1881 Atlanta washerwomen strike

American labor strike April 2020 April 2020 The Atlanta washerwomen strike of 1881 was a labor strike in Atlanta, Georgia involving African American washerwomen. It began on July 19, 1881, and lasted into August 1881.July 19, 1881: Atlanta Washerwomen's Strike https://www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/atlanta-washerwomens-strike-reconstruction/ 2023-07-09 Zinn Education Project en-US The strike began as an effort to establish better pay, more respect and autonomy, and a uniform base salary for their work. Background thumb|Text from the Evening Star (D.C.) on Aug 9, 1881, regarding the Atlanta strike.|323x323px In Atlanta following the Civil War, many African American women were employed as washerwomen, also known as laundresses.Aronoff 2017 There were more African American women employed as washerwomen than in any other domestic work, representing over half of their total workforce. Many of those employed in this field made between $4 and $8 per month.Weber 2018aWeber 2018b In July 1881, several washerwomen in the city founded the Washing Society.Kelley Lewis 2005Hunter 2007 135 At the first meeting, held in a local Black church, officials were elected and a uniform rate for washerwomen was decided.Hunter 2007 135 While initially consisting of only 20 washerwomen, within three weeks the Washing Society boasted 3,000 members.Aronoff 2017 Society members engaged in door-to-door canvassing and garnered support from several of the Black churches in the city.Aronoff 2017Hunter 1998 50 On July 19, the Washing Society declared a strike, demanding higher wages.Kelley Lewis 2005Hunter 1998 50 Additionally, they wanted a flat rate of $1 per twelve pounds of laundry and greater work autonomy.Weber 2018aWeber 2018b Course of the strike The strike began several weeks before the start of the International Cotton Exposition, a world's fair in Atlanta that was expected to bring a significant number of visitors to the city.Brattain 2001 24 The strikers received significant resistance from white authorities and businesspeople in the city.Hunter 1998 50 The Atlanta Constitution (which American historian Tera Hunter has called "the opposition's unofficial mouthpiece") was initially dismissive of the strike, though as the strike continued, they began to acknowledge the strength of the strikers.Hunter 1998 50Hunter 2007 135 Many strikers were arrested or fined over the course of the strike action.Hunter 2007 135 The Atlanta City Council also threatened to impose a business tax on the washerwomen, and many of the strikers' landlords raised their tenants rates.Kelley Lewis 2005 In one such case, a striker who couldn't afford to pay one of the fines was sentenced to 40 days of working on a chain gang.Aronoff 2017 Despite this, the strike continued and spurred labor disputes with other domestic workers in the city. During the strike, African American waiters at the National Hotel refused to work until their wages were increased.Kelley Lewis 2005Hunter 2007 135 In early August, five hundred women strikers met at Wheat Street Baptist Church to discuss the strike.Hunter 2007 135 Shortly thereafter, on August 3, the strikers issued an ultimatum to mayor James W. English, saying they would pay a license fee of $25 "as a protection so we can control the washing for the city",Kelley Lewis 2005 but would continue to strike if their demands for higher wages were not met.Aronoff 2017 Following this ultimatum, the city acquiesced and allowed the washerwomen greater autonomy and higher rates in exchange for a $25 license fee.Weber 2018a Aftermath The strike is one of several organized by domestic workers in the Southern United States during this time, being preceded by strikes in Galveston, Texas in 1877 and Jackson, Mississippi in 1866, though neither was larger than the Atlanta strike.Hunter 2007 134 In analyzing the success of the strike, Hunter cited that while some washerwomen saw wage increases, many did not, and low wages would continue to be an issue between washerwomen and their employers.Hunter 2007 135 Additionally, Hunter cited the fact that a second strike was threatened to take place during the International Cotton Exposition, though this never came to fruition.Hunter 2007 135 However, others have noted that the strike, significant for involving African American women during the early Jim Crow era, was successful in demonstrating the impact of Black labor, and domestic work in particular, in the city.Aronoff 2017Weber 2018a In popular culture In 2022, a two-act play based on the strike appeared at the 2022 Essential Theatre Play