Sue Esty
Sue worked for Carolina Action from 1975 until 1977, and then Georgia Action, which became Georgia ACORN, from 1977 until 1982. In this interview, she talks about her early introduction to community organizing in Baltimore with SECO, and then her work with Carolina and Georgia Action/ACORN. She discusses her first organizing drive; campaigns to fight utility rate increases and a successful fight for Lifeline Telephone Rates in Georgia, and a region-wide action on President Carter’s HUD Secretary (who was being hosted in Atlanta by Coretta Scott King). She also talks about developing community leaders, and then offers a critique of how gender roles played out in the community organizing world. After leaving Georgia ACORN, Sue went to work for 9to5 in Baltimore, and then began a 30+ year career as an organizer and then legislative representative for AFSCME in MD; in the interview she discusses the lessons she learned as a community organizer and how they applied to her subsequent union career.