Justice, Girvaud, 1944-

Wright, Christina

Charlotte, North Carolina

J. Murrey Atkins Library Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Charlotte

2006-09-22

1 audio file (1:16:36) : digital, MP3 + 1 transcript (25 pages)

sound recording-nonmusical

spoken word

eng

Girvaud Justice was a 62-year-old woman at the time of interview, which took place in St. Luke’s United Methodist Church. She was born in Charlotte, North Carolina in 1944. She was educated at UNC Charlotte and Central Piedmont Community College; and was employed with the U.S. Postal Service as a station manager and data technician, and with the Social Security Administration and the Charlotte Water Department in administrative roles.

Girvaud Justice was one of four African American students who attended all-white schools in Charlotte in 1957 as a challenge to the city's slow response to desegregate schools, which had been mandated by the Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education in 1954. In this final of four interviews, Mrs. Justice discusses her career in Charlotte, starting in the early 1960s at the Charlotte Water Department, where she was the first person of color to be employed. Her next employment was with the local Social Security Administration, which she describes as a model work environment where employees were valued and good work was rewarded. Following the advice of her brother, who was employed at the Charlotte Post Office, Mrs. Justice moved from the Social Security Administration into the post office, where she remained for many years despite the difficult work environment. Although well recompensed and promoted to management, Mrs. Justice recalls that she witnessed discrimination of various kinds at the post office, including racism, sexism, and ageism. In particular, she recalls inappropriate behavior by male workers and especially white male managers who took advantage of their positions to seduce black and white female employees. During the interview Mrs. Justice also discusses her opinions about children's discipline, which she feels should be handled directly by parents and teachers, and illegal immigrants, who she feels should not be sanctioned and permitted to work since they have broken the law.

MP3 access copy created on ingest from WAV preservation master. Interview originally recorded on minidisc and digitized using a Digidesign 003 rack.

Municipal officials and employees
Postal service--Employees

Justice, Girvaud, 1944-

United States. General Post Office

Race relations
Sexism
Racism
Diversity in the workplace
Sexual harassment
Sex in the workplace
Civil service positions
Illegal aliens

North Carolina--Charlotte

Interviews
Oral histories

1950-2010

Civil rights and desegregation in Charlotte

Living Charlotte : the postwar development of a New South city

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Digitization made possible by funding from the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by the State Library of North Carolina, a division of the Department of Cultural Resources.

audio/mpeg

Girvaud Justice oral history interview 1, 2006 August 6, J. Murrey Atkins Library Special Collections and University Archives, University of North Carolina at Charlotte (https://goldmine.uncc.edu/islandora/object/uncc%3A320); Girvaud Justice oral history interview 2, 2006 August 11, J. Murrey Atkins Library Special Collections and University Archives, University of North Carolina at Charlotte (https://goldmine.uncc.edu/islandora/object/uncc%3A326); Girvaud Justice oral history interview 3, 2006 August 25, J. Murrey Atkins Library Special Collections and University Archives, University of North Carolina at Charlotte (https://goldmine.uncc.edu/islandora/object/uncc%3A275)

OH-JU0527