Pullman Porters

On May 8, 1925, A. Philip Randolph organized the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, the first predominantly Black labor union. Read about the Brotherhood here. As the union’s president, Randolph became a leader in the civil rights movement. Randolph would later initiate the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Read more about the labor focus of the march in “Claiming and Teaching the 1963 March on Washington.”

Labor Matters

Teaching Activity. By Learning for Justice.
Introduces students to the role of the labor movement in securing contemporary benefits such as the 40-hour work week, the minimum wage, and workplace safety regulations.

10,000 Black Men Named George

Film. By Robert Townsend. 2002. 89 minutes.
Docudrama about A. Philip Randolph and the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, the first Black labor union in the United States.