A. Philip Randolph: TAH Grant Summer 2012
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A. Philip Randolph was a significant figure in both the civil rights and labor movements, advocating for African American rights and equality through organized labor. He organized the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, led the March on Washington, and fought against discrimination in the armed forces, including the push for executive orders that desegregated military service. His efforts laid foundational work for civil rights activism and highlighted the interconnectedness of labor rights and racial equality.
A. Philip Randolph: TAH Grant Summer 2012
- 1. Teaching American History Grant Jackson Public Schools Dr. Leslie Burl McLemore
- 2. A. Philip Randolph represented the perfect blend between the civil rights and labor communities. Randolph fully understood the struggle for human and civil rights should involve all of the tools and resources that we had at our disposal. Indeed, Mr. Randolph was the conscience of organized labor in that he sought to get the trade union movement to set its own house in order. He urged and challenged organized labor to join in the struggle of African Americans for freedom and equality. A. Philip Randolph helped to draft the “strongest statement of labor’s position on civil rights ever to come before a convention of the AFL-CIO.” Randolph, the labor leader and civil rights leader was also called a dreamer of dreams.
- 3. How did A. Philip Randolph bridge the gap between Civil Rights and Labor? What role did he play in organizing the March on Washington? How did he fight to ban discrimination in the armed forces?
- 4. April 5, 1889 – May 16, 1979 Leader in the American labor movement Organized and led the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters Was the head of the March on Washington in 1963
- 5. Chandler Owen Marcus Garvey Bayard Rustin Booker T. W.E.B. Dubois Washington
- 6. A Chronology
- 7. 1907 – Randolph graduates from the Cookman Institute 1914 – While working for the Brotherhood of Labor, Randolph meets Lucille Green, who is six years older than him. They marry in November 1916 – Chandler Owen and Randolph join the Socialist Party
- 8. 1889 - 1967 African American writer, editor and early member of the Socialist Party of America. Graduated from Virginia Union University Wrote speeches for candidates and “We do not thank God for anything... our presidents including: Deity is the toiling masses of the world Thomas Dewey, Dwight and the things for which we thank are D. Eisenhower, Lyndon their achievement.” B. Johnson
- 9. a political and literary magazine by and for African-American people in the early 20th century Philip Randolph and Chandler Owen began publishing The Hotel Messenger in August of 1917. Renamed simply The Messenger, the featured more articles about black culture and began to publish rising black writers. The Messenger openly critiqued Marcus Mosiah Garvey’s theory of Black Nationalism. In 1918, Randolph and Owen were arrested for sedition, and U.S. Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer labels the Messenger “by long odds the most dangerous of all the Negro publications” in the United States.
- 10. August 1887 – June 10, 1940 Jamaican political leader, publisher, entrepreneur and orator President of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League Founded the Black Star Line Part of the Back-to Africa Movement which promoted the return of the African to their ancestral lands Diaspora
- 11. (April 5, 1856 – November 14, 1915 an African-American educator, author, orator, and advisor to Republican presidents attained national prominence for his Atlanta Address of 1895, Secretly funded litigation for civil rights cases, such as challenges to southern constitutions and laws that disfranchised blacks
- 12. February 23, 1868 – August 27, 1963 Sociologist, historian, civil rights activist, Pan-Africanist, author and editor Graduated from Harvard as the first African American to earn a doctorate Professor of history, sociology and economics at Atlanta University Co-founder of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1909
- 13. 1918 – Randolph and Owen are arrested for sedition, and U.S. Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer labels the Messenger “by long odds the most dangerous of all the Negro publications” in the United States 1925 – Randolph helps establish the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters (BSCP)
- 14. Established in 1925 by A. Philip Randolph The first labor organization led by blacks to receive a charter in the American Federation of Labor (AFL) After protracted negotiations, the union won its first contract in 1937. The BSCP also remained a source of inspiration and activism in African American communities, providing a training ground for future civil rights leaders like C.L. Dellums and E.D. Nixon
- 15. 1928 – The Messenger ceases publication. The BSCP grow to a membership of 1400 1929 – The BSCP joins the American Federation of Labor 1932 – The BSCP membership falls to under 800 1935 – Randolph becomes president of the National Negro Congress
- 16. Formed in 1935 at Howard University as a broadly based organization with the goal of fighting for Black liberation NNC was the culmination of the Communist Party's Depression-era effort to unite black and white workers and intellectuals in the fight for racial justice In February 1936, the first national meeting of the Congress was held in Chicago. It was a confluence of civic, civil rights, labor, and religious groups from across the nation; over 800 delegates representing 551 organizations and over 3 million constituents attended. A. Philip Randolph was elected President and John P. Davis was elected National Secretary.
