Listen Online with Text Transcript (Requires QuickTime and JavaScript)

HTML file

XML/TEI source file

MP3

Laura Waddell grew up in Savannah, Georgia, and after finishing eleventh grade, found a job as a seamstress in a shop off West Broad Street in the city's downtown district. Waddell earned a reputation, and a good living, as a skilled seamstress, eventually opening her own business. Waddell's enthusiasm for her work helped her build a successful career, and at the time of the interview, in August 2002, she had only recently retired. While she was aware of some of the tensions of the civil rights movement, she did not participate in protests or boycotts; instead, she tried to convince her peers that her work did not benefit the white shopkeeper who leased her space. Waddell become more involved in civic activity later in life, when she helped found the Ralph Mark Gilbert Civil Rights Museum and became an active member of her church. This interview provides a portrait of a woman carving out a space for herself in segregated Savannah.

African-American seamstress sets up a business in a white store

Rare acknowledgement for skilled African Americans

African-American seamstress eases whites' concerns about doing business with her

African-American seamstress arrives in a neighborhood as whites leave

Strategies for economic success

Love for the job leads to hard work

Rising taxes force African Americans from their neighborhood

Finding aid to the Southern Oral History Program Collection

Database of all Southern Oral History Program Collection interviews