The Woman Corp: The Washwoman Strike

In the summer of 1881, Black washerwomen in Atlanta formed a group called the Washing Society and went on strike. As early as 1866, just a year after emancipation, Black washerwomen in cities like Jackson, Mississippi, organized a large strike demanding higher wages and respect for their work.

How It Started

The action started with around 20 women meeting in a Black church, demanded higher wages, a uniform rate of about 1 dollar per dozen pounds of laundry, more respect, and control over how their work was organized.

Among the roughly 20 women who first formed the Washing Society, records name Matilda Crawford, Sallie Bell, Carrie Jones, Dora Jones, Orphelia Turner, and Sarah A. Collier as key organizers.

Read – https://www.yocumblackhistory.org/the-atlanta-washerwomen-strike/

Despite threats, assault, and arrests the women refused to back down based on the following mediation: the willingness to pay a management fee if it meant they could control the city’s washing work.

The Result

The strike grew to over 3,000 women, and resulted in raising wages for laundresses with a secured recognition of their labor, creating the future matriach spirit of Atlanta even still today.

The Legacy of The Strike

Modern Atlanta, Georgia has a 77–81% of Black women employment but, still today, Georgia, Black women employment highlight the nearly non-existent workforce the “Black Mecca”, putting Black women employment solely up to white and non‑Hispanic men in quantified numbers ( still 8% less than Black men).

The Clear Restriction of Growth

Even 150+ years after the Washwoman strike, in 2026 Black women still estimate at about 62 cents for every dollar that white men earn in the state. The question why evaluate based on men for Black women’s numbers? Is it because the women workforce in Atlanta is the only real threat to White men?

The reality on a national level, Black women have had a higher labor-force participation rate than White women. These numbers are based on 2023 labor stats. Even then, White women earn 82 cents to the Black women’s 62 cents to the dollar. So there is no threat to the White workforce but the numbers, have clearly been set to salary cap for generational control.

Read – https://www.bls.gov/opub/reports/race-and-ethnicity/2023/