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In an era when America traveled by train, one of the best jobs a black man could land was working as a Pullman porter. It also was one of the worst. The hours were grueling — 16 hours a day, seven days a week. The first Pullman porters, hired after the Civil War, were former slaves. Their ranks swelled until they reached 20,000 in the early part of the 20th century, making them the largest group of African-American men employed in the country.
Last Tuesday, AMTRAK honored the legacy of Pullman porters, who fought bigotry to form the first-ever black labor union in the country in 1925, achieving better wages and shorter hours. Little is known about the extraordinary accomplishments of these men, who were the foot soldiers in the early civil rights movement. They ushered in a new generation of leaders like MALCOLM X and THURGOOD MARSHALL, both porters themselves.
Check out the video clip above from NBC Nightly News on the Pullman Porters - the largest group of black workers in post-slavery America, who are finally being recognized as the early engine of the CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT.
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