“A community is democratic only when the humblest and weakest person can enjoy the highest civil, economic, and social rights that the biggest and most powerful possess.” - A. Philip Randolph Born April 15,1889, in Crescent City, Fla. the great civil rights and labor organizer A. PHILIP RANDOLPH helped instigate and direct the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. After graduating from Cookman Institute, in 1911, Randolph moved to the Harlem neighborhood of New York City in the hopes of becoming an actor. During this time, he studied English literature and sociology at City College; held a variety of jobs, including as an elevator operator, a porter and a waiter; and developed his rhetorical skills. In 1912, Randolph made one of his earliest significant political moves when he founded an employment agency called the Brotherhood of Labor with Chandler Owen—a Columbia University law student who shared Randolphs socialist political views—as a means of organizing black workers. He began his efforts when, while working as a waiter on a coastal steamship, he organized a rally against their impoverished living conditions. In 1925 he began his twelve-year fight to gain recognition of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters by the Pullman Car Company, the American Federation of Labor (AFL), and the U.S. government. Randolph ultimately succeeded 1937 and in the process became a leader in the fight against racism in the workplace and the nation. As large industries were organized during the 1930s many unions refused to organize African American workers and in several instances had language in their charters forbidding African American membership. In 1941, during the Second World War, Randolph and others urged a March on Washington to end segregation in the govt and in the military. It was his belief that if the government didn’t lead in ending segregation, private businesses would not take the initiative. From this massive political and social pressure, President Roosevelt reluctantly signed Executive Order 8802, which was supposed to prevent racial discrimination in the nation’s war industries. After World War II, Randolph again took on the federal government by organizing the League for Nonviolent Civil Disobedience Against Military Segregation. That groups actions eventually led President Harry S. Truman to issue a 1948 executive order banning racial segregation in the U.S. Armed Forces. At 75, Randolph helped instigate and direct the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The civil rights legislation that followed is perhaps his greatest legacy. Thank you Mr. Randolph. We Remember.
Posted on: Sat, 23 Aug 2014 16:40:21 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015