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Moe FonerMoe Foner
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Session:         Page of 592

Foner:

Well, my conclusion was that you could win over everybody if you had an opportunity. And we've done that in many places where we had enemies, people who would normally be our enemies, ending up as our friend. With the Richardsons and the Turners, I did what is their greatest achievement, because they told Gerda Lerner a couple of years ago, the author of women's history, Gerda visited and was speaking in Virginia, and the Richardsons invited her to come to their home. When she was there, they said to her, “We want to show you something in our basement which is the proudest thing in our life.” It was a plaque containing the telegram that I got Dr. King to send them. They had put it up there, and they were saying that it was the proudest thing in their life.

Now, I saw Turner's son. He's written an article about the Bronxville strike for the New York State--one of the historical things that I turned over to our people now. A coincidence. Right now we're organizing the workers at Lawrence Hospital. On March 29th we have an election. There were still two workers who are on strike and still working in the hospital.

Q:

They were on strike in 1965, and the strike did not result in union recognition.

Foner:

And are now working in the hospital now. And if we hopefully win that vote, we will have a history sort of coming together in an unusual fashion.

Q:

Are the Turners and Richardsons still alive?

Foner:

They're not in New York. Their son, however, is a historian and wrote a piece on the strike, which our people have.

Now let's see. The other things, let me run through them. Obviously my meeting with Dr. King in the home of Stanley Levison. Stanley was the key advisor to King, and I had known Stanley. Stanley said, “When he comes to my home, I want you to come and meet him.” And I met King there. King agreed that night to sit down and write a statement and to say to me, “Anytime you need me, just get in touch with Stanley. If I'm free, I'm coming. Otherwise, any statements you need, check it with Stanley.” That became my relationship with Dr. King. “My favorite union,” I wrote the speech where he said that. I wrote speeches where he said many things about our union.

Q:

Which Stanley Levison would approve.





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