Interviewer(s): A. Gardner. Morgan City, LA

Affiliation: University of Arizona

Bob Long was recommended to me by Jerry Cunningham, one of the teacher-researchers in Morgan City. Bob is a retired African-American oilfield worker, and he's missing both his legs (unrelated to oil work). He lives in a small but nice house off one of the alleys near downtown. He quickly described the segregation common in Morgan City in his youth. Bob got started out in the oilpatch a bit earlier than most Blacks in the area, because he was employed by one of the contractors. He is knowledgeable about other Blacks working at the same time, the kind of things they did, and the kind of hurdles they faced offshore. There are stories here about sleeping on the mud barges, rumors of Blacks getting thrown off the rig, and many descriptions of what it was like out there for Black men. His descriptions are vivid and heart-wrenching.

Bob was born in 1934 in the Morgan City area when segregation was common. At the time, Blacks were not allowed in the Gulf as fishermen, shrimpers, or any other purpose. In 1954, his father started working as a diesel mechanic on boats serving the oil and gas industry. In 1961, Bob began working in the oilfield as an electrician doing contract work. When he was sent offshore for 5 days, there was nowhere for him to stay, because at that time Blacks were not allowed offshore. He remained in the industry, working for companies such as Service Marine and Cameron Iron Works until his retirement in the mid-70's.