Rowena Moore
| Rowena Moore | |
|---|---|
| Born |
September 10, 1910 Meridian, Oklahoma U.S. |
| Died | December 15, 1998 (aged 88) Omaha, Nebraska U.S. |
| Occupation | Community activist |
Rowena Moore (September 10, 1910 – December 15, 1998) was an African-American union and civic activist, and founder of the Malcolm X Memorial Foundation in Omaha, Nebraska. She led the effort to have the Malcolm X House Site recognized for its association with the life of the national civil-rights leader. It was listed on both the National Register of Historic Places and the Nebraska register of historic sites.
Moore was born in Meridian, Oklahoma. When her father got a job in the meatpacking industry in 1924, her family moved to Omaha, Nebraska. She first worked in a packing plant at age 15, though she claimed to be 16 to get a job scraping fat off animals' hindquarters.
During World War II Moore noticed that while many women were given jobs in the meatpacking industry, African-American women were discriminated against. Moore organized a union called the Defense Women’s Club of black women who were committed to securing employment and supporting the war effort. Their goals were to promote war bonds and food rationing, child care for working mothers, and securing jobs for black women. They wrote letters to the federal Fair Employment Practices Committee. An official came to Omaha to order the South Omaha packing houses to stop discriminating against black women. Soon after, Moore and some 400 other women were hired. Moore worked in the meatpacking industry for twenty years, managing to retain her position after veterans returned from the war.
Moore rose to become secretary of the meat cutters’ local union. In 1948, she became secretary of the Omaha Metropolitan Labor Council. She further challenged discrimination in the 1950s, when the meatpacking plants attempted to restrict employment. These actions led to Moore's getting fired from the plants; however, she maintained her passion to fight for social justice.
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