Honoring the 50Th Anniversary of the Lenoir Strikes by Arabella Saunders According to UNC Libraries
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Baseball superfan Go to page 8 to read a UNC baseball fan who traveled almost 9,000 miles to watch the Tar Heels play. 126 YEARS OF SERVING UNC STUDENTS AND THE UNIVERSITY FRIDAY, MARCH 1, 2019 VOLUME 127, ISSUE 3 Honoring the 50th anniversary of the Lenoir strikes By Arabella Saunders according to UNC Libraries. Staff Writer A core group of food workers, led by employees Mary Smith and Elizabeth On Sunday, Feb. 23, 1969, food Brooks, joined forces with BSM leader workers at Lenoir Dining Hall set up Preston Dobbins and planned the Feb. their dining stations as usual. 23 demonstration. In the days follow- But when their supervisor, Ottis ing the demonstration, students stood White, opened the cafeteria doors outside Lenoir distributing pamphlets around 4 p.m. and students began about the strike. shuffling in, the workers left their In early March, after UNC positions behind the food stations Chancellor Carlyle Sitterson refused and sat down at the cafeteria tables. to meet with workers because of The employees refused to move, even student involvement in the strike, as students surrounded them, bang- protesters took a different approach. ing their trays on the counter and Strike-supporting students demanding to be served. entered Lenoir and took their plac- The following morning, nearly 100 es in the serving lines among their Lenoir employees refused to report classmates. They proceeded to pur- to work, marking the beginning of posefully slow down the service pro- UNC’s first major labor strike. vided by the few remaining workers “The strike was a result of UNC and took up entire tables with noth- cafeteria workers not receiving ade- ing in hand but a glass of water. quate responses from the University On March 4, 1969, the strike administration to grievances that gained the attention of North they had submitted previously,” UNC Carolina’s Gov. Robert Scott. archivist Nicholas Graham said. In attempt to keep Lenoir from Among these grievances were closing, Scott sent five units of riot- inadequate pay, innacurate job clas- trained Highway Patrol officers to sifications and poor treatment by campus and announced the National DTH FILE/STEVE ADAMS supervisors, all of which were high- Guard was standing by in Durham. In 1969, state patrolmen stand in front of Lenoir Dining Hall to keep entrances open for workers, delivery trucks and lighted by workers months before Following Scott’s actions, the customers after employees went to strike, citing inadequate pay, irregular work hours and poor treatment by supervisors. the strike began. food workers formed the UNC Non- In October 1968, dining hall Academic Employees Union. The ter wages, and it was happening patterns to the first. It was centered be open to the public until May 31. employees sent a list of 21 suggestions union’s requests included a $1.80 per right in the midst of all that.” on justice for Black non-academic On March 20, the PlayMakers to improve their work conditions in hour minimum wage (approximately Although Scott agreed to provide employees and included involvement Repertory Company will perform a memorandum addressed to the $12.47 in 2018), the appointment of higher wages and better working from students and faculty. “Voices from the Archives: The 1969 “Employers of Lenoir Dining Hall.” a Black supervisor and adequate pay conditions for UNC’s non-academic The second strike ended on Dec. UNC Food Workers’ Strike.” The per- Their suggestions were ignored, and for overtime work. employees, the food workers struggle 9, 1969 after an agreement was formance will take place in Wilson later that month, food service director Scott agreed to the demand of a for fair treatment did not end there. signed between SAGA and union Library’s Pleasant Family Assembly George Prillaman laid off 10 employ- wage increase and the strike ended In May 1969, UNC ceased representatives. In January 1970, Room and is free to the public. ees after a major drought halted dish- on March 21, 1969. University-operated dining ser- SAGA announced they would not Graham said he thinks this is an washing operations. “(The strike was) something vices and entered into a contract renew their dining contract with important moment in the histo - Following Prillaman’s actions, that did not happen just out of the with a company called SAGA the University. ry of the University and it laid the workers turned to students — spe- blue here at UNC,” North Carolina Food Services. On Nov. 7, after In honor of the 50th anniversary groundwork for future protests and cifically the newly formed Black Collection gallery keeper Linda SAGA issued layoffs and some of of the strikes, University Libraries advocacy by campus workers. Student Movement — for help. Jacobson said. “It was something the Governor’s promises for better has curated a special exhibit titled “We’re especially excited to have In fall 