There's Always Work at the Post Office: African American Postal Workers and the Fight for Jobs, Justice, and Equality

Notes

NOTES abbreviations Biller Files American Postal Workers Union–Moe Biller Files, Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Archives, Bobst Library, New York University, New York, N.Y. Branch 36 interview Interview by author with Al Marino, Frank Orapello, and Vincent Sombrotto, October 15, 2004, New York, N.Y. BTV Behind the Veil: Documenting African American Life in the Jim Crow South, Center for Documentary Studies Collection, Duke University Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library, Durham, N.C. FEPC Records Selected Documents from Records of the Committee on Fair Employment Practice, Record Group 228 in the custody of the National Archives, edited by Bruce I. Friend (Glen Rock, N.J.: Microfilming Corporation of America, 1970), microfilm (Bobst Library, New York University, New York, N.Y.) Local 251 Minutes American Postal Workers Union—Brooklyn Local 251 Minutes, 1918–1977, microfilm NAACP Collection Manuscript—Education, Sweatt v. Painter, NAACP Collection, 1945–1950 (Primary Source), [http:// cis.lexis.nexis.com] (May 21, 2006) NAACP Papers Papers of the NAACP, edited by John H. Bracey Jr. and August Meier (Baltimore: University Press of America, 1992), microfilm New York Metro interview Interview by author with Eleanor Bailey, Joann Flagler, Frederick John, Carlton Tilley, and Gregory Wilson, October 14, 2004, New York, N.Y. NYMAPUC American Postal Workers Union–New York Metro Area Postal Union Collection, Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Archives, Bobst Library, New York University, New York, N.Y. UNIA Records Universal Negro Improvement Association Records of the Central Division (New York), 1918–1959, Schomburg Library Collection (Wilmington, Del.: Scholarly Resources, 1995), microfilm USPS Archives U.S. Postal Service Archives and Library, Washington, D.C. 288 | notes to pages 1–2 introduction 1. In Hollywood Shu∆e the grandmother and mother of Townsend’s character, Bobby Taylor, get into an argument over whether he should have accepted the role of a stereotypical black pimp and gang leader in a film. Bobby’s mother defends his decision to take the role, because ‘‘it’s work,’’ to which the grandmother retorts, ‘‘There’s work at the post o≈ce!’’ Her point is that despite his desire to practice his craft, the demeaning stereotypes of such Hollywood roles are dishonest. Furthermore, an honest occupational alternative for African Americans, both historically and at present, exists at the post o≈ce. Bobby tells himself that he needs the work, but he also harbors doubts over the ethics of taking these kinds of roles. The film climaxes with Bobby resolving his dilemma by walking out in the middle of filming a scene (with his grandmother, mother, and younger brother watching). In response to another black actor’s rationalization of needing the work, Bobby retorts with his grandmother’s line about the post o≈ce. The movie concludes with Bobby in a letter carrier’s uniform filming a short recruitment advertisement for the U.S. Postal Service: ‘‘Through rain, sleet, and snow, I deliver your mail. I’m a U.S. postman, and you can be one, too. I deliver people’s dreams. And more importantly, I have the respect and admiration of the entire community. And that makes me proud. So if you can’t take pride in your job, remember—there’s always work at the post o≈ce!’’ See Hollywood Shu∆e, dir. Robert Townsend, 1987. This was not the first time postal work was singled out as a dignified job for African Americans. Evoking the upsurge of black movement culture in the postwar era and the leadership roles played by black professionals, the 1953 film Bright Road—Harry Belafonte’s film debut—includes a scene where Belafonte’s character, a school principal in the South, is taking the postal exam. See Bright Road, dir. Gerald Mayer, 1953. I am indebted to Paul Tennassee for this reference. On the other hand, one is hard pressed to find black postal workers in classic Hollywood films with postal workers in well-known roles, such as Miracle on 34th Street (dir. George Seaton, 1947). In contrast, black postal workers appear in more recent films such as Jingle All the Way (dir. Brian Levant, 1996), with the comedian Sinbad (more in line with the recent stereotype of the volatile postal worker), as well as Poetic Justice (dir. John Singleton, 1993), in which Tupac Shakur’s character probably represents the most extreme example (fictional or otherwise) of a letter carrier deviating from his route (to use o≈cial postal jargon)—driving his postal vehicle several hundred miles between...