A. Philip Randolph
James Robinson, MA
So, who is this guy?
Why do we have parks and streets named after him?
Asa Philip Randolph
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Born April 15, 1889 in Crescent City,
FL, the son of a minister
Raised in Jacksonville.
Attended Cookman Institute (the
only African-American high school
in Florida, until Stanton), where he
was valedictorian in 1907.
Moved to New York to go to
college.
Founded “The Messenger”, a
radical black weekly newspaper
that opposed lynching and worked
to promote black employment
The Brotherhood of
Sleeping Car Porters
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The Pullman Company developed
the first sleeping cars for railroads –
immensely popular.
George Pullman insisted upon
hiring blacks as porters and maids.
This practice inadvertently led to a
growing black middle class.
A. Philip Randolph was approached
to form a union, and elected
president of the union in 1925.
Within 5 years, the porters got their
first substantial raise in decades.
This union was the first successful
black union. Most unions did not
allow black members.
A. Philip Randolph and Unions
• Randolph’s success with the
Brotherhood of Sleeping Car
Porters earns him national
acclaim
• He is elected as the first black
officer of the CIO (Congress of
Industrial Organizations)
• The CIO welcomes blacks into
their affiliated unions.
• Randolph is still an officer
when the CIO merges with the
American Federation of Labor
(The AFL)
A. Philip Randolph and Civil Rights.
• Despite union gains, Randolph is
dismayed by continuing
discrimination against blacks in
the workplace.
• Randolph begins organizing a
March on Washington in 1940 – a
peaceful protest against
discrimination in hiring practices.
• The proposed March gets the
attention of President Franklin
Roosevelt, who worries that it
would show disunity amidst
Americans just as war clouds are
gathering in Europe.
FDR and EO 8802
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President Roosevelt got Randolph to agree to
stop the proposed 1940 March.
In return, FDR issued Executive Order 8802,
which forbade discriminatory hiring in all
defense industries.
EO 8802 also set up the Fair Practices
Employment Commission (FEPC) that
oversaw hiring practices and guaranteed an
integrated workforce.
With the US entry into World War II after
Pearl Harbor, this order insured that millions
of blacks were hired and working in defense
industries. Consider, this was done at a time
when the Army was not yet integrated!
EO 8802 was a major achievement for A.
Philip Randolph.
A. Philip Randolph and the 1963 March on
Washington for Jobs and Freedom
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As the Civil Rights movement blossomed
during the 1950s and 1960s, A. Philip
Randolph organized a new March on
Washington, this time to demonstrate for
civil rights.
This March was a huge success, as over
200,000 people peacefully marched, then
gathered by the Lincoln Memorial to hear the
speakers.
A. Philip Randolph, as organizer and director,
gave the keynote address as the first speaker
(left). He gave a brilliant speech, outlining the
idea of earmarking the Federal budget to
fight poverty.
Unfortunately, virtually no one knows that he
was even there. He was completely
overshadowed by the last speaker of the
day….
Martin Luther King, Jr. and his amazing “I Have A
Dream” speech
A. Philip Randolph later years
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A. Philip Randolph continued to be
active in the civil rights movement until
his death in 1979.
He was awarded the Presidential Medal
of Freedom by President Johnson in
1964.
His advocacy of non-violence, and
ability to work within the system was
the inspiration for Martin Luther King, Jr
and other prominent civil rights leaders.
His refusal to compromise and to take
criticism from the white unions won
him admiration from the more radical
black groups like the Nation of Islam.
It is difficult to overestimate his
influence on the Civil Rights Movement.
Aha, so *THAT* is who A. Philip Randolph is!