Chowan's Best: Women, Labor, And Change In The Bertie County Herring Industry
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Date
2004-11
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Authors
White, Heather
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Abstract
The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the role of female labor in the declining
herring industry in Bertie County, North Carolina during the later twentieth century. This
paper argues that women's changing work patterns contributed to the decline of the local
herring industry. Operating in the early spring months and for only short durations, the
herring industry utilized the work of women who were otherwise idle during slow periods
of agriculture. The supplemental work provided much needed income to already
struggling families. Women provided the mobile labor force that supplied labor to
seasonal industries, such as the fishery. Chapter one addresses the role of agricultural
mechanization in the decline of seasonal labor. Chapter two considers the function of race
relations and civil rights that create new opportunities for African American women.
Chapter three assesses the influx of industrialization that provides new possibilities for
women in the region. As race, class, and gender intersect each influence the labor source
available to the herring industry, therefore, contributing greatly to its decline.