- Collection:
- Oral Histories of the American South: The Civil Rights Movement
- Title:
- Oral history interview with Ashley Davis, April 12, 1974
- Creator:
- Davis, Ashley
- Contributor to Resource:
- Rymer, Russ
Southern Oral History Program - Date of Original:
- 1974-04-12
- Subject:
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Black Student Movement
African American students--North Carolina--Chapel Hill
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill--Students
Strikes and lockouts--Food industry and trade--North Carolina--Chapel Hill
Food service employees--Labor unions--North Carolina--Chapel Hill
Food industry and trade--Employees--Labor unions--North Carolina--Chapel Hill
Southern Student Organizing Committee (Nashville, Tenn.)
College students--North Carolina--Chapel Hill--Race relations - People:
- Davis, Ashley
Sitterson, J. Carlyle (Joseph Carlyle), 1911-1995 - Location:
- United States, North Carolina, Orange County, 36.0613, -79.1206
United States, North Carolina, Orange County, Chapel Hill, 35.9132, -79.05584 - Medium:
- transcripts
sound recordings
oral histories (literary works) - Type:
- Text
Sound - Format:
- text/html
text/xml
audio/mpeg - Description:
- Ashley Davis arrived as a student at University of North Carolina in 1968 and became involved with the Black Student Movement (BSM). Still in its infancy, the BSM was a growing force on campus, and in 1969, the food workers at UNC asked the BSM for its support in their strike. Davis describes how leading up to the strike, Preston Dobbins, leader of the BSM, had gathered funds to hire Otis Light to work with service workers on campus. Primarily African American, service workers on campus often faced poor working conditions and low pay. By 1968, workers in the cafeteria had become especially discontent with low wages, split shifts, and unpaid overtime work. In the spring of 1969, the cafeteria workers, led by a group of women who worked in the Pine Room at Lenoir Hall, decided to go on strike. Davis emphasizes throughout the interview that the food workers led their own strike and that any assistance the BSM provided was supportive only. The BSM was there from the beginning, says Davis, helping to slow down service in the cafeteria by holding up the lines, thereby giving food workers the opportunity to walk out and begin their strike. During the rest of the strike, the BSM helped by boycotting and picketing outside of Lenoir Hall. In addition, the BSM raised funds in order to set up an alternative "soul food cafeteria" in Manning Hall so that food workers could continue working and so that students boycotting the cafeterias had somewhere to eat. Davis describes how the Southern Student Organizing Committee (SSOC) was one of the BSM's main outlets of support during the food workers strike. According to Davis, however, the BSM's support of the striking food workers led to tensions between African American students and conservative white students. Davis describes how a series of confrontations led Governor Terry Sanford to call in state troopers to mediate the situation, and he explains how the presence of these troopers ultimately worked in favor of the strikers. In addition, Davis discusses at some length the reaction of Chancellor J. Carlyle Sitterson to the BSM and the strike. He concludes by offering his thoughts on the outcome of the strike and the impact of the BSM's role in the conflict.
The Civil Rights Digital Library received support from a National Leadership Grant for Libraries awarded to the University of Georgia by the Institute of Museum and Library Services for the aggregation and enhancement of partner metadata. - Metadata URL:
- http://docsouth.unc.edu/sohp/E-0062/menu.html
- Language:
- eng
- Extent:
- Title from menu page (viewed on February 7, 2008).
Interview participants: Ashley Davis, interviewee; Russell Rymer, interviewer.
Duration: 01:36:10.
This electronic edition is part of the UNC-CH digital library, Documenting the American South. It is a part of the collection Oral histories of the American South.
Text encoded by Jennifer Joyner. Sound recordings digitized by Aaron Smithers. - Contributing Institution:
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Documenting the American South (Project)
- Rights:
-
