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One of the labor movement's most famous black leaders was A. Philip Randolph. What follows is a short story about Mr. Randolph, as well as a chronology of his life.
Asa Philip Randolph's opponents called him the "most dangerous black man in America." Born in 1889, he was the son of a preacher and a mother whose family had been slaves. He grew up in Florida, leaving as a young man to seek opportunities in the northeast. He settled in Harlem. He attended college at night, where he got involved in political groups and debates. He embraced socialist ideals and launched a monthly magazine, "Messenger", in 1917, focusing on socialism and economic and political action among America's blacks. In 1925, a group of sleeping car porters with the Pullman Company asked Randolph to help them organize a union. After many secret meetings, the group emerged as the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. The company attacked Randolph's character, threatened workers and fired them. The company relented in 1937, signing a contract that gave the porters raises and cut their long work hours in half. It was the first time in America's history that a white employer had signed an agreement with a black union leader. After the victory, Randolph was widely recognized as a labor leader. In 1940, he began to organize a march in Washington, DC, to force the federal government to stop discriminating against blacks who worked in the defense industry. President Franklin Roosevelt, seeing a public relations disaster headed his way, signed an order banning such discrimination. The march was cancelled. Randloph won a similar victory in 1947 as he fought to end segregation in the US military. He urged blacks to boycott the armed services by refusing to register for the draft. The boycott was a success, forcing President Harry Truman to sign an order banning discrimination and segregation in the military. In 1955, Randolph was elected the first black vice president of the AFL-CIO. He continued to organize marches and demonstrations, notably, with Bayard Rustin, the "March for Jobs and Freedom" in 1963 where more than 250,000 Americans heard Dr. Martin Luther King Jr make his famous "I Have a Dream" speech. In 1964, Randolph's lifetime of work was recognized with a Medal of Freedom, presented by President Lyndon Johnson. The medal is the country's highest award for civilians. A year later, Randolph founded the A. Philip Randolph Institute, an organization to enhance the role African-Americans play in their communities and in labor unions. Randolph died in 1979, a few weeks before his 90th birthday. His work continues through the institute.
A. Philip Randolph Chronology
Pictures accompanying this article are courtesy of the Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.
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