"I Was Part of the Bronx Slave Market" - Marvel Cooke - New York Compass

Heading of New York Compass article titled, "I Was a Part of the Bronx Slave Market." Written by Marvel Cooke.

Description

In January 1950, Marvel Cooke, the first black and only woman reporter on the staff of The New York Compass, did a reprise of a series she had done for The Crisis in 1935 with Ella Baker -- the first time this method of employing women emerged. Cooke, alone this time, posed as a domestic worker seeking employment by the hour or for a day on a Bronx street corner, where women gathered to find some kind of employment to find out what working through the "slave mart" system meant for those forced into it.

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Effects and Outcomes

The series is often cited or reprinted as exemplary newspaper reportage.

Media History

The reporting was intended for these media types: Newspaper

"Some Ways to Kill The Slave Market" - Marvel Cooke - New York Compass

Last in Marvel Cooke's five-part series for The New York Compass on the Bronx slave mart.

1950-01-12

"So the Slave Market is back. "And it is back to stay unless something is done to kill it off quickly. "A lot of people, aroused by its rebirth in The Bronx, Brighton Beach, Brownsville and elsewhere, are already fighting to beat back its advance. They want no return of conditions that existed during hte last depression when wages were driven down to 25 cents an hour."

''Mrs. LeGree' Hires Only on the Street, Always 'Nice Girls'' - Marvel Cooke - New York Compass

Part four in Marvel Cooke's five-part series for the New York Compass in 1950 on the Bronx "slave mart," where women domestics went to find jobs as day laborers.

1950-01-11

"As I stood there waiting to be bought, I lived through a century of indignity. . . ." " 'I've always picked nice girls,' she said. 'I knew you were nice the minute I laid eyes on you.' " "That pat on the back was worse in a way than a kick in the teeth."

"'Paper Bag Brigade' Learns How to Deal with Gypping Employers" - Marvel Cooke - New York Compass

Part three in Marvel Cooke's five-part series for the New York Compass in 1950 on the domestic day labor market in the Bronx

1950-01-10

"You shouldn't-a-agreed to work by the hour. That's the best way to get gypped. Some of them only want you for an hour or so to clean the worst dirt out of their houses. Then they tell you you're through. It's too late by that time to get another job. . . . You just don't work by the hour," she repeated laconically. "Work by the day. Ask six bucks and carfare for a three-room apartment."

"Where Men Prowl and Women Prey on Needy Job-Seekers"- Marvel Cooke - New York Compass

Part two in a five-part series in the New York Compass on Marvel Cooke's experiences posing as a domestic day laborer.

1950-01-09

"I Was a Part of the Bronx Slave Market" - Marvel Cooke - New York Compass

Part One in a five-part series in the New York Compass on Cooke's experiences posing as a domestic-for-hire at the Bronx "slave market" of 1950

1950-01-08