Project Description
UAC opened up another round of Bridging the Distance, in addition to the 20 new calls we have partnered with Angelica McKinley to share “We Deliver for Memphis”. This project, under the umbrella of Bridging the Distance, seeks to honor the United States Postal workers, in particular the black and brown postal workers disproportionately affected by COVID and systemic racial disparities, who get up each day to make sure the people of Memphis receive a friend's letter, a government check and probably most importantly at this moment, mail-in or absentee voting ballots. Spearheaded by McKinley, she was initially inspired by her mother’s 22 years with USPS serving the same community that she and her mother grew up in which is also one of the first Black neighborhoods to be built for and by Black Americans in this country. Local artists Amber George, Quantavious “Toonky” Worship, Jamond Bullock, Mia Saine, Therrious Davis and Grant Butler also known as Fitz were asked to create artwork inspired by photographs that McKinley’s mother took of postal workers from the East Lamar Ave Branch of the USPS.
Vivian Cansler
Artwork by: Jamond Bullock
I've worked with the USPS for about 22 years. The very first time I worked for the postal service was actually years ago before my current job. I started right after I finished military basic training.
Well, the LPN life was not for me so I ended up coming back to the post office years later and ended up as a rural carrier again. When you work as a rural carrier, you typically drive your own vehicle (sometimes people will even purchase a postal vehicle on their own). I had to learn how to drive my personal minivan from the passenger side which involved reaching my feet across to the drive side floor pedals and my arm towards the steering wheel to drive the car along the right side of the street where the mailboxes are located. Who would've thought I would be able to drive the car from the opposite side? (Side note: Originally postal vehicles were actually on the right side rather than the left side like modern vehicles.) As a rural carrier you are often pretty dependent on your customers and homeowners that live along the route. One time my car got a flat tire and some customers came out of their homes and helped fix it.
After 3 or 4 months of life as a rural carrier, I was lucky and blessed to transition to a city carrier, which I’ve been ever since.
I really enjoy the freedom of being outside in the outdoors that working as a letter carrier gives me. We do have to come in and sort/case the mail, but the bulk of my time is spent outdoors instead of being in a closed office space. This can feel very much like working for yourself because you are alone serving your own customers along the route.
This is a job where you can meet many different people and it has helped me overcome my shyness. Everything happens in the moment as a letter carrier. You have to learn how to deal directly with people and respond to situations as they arise by leaning on your instinct, past experiences, and abilities. You can learn a lot about people, our differences and similarities, while doing this job.
Developing this confidence and strength helps you find way safe ways to communicate effectively with customers especially when it comes to their household pets. I've been bitten about 3 times from dogs along my route. Often, I have to be gentle yet firm with my customers about the dogs because it's not just for the safety of postal workers but also the safety of people in the community. Many of customers have also looked out for me and even walked with me around stray dogs. Safety is a very important part of our job. If we are not safe, we cannot deliver the mail.
I think it is very important to have someone coming to your house on a daily basis. A lot of people don’t have family (or are older homeowners) so we become part of that family. Some postal workers have even found people injured on the street in the neighborhood and have provided assistance to them. Letter carriers are critical thinkers who can notice a pileup of mail or when something is unusual or off which can point to a larger problem or issue for a customer.
To deliver mail you have to love it. We want to serve the public and I think we do this reliably. We basically know where everyone lives. Fedex and other delivery drivers have asked me where a home or location was because we our the keepers of that knowledge. We go the extra mile to make sure you get what is important or of value to you. Everyone should take advantage of the services we provide and help support those services.
Haywood C. Ward, Jr.
Artwork by: Mia Saine
I've been working at USPS for 52 years and specifically as a letter carrier for 49 years. For all those years, I've carried mail for the same route or neighborhood the entire time.
When I first started, family was what kept me going. I had 4 children (all grown now) and I wanted to maintain a stable household and livelihood for them.
My time in the military is what actually drew me to the post office. It is where I developed an understanding of the huge, positive impact that postal workers can have on society. All the military personnel and soldiers would have mail call. Everyone would gather around to hear from family, girlfriend, or friend that they were longing to see again. It showed me how important it was to receive a letter through the mail from someone. So when I got back and someone told me to apply, I did. And to this day, I’ve always wanted to have a part in making sure that people in the military get their mail.
I’ve been on the University of Memphis route for basically my whole career. People all over the world, from places like India or China, come to the university and I get to interact with them when delivering the mail. I take pride in making sure that they receive the best experience here in the United States and it is nice to think that I can play a small role in their introduction to our country.
The postal service plays an integral role in our economy. We reach every household, every neighborhood and every state. I truly enjoy what I do everyday so that’s why I work there. Plus it's nice to stay physically fit with having exercise all rolled up into your job.
Eddie Williams
Artwork by: Toonky Berry
I've worked for the post office for 27 years. What most people don't realize is that United States taxpayers do not pay our salaries and the majority of postal workers in Memphis are Black Americans just like me.
A job that pays well so you can provide for and support your family. We have a great retirement plan and our benefits package has been really good to me when its come to my kids' illnesses or mine. Back in 2006, I was in a very serious accident that required me to have brain surgery. The postal service didn't want me to drive a vehicle anymore so I now prepare route for delivery through casing which means putting letters in delivery sequence or order. Do I miss being a letter carrier? Yes, I miss it, I miss it, I miss it. If I would go back out there tomorrow if I could. Working as a letter carrier at the post office is great because you can set your own pace along the route and build relationships with your customers. It has been a hard transition for me to come back to my same postal branch but no longer be able to deliver the mail with my letter carrier coworkers and friends. It feels quite a bit different like I'm set apart from everyone else.
