A 103-year-old woman has captivated the internet with her memories of picking cotton in Georgia and Florida as a teenager — a job which would span 14 hours a day for just 50 cents pay.
Madie Scott, who turns 104 on December 8, began ‘working in the fields’ picking cotton in Georgia when she was 12 before moving to Florida to make more money as a sharecropper at 16.
In a now-viral TikTok video, the centenarian — who was born in 1917 — shared her recollections of the grueling job.
She stated, “When cotton is picked, it becomes second nature.”
Madie Scott will turn 104 in December. She started ‘working the fields’ in Georgia picking cotton when she was twelve.
When she was 16, she moved to Miami to become a sharecropper. For years, she described working 14 hours per day and earning little money.
Madie shares in video clips made by Shanika Bradshaw her details of cotton picking over the years.
She started at just 12 years old in Georgia, but made the move to Miami at age 16 because she heard sharecroppers could make better money.
Sharecroppers rented land and tools, among other things, from a landlord — to whom they were expected to return a large percentage of their crop.
Madie described getting up at three in morning and then working the whole day before being able to go home at five in evening.
BuzzFeed reported that Madie said she was always picking cotton. That was it. The house can be used for work [babysitting or cleaning]However, if you are in the right field, you will make the most.
The sister she was with picked alongside her and made 50 cents per hour.
‘My sister — oh, lord — she looked at me at 11:30 am or quarter to 12, [because]She was ready to rest and stop. She was taking a break from work at noon, but decided to end her day at 11:15.
Sharecroppers who rented land for farming were required to purchase their essentials from the landowner, which could be charged whatever he liked
Madie claimed that the majority of their earnings would go towards this, so that they could eventually break even.
After the Civil War in 1865 ended, African Americans who had lived in the south’s “cotton kingdom” continued working in the fields for decades (see: Georgia cotton pickers in 1907).
In the decades after the Civil War, most African Americans who lived in the ‘cotton kingdom’ of the deep south continued to work for white people, with a majority in the cotton business — and while they were free, their wages often didn’t reflect that.
Sharecroppers would lease land parcels from landlords in return for a place to call home. The sharecroppers would then farm the land, and pay the landlord 30-50 percent of their crop.
But with no regulation — and no bargaining power — black sharecroppers rarely made a profit, and in fact, many went into debt.
The landlord could demand exorbitant rates of interest if they were to rent or purchase farming equipment, fertilizer, seeds, or animals.
What’s more, they were required to buy all of their other necessities, like food, from the landowner as well — and he could charge whatever price he wanted.
Madie said that sharecroppers spent most of their money at the commissary of the landowners.
Madie stated that Madie broke even after working long hours and buying food.
Madie worked for 30+ years as a babysitter for wealthy families.
Shanika Bradshaw is her granddaughter and she shares recordings via TikTok. She believes it’s crucial for people to get firsthand knowledge about black history.
She didn’t retire until her 80s, and missed working once she had — though she admitted she is Envious of the younger generation who has it easier.
Madie stated, “Ain’t nobody will have to experience what I went through in order to get to where I am now,”
‘Oh lord, I wish we had that — how y’all got everything laid out for you [in life] and you know where you’re going. When I was coming up, we didn’t know where we were going, all we know to do was work.’
Shanika was raised by Madie, her mother’s daughter, after her mother passed away. She felt it important to post her grandmother’s memories on TikTok.
‘When you think of history, they really don’t talk about the truth. We hear about Christopher Columbus, but we don’t really hear too much of black history,’ she said.
‘So I feel it’s important for me to put this out there so people can hear it firsthand. This is what happened, these people — not just my grandmother — but other people who built up America and were never acknowledged for it.’