Rocky Mount in Nash County, North Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)
Operation Dixie
Photographed By Mike Stroud, October 14, 2011
1. Operation Dixie Marker
Erected 2011 by North Carolina Office of Archives and History. (Marker Number E-118.)
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Civil Rights • Labor Unions. In addition, it is included in the North Carolina Division of Archives and History series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1946.
Location. 35° 56.857′ N, 77° 47.805′ W. Marker is in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, in Nash County. Marker is at the intersection of North Franklin Street (Business U.S. 301) and McDonald Street, on the right when traveling south on North Franklin Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 328 N Franklin St, Rocky Mount NC 27804, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Jim Thorpe (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); Hardees Food System (about 600 feet away); Veterans Memorial At Jack Laughery Park (about 600 feet away); Adolphus Staton (about 600 feet away); Harold Bascom Durham, Jr. (about 600 feet away); Thelonious Monk
this page online
Regarding Operation Dixie. In the summer of 1946, nearly 10,000 tobacco “leaf house” workers in eastern North Carolina, primarily African American women, joined unions in a mass organizing campaign (tagged “Operation Dixie”) headed by the Tobacco Workers International Union (TWIU-AFL) and the Food, Tobacco, Agricultural & Allied Workers of America (FTA-CIO). From South Boston, Virginia, to Lumberton, North Carolina, workers secured union contracts in nearly thirty tobacco leaf houses.
The labor protest and organization campaign followed the 1943 effort that took place at R. J. Reynolds factories in Winston-Salem. The 1946 campaign differed in that it not only focused on labor rights, but also resulted in important strides in civil rights for African Americans. Efforts were made by the union organizers to increase black voter registration and to instigate political action against segregation within the leaf houses. Nearly ten years before the Montgomery bus boycott, black workers in eastern North Carolina
Photographed By Mike Stroud, October 14, 2011
2. Operation Dixie Marker seen along US 301, Franklin Street at McDonald Street
While the movement began with the TWIU-AFL organizing locals and securing contracts in six leaf houses in Wilson and one in Rocky Mount in the summer of 1946, the first official union election, which was won by the FTA-CIO in September 1946, took place at China American Tobacco Company in Rocky Mount. After that election the FTA-CIO won 22 of 24 elections in North Carolina. The consequence was that the organizers established a significant union presence in eastern North Carolina leaf houses, benefitting the tobacco workers of the area. Today only two union locals remain.(North Carolina Office of Archives and History)
Photographed By Mike Stroud, October 14, 2011
3. Operation Dixie Marker looking south along Franklin Street (US 301)
Credits. This page was last revised on May 5, 2023. It was originally submitted on October 29, 2011, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina. This page has been viewed 3,258 times since then and 40 times this year. Last updated on May 5, 2023, by Michael Buckner of Durham, North Carolina. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on November 8, 2011, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.
