To understand the best traditions of African-Americans today is to know the history, principles, and productivity of train porters in the United States since 1868.
Following the American Civil War, many African-American men, newly freed from indignities of enslavement, began new lines of work. One route to revenue was employment on railroad sleeping cars of trains. George Pullman, whose company built sleeping cars for American railroad companies, sought southern black men to work as “Pullman Porters.”
In particular, George Pullman identified dark-skinned black men from the south who were inculcated with social mores servitude to satisfy white train patrons, still reeling from the emancipation of African American.
Pullman’s rationale was based on the belief that northern blacks who had tasted the liberty of “free” status would not react well to the certain indignities coming their way. For example, Pullman Porters were often referred to as “George” (despite their actual names) as an indication that they were “one of George’s boys.”
Pullman Sleeping train cars were a new phenomenon in the 1870’s and tickets cost twice the amount of coach tickets. In other words, George Pullman wanted to preserve the docility of the enslaved while making large profits. Yet, the Christian belief shared by most African Americans that “what evil men mean for bad, God means for good” played out in history.
According to the recently released DVD, “Rising from the Rails” that documents the history of Pullman Porters, due to the “intimate confines of railcars that traversed the nation, the Pullman Porter served as waiter, nanny, valet, concierge, and occasionally confidant to well-heeled White passengers. He also endured grueling workloads, daily indignities, and outright humiliations with a duty-bound smile that belied his strength and determination.”
Yet, their dignity distinguished Pullman Porters.
After efforts to organize were thwarted by George Pullman, Porters sought the sage advice and advocacy of the nationally renowned labor organizer, Asa Philip Randolph. In 1925, Randolph met with the Porters and agreed to lead their cause to form a union in order to increase their wages, benefits, and collective bargaining strength. Thus, the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters was formed. Shortly thereafter, the Pullman Company of Chicago, IL employed over 20,000 African-American men.
In 1940, led by Randolph, the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters joined with the NAACP, the Congress of Racial Equality, and other Black civil rights organizations to demand of President Franklin D. Roosevelt to issue and Executive Order banning racial discrimination against black workers in the defense industry. When President Roosevelt refused, Randolph called for a march on Washington, DC. On June 25, 1941, six days prior to the scheduled march, the president, implemented by the newly created Fair Employment Practices Commis-sion, issued an Executive Order. In fact, my cousin, Richard Parrish, a teacher’s union representative met Randolph in 1939 and helped to fight for working people. Thus, the Pullman Porters had a strong impact on the formulation of public policy affecting African Americans.
In many respects, the Pullman Porters raised the educational, economic, and civic status of black people. With hard-earned wages, many porters were able to educate their families in the professions and trades. For example, radio personality Tom Joyner’s grandfather was a Pullman Porter and sent his father to medical school. As trains traveled south Porters would drop bundles of black newspapers from the north (Chicago Defender, Pittsburgh Courier, among them) in southern towns, thereby informing southern blacks of national issues.
Maybe, most importantly, Pullman Porters used the financial resources to support what the nation knows as the Modern Civil Rights Movement. For example, E.D. Nixon, a Pullman Porter, and Rosa Parks principally organized the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
He, in turn, introduced Reverend Martin Luther King to the nation. Pullman Porters assisted in purchasing private automobiles to carry boycotters.
Today, the A. Philip Randolph Institute, a member organization of the Black Leadership Forum, Inc., and the Pullman Porter Museum in Chicago, carry on the work of its namesake in organizing workers and preserving their memory in America.
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