By AFRO Staff

Born in Crescent City, Fla., Asa Philip Randolph came into the world on April 15, 1889 to James William Randolph and Elizabeth Robinson Randolph. Together, the tailor and the seamstress laid a firm foundation for a boy who would later become the first great Black union leader in America. 

Like millions of Black Americans at the start of the Great Migration, Randolph found himself going North at age 22 in search of a life free of Jim Crow’s rule and Ku Klux Klan terror, according to the Library of Congress. He settled in Harlem, New York. There, he met North Carolina native Chandler Owen. In 1917, the men started “The Messenger,” a magazine that strongly advocated for Black workers and union rights. 

  • June 1938 Shown here, the delegation representing the Washington Division of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters (Washington BSCP), who called at the Washington AFRO to refute charges that they were dissatisfied with their new contract, as alleged by members of the Pullman Porter’s and Maids Protective Association. Front: W.S. Anderson, president of the Washington BSCP. Second row left to right: S.J. McClellah, vice president; B.C. Massey, secretary-treasurer; Bernice Williamson, vice president of the council; Third row: Anna B. Robertson; J.H. Morrison, Richard Williamson and Rosina C. Tucker, president of the Women’s Economic Council.
  • April 1941 In 1941 Asa Phillip Randolph puts public pressure on President Franklin Roosevelt after the commander-in-chief’s refusal to end discrimination against Black people working to defend the nation. He publicly calls for thousands to march on Washington. Ultimately, the president bows to the pressure. On June 25, 1941 Roosevelt demanded the defense industry and government agencies stop all discrimination in their employment practices.
  • Nov. 1958 These gentlemen, retired sleeping car porters, were honored at a Nov. 1958 banquet that also honored widows of members of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. Shown here: G.A. Hall (left), F. Moody, A.J. Pinn, C. Morrow, J.H. Linberry, H.G. Williams, C.F. Harris, J. Spicer and J.C. Whitaker.
  • Dec. 1946 A. Phillip Randolph, president of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, caught as he tells Virginia Union University students to not retreat an inch in their fight for first-class citizenship. In this same speech, he warned against communism and lauded John L Lewis.
  • April 1964 The 16th annual Roosevelt Day Dinner, sponsored by the Washington Chapter of Americans for the Democratic Action (ADA), is held at the Shoreham Hotel in April 1964. Shown here: Alan Taylor (left), chairman of the Washington ADA, greeting Asst. Secretary for Labor Bather Peterson and speakers A. Phillip Randolph as James Welcher (right) looks on.
  • May 1975 The grand giant of America’s labor movement visits Baltimore in May 1975 for a convention put on by the A. Phillip Randolph Institute. The organization which bears his name is presented with a citation by Marguerite Campbell, aid to Mayor William Donald Schaefer
  • In this undated photo, two senators and a labor boss are among national leaders to endorse the American Council for Human Rights’ (ACH) “Write for Rights” campaign, promoted by Artha B. McKinley, director of the ACH. Shown here: Sen. Jacob Javits (left), (Rep N.Y.); A. Phillip Randolph, president Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters and vice president of AFL-CIO; Mrs. McKinley and Sen. Hubert Humphrey (D, Minn).

In 1925 Randolph began representing members of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters as president. The union was the first of its kind for Black workers and fought hard to improve conditions for the men who provided service for guests traveling via railcars operated by the Pullman Company. 

The founder of the Pullman Company, George Pullman, purposely sought to hire the formerly enslaved. He was known for working his porters long hours for little pay. It may have taken more than a decade, but Randolph changed all that. 

According to the Chicago History Museum, “In 1935, the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters became the first African American union organization to be granted membership into the American Federation of Labor. The Pullman Company agreed to negotiations with the BSCP and in April 1937, after twelve years of resistance, a contractual agreement was finally reached which included an increase in wages and a cap of 240 hours per month.”

And Randolph didn’t stop there. Decades before it materialized, in the early 1940s, he called for a March on Washington after Black soldiers were left out of jobs. And in August 1963 he led the organization of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. 

Randolph lived to be 90 years old, dying in New York City on May 16, 1979.

Today, the AFRO Archives serve as an extensive record of the battles A. Phillip Randolph and other labor leaders took on to improve life for Black workers and their families. Take a stroll through history with the photos below to better understand the change Randolph made as a champion of civil, human and labor rights.