OHD-012. Lorena Weeks interviewed by Kathleen Clark, November 9, 2009, in Wadley, Georgia.
UGA History Professor Dr. Kathleen Clark interviews Lorena Weeks about her life and her discrimination case against Southern Bell in the 1960s. Lorena Weeks recalls how she started working at Southern Bell Telephone Company. She discusses her early life working several jobs to provide for her family. Weeks reflects on her decision to apply for a switchman job after President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act into law. She discusses her reaction upon being denied on the basis of being a woman. Weeks comments on her attempt to get union backing and subsequent decision to sue. Weeks recalls appealing the decision with Sylvia Roberts after losing her suit in district court. She recalls Sylvia Roberts' personality and attitude toward the case. Weeks discusses the effect of the lawsuit on her family. She recalls testifying in Washington, D.C. to the FCC. Weeks discusses the circumstances surrounding her childhood and the early death of her parents.
This video is from the Oral History Documentary Collection at the Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies, University of Georgia Libraries.