Ora Lee Malone Papers, 1940-1990, bulk 1973-1990 (S0670)
1.6 cubic feet (53 folders)
This collection documents activist and Labor leader Ora Lee Malone’s career from 1970 to 1990. Malone’s involvement in the Labor movement began in 1956 when she organized St. Louis workers to join the ACWA (Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America). In 1970, the ACWA hired her as their first Black international business representative. Malone merged the interests of the civil rights movement and women’s rights movement into the Labor movement, and was foundational in the organization of national Labor unions dedicated specifically to the interests of female and Black workers. In the 1980s, she became a key figure in the transnational anti-apartheid movement. The Ora Lee Malone Papers include Malone’s personal notes and speeches, correspondence, organizational papers, and reference materials.
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