Festival,https://www.essentialtheatre.com/play/hush-harbor-lab-the-wash-by-kelundra-smith/ Hush Harbor Lab: The Wash by Kelundra Smith - Essential Theatre June 30, 2022 followed by a spring 2023 workshop at Synchronicity Theatre Company co-produced by Impact Theatre Atlanta.https://www.ajc.com/things-to-do/the-wash-brings-a-little-known-piece-of-atlantas-black-history-to-life/LJUR5VGGWFD3VLAUB7PDWUI444/ 'The Wash' brings a little-known piece of Atlanta's Black history to life The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Hauk Alexis Written by journalist and playwright Kelundra Smith, "The Wash" debuted as a full-scale production directed by Brenda Porter at Synchronicity Theatre in June 2024, with a review in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution declaring it to be "full of fun dialogue, clever staging, vibrant design and great characters".https://www.ajc.com/things-to-do/review-the-wash-is-a-fresh-spin-on-inspiring-chapter-in-atlanta-history/NEESSZLHHRDETC6RTBJCBAOYRM/ Review: 'The Wash' is a fresh spin on inspiring chapter in Atlanta history The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Carr Benjamin References Bibliography 30em yes https://jacobinmag.com/2017/03/womens-strike-privileged-labor-history-feminism/ Strikes Aren't for the Privileged Aronoff Kate March 9, 2017 Jacobin en-US live https://web.archive.org/web/20201111185953/https://jacobinmag.com/2017/03/womens-strike-privileged-labor-history-feminism/ November 11, 2020 April 12, 2020 Brattain Michelle https://books.google.com/books?id=j45pZn2wbDsC&q=Atlanta+Washerwomen+strike&pg=PA24 Labor in the Modern South University of Georgia Press 2001 978-0-8203-2260-5 Eskew Glenn T. en Google Books Hunter Tera W. https://books.google.com/books?id=d9lhBw8t410C&q=Atlanta+Washerwomen+strike&pg=PA50 The Reader's Companion to U.S. Women's History Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 1998 978-0-618-00182-8 Mankiller Wilma Wilma Mankiller en Tera Hunter Mink Gwendolyn Navarro Marysa Marysa Navarro Smith Barbara Barbara Smith Steinem Gloria Gloria Steinem Google Books Hunter Tera W. https://books.google.com/books?id=zEWsZ81Bd3YC&q=Atlanta+Washerwomen+strike&pg=PA134 Encyclopedia of U.S. Labor and Working-Class History Routledge 2007 978-0-415-96826-3 Arnesen Eric 1 en Tera Hunter Eric Arnesen Google Books https://books.google.com/books?id=-Y1X9cBSLOIC&q=Atlanta+Washerwomen+strike&pg=PT31 To Make Our World Anew: A History of African Americans Oxford University Press 2005 978-0-19-983901-8 Kelley Robin D. G. II en Lewis Earl Google Books https://progressive.org/api/content/81ae1566-0849-11e8-81a4-121bebc5777e/ 'We Mean Business or No Washing': The Atlanta Washerwomen Strike of 1881 Weber Brandon February 6, 2018a The Progressive en-us live https://web.archive.org/web/20201214114115/https://progressive.org/magazine/we-mean-business-or-no-washing-atlanta-washerwomen-strike_180205/ December 14, 2020 April 12, 2020 Weber Brandon https://books.google.com/books?id=PJ3PDgAAQBAJ&q=Atlanta+Washerwomen+strike&pg=PT25 Class War, USA: Dispatches from Workers' Struggles in American History Haymarket Books 2018b 978-1-60846-871-3 en Google Books Further reading https://aflcio.org/about/history/labor-history-events/atlanta-washerwomen-strike Atlanta's Washerwomen Strike AFL–CIO live https://web.archive.org/web/20201118013546/https://aflcio.org/about/history/labor-history-events/atlanta-washerwomen-strike November 18, 2020 April 12, 2020 Bentley Rosalind February 11, 2019 Black Woman Magic: The Atlanta Laundry Workers' Strike of 1881 https://www.ajc.com/news/black-woman-magic-the-atlanta-laundry-workers-strike-1881/FvNH0PZLejzsq4VYULejmN/ August 4, 2020 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Cox Enterprises English Phillips-Cunningham Danielle December 10, 2020 The long history of Black women organizing in Georgia might decide Senate control en-US The Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/12/10/long-history-black-women-organizing-georgia-might-decide-senate-control/ December 25, 2020 0190-8286 St. Julien Jahdziah February 21, 2020 The Atlanta Washerwomen Strike of 1881 http://newamerica.org/better-life-lab/blog/atlanta-washerwoman-strike-1881/ August 4, 2020 New America en Category:1880s strikes in the United States Category:1881 labor disputes and strikes Category:History of Atlanta Category:Labor disputes in Georgia (U.S. state) Category:1881 in Georgia (U.S. state) Category:July 1881 in the United States Category:August 1881 in the United States Category:19th century in Atlanta Category:History of women in Georgia (U.S. state) Category:Women in Atlanta Category:1880s in women's history