Rocky Mount Sanitation Workers Strike

"Labor activism was brewing in the South in the 1970s, and North Carolina was the scene of several strikes. The continuation of that civil rights movement was felt in Rocky Mount with a sanitation workers’ strike that started in July 1978.
Their efforts to win dignity and to build leaders was recognized today September 7, 2019, with a N.C. Highway Historical Marker at the BTW Community Center, 727 Pennsylvania Ave., Rocky Mount.

Accusations against a deeply religious worker named Alexander Evans, called Preacher, was the catalyst for the workers actions. Sanitation workers had long salvaged discarded goods, and Evans distributed them to the needy in his community. That summer a supervisor asked of any of the staff had picked up a suit in a wealthy neighborhood. Evans said he had collected the suit and would bring it back the next day.

Evans was arrested and suspended from work instead. Vietnam veteran and coworker Leonard Giles recalled telling Sam Gray in human resources that if he was accused of stealing something, he wouldn’t be given the chance to say anything and that he could not work like that.

“We stand. We’re going to stand with Mr. Evans until he gets his stuff straight,” Giles said.

The Concerned Citizens Association (CCA) and the Black Coalition, including local Southern Christian Leadership Conference chapters (SCLC), and the NAACP intervened, on Evans’ behalf. He was reassigned to the parks department and assured all charges would be dropped. The strike was ended but a few days later the sanitation workers learned that charges were not dropped.

The strike was reinstated with four goals: to clear Evans of charges and restore him to his job, to return to their jobs free from retaliation, to secure promotion of blacks into supervisory positions, and to end abusive treatment by supervisors.

The workers were not affiliated with a labor group nor trained in organizing. Local representatives of national organizations, including Naomi Green and Golden Frinks with SCLC, assisted the sanitation workers with successful marches and rallies The N.C. Trade Union Education League and the African Liberation Support Committee also lent support to the workers strike.

Evans was convicted of misdemeanor larceny but the verdict later was overturned thanks to two young lawyers, Quentin Sumner and Antonio Lawrence, and their effective defense. Evans was promoted to sanitation driver and worked for the city until retirement.

Naomi Green and CCA leader Rev. Thomas Walker remained active in local politics. Quentin Sumner eventually was elected N.C. Superior Court judge. The strike was critical to development of local leaders and reshaped the labor movement in North Carolina and also impacted the movement for African American voting rights.

The Phoenix Historical Society organized the program for the marker dedication, which included remarks from strike leader Leonard Giles, and others. A documentary about the strike produced by the city of Rocky Mount followed the marker dedication."

Source: NC Dept Of Highway Historical Markers