“I remember when I got my first job after I got out of school. I had taken up machine shop in high school. I could read a micrometer and various gauges and I was armed with my stuff. I was going to show the Personnel Director my credentials and he said “You won’t need any of that. You go to the porter gang”….. and so I began working at Emerson.” Oral history of Clifton Fitzpatrick, born in St. Louis in 1923. Quoted in That’s the Way It Was, Stories of Struggle, Survival and Self-respect in Twentieth Century Black St. Louis” by Vida Prince.
For reflection: In your work experience, are jobs really open to everyone? In your work situation, are there work tensions generated by racial or ethnic differences? How can those tensions be eased? What would Jesus do?
Interested in joining MMOC’s Peace and Justice Ministry? Call Saralou Hendrickson 314.440.2020