A. Phillip Randolph
Asa Phillip Randolph And Five Other Men Organized The Brotherhood Of Sleeping Car Porters On August 25, 1925. The BSCP Became One Of The Most Powerful Organizations In The History Of American Labor. By 1959, The Union Claimed More Than 15,000 Members. The Labor Union Brought Together The Many Predominately Black Railroad Porters And Attendants Who Were Forced To Work Long Hours For Relatively Meager Wages And Benefits.
The BSCP Was Led By A. Philip Randolph, Its First President, And C. L. Dellums, Its Vice President (Dellums Was The Uncle Of U.S. Representative And Oakland, CA, Mayor, Ron Dellums). These Men, Along With Union Member E. D. Nixon, Became Significant Players In The Civil Rights Movement.
During The Course Of His Distinguished Career, A. Phillip Randolph Became The Most Widely Known Spokesperson For The Interests Of The Black Working-Class, In The Country. In December 1940, With President Franklin Roosevelt Refusing To Issue An Executive Order Banning Discrimination Against Black Workers In The Defense Industry, Randolph Called For "10,000 Loyal Negro American Citizens" To March On Washington, D.C. Support Grew So Quickly That He Began Calling For 100,000 Marchers To Converge On The Capital. Pressured To Take Action, Roosevelt Issued An Executive Order On June 25, 1941 -- Six Days Before The March -- Declaring "there shall be no discrimination in the employment of workers in defense industries or government because of race, creed, color, or national origin." He Also Set Up The Fair Employment Practices Commission To Enforce The Order.
With The Formation Of The League For Nonviolent Civil Disobedience Against Military Segregation, Randolph Also Became A Major Force In Bringing An End To "Jim Crow" In The U.S. Armed Forces. In 1955, He Helped Negotiate The Return Of The Congress of Industrial Organizations To The American Federation of Labor (AFL-CIO) And Was The Co-Organizer Of The Historic, 1963 March On Washington.
Randolph Died May 16, 1979.
"In Order For Black History To Live, We Must Continue To Breathe Life Into It." -- Hubert Gaddy,
A. Phillip Randolph &
The Pullman Porters
She Started Performing As A Teenager -- Going On Tent Tours With Ma Rainey And Other Traveling Minstrel Shows. By The 1920's Smith Was Playing Music Halls To Popular Acclaim. In 1923 She Recorded Her First Hit, "Down Hearted Blues." The Record Sold Over Half A Million Copies In Six Months.
By The Time Of The Great Depression Bessie Smith's Fame -- As Well As The Popularity Of Blues Music -- Had Waned And She Began Drinking Heavily. She Made A Comeback In 1933, Recording With Popular Jazz Artists. One Of Her Songs, "Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out," Reflected The Theme Of Her Later Life.
"In Order For Black History To Live, We Must Continue To Breathe Life Into It." -- Hubert Gaddy, Jr.