Oral history with Mr. Thomas Knight, Sr.

              Oral history with Mr. Thomas Knight, Sr.
This oral history is provided through a cooperative project of University of Southern Mississippi Libraries and USM's Center for Oral History and Cultural Heritage.
Funding provided by a National Leadership Grant for Libraries from the Institute for Museum and Library Services
The transcript is presented here for reference purposes only. Interviews in this collection are protected by copyright. PERMISSION TO PUBLISH MUST BE REQUESTED from the Center for Oral History and Cultural Heritage. Please call ( 601) 266- 4574 for more information.
Biography
Thomas Knight was born on July 9, 1920, near Hattiesburg, Mississippi, to Joel Knight and Ollie McCardle Knight. Reared on a farm in the Sunrise Community, Mr. Knight was educated in the public schools of Forrest County. In 1941 he obtained employment at the Reliance Manufacturing Company in Hattiesburg. While working there he was instrumental in organizing Local Union No. 563 of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America. He was elected president of the local in 1948, and from 1949 to 1953 he was employed as a full- time representative of Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America.
In 1953 Mr. Knight resigned his position with the union and returned to his job with the Reliance Manufacturing Company. He became an officer of the Hattiesburg Central Labor Council and was an active lobbyist of the Mississippi legislature, representing the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America. In 1957 he participated in negotiations to merge the Mississippi AFL and the Mississippi CIO.
In 1959 Mr. Knight became a vice president of the Mississippi AFL- CIO. In 1960 he was elected to the full- time position of secretary- treasurer and was also appointed director of political education for the Mississippi AFL- CIO. He served in this capacity for 26 years. He became president of the Mississippi AFL- CIO in 1986 and served in that capacity until August 1988, when he retired. During his years as an officer of the Mississippi AFL- CIO, Mr. Knight served as vice president of the AFL- CIO Southern Labor School and as a member of the board of directors of the AFL- CIO Appalachian Council in Charleston, West Virginia. Since his retirement Mr. Knight has served as a labor consultant- lobbyist for a Jackson law firm.
Mr. Knight has performed numerous acts of public service, including serving as vice chairman of the Mississippi Job Training Coordinating Council ( JTPA), member and past chairman of the advisory council to the Mississippi Employment Security Commission, and member of the advisory council to the Mississippi Workers Compensation Commission. He was also Mississippi's Democratic National Committeeman in 1988 and 1989 and served on the Hinds County Democratic Executive Committee.
Mr. Knight is married to the former Myrtis Baughman of Neshoba County, and they have two daughters, Betty and Dorothy, and one son, Tom Junior. He is a member of Alta Woods Baptist Church in Jackson.
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