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A. Phillip Randolph – the Link Between Transportation and Civil Rights
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 July 23, 2020 | LABOR HISTORY | In the history of American transportation, there is one crucial intersection between railroads and civil rights: the formation in 1925 of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car porters by A. Phillip Randolph. This was the first predominantly African-American labor union in the U.S. It was in 1859 that George Pullman launched the first deluxe railroad sleeping cars bearing his name. They were an instant hit, offering middle and upper-class passengers the comforts of home. All of the Pullman Car conductors were white, but the porters who tended to the passengers were Black. Many of them were former slaves as Pullman theorized they would be used to the subservient roles of lugging baggage, making up the sleeping berths and serving the white passengers’ every whim… CT Mirror
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