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Oral History Interview with Britain Forsyth (Part 2)
No full textBritain Forsyth is the policy and research coordinator at Step Up. She was also the C4 board chair for Forum for Equality, a statewide LGBT rights organization, and a member of the Louisiana Democratic State Central Committee. Born in 1995 in Lafayette, Louisiana, to educator parents, she grew up in what she described as a liberal but deeply segregated environment. Her personal journey included moving to New Orleans as a teenager, pursuing a bachelor\u27s degree in counseling, and later earning a Master of Public Administration (MPA) from the University of New Orleans after leaving a counseling master\u27s program to pursue political activism. Her expertise was in community organizing, legislative strategy, and economic and social justice advocacy.https://scholarworks.uno.edu/ejrloh/1034/thumbnail.jp
Oral History Interview with Alfred Marshall (Part 1)
No full textAlfred Marshall was born in New Orleans on March 12, 1959, and grew up in the Calliope housing projects (later B.W. Cooper, now Marrero Commons) in Central City. His mother was a cook and his father was a businessman who ran a fruit truck and a barbershop. As a young man, he was an athlete. His life was profoundly shaped by early and repeated encounters with the criminal justice system, experiences with systemic racism, the impact of the War on Drugs on his community, and the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. Through his post-Katrina activism with organizations like STAND and the Worker\u27s Center for Racial Justice, he developed expertise in community organizing, labor rights, and building Black-Brown solidarity.https://scholarworks.uno.edu/ejrloh/1031/thumbnail.jp
Oral History Interview with Willie Woods (Part 2)
No full textWillie Woods Jr. is a lifelong resident of New Orleans, born in 1959 and raised in the Treme neighborhood. His father was a Teamster truck driver, and his mother worked in the hospitality industry. Mr. Woods spent his entire career as a banquet server in New Orleans, working at the Convention Center, the Fairmont Hotel, the Monteleone, and the Hilton. Through his decades of work, he gained extensive first-hand experience in both union and non-union environments, which culminated in his role as a worker-organizer in the campaign to unionize the Hilton.https://scholarworks.uno.edu/ejrloh/1036/thumbnail.jp
Oral History Interview with Valerie Jefferson
No full textValerie Jefferson was born in Chicago in 1965 and raised in Magnolia, Mississippi. She earned a degree in elementary education from Alcorn University. After finding that teaching did not pay enough, she moved to New Orleans and was hired as a bus operator for the RTA in 1993. Her experience being fired and subsequently reinstated with the union\u27s help spurred her deep involvement in ATU Local 1560. She held various roles, including shop steward and vice president, before being elected as the local\u27s first female president in 2019. Beyond her union work, Ms. Jefferson served as the labor chair for the New Orleans branch and the Louisiana State Conference of the NAACP. She was also an active member of the ATU International Black Caucus, the ATU International Women\u27s Caucus, and community organizations like Step Up Louisiana.https://scholarworks.uno.edu/ejrloh/1037/thumbnail.jp
Oral History Interview with Willie Woods (Part 1)
No full textWillie Woods Jr. is a lifelong resident of New Orleans, born in 1959 and raised in the Treme neighborhood. His father was a Teamster truck driver, and his mother worked in the hospitality industry. Mr. Woods spent his entire career as a banquet server in New Orleans, working at the Convention Center, the Fairmont Hotel, the Monteleone, and the Hilton. Through his decades of work, he gained extensive first-hand experience in both union and non-union environments, which culminated in his role as a worker-organizer in the campaign to unionize the Hilton.https://scholarworks.uno.edu/ejrloh/1035/thumbnail.jp
Oral History Interview with Alfred Marshall (Part 2)
No full textAlfred Marshall was born in New Orleans on March 12, 1959, and grew up in the Calliope housing projects (later B.W. Cooper, now Marrero Commons) in Central City. His mother was a cook and his father was a businessman who ran a fruit truck and a barbershop. As a young man, he was an athlete. His life was profoundly shaped by early and repeated encounters with the criminal justice system, experiences with systemic racism, the impact of the War on Drugs on his community, and the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. Through his post-Katrina activism with organizations like STAND and the Worker\u27s Center for Racial Justice, he developed expertise in community organizing, labor rights, and building Black-Brown solidarity.https://scholarworks.uno.edu/ejrloh/1032/thumbnail.jp
Oral History Interview with Britain Forsyth (Part 1)
No full textBritain Forsyth is the policy and research coordinator at Step Up. She was also the C4 board chair for Forum for Equality, a statewide LGBT rights organization, and a member of the Louisiana Democratic State Central Committee. Born in 1995 in Lafayette, Louisiana, to educator parents, she grew up in what she described as a liberal but deeply segregated environment. Her personal journey included moving to New Orleans as a teenager, pursuing a bachelor\u27s degree in counseling, and later earning a Master of Public Administration (MPA) from the University of New Orleans after leaving a counseling master\u27s program to pursue political activism. Her expertise was in community organizing, legislative strategy, and economic and social justice advocacy.https://scholarworks.uno.edu/ejrloh/1033/thumbnail.jp
Oral History Interview with Shaun Mills
No full textSean Mills is a 46-year-old organizer with Unite Here, a labor union. He was born and raised in the Uptown area of New Orleans, attending Alcee Fortier High School. Mills has worked in the service industry, including as a cook at a private golf club and later at the Harris Casino. His experiences with workplace issues like nepotism and lack of advancement opportunities led him to get involved in the unionization effort at Harris Casino, which he helped lead to a successful contract negotiation.https://scholarworks.uno.edu/ejrloh/1012/thumbnail.jp
Oral History Interview with Helene O\u27Brien
No full textHelene O\u27Brien was born in 1963 in the Bronx, New York. She grew up in a progressive, union-oriented environment and was exposed to the Catholic Worker movement and liberation theology from a young age. She began her career as a community organizer with ACORN in New York City in the late 1980s, eventually becoming the national field director for the organization. After Hurricane Katrina, she moved to New Orleans to help lead ACORN\u27s efforts there, and later transitioned to working with SEIU in Louisiana and Florida, where she currently serves as the Vice President for Local 32 BJ of SEIU.https://scholarworks.uno.edu/ejrloh/1016/thumbnail.jp
