 1>to add more accounts. So let's form a trade organization. Uh.

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<v Speaker 1>They called it the Washing Society, and let's see if

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<v Speaker 1>we can get a little more respect and a little

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<v Speaker 1>more autonomy and more than anything, let's see if we

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<v Speaker 1>can get some some sort of codified higher pay to

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<v Speaker 1>the tune of about a dollar per twelve pounds of wash. Yeah. So, um,

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<v Speaker 1>this was enormous, Like, this is a huge deal. This

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<v Speaker 1>is eight eighty one in Atlanta, and black women were

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<v Speaker 1>meeting and saying, let's let's basically form a cartel, essentially

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<v Speaker 1>a washer cartel. And um, they set up the Washing

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<v Speaker 1>Society and started canvassing door to door because remember there

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<v Speaker 1>were a lot of laundresses working in the town at

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<v Speaker 1>the time. And um, they managed to grow from that

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<v Speaker 1>first twenty to three thousand members of this washing Society

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<v Speaker 1>in three weeks, just from going door to door. And

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<v Speaker 1>even more impressive, Chuck, they included white women too, right, Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>which you know this is one that is not something

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<v Speaker 1>that you saw happening a lot, especially in the Deep South.

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<v Speaker 1>So even though two percent of these laundresses were white,

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<v Speaker 1>they included them. Got three thousand women together went on strike.

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<v Speaker 1>I think about ten days into the strike, the cops

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<v Speaker 1>got involved. Um. They arrested six of the leaders and

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<v Speaker 1>basically said, hey, you know you've been harassing people with

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<v Speaker 1>this door to door campaign, so we're going to charge

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<v Speaker 1>you with disorderly conduct and quarreling and charge you these

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<v Speaker 1>fines that are like I think one of these women,

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<v Speaker 1>Sarah A. Collier, was um and I wish I could

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<v Speaker 1>remember the name of the woman at the cemetery. I

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<v Speaker 1>looked it up, but they took all that down after Halloween,

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<v Speaker 1>but uh, that rings a bell. It may have been her.

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<v Speaker 1>But she was find twenty dollars, which was I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>what like for like almost half a year's pay. Yeah,

0:10:16.480 --> 0:10:18.840
<v Speaker 1>depending on how much she made, but definitely three to

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<v Speaker 1>three to five months pay. Um and I could not

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<v Speaker 1>find out why she was find twenty and other ones

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<v Speaker 1>were find five dollars. But this this, the purpose that

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<v Speaker 1>these women had behind their movement was enough that that

0:10:32.080 --> 0:10:34.600
<v Speaker 1>Sarah Collier said, I'm not paying that, and they said, well,

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<v Speaker 1>you're gonna go work on a chain gang, forty nine

0:10:36.679 --> 0:10:39.840
<v Speaker 1>year old asthmatic mother of two, and she did for

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<v Speaker 1>forty days. And that's the kind of thing that other

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<v Speaker 1>people look at and find genuine inspiration from. And that

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<v Speaker 1>really helped, I think, kind of solidify this is if

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<v Speaker 1>even more than it was already. Yeah. Absolutely. Um, So

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<v Speaker 1>the city council comes along, they say, all right, if

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<v Speaker 1>you want to be a member of this washerwoman organization,

0:11:01.200 --> 0:11:04.040
<v Speaker 1>then you have to pay the city a twenty annual fee.

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<v Speaker 1>And also if you want to start a commercial laundry

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<v Speaker 1>like so we can put them out of business. We'll

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<v Speaker 1>give you a nonprofit tax exempt status even so we can. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>so we can drive them out of their work. And

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<v Speaker 1>you know what these women did, as they said, so

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<v Speaker 1>twenty dollars is that's definitely half a year's wage. They

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<v Speaker 1>wrote a letter to the mayor and said, you know what, fine,

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<v Speaker 1>we'll pay it. We're not going in, we're not going anywhere,

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<v Speaker 1>we're not washing any more clothes. Will pay your organizational

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<v Speaker 1>fee and what do you think about that? And the

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<v Speaker 1>mayor his monocle pop right off his face as he

0:11:41.400 --> 0:11:44.520
<v Speaker 1>was reading that letter, right, and they said in his

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<v Speaker 1>dirty shirt, right, there's like flies buzzing around. So, um,

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<v Speaker 1>it's not entirely clear what happened afterward. Um, but from

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<v Speaker 1>from what it seems is that the city council backed

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<v Speaker 1>down and they said, okay, well, we're not going to

0:11:59.160 --> 0:12:00.760
<v Speaker 1>try to run you out a bit business. We're not

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<v Speaker 1>going to arrest anybody anymore. And a few weeks went

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<v Speaker 1>by and there was this really big deal thing that

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<v Speaker 1>was coming along, the International Cotton Exposition, which sounds old

0:12:10.400 --> 0:12:13.760
<v Speaker 1>timing and backwards and it was, but it qualified essentially

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<v Speaker 1>as a world's fair that drew two hundred thousand visitors

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<v Speaker 1>to Atlanta, which only had forty people who lived there

0:12:20.559 --> 0:12:22.800
<v Speaker 1>at the time, So it was a big deal. And

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<v Speaker 1>the city boosters, who were trying to lure northern companies

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<v Speaker 1>down south, we're really on edge about this. This had

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<v Speaker 1>to go really well because this is Atlanta's chance to

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<v Speaker 1>show it was the capital of the new South. Now well,

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<v Speaker 1>and in this interim time period, the washerwoman organization word

0:12:41.520 --> 0:12:44.839
<v Speaker 1>gets around and all of a sudden, you have other domestics.

0:12:44.840 --> 0:12:47.959
<v Speaker 1>You have cooks, and you have house cleaners and maids

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<v Speaker 1>and even nurses that were like, wait a minute, you

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<v Speaker 1>know our wages aren't going up either. We want more money. Uh.

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<v Speaker 1>There was an actual another strike. Hotel workers went on strike,

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<v Speaker 1>which was a really big deal. If you have two

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<v Speaker 1>hundred thous and people coming to your small town and

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<v Speaker 1>employers basically are like, we don't have replacement workers this time.

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<v Speaker 1>Like this is an entire workforce of people that are

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<v Speaker 1>saying they want more money, and we can't just say fine,

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<v Speaker 1>we'll just hire someone else this time. So the city

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<v Speaker 1>council the next week got together, they struck down those

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<v Speaker 1>twenty five dollar fees, and they got their wages raised.

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<v Speaker 1>They won. Yeah. I think they also gained control of

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<v Speaker 1>the washing industry in Atlanta so that they couldn't be

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<v Speaker 1>put out of business by commercial um companies laundries anymore.

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<v Speaker 1>Great story it is. It's really cool because these women

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<v Speaker 1>just basically said, hey, we're you can't treat us disrespectful anymore.

0:13:44.120 --> 0:13:47.520
<v Speaker 1>We're not slaves anymore. We're businesswomen and we're washing your laundry,

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<v Speaker 1>which you don't want to do, so you better treat

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<v Speaker 1>us better. And the South, at least Atlanta responded essentially,

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<v Speaker 1>it's right, yeah, good for them. That was a good one.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks Emily. She's going to clothe about that. So yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>well Chuck doesn't have anything. I don't have anything in

0:14:03.400 --> 0:14:09.360
<v Speaker 1>Emily's gloating, which means short stuff is out. Stuff you

0:14:09.360 --> 0:14:11.880
<v Speaker 1>Should Know is a production of I Heart Radio. For

0:14:11.960 --> 0:14:14.960
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0:14:15.200 --> 0:14:18.079
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