The State of Maryland has finally recognized a Strike by 600 predominately Black Women who walked off the job in 1938 in what was then the self-proclaimed “Crab Capital of the World” – a  labor action carried out for fair wages in the Seafood Industry.  For five weeks, the Crab Pickers fought to reinstate their pay.  As they did, angry White mobs burned cars, invaded homes and threatened their Union Representatives.  Labor Organizers brought in groceries as White residents blocked them from delivering them to the Strikers, hoping starvation would bring them back to work.  But the Women persisted.  In the end, crab-picking houses reinstated the wages from 25 cents per gallon of crabmeat picked to 35 cents - and they recognized the Crab Pickers’ Union.  Earlier this year, Members of the Holy Pickers Union Center, in conjunction with the Shiloh United Methodist Church, hosted a celebration along MD 413 in Crisfield for the formal unveiling of a new roadside historical marker for the 1938 Crab Pickers Strike.  “This historical marker is a tribute to the legacy of the African Women who were the backbone to the economy and Seafood Industry in Crisfield,” said the Reverend Emanuel Johnson, who serves as Pastor of the Shiloh United Methodist Church.

For More On This Labor News Story, Go To: New marker recognizes Black women who led Crisfield strike - The Baltimore Banner And Historical Marker Honoring African American Women Who Organized 1938 Crab Pickers Strike Unveiled in Somerset County - MDOT SHA <span><meta property="og:url" content="https://www.roads.maryland.gov/mdotsha/pages/pressreleasedetails.aspx?newsId=5038&PageId=818"><meta property="og:type" content="website"><meta property="og:title" content="Historical Marker Honoring African American Women Who Organized 1938 Crab Pickers Strike Unveiled in Somerset County - MDOT SHA"><meta property="og:description" content="Historical Marker Honoring African American Women Who Organized 1938 Crab Pickers Strike Unveiled in Somerset County"><meta property="og:image" content="https://www.roads.maryland.gov/OCImages/FullColorMDOTSHA-LG.jpg"><meta property="og:image:alt" content="Maryland State Highway Administration"><meta property="og:site_name" content=" MDOT State Highway Administration"></span>

Screenshot Photo Courtesy Of Educator Fred Klonsky’s Facebook Page.