Powerful women in Tampa Bay's history
Powerful women in Tampa's history
FOX 13's Lloyd Sowers met with a Tampa native who has a new book about some powerful women who made their voices heard.
TAMPA - Thousands of Latinas marched from 7th Avenue in Ybor City to Tampa City Hall in 1937. They were protesting the rise of fascism around the globe and what they perceived as fascism locally.
The backstory:
Latin women were active in cigar workers unions that staged numerous strikes.
Not only did they strike for better pay, but also for better streets and other infrastructure in Ybor City.
Women worked at Tampa cigar factories, but were often paid less than men.
RELATED: Tampa celebrates 138th birthday: Closer look at J.C. Newman Cigar Company & Museum
Texas A & M history professor Sarah McNamara is a Tampa native of Cuban heritage. Her grandmother told her many stories of what life was like in Ybor City, especially after the cigar industry was severely impacted by the Great Depression.
Sarah was so moved by the stories that she became a history professor. She did years of research and has written a book called "Ybor City: Crucible of the Latina South."
Dig deeper:
Tampa was a small town of 800 people until the late 1800's when Vincente Ybor and Ignacio Haya moved their cigar companies from Key West to Tampa. Ybor City was established and thousands of immigrant cigar workers moved here.
They were mainly Cubans, Spaniards, and Italians. German, Jewish, and other immigrants were also drawn to Tampa by the cigar industry.
Tampa was dubbed the Cigar Capital of the World and The Cigar City.
RELATED: Tampa cigar company reflects on the industry during the 1950’s when factories expected to be robbed
By the 1950's Tampa's cigar industry was in a steep decline. The Castro Revolution in 1959 finally cut off the flow of Cuban Tobacco.
Tampa once had 200 cigar factories. Now there is only one operating factory, The J.C. Newman Cigar Company. Their factory in Ybor City includes a museum and visitors can watch artisans roll cigars.
What's next:
A free brunch, short film, and an author talk is Saturday, July 19 in Ybor City. Click here for free tickets.
The Source: FOX 13's Lloyd Sowers interviewed author Sarah McNamara and has produced previous stories on the history of Tampa, Ybor City, St. Petersburg and other locations in the Tampa Bay region and the State of Florida.