Draft:Mary McClendon
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Mary Upshaw McClendon | |
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| Born | October 3, 1922 |
| Died | February 16, 2015 (aged 92) |
| Occupations | |
| Known for | Founding the Household Workers' Organization |
Mary Upshaw McClendon (October 3, 1922[1][a] – February 16, 2015[3]) was an African American domestic worker and labor rights activist from Detroit.
Early life
[edit]McClendon was born on October 22, 1922 in Andalusia, Alabama, to a family with four other children. She began preforming domestic work with her mother at the age of 9.[4] She graduated from Covington County Training High School in 1944. In 1955, she moved to Detroit from her then-current residence of Red Level, Alabama to join her cousin, a doctor, and, outside of the Jim Crow South, was able to vote for the first time, which she described as "like a flash of freedom."[5][6] By 1969, McClendon raised her son as a single mother, as her husband Benjamin had died.
Activist career
[edit]Background
[edit]- Detroit "Slave markets"
- Other movements?
With the Household Workers Organization
[edit]In 1969, McClendon founded the Household Workers Organization (HWO), an affiliate of the National Committee on Household Employment, which was initially run out of her house. The HWO's activities included running an employment service, distributing educational materials to workers and prospective employers, training employees, and advocating on behalf on individual workers (such as filing against employers who did not make promised Social Security payments). By 1971, the HWO had 150 members, most of whom Black and Latino women.
- 1969: Began working full time witht the HWO (99-101)
- 1971: First HTA meeting (77-8)
- 1971-1973: Campaigning for FLSA extention (129-130)
- 1972: Began work with Dial-a-maid (120)
- 1972: Failed unionization attempt (120)
Later life and legacy
[edit]- Detroit lawsuit and conclusion (153-54)
See also
[edit]References
[edit]Notes
[edit]Footnotes
[edit]- ^ McClendon, Mary. "autobiography" [textual record]. Mary Upshaw McClendon Papers, Series: I, Box: 1, File: 1. Detroit: Walter P. Reuther Library, Wayne State University. Cited in Nadasen 2015, p. 209
- ^ Moon, Elain Latzman (December 1993). Untold Tales, Unsung Heroes. An Oral History of Detroit's African American Community, 1918-1967. Wayne State University Press. p. 300. ISBN 0-8143-2465-7.
- ^ @gardnerruby (February 23, 2015). "My beloved cousin, Mrs. Mary Upshaw McClendon, who, along with her dear son, Jasper Evans, went home to their eternal rest on February 16, 2015. Your presence in the earth will be sorely and sadly missed". Retrieved July 5, 2024 – via Instagram.
- ^ Spratling, Cassandra (August 8, 2011). "'The Help' shines light on domestic workers". Detroit Free Press. p. A1.
- ^ Spratling, Cassandra (October 31, 2008). "Obama's run seen as sign of progess". Detroit Free Press. pp. 8A. Retrieved July 16, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Nadasen 2015, pp. 98–99.
Sources
[edit]- Nadasen, Premilla (August 25, 2015). Household Workers Unite: The Untold Story of African American Women Who Built a Movement. Boston: Beacon Press. ISBN 9780807014509.
External links
[edit]- Wayne state page
- Possibly interview?