Ezra at Work

Port to Sea: A Workmen’s Escape

Ezra Gerry experienced long days, grueling hours, and the arduous work of the Pensacola Port. Lifting, pulling and moving all manner of trades goods from the port to ship and ship to port. The port provided a livelihood for African American’s in the early 1900s.    

The North offered different opportunities for Gerry later in his life. He found a new occupation aboard The Larchmont serving, cooking, and waiting. This allowed him to explore more of the world he lived in, venturing away from Pensacola.

His work experience narrates the many African Americans in the maritime industry who’s stories will never be known. Due to the lack of information about Pensacola at this time, historians can generalize the experience in Pensacola by analyzing existing information on other ports and workers. The Pensacola port offered profitable and escapist opportunities to many African American men in this time. This is an exhibit of what Gerry and many African American men would have seen and experienced in the maritime industry of the Pensacola’s port. Firstly, the exhibit will describe and explain the job of a stevedore. Second, the exhibit will explore the port of Pensacola during the late 1800s and early 1900s. Lastly, the exhibit will explain the opportunities offered to African Americans in the South.