A. Philip Randolph

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A. Phillip Randolph
A. Philip Randolph in 1963
Born	April 15, 1889 Crescent City, Florida
Died	May 16, 1979

Asa Philip Randolph (April 15, 1889 – May 16, 1979) was a prominent twentieth century African-American civil rights leader and founder of the first black labor union in the U.S.

1 Early Years
2 Union organizer
3 Civil rights leader
4 Honors and Awards
5 Bibliography
6 See also
7 External links

[edit] Early Years

Randolph was born in Crescent City, Florida. He never grew up being "racially internalized." Meaning that he never saw himself any less than the white kids around him. His father was a minister of the A.M.E. Church who moved the family to Jacksonville, Florida in 1891. In 1911, Randolph moved to New York City's Harlem in hope of becoming an actor.

Randolph's parents objected to his dramatic aspirations, so while at the City College of New York, he switched his studies to politics and economics. While at City College, he met his future wife, Lucille Green. Green was a teacher who had quit that career and opened a lucrative beauty salon when her first husband died. After their marriage, Randolph's political activities would often cause Lucille the loss of some customers.

Also at City College, Randolph met Chandler Owen, a sociology and political science student at Columbia University. Together, they formed the radical Harlem magazine, The Messenger, in 1917 which espoused socialist views.

[edit] Union organizer

In 1925, Randolph organized the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. This was the first serious effort to form a labor union for the employees of the Pullman Company, which was a major employer of African-Americans. After years of bitter struggle, the Pullman Company finally began to negotiate with the Brotherhood in 1935, and agreed to a contract with them in 1937. The Brotherhood was associated with the American Federation of Labor.

[edit] Civil rights leader

Randolph emerged as one of the most visible spokespersons for African-American civil rights. In 1941, he, Bayard Rustin, and A. J. Muste proposed a March on Washington to protest racial discrimination in the armed forces. The March was cancelled after President of the United States Franklin D. Roosevelt issued the Fair Employment Act. Some militants felt betrayed by the cancellation because Roosevelt's pronouncement only pertained to defense industries and not the armed forces themselves. In 1947, Randolph formed the Committee Against Jim Crow in Military Service, later renamed the League for Non-Violent Civil Disobedience. President Harry S. Truman abolished racial segregation in the armed forces through Executive Order 9981 on July 26, 1948. Randolph was also notable in his support for restrictions on immigration.

In 1950, along with Roy Wilkins, Executive Secretary of the NAACP, and Arnold Aronson, a leader of the National Jewish Community Relations Advisory Council, Randolph founded the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights(LCCR). LCCR has since become the nation's premier civil rights coalition, and has coordinated the national legislative campaign on behalf of every major civil rights law since 1957.

Randolph also helped Rustin and Martin Luther King Jr. to organize the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on August 28, 1963. As the U.S. civil rights movement gained momentum in the early 1960's and came to the forefront of the nation's consciousness, his rich baritone voice was often heard on television news programs addressing the nation on behalf of African-Americans engaged in the struggle for voting rights and an end to discrimination in public accommodations.

[edit] Honors and Awards

On September 14, 1964, Lyndon B. Johnson presented Randolph with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

A statue of A. Philip Randolph was erected in his honor in the concourse of Union Station in Washington, D.C.

Edward Waters College in Jacksonville, Florida currently houses a permanent exhibit on the life and accomplishments of A. Philip Randolph.

New York City high school 540, located on the City College of New York campus, is named in honor of Randolph. The school serves students predominantly from Harlem and surrounding neighborhoods.

The A. Philip Randolph Institute is named in his honor.

James L. Farmer, Jr, co-founder of the Congress of Racial Equality or CORE, cited Randolph as one of his primary influences as a Civil Rights leader.

Randolph's efforts on behalf of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters were portrayed in the Robert Townsend film 10,000 Black Men Named George. The title refers to the demeaning custom of the time when Pullman porters, all of whom were black, were just addressed as "George".

A. Philip Randolph Pullman Porter Museum is in Chicago near the Pullman Historic District.

[edit] Bibliography

Jervis Anderson, A. Philip Randolph: A Biographical Portrait (1973; University of California Press, 1986). ISBN 978-0520055056
Paula Pfeffer, A. Philip Randolph, Pioneer of the Civil Rights Movement (1990; Louisiana State University Press, 1996). ISBN 978-0807120750
Andrew E. Kersten, A. Philip Randolph: A Life in the Vanguard (Rowan and Littlefield, 2006). ISBN 978-0742548985
Cynthia Taylor, A. Philip Randolph: The Religious Journey of An African American Labor Leader (NYU Press, 2006). ISBN 978-0814782873