A Philip Randolph And The Struggle For Civil Rights

A. Philip Randolph's career as a trade unionist and civil rights activist shaped the course of black protest in the mid-20th century. This book shows that Randolph's push for African American equality took place within a broader progressive program of industrial reform.

Before the emergence of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., there were several key leaders who fought for civil rights in the United States. Among them was A. Philip Randolph, who perhaps best embodied the hopes, ideals, and aspirations of black Americans. In this concise and engaging new book, historian Andrew E. Kersten explores Randolph's influences and accomplishments as both a labor and civil rights leader.

As the head of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters and a tireless advocate for civil rights, A. Philip Randolph (1889--1979) served as a bridge between African Americans and the labor movement. During a public career that spanned more than five decades, he was a leading voice in the struggle for black freedom and social justice, and his powerful words inspired others to join him. This volume documents Randolph's life and work through his own writings. The editors have combed through the files of libraries, manuscript collections, and newspapers, selecting more than seventy published and unpublished pieces that shed light on Randolph's most significant activities. The book is organized thematically around his major interests -- dismantling workplace inequality, expanding civil rights, confronting racial segregation, and building international coalitions. The editors provide a detailed biographical essay that helps to situate the speeches and writings collected in the book. In the absence of an autobiography, this volume offers the best available presentation of Randolph's ideas and arguments in his own words.

Scholarship has portrayed A. Philip Randolph, an African American trade unionist as an atheist and anti-religious. Taylor places him within the context of American religious history and uncovers his complex relationship to African American religion.

"Foreword / Arlene Holt Baker -- A reintroduction to Asa Philip Randolph / Andrew E. Kersten and Clarence Lang -- Researching Randolph: Shifting historiographic perspectives / Joe William Trotter, Jr. -- A. Philip Randolph: emerging socialist radical / Eric Arnesen -- Keeping his faith: A. Philip Randolph's working-class religion / Cynthia Taylor -- Brotherhood men and singing Slackers: A. Philip Randolph's rhetoric of music and manhood / Robert Hawkins -- The spirit and strategy of the United Front: Randolph and the National Negro Congress, 1936-1940 / Erik S. Gellman -- Organizing gender: A. Philip Randolph and women activists / Melinda Chateauvert -- Beyond A. Philip Randolph: Grassroots protest and the March on Washington Movement / David Lucander -- The "Void at the Center of the Story": The Negro American Labor Council and the long civil rights movement / William P. Jones -- No exit: A. Philip Randolph and the Ocean Hill-Brownsville Crisis / Jerald Podair.

Asa Philip Randolph learned at a young age the feeling of triumph and the danger that comes with standing up against injustice. His parents always encouraged him and his brother to resist the racism they encountered growing up in Jacksonville, Florida, in the early 1900s. When Randolph moved north to pursue an acting career, he rejoiced in the welcoming environment the Harlem Renaissance had created in New York City. There he took college classes, joined organizations, and met people who shared his conviction that discrimination was wrong. Randolph eventually abandoned a career on the stage for a life spent fighting racism. He led the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, the first all-black union, in a long but finally victorious fight against the discriminatory practices of the Pullman Car Company. He became a tireless voice for labor and was the driving force for integrating unions across the country. Affectionately called "The Chief" for his stalwart leadership, Randolph negotiated with presidents and won many victories, including the desegregation of the armed forces.

Best known as the man who organized the Great March on Washington in 1963, Bayard Rustin was a vital force in the civil rights movement from the 1940s through the 1980s. Rustins's activism embraced the wide range of crucial issues of his time: communism, international pacifism, and race relations. Rustin's long activist career began with his association with A. Phillip Randolph of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. Then, as a member of A. J. Muste's Fellowship of Reconciliation, he participated in the "Journey of Reconciliation" (an early version of the "Freedom Rides" of 1961). He was a close associate of Martin Luther King in Montgomery and Atlanta and rose to prominence as organizer of the 1963 March on Washington. Rustin played a key role in applying nonviolent direct action to American race relations while rejecting the separatism of movements like Black Power in the 1960s, even at the risk of his being marginalized by the younger generation of civil rights activists. In his later years he tried to hold the civil rights coalition together and to fight for the economic changes he thought were necessary to decrease racism. Daniel Levine has written the first scholarly biography that examines Rustin's public as well as private persona in light of his struggles as a gay black man and as an activist who followed his own principles and convictions. The result is a rich portrait of a complex, indomitable advocate for justice in American society.

Once labeled the most dangerous black man in America, A. Philip Randolph was a tireless crusader for civil rights and economic justice. In Marching Across the Color Line: A. Philip Randolph and Civil Rights in the World War II Era, author David Welky examines Randolph's central role in the African American struggle for equality during the World War II era. Frustrated by unequal treatment in the military and civilian life, Randolph threatened to march 100,000 African Americans to Washington, DC, unless President Franklin Roosevelt expanded employment opportunities for blacks. Roosevelt backed down following a tense standoff, issuing an executive order guaranteeing equal opportunities for all Americans to get jobs in the growing defense industry. Armed with this victory, Randolph led wartime charges to integrate the military, further expand job opportunities, and end discrimination against minorities. He staged massive rallies, badgered political leaders, and pricked the conscience of a nation fighting for democracy overseas while reluctant to create it at home. A lively, engaging narrative set against a turbulent backdrop of political maneuvering, race riots, and the largest war in human history, Marching Across the Color Line exposes students to an array of fascinating characters who wrote the dramatic opening chapters in America's civil rights saga.

Editors Birnbaum (writer) and Taylor (history, Florida International U.) have gathered an impressive array of documentary materials from a variety of sources, including excerpts from books and articles, and recent newspaper articles. Their material, divided into the broad categories of slavery, reconstruction, segregation, the second reconstruction, backlash redux, and towards a third reconstruction, traces the ongoing black struggle for civil rights from the arrival of the first Africans to America today. Each major section begins with a brief introduction by the editors. Annotation copyrighted by Book News Inc., Portland, OR

Scholars of the civil rights movement and twentieth-century African American history traditionally refer to Asa Philip Randolph as the organizer of the first all-black labor union, the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. Paula Pfeffer’s aim in this detailed and insightful biography, however, is “to demonstrate that Randolph’s ideologies and strategies provided the blueprint for the civil rights movement that emerged in the late 1950s and early 1960s.” Randolph’s efforts were essential to the formation of the first Fair Employment Practices Committee and the integration of the armed services in the 1940s. He organized many effective protests—sit-ins, the 1957 Prayer Pilgrimage, and two Youth Marches for Integrated Schools—to preserve African American integrity while seeking racial parity. The 1963 March on Washington—for which Randolph was an organizing force—was a renewal of his attempted March on Washington of 1941.