Episode 11. Ms. Pamela Cole: Working Life. The musical score of Pam Cole’s teenaged years included the mellifluous sound of her sister Carol Cole practicing typing while Pam fell asleep in the adjoining room of their small, shotgun house in New Orleans’ storied 7th Ward. After graduating from the Adult Education Center in 1971, Pam uses her typing skills to achieve independence as a secretary in the Virgin Islands, New York, Houston, and Atlanta. In company after company, Pam is the only, or one of the few Black women. Her experience with prejudice and discrimination over the decades is testimony to the fact that the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1965 did not automatically transform society. It was up to women like Pam Cole – and her sisters – to do so with their skills, capabilities, and work ethic.
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