Reestablishing our industrial
base is the most important part of our Creole culture. Earnest
Morial the first person of color to become mayor of New Orleans
worked carpentry when he was a young man going to college. Isreal
Augustine who was a good friend of mine worked carpentry in
his young like. He became a lawyer and a judge.
Adam Haydel had his own scrap metal business and became a multimillionaire,
and he built subdivisions. I built four houses in one of Adam's
subdivision. Joseph M. Bartholomew built the golf courses at
City Park in New Orleans and the one at Pontchartrain Park in
New Orleans. The white Mayor of New Orleans, Chep Morrison,
gave Mr. Bartholomew three blocks of Canada Dry warehouses just
for him to demolish them and make way for the I-10 Interstate
Highway> Also Mr. Bartholomew paved streets in white subdivisions.
I drew plans for some of those streets.
By starting in 1952, I believe that I drew more than three times
the building plans than another person of color in New Orleans.
The New Orleans Museum of Arts publishes a book called Raised
to the Trade: Creole Building Arts of New Orleans. In that book
it tells how we monopolized the building trades in our city.
We had it made and the whites took it from us by requiring that
a bond be posted on contracting jobs, but only whites could
be bonded. We built subdivisions of fine houses for whites who
couldn't even write their own names.
It's been too long.. We Creoles are due Our Recognition and Respect..
America Took Our Culture, Land and dis-honored It's Treaty agreement ..207 years of broken promises |
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Right now, there's over a trillion dollars worth of construction
work to be done across this country, and we figure nowhere in
the sharing of this huge construction pie. The construction
industry is the second largest industry in America. Contractors
and builders employ people at all levels of society, because
not counting the architects, engineers, real estate brokers
and salespersons, and construction managers, there are 32 speacialty
trades in construction.
What I am fighting for is for the community to be made whole
again. I know that the Creole community is worse off today than
it was before the Civil Rights movement.
I lived the life of a master builder. I received my Residential
Builders License in 1957. Unfortunately, it was the same year
that President Eisenhower sent the federal troops into Little
Rock Arkansaw to intergrate Central High. Right now, white people
with my knowledge and age are rich people and retired. Their
children, for the most part, are well educated and living off
the family's wealth in addition to what they can earn for themselves.
A few days ago, I spoke to my son who now lives in Oregon, about
his financial condition. It's only so so. He is not really hurting.
But he has yet to reach the height that I had reached. Yet,
I started him on the drafting board when he was twelve years
old.
When he was eighteen, I used to show off by turning customers
over to him. At first the customer would frown but reluctantly
go into my office with him because I would pretend to have a
short run to make. After driving to a bar and get a beer, I'd
come back and the client would be all smiles, and would confess
that he was a little upset with me. Then he would start praising
my son. Of course, I have stories about my other children who
today are all self-sufficient. But instead of going on much
longer, I'll only give you a brief story about my daughter gail.
When I did this big $500.000 job in Detroit, all Union dues
and fringe benefits were paid. All wages were paid on time.
All State, Federal and City taxes were paid on time. And at
the end of the job I got compliments from the project manager
about the way I took care of business. And out of nowhere he
asked, "Gil who is your accountant?" I said "My
eighteen year old daughter. She just finished high school."
They were shocked beyond belief.
I went through all of the above to try to convince you that
the approach that I am taking is in a field where I am well
versed. I was a designer and a builder. I could put it on paper
and go out in the field and build it. So have no fear. I know
what I am doing in my field. And I also know that it's not the
whole picture of a nation. I will be expecting you and others
to bring your own particular expertise to the table. We should
be able to cover every America has to offer. Just don't be afraid
to ask for it.
Yours truly,
Gilbert E. Martin
