Interviewer(s): D. Austin. New Iberia, LA

Affiliation: University of Arizona

I was referred to David Jefferson by Rose and Chuck Joseph. David was one of the first blacks hired to work offshore, and he had a very successful career with Texaco. After several attempts to coordinate our schedules, we arranged for an interview on January 7. David's wife was sick in bed with the flu at the time, and during the interview he commented that he, too, had the flu. He was nevertheless very animated throughout the interview and had lots of information to share.

David finished high school and went to work for Martin Chemical because his wife's father worked there. He was laid off after one and a half years, drew unemployment for six weeks, and then got on with Allied Van Lines in Lafayette. He drove for about a year and then joined a friend who was working for Bienville Furniture out of New Iberia. He stayed with that job about six years and was then able to get a job with Texaco in 1967. He was hired as a land roustabout and was the only black person on his crew. He learned that he would have to work on rigs to advance within the company and then requested a transfer to a rig. A month and a half later he was working on rigs, and within five years he had advanced first to derrickman and then to relief driller. Soon he advanced to driller, and in 1980 he went offshore as a drilling supervisor. He returned to work on land in the early 1990s when he was sent to West Texas to supervise a crew there. He retired in 1999 as a drilling supervisor for the offshore district.