- Collection:
- Southern Labor Archives
- Title:
- James Orange oral history interview, 2003-07-15
- Creator:
- Orange, James (Civil rights worker)
- Contributor to Resource:
- Woodrum, Robert H.
- Publisher:
- Atlanta, Ga. : Georgia State University Library
- Date of Original:
- 2003-07-15
- Subject:
- Civil rights workers
Civil rights demonstrations
Poor People’s Campaign
Labor unions--Organizing
Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union
Southern Christian Leadership Conference - People:
- King, Martin Luther, Jr., 1929-1968
- Location:
- United States, Alabama, Jefferson County, Birmingham, 33.52066, -86.80249
United States, Georgia, Fulton County, 33.79025, -84.46702
United States, Georgia, Fulton County, Atlanta, 33.749, -84.38798 - Medium:
- oral histories (literary works)
interviews - Type:
- Sound
- Format:
- audio/mpeg
- Description:
- The Reverend James Orange was born in Birmingham, Alabama in 1942. As a young man, Orange was active in the civil rights movement, especially with the movement to integrate the schools and bus boycotts in Birmingham. Through his involvement in Birmingham, Selma and with the Poor People’s Campaign, he became closely associated with Martin Luther King; he was present at King’s assassination in Memphis in 1968. Orange became involved with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in the early 1960s, remaining active until 1977, when he began to work for the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union on the J. P. Stevens organizing campaign. Since that time, he has served numerous national and international labor and civil rights organizations, notably as state chair of the People’s Agenda for Voter Empowerment, working in voter education and registration drives throughout Georgia.
After briefly referring to his later labor work, Rev. Orange discusses his civil rights activities in Birmingham, particularly his work to integrate the Birmingham schools, and he discusses a trip to Texas with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference to assist the migrant workers. Rev. Orange talks about his friendship with Martin Luther King, King’s final days, and his presence with King at King’s assassination in Memphis. The conversation turns to Orange’s participation in the Selma march, the march on Montgomery, and voter registration drives. Rev. Orange reflects on his spiritual side, speaking especially about the labor movement in the context of religion, and the dominant presence of African-Americans and other minorities in labor. After briefly mentioning Governor George Wallace, Orange talks about his work for the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers beginning in 1977; especially his involvement with the J. P. Stevens campaign. Orange also discusses his more recent activities as state chair of the Georgia People’s Agenda for Voter Empowerment, his anti-apartheid work, the International Olympic Committee, and the Ambassador program in Atlanta. At the conclusion of the interview Orange briefly reflects on the future of the coalition between labor and the civil rights movement. - Metadata URL:
- http://digitalcollections.library.gsu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/labor/id/6098
- IIIF manifest:
- https://digitalcollections.library.gsu.edu/iiif/2/labor:6098/manifest.json
- Language:
- eng
- Additional Rights Information:
- Copyright to this item is owned by Georgia State University Library. Georgia State University Library has made this item available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. For more information see http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
- Bibliographic Citation (Cite As):
- Cite as: Orange, James, interviewed by Robert Woodrum, July 15, 2003, Voices of Labor Oral History Project, Southern Labor Archives. Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University.
- Extent:
- 01:32:18
- Original Collection:
- Voices of Labor Oral History Project
http://research.library.gsu.edu/VoicesofLabor
Southern Labor Archives - Holding Institution:
- Georgia State University. Special Collections
- Rights:
-
