The daughter of a Baptist minister and his wife, Mary and her twin sister are the second and third of six surviving children. Mary's life is framed by school and church, a loving family, and limited financial resources. The reader learns about the joys and challenges of everyday life during the Depression. Her father, a World War I veteran, succumbs to tuberculosis caused by gas attacks in Flanders, and her mother struggles to raise six children alone. While in high school, to augment family finances, Mary is a nanny for a State Senator. After graduating, she dreams of a life that would take her beyond her small town and household service. Therefore, she travels to St. Louis with her portable typewriter, to take the Civil Service exam. When she passes the exam and is offered a job in Washington, she travels by train to the nation's capital and is confronted for the first time with serious Jim Crow practices: racially segregated drinking fountains, restrooms, and waiting areas. Both surprised and humiliated, wearing her new white trave suit, she must sit with other Black passengers, in the car behind the engine room, separated only by a curtain. When she arrives at her destination many hours later, she is covered with black coal dust and soot! After arrival she learns more about how the lives of Black and White citizens differ in the southern city of Washington, DC. But, despite the indignities along the way, and in Washington, she achieves her goal to have a better life.
Her story is poignant, sometimes frustrating, and often humorous, but always true, as it is based on forty-plus years of oral interviews conducted by her daughter. Hers is a testimony to what she and others like her were able to achieve despite racism. Mary's story makes an important contribution to the oral history of Black women because little has been written about the lives of the Black-Government-Girls who went to Washington during World War II. The 1940 census reports that Negro female clerical staff represented 1.6% of the total clerical staff that year. So, hers is a story worth telling and reading.
This book is presented in short, chronological chapters starting with family history, moving through her childhood and early education, her decision to take the civil service exam, the trip to Washington, and her life there. It concludes with her marriage and the birth of her daughter. The time span is roughly 25 years. Included are historical photos, as well as comments and reactions from readers.
Mary Martin: Black Government-Girl from Hillsboro is being published to celebrate the centennial of Mary Martin's birth in 2024.