When you sign up to work for the postal service everyone understands that you are automatically an essential, required employee. There is an understood level of responsibility and respect in these roles. Since COVID has started, many of us are working 10-12 hours a day, everyday. We are the only ones who go to EVERY house in America. That is why I especially think that the letter carrier is the backbone of every post office and the USPS at large. Every potential mistake that is made in the offices and postal station is corrected by the letter carrier along the route. It is the company's most important and public facing role. You see the faces of people to who you delivering medicine, the faces when you deliver an important package, you see the appreciation and gratitude. Letter carriers carry that extra sense of purpose and meaning. They are a proud bunch of people who take pride in what they do everyday.
Cherl Robinson
Artwork By: Grant Butler AKA Fitz
I come from a family of postal workers. My mom, dad and aunt worked for the post office. My three sisters and only brother work in a variety of roles from distribution to letter carrier. And I've worked for the post office for 25 years as a clerk including distribution on the letter carrier side as well as public facing with customers.
Everyday, I try to treat each person — from clerks to carriers to customers — like family. And you always help family. So it's always been important to me (and even more so now) to make sure that everyone has a positive experience and knows that they are appreciated. I know its hard with COVID precautions to make it to the post office to buy stamps or send a letter. And I know that it can be hard getting out of bed to come to this job that everyone is overlooking. What we (and especially the letter carriers) do every day can seem like a service many people just expect to be there, like we are not important. So at our postal station, I've tried to create smaller forms of appreciation like birthday celebrations with catered food for employees so no one has to cook or come out of their pocket. In these times, we all need to show how much we care.
Knowing that letter carriers like my sister are getting up early and doing this work often in the dark hours before morning pushes me to show up everyday for the carriers I work with and help make their routes as smooth as I possibly can. When you think about it, it's actually really beautiful that these letter carriers come into work at all. They have a heart for the post office and really care. There isn't anything extra in this for them to gain and they didn't have to choose to do this job but they did. That is something to really think about. They have the hardest job and I want to let them know that they are appreciated. The average person would not get up everyday and do this job.
I look at these people around me who have been with the post office for decades and are still dedicated. So I don't have an excuse as to why not be here. Several times, I've come in on vacation or cancelled vacation in order to help out my colleagues because COVID has altered everything. The community that our station serves is Orange Mound, the heart of Memphis, which has older residents. The elderly do not trust going out like they used to so our role has become even more vital to their lives. It is easier and safer to deliver through the mail so daily we get bags of medicine that need to be delivered. If more people knew what it took to get the mail from point A to point B then they would have a different outlook on the demands of postal workers and our role in supporting every street address in every community. This work has supported my family for generations and I hope it will still be here 20 years from now.
Richard H.
Artwork by: Therrious Davis
I’m from Peru originally and moved to Memphis from Florida in 2002. I moved here because I wanted to buy a home for my family in a more affordable city and there were more work openings and opportunities. I applied to the post office 21 times before being interviewed for a job.
I was so excited for the interview and eager to learn how I could do the best service in this role. Now, I've been working as a City Carrier Assistant (CCA) for 20 months and I'm hoping to be hired full-time. Customers along the routes I carry for the East Lamar station have told me several times that I'm one of the first letter carriers of Latin or Hispanic origin working in the area.
I really like having a job where I can serve other people. Many Spanish-speaking residents in the area come to me for help about sending letters, packages and mail forwarding to a new address. I try to help as many people as I can who see me on the street and need help understanding how the post office works especially those who speak Spanish. In states like California orcities like Chicago, there are letter carriers who speak Spanish but in Memphis this hasn’t been the case. Even though I'm not a regular, full-time letter carrier, I try my best to help them with any questions they may have even if it means calling back to the station if I don’t have the answer and getting their copntact information to try and follow up with them.
During this time, I still feel really good about pursing this kind of work at the post office. My coworkers are very helpful and teach me a lot so that I can better assist and serve our customers. Sometimes I encounter people looking for packages and I have to help them understand and explain how to track it and find it without a problem. We all as postal workers try to be ready for any situation that happens around us. What we do may look easy, but it is very hard to walk around everyday being alert when you don’t know what could happening on the street with dogs and everyday people. Being able to work outside safely is important to me so that I can make it home to my family.
Each day is different on this job. For me, serving the customers and trying to do the best job for them is my focus.
S. Garrett
Artwork by: Amber George
My job as a postal worker is to be of service. We are very public facing employees which often means that I'm interacting with the same individuals and communities on a much deeper level than most contemporary delivery workers. This is a job that goes beyond simply putting a letter into a mailbox.
I deliver much needed medications, government checks, certified letters and in the sweetest and rarest of times I may even hear the sound of baby chicks coming from a package that needs my upmost care. As a letter carrier, I also have to deal strategically with pet owners, wild animals and the weather. It can be very easy to twist your ankle, trip and then fall in the worst possible way as you walk house to house along your route. I have to pay close attention to EVERYTHING around me while delivering the mail because it is important that I protect myself to be able to show up for my family and to do this work again the next day.
For me, in the end, it's all about serving the people and community.