- 17. 1937 – The BSCP wins its struggle with the Pullman Company and becomes the bargaining agent for porters 1940 – Randolph resigns from the National Negro Congress 1941 – President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 8802 1941 – The Fair Employment Practice Committee was created
- 18. Also known as the Fair Employment Act Signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on June 25, 1941 Prohibit racial discrimination in the national defense industry It was the first federal action, though not a law, “The democratic way of life within to promote equal the nation can be defended opportunity and prohibit successfully only with the help and employment support of all groups“ – President discrimination in the Franklin D. Roosevelt United States
- 19. (FEPC) implemented US Executive Order 8802 FEPC rules applied and guaranteed equality of employment rights generally successful in enforcing non- discrimination in the North, it did not attempt to challenge segregation in the South
- 20. 1943 – Randolph establishes the National Council for Permanent FEPC 1946 – The wartime FEPC ceases to exist. Randolph helps create the National Education Committee for a New Party and arranges for the publication of the group’s “Provisional Declaration of Principles” 1947 – Randolph creates the Committee Against Jim Crow in Military Service and Training to desegregate the military
- 21. 1948 – President Truman signs the Universal Military Service and Training Act 1948 – Randolph forms the League for Non- Violent Civil Disobedience Against Military Segregation 1948 – President Harry S. Truman issues Executive Order 9980 and 9981
- 22. In 1947, A. Philip Randolph, along with colleague Grant Reynolds, renewed efforts to end discrimination in the armed services, forming the Committee Against Jim Crow in Military Service and Training It is hereby declared to be the policy of the President that there shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed services without regard to race, color, religion or national origin. This policy shall be put into effect as rapidly as possible, having due regard to the time required to effectuate any necessary changes without impairing efficiency or morale – executive order 9981
- 23. 9980 9981 is an executive order Executive Order 9981 issued on July 26, 1948 ordered the by President Harry S. desegregation of the Truman. federal work force Abolished racial discrimination in the armed forces and eventually led to the end of segregation in the services
- 25. 1957 – Randolph helps to stage the Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom, largest civil rights protest in Washington, D.C., to that date. 1958 – Randolph organizes the Youth March for Integrated Schools, to support the desegregation of educational institutions 1959 – Randolph assumes presidency of the Negro American Labor Council to fight for reform and civil rights in the American Federation of Labor
- 26. Founded in 1959, the NALC sought to address the failure of the AFL-CIO (American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations) to end racial discrimination in some of its unions ‘‘The Negro American Labor Council speaking for thousands of Negro workers is fully behind you—strong in our material and spiritual condemnation of the violence visited upon you, we pledge our unstinting aid’’ – Randolph telegraphed to Martin Luther King, Jr. in reaction to the 1961 Freedom Rides The campaign demanded that Sears Roebuck retail stores hire African American women as sales clerks. Their struggle was relentless, lasting six days a week for nine long months
- 27. Wednesday, August 28, 1963 Was one of the largest political rallies for human rights in United States history – Washington Post Estimates of the number of participants varied from 200,000 (police) to over 300,000 (leaders of the march).
- 28. Randolph Receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1964 from President Lyndon B. Johnson
- 29. an organization for African American trade unionists APRI was co-founded in 1965 by Bayard Rustin a bridge between labor and black communities APRI was the spearhead for an organization called the "Black Alliance Today APRI has 150 chapters in 36 states
- 30. March 17, 1912 – August 24, 1987 An American leader in social movements for civil rights, socialism, pacifism and non-violence, and gay rights helping to initiate a 1947 Freedom Ride to challenge with civil disobedience racial segregation on interstate busing In 1942, Rustin assisted George Houser and James L. Farmer, Jr., and activist Bernice Fisher as they formed the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE). “Rustin was not a direct founder but was "an uncle of CORE," Farmer and Houser said later Rustin at a news briefing on the In 1965, Rustin became the first Civil Rights March on Director of the A. Philip Randolph Washington Institute August 27, 1963
- 31. Sometimes called the "Randolph Freedom budget", aimed to deal with the economic problems facing the Black community - particularly workers and the unemployed This called for the spending of $185 billion over ten years by the U.S. government to fight against poverty, So spoke A. Philip Randolph from the "The labor movement traditionally has convention floor of the AFL- been the only haven for the dispossessed, CIO. the despised, the neglected, the Proposed to Congress and downtrodden and the poor." President Johnson - A. Philip Randolph