54:. She moved to Woonsocket on January 1, 1960. Byrd and her sibling attended a segregated school in the south and an integrated, mostly white, school in Woonsocket. Byrd worked at the Uniroyal Footwear Company until it shut down in 1969. Using her severance pay from the company, Byrd earned her business certificate. At that time, Black Americans were not allowed to work as secretaries due to
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for "20 years of dedicated social service and advocacy on behalf of the citizens in the City of
Woonsocket." On June 27, 2023, Community Care Alliance renamed the building Byrd worked in at CCA to "The Josephine Byrd Community Services Building". The naming ceremony was attended by former
104:, "In 2003, Josie received the Paul Dempster Award for helping the homeless—the highest award offered by CCA." In 2023, she received the Appreciation Award for her decades of service. On February 16, 2023, she was honored in a
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as a clerk before being promoted to a secretary and then, a quality control manager. She worked at the company for 23 years. Byrd and her family helped to found St. James Church in
Woonsocket.
78:." Speaking at a ceremony honoring her civil rights work, Byrd spoke about protesting for fair housing and Black city officials in Woonsocket. She stated she advocated at the
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In 2000, Byrd was hired by
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Josephine Byrd
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referred to Byrd as "one of the best known figures in
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Blazejewski, Christopher; Chippendale, Michael (2023).
242:"Community Services building named for Josephine Byrd"
149:"A true community hero is honored in Woonsocket"
213:"A Building Named in Honor of Josephine Byrd"
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