Community support for the food workers' strike
Brooks discusses how the food workers (who were predominately African American) felt they had a lot of support from white students at UNC and from white community members, particularly students from the high school. According to Brooks, white students worked closely with the Black Student Movement and wanted to offer the strikers whatever help they could. Similarly, she recalls that many community members came to campus to support the picket lines.
Citing this Excerpt
Oral History Interview with Elizabeth Brooks, October 2, 1974. Interview E-0058. Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007) in the Southern Oral History Program Collection, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Full Text of the Excerpt
- BEVERLY JONES:
-
Do you recall any white supporters, or names of white supporters, and what white students did to help during the strike?
- MS. ELIZABETH BROOKS:
-
There were lots of white supporters, and really I can't supply you with names, because I have forgotten. There were so many tht were real active, and they worked real close with the black students also. One thing; they didn't jump in and try to make decisions. They offered their help, and they let us decide in what way we could use it or need it. We appreciated this, and we had lots of white students that was real active and professors, too.
- BEVERLY JONES:
-
O.K. How about community support. Were there any organizers, like Chapel Hill Human Relations Commission, or any high school students that played a part in the strike?
- MS. ELIZABETH BROOKS:
-
We had high school students, that came over and had rallies. We had also college students, from other colleges to come over and have rallies and to speak at rallies for us. We also had, out of the community, there were several housewives with babies that would come out and support the picket line, and this was real great, because the mothers would come pushing their babies in strollers and carrying their babies on their backs and walking in that picket line. So we really had a lot of support.
