Glasgow was a hairdresser in New York City who could not find work because white clients did not want her as their stylist. When she moved to Moscow, she was able to find work and became a shock worker (udarnik). She excelled in her work in the factory and remarked, “I’ve quite forgotten that I’m black. I simply feel like a human being; that’s all. I’ve been giving a special shock-brigader’s card for the dining-room.”