Session: 123456789101112131415161718192021222324         Page 178179180181182183184185186187188189190191192193194195196197198199200201202203 of 592

We were faced with it, but the people who raised it from staff and from inside the union were usually people who were not regarded as trustworthy people. For example, I remember Eddie Bragg, who had come on the staff in the drug division and later had moved to the hospital division and was sort of a slick operator, he was among the first to take on the black power thing. The problem was that he was regarded as a phony, sohe couldn't convince anybody. You take David White. David White was always a black nationalist, but David White, with Davis -- you see, there used to be a feeling, and people said it, that Davis was blacker than the blacks. Davis would always take positions on black issues that were far in advance of everybody else. Davis also had this terrible weakness of never confronting Doris Turner with the weaknesses that she that had of soft-soaping things. He'd go by easy, “Well, we'll have to work with her.” Instead of really being sharp when she exhibited real weaknesses, people got the feeling, “Oh, he's taking it easy on her. He let's her off on these things. She's messed up on this, but it's okay.”

So in your opinion, the fact that you were four white men leading a union that was made up predominantly of black women --

Black and Hispanic women.

-- never really undermined your authority or credibility with the members?

I tell you what problems were presented. We began to have undercurrents. People were meeting privately on it already. Probably in the mid-Seventies.

So it was not an issue in 1965?

No, no. Oh, no. No. Oh, my gosh, no. 1965, no. Once we start going nationally, that's another thing.

Another feather in the leadership's cap.

Yes. More big problems. You take the Charleston strike. Now, the Charleston strike is interesting because we're now in Charleston, South Carolina. At some point I have to tell you this story of the strike.

You will, but not yet.

I want to make a point now. You're now with a strike by 400 black women. Elliott Godoff is there, I'm there, and Henry Nicholas is there. Elliott has to take a back seat. He's there all the time. Nicholas is up front. Dave White is up front with the young people outside the