Maida Springer
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Maida Springer Kemp (; May 12, 1910 – March 29, 2005) was an American
labor organizer A union organizer (or union organiser in Commonwealth spelling) is a specific type of trade union member (often elected) or an appointed union official. A majority of unions appoint rather than elect their organizers. In some unions, the orga ...
who worked extensively in the garment industry to improve labor standards for men and women in America through the Local Union 22. She was also known for her extensive work in Africa for the AFL–CIO. Nicknamed "Mama Maida", she advised fledgling labor unions, set up education and training programs, and liaised between American and African labor leaders. In 1945, traveling to England on a labor-exchange trip, as well as observing the conditions of war-torn Britain she would become one of the first African-American woman to represent US labor abroad. She was also active in the
civil rights movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, Racial discrimination ...
, and advocated for women's rights around the world. She was very active in these movements for most of her life.


Early life

Springer was born Maida Stewart on May, 12, 1910 in Panama, to Harold and Adina Stewart. Her father was a Barbadian immigrant who worked on the
Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a conduit ...
project. At the age of seven, she moved with her family to
Harlem, New York Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...
, where she attended St. Mark's Catholic School. Her parents divorced soon after, and Springer was raised by her politically active mother. The Stewart home was a gathering place for activists and members of the
Universal Negro Improvement Association The Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA-ACL) is a black nationalist fraternal organization founded by Marcus Garvey, a Jamaican immigrant to the United States, and Amy Ashwood Garvey. The Pan-African o ...
(UNIA), whose accounts of personal experiences with racism had a lasting influence on Springer.
Henrietta Vinton Davis Henrietta Vinton Davis (August 25, 1860 – November 23, 1941) was an African-American elocutionist, dramatist, and impersonator. In addition to being "the premier actor of all nineteenth-century black performers on the dramatic stage", Davis ...
, a founding member of the UNIA, was an inspiration as a female activist. Springer attended the Manual Training and Industrial School for Colored Youth in
Bordentown, New Jersey Bordentown is a city in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 3,924.Lester Granger Lester Blackwell Granger (September 16, 1896 – January 1976) was an African American civic leader who organized the Los Angeles chapter of the National Urban League (NUL) and headed the league from 1941 to 1961. Early life Granger was born ...
and
William H. Hastie William Henry Hastie Jr. (November 17, 1904 – April 14, 1976) was an American lawyer, judge, educator, public official, and civil rights advocate. He was the first African American to serve as Governor of the United States Virgin Islands, as a ...
. She married Owen Springer in 1927. The couple felt the hardships of the
Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
; son Eric Springer was born in 1929. Owen Springer's work as a dental tools technician was increasingly slow and his pay declined. Maida Springer then decided to start work in the garment factories.


