Oral history interview with Owen Cahill, 2002

Biographical Note

Owen Cahill was a member of Harlem CORE from 1960-1961 until 1965, when he became a supervising manager for the New York City Department of Welfare. Cahill participated in the Route 40 Project in which CORE members traveled across Maryland and Delaware to combat segregation, as well as the 1964 New York City school boycotts. Raised in Metuchen and Weehawken, New Jersey, Cahill was born to an Irish-American family. He attended a Jesuit High School and Fordham University before being drafted to serve in the armed forces

Scope and Contents

This interview begins with a description of Cahill's family background. He recalls spending much of his childhood in New York, and later went on to attend Fordham University and join Harlem CORE. Cahill describes his grandfather, who served in the Union Army during the Civil War, and the relationships between Irish, German, and Italian ethnic groups at the time of his childhood. Cahill was drafted while studying at Fordham. He states that his experience in the army exposed him to Southern racism for the first time. After returning from his service, Cahill got married to his wife, whom he met in a theological discussion group. He traveled to Arkansas and Missouri before settling down in New York. Cahill discusses the dissolution of CORE in 1965, the concept of reverse-discrimination, and the challenge of maintaining relationships from CORE. He describes his experiences working with welfare recipients in New York City as a supervising manager at the Department of Welfare and the evolution of Harlem. Cahill cites housing actions and involvement with Service Employees International Union's (SEIU) 1199 Healthcare Workers as some of his activites in CORE. The interview concludes with a discussion of Middle Eastern politics, Palestine, reflections on the character of Stokely Carmichael, and the importance of nonviolence

Subjects

• Cahill, Owen--Interviews.
• Civil rights movements--United States--History--20th century.
• Congress of Racial Equality. New York (Harlem) Chapter.
• Harlem (New York, N.Y.)
• Interviews.
• Michaels, Sheila, 1939-2017, interviewer.
• Oral histories (literary works)
• Public welfare--New York (State)--New York.
• Service Employees International Union. Local 1199 (New York, N.Y.)
• United States--Race relations--History--20th century.