Rosina C. Tucker papers

1981-1984

Born in 1881 in Washington D.C., Rosina Corrothers Tucker worked as a union organizer for the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters and served as the first president of the union's Ladies Auxiliary. She assisted in the planning for a March on Washington in 1941 to demand fair employment practices for African Americans, and also helped organize laundry and domestic workers in the District of Columbia. A prominent church, civic, and community activist in Washington D.C., she helped found the Northeast Women's Club, served as the first president of the Public Interest Civic Association, and was the driving force in a campaign for the expansion and construction of better public schools in Washington D.C. She is the author of an autobiographical work, My Life As I Lived It, and was the narrator for the television documentary, Miles of Smiles, Years of Struggles, produced in 1982. This collection consists of correspondence; certificates and awards; speeches; printed matter; and documents marking the celebration of Rosina Tucker's 100th birthday, her contribution to the trade-union movement, and her many achievements as a community and civil rights organizer. Also documented is Tucker's testimony, in 1984, before the Subcommittee on Aging of the Labor and Human Resources Committee of the United States Senate and her participation at the 1982 Leadership Conference on Civil Rights.