Career

In 1933, she met
A. Philip Randolph Asa Philip Randolph (April 15, 1889 – May 16, 1979) was an American labor unionist and civil rights activist. In 1925, he organized and led the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, the first successful African-American led labor union. In ...
, who became a lifelong friend and mentor. That same year she joined the Dressmakers' Union Local 22 of the
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union The International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU), whose members were employed in the women's clothing industry, was once one of the largest labor unions in the United States, one of the first U.S. unions to have a primarily female membe ...
(ILGWU). Local 22's connections included Jay Lovestone. Chris Zimmerman saw the importance of gaining favor with other groups of people. As the manager of Local 22, he helped Springer rise within the organization. The joint efforts of Springer and newly elected union president David Dubinsky started a change that would shape the American work force into what it is today.
Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
and the National Industrial Recovery Act gave union sympathizers more room to grow and spread their message. The ILGWU went on strike in 1933 to demand better conditions and pay. Dubinsky and his collaborators fought for a minimum wage as well as fixed hour work weeks. Union membership skyrocketed to almost 200,000 members by the end of 1934. During the period of 1934-1942, Springer was a tireless worker for Local 22. She was involved not only in the executive and educational boards, but also was a shop representative and would meet with the factory bosses and settle on prices to make work fair among workers. She took courses offered by the
American Federation of Labor The American Federation of Labor (A.F. of L.) was a national federation of labor unions in the United States that continues today as the AFL-CIO. It was founded in Columbus, Ohio, in 1886 by an alliance of craft unions eager to provide mutu ...
(AFL), the Wellesley College Institute for Social Progress, and the Hudson Shore Labor School. In time she became an ILGWU shop representative, and eventually rose to the executive board and education committee. In addition to labor issues, Local 22 took an active part in civil rights activities in the Harlem community. Over the next few years, Springer became increasingly active in union activities in New York. She served as Education Director of Local 132 of the Plastic Button and Novelty Workers' Union from 1942 to 1945. Springer's first official assignment as the education director for Local 132 came in 1942. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, as most of the men had gone off to Europe to fight, positions in the shops had to be filled. Springer's task as education head had her create lesson plans informing new union members about what a union can offer as well as the goals set out for them. She would run for the New York State Assembly on the American Labor Party ticket in 1942. From there she was appointed to the War Price and Rationing Board of the
Office of Price Administration The Office of Price Administration (OPA) was established within the Office for Emergency Management of the United States government by Executive Order 8875 on August 28, 1941. The functions of the OPA were originally to control money (price contr ...
in 1944. In 1945, Springer took on becoming a business agent for Local 22. Her work consisted of overseeing complaints as well as implementation. That same year she would become the first African-American woman to represent US labor abroad when she traveled to England as an AFL delegate, on a trip sponsored by the
United States Office of War Information The United States Office of War Information (OWI) was a United States government agency created during World War II. The OWI operated from June 1942 until September 1945. Through radio broadcasts, newspapers, posters, photographs, films and other ...
, to study wartime working conditions in Great Britain. Springer would go on to experience first hand the actions and sacrifices made by Britain and Europe as a whole, from subway tunnels in London being refashioned into air-raid bunkers for the masses. Springer also met Anna Freud and her psychological work with children dealing with the shock from the constant bombing and worry. From 1948 to 1951, she served as business agent for Dressmakers' Union Local 22 of the ILGWU; she was the first African-American business agent to represent a district.


International work

In the 1950s Springer began working for the AFL as an advisor to newly founded labor unions in Tanzania, Kenya, and Ghana, where she came to be known as "Mama Maida". In 1951, sponsored by the American Labor Education Service, she traveled to Sweden and Denmark to observe workers' education programs. She then took an eight-month hiatus from ILGWU to study at Ruskin Labor College, Oxford University, on an
Urban League The National Urban League, formerly known as the National League on Urban Conditions Among Negroes, is a nonpartisan historic civil rights organization based in New York City that advocates on behalf of economic and social justice for African Am ...
Fellowship. In 1955 she attended the first International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) conference in
Accra Accra (; tw, Nkran; dag, Ankara; gaa, Ga or ''Gaga'') is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , ...
, Ghana, as one of five observers, of which she was the only woman. In 1957 she played a key role in the founding of Solidarity House in Nairobi. Through her efforts she had brought together African traders and continued their education on understanding the inner workings of a union, as well as implementation. In 1959 Springer went to work for the AFL–CIO's Department of International Affairs as its representative to Africa. For the next several years she made her home alternately in
Dar es Salaam Dar es Salaam (; from ar, دَار السَّلَام, Dâr es-Selâm, lit=Abode of Peace) or commonly known as Dar, is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over s ...
(Tanzania),
Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...
(Kenya), and
Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
, New York. She started an exchange program for Africans to study at
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
, founded a trade school in Kenya whose mission included expanding opportunities for women, established a post-secondary scholarship for Tanzanian girls, and started the Maida Fund to enable farm workers in East Africa to return to school. In the course of her work she befriended many of Africa's emerging leaders, including Julius Nyerere of Tanzania and
Kwame Nkrumah Kwame Nkrumah (born 21 September 190927 April 1972) was a Ghanaian politician, political theorist, and revolutionary. He was the first Prime Minister and President of Ghana, having led the Gold Coast to independence from Britain in 1957. An in ...
of Ghana. Between 1957 and 1963, she attended the national independence ceremonies of Ghana, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Kenya. In 1964 Springer represented the US at the 48th session of the
International Labour Organization The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and o ...
conference in Geneva. In 1966 she resumed working as a general organizer for ILGWU. Later she worked for the A. Philip Randolph Institute. In the 1970s, as a consultant for the Asian-American Free Labor Institute (AAFLI), she worked with trade unions in Turkey, where she helped introduce women into the labor movement by establishing the Women's Bureau of TÜRK-İŞ. Initially her efforts were met with resistance by male union leaders who wanted women to participate in the organizing work, but had little interest in the concerns of women workers, such as equal pay, equal opportunity, and child care. She also worked in Indonesia to get more women involved in the labor movement. She attended
International Women's Year International Women's Year (IWY) was the name given to 1975 by the United Nations. Since that year March 8 has been celebrated as International Women's Day, and the United Nations Decade for Women, from 1976 to 1985, was also established. Hist ...
conferences in Mexico and Nairobi in 1975, and the Pan African Conference on the Role of Trade Union Women in 1977.


