Anna Mae Weems recalls her civil rights actions in the 1950s and '60s as a member of the United Packinghouse Workers of America, the union representing workers at The Rath Packing Co. in Waterloo.
The UPWA dispatched its members in support of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, led by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., participating in actions of civil disobedience at racially segregated lunch counters and other public accommodations, primarily in the South.
On at least one occasion, Mrs. Weems was taken into custody during a lunch counter sit in in Oklahoma City, in which she incurred the wrath of white patrons. Mr. Weems also marched for a day in the weeks-long the sanitation workers strike in Memphis Tenn., during which Dr. King was assassinated on April 4, 1968.
#BlackHistoryMonth
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Do you have a story that you would like to share?
The Grout Museum District, in partnership with the NAACP and Experience Waterloo, has established the community-based "Black Stories Collective" committee to collect and preserve Black oral histories. The stories will be preserved and shared though exhibition and online publication. The lack of Black perspective in the Grout Museum’s "Voices of Iowa" oral history archive, which was brought to light during the 2020 social justice movement by the community, has made the "Black Stories Collective Project" a priority.
To inquire about being interviewed call 319.234.6357 or email bob.neymeyer@gmdistrict.orgProject a priority.