1968, nearly 100 percent of that was going on across the South working conditions were still unful- “Service, Not Servitude: The 1969 this opportunity to talk about the UNC’s non-academic staff members and it was part of a bigger movement filled, 250 of UNC’s 275 food work- Food Workers’ Strikes at UNC- work on campus that may often go were Black, while less than 1.5 per- by African-American workers across ers declared a second strike. Chapel Hill.” Located in Wilson unseen and unheralded,” he said. cent of enrolled students were Black, the South who were striking for bet- The second strike had similar Library, the exhibit is free and will [email protected] A look back at the civil rights movement in Chapel Hill The legacy of the largely built by slaves, including many Carr’s 1913 dedication speech to of its original buildings like Old East the Confederate monument, later community’s civil rights and Old West. One can’t forget that known as Silent Sam, proudly history continues today. much of this important university illuminates some of the horrif - and the opportunities it affords arose ic treatment of Blacks during the By Jonny Cook out of the suffering of others. Reconstruction and Jim Crow Eras Staff Writer Some students have taken it following the war. upon themselves to ensure that this The county is not foreign to the February has been a contentious aspect of the University’s history Southern history marred by Black month in the United States’ recent is not forgotten by commemorat - lynchings. A Red Record, a UNC- history of race relations. ing the important role slaves and led project, found that between In light of many disturbing slavery played in the University’s 1865 and World War II, there were and negative news stories — like construction. Kristen Marion and at least five lynchings or instances the images of Virginia Gov. Ralph Elizabeth Brown initiated Wilson of unlawful, extrajudicial murder Northam sporting blackface in his Caldwell Day, which had its third of Black people in the county. One 1984 medical school yearbook and annual celebration Sunday. of the victims, Manly McCauley, the UNC Chi Phi fraternity’s Yackety Caldwell was a slave to the was lynched just three miles from Yak page including people clad in Ku University’s second president, David Chapel Hill. Klux Klan robes — it’s refreshing to Swain. Caldwell played a crucial role Throughout the 1960s, Black look back at the brave actions of indi- in persuading the Union Army not oppression and segregation persist- viduals in Orange County who fought to burn down the University during ed despite the passage of the Civil for civil rights, yet also important to the Civil War. Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting COURTESY OF CHARLIE BLUMENTHAL remember its history. The oppression of Black peo - Rights Act of 1965. The story begins with the ple in Chapel Hill was not limited UNC students in 1960 stand in front of a restaurant during the time of the Howard University’s construction. UNC was to the antebellum period. Julian SEE CIVIL RIGHTS, PAGE 7 Johnson Sitdown Action protest. CAROLINA ATHLETICS MEN’S LACROSSE VS. DENVER WOMEN’S LACROSSE VS. NORTHWESTERN WOMEN’S TENNIS VS. DUKE SAT., MARCH 2 AT 10AM SAT., MARCH 2 AT 12:30PM WED., MARCH 6 AT 3PM UNC LACROSSE & SOCCER STADIUM UNC LACROSSE & SOCCER STADIUM CONE-KENFIELD TENNIS CENTER +2 FEVER POINTS • FREE BOJANGLES’ FOR FIRST 250 STUDENTS BETWEEN GAMES +3 FEVER POINTS +3 FEVER POINTS ADMISSION TO THESE EVENTS IS FREE FOR UNC STUDENTS, FACULTY, AND STAFF WITH A VALID UNC ONE CARD. FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT Your hands are gravity while my hands are tied. BOYGENIUS 2 Friday, March 1, 2019 News The Daily Tar Heel The Daily Tar Heel Established 1893 125 years of editorial freedom Chapel Hill Nine commemorated RACHEL JONES By Julia Masters Our Future timeline was introduced EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Staff Writer to the public in November 2018. The [email protected] timeline allows Chapel Hill commu- BAILEY ALDRIDGE On Feb. 28, 1960, nine students nity history projects where residents MANAGING EDITOR from the all-Black Lincoln High can share their stories or memories [email protected] School held a sit-in at the Colonial of the time period. Drug Store, which was only open to They have also made civil rights SARAH LUNDGREN white customers — an action that trading cards with facts about the ONLINE MANAGING EDITOR would facilitate future civil rights local movement, available to all K-12 [email protected] activism in Chapel Hill. Chapel Hill and Carrboro schools for MARIA ELENA VIZCAINO On Thursday, 405 W. Franklin St., classroom use. DIRECTOR OF ENTERPRISE the former location of the drug store, Buansi said there will be a com- [email protected] was dedicated to honor the students’ memoration service for Harold MYAH WARD courage, followed by a community Foster, the organizer of the Chapel UNIVERSITY EDITOR celebration at First Baptist Church Hill Nine, this spring.