Personal life

Springer Kemp married Owen Springer in the late 1920s, and had a son, Eric. The marriage ended in divorce. In 1965 she married James Kemp. She was a persistent worker, as well as very involved in the labor movement. By the nature of her work she was rarely home and would put strains on her marriage with James Kemp. Both were committed individuals to civil rights and labor equality. In the late 1970s Springer Kemp moved to Pittsburgh, where she lived the rest of her life. She died after a long illness on March 29, 2005, aged 94.


Honors and awards

Springer Kemp received many awards over the course of her 50-year career, including the National Council of Negro Women's Woman of the Year Award, a Candace Award from the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, the
Bessie Abramowitz Hillman Bessie Abramowitz Hillman (born Bas Sheva Abramowitz; May 15, 1889 – December 23, 1970) was a labor activist and founder of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America. She led the 1910 Chicago Garment Workers' Strike, which brought about the c ...
Award from the
Coalition of Labor Union Women The Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization of trade union women affiliated with the AFL-CIO. The CLUW is a bridging organization that seeks to create connections between the feminist movement and the labor ...
, the first annual
Rosina Tucker Rosina Tucker (4 November 1881 - 3 March 1987) was an American labor organizer, civil rights activist, and educator. She is best known for helping to organize the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, the first African-American trade union. At the ...
Award from the A. Philip Randolph Institute, the Women's Rights Award from the American Federation of Teachers, and an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from
Brooklyn College, City University of New York , mottoeng = Nothing without great effort , established = , parent = CUNY , type = Public university , endowment = $98.0 million (2019) , budget = $123.96 mi ...
. The Maida Springer Kemp Fund, created in her honor by
UNITE Unite may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Albums * ''Unite'' (A Friend in London album), 2013 album by Danish band A Friend in London * ''Unite'' (Kool & the Gang album), 1993 * ''Unite'' (The O.C. Supertones album), 2005 Songs ...
and the AFL–CIO, combats child labor in East Africa by sending children to school for technical training, providing financial aid to women to start small businesses, and supporting needlework schools. Lawyer Pauli Murray dedicated her memoir, '' Song in a Weary Throat'', to Springer Kemp. Springer Kemp was a member of the National Council of Negro Women, the
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. ...
, the African-American Free Labor Institute, the Asian-American Free Labor Institute, the National Organization for Women, and the
Coalition of Labor Union Women The Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization of trade union women affiliated with the AFL-CIO. The CLUW is a bridging organization that seeks to create connections between the feminist movement and the labor ...
.


See also

* Pauli Murray


References


Further reading

* * *’Farrell, and Brigid. “A Stitch in Time.” ''Transatlantica. Revue d'études Américaines. American Studies Journal'', Association Française d'études Américaines (AFEA), 7 Jan. 2006, http://journals.openedition.org/transatlantica/190.


External links


Maida Kemp Interview Transcript
OH-31. Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.
Papers of Maida Springer Kemp, 1942-1981: A Finding Aid.Schlesinger Library
Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University. {{DEFAULTSORT:Kemp, Maida Springer 1910 births 2005 deaths African-American trade unionists American women trade unionists American people of Barbadian descent Trade unionists from New York (state) Alumni of Ruskin College Panamanian emigrants to the United States Black Women Oral History Project People from Harlem 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women 21st-century African-American women