Asa Philip Randolph
Asa Philip Randolph (born April 15, 1889 in Crescent City , Florida , † May 16, 1979 in New York ) was an American socialist who was active in the labor movement and the civil rights movement.
Life
He was born in Crescent City, Florida. His father was a pastor for the African Methodist Episcopal Church . The family moved to Jacksonville, Florida in 1891. In 1911, Randolph went to Harlem , New York City, hoping to become an actor .
Randolph's parents were against his desire to become an actor. While attending New York City College, he switched to politics and economics. At City College he met his future wife, Lucille Green. Green was a schoolteacher who quit her profession to open a high-yielding beauty salon after the death of her first husband. After marrying Randolph, she often lost clients due to his political activities.
While at City College, Randolph also met Chandler Owen , a student of sociology and political science at Columbia University . Together they founded the radical Harlem magazine The Messenger in 1917 .
Services
In 1925 Randolph organized the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters . This was the first serious attempt to create a union for the employees of the Pullman Company , one of the major employers for African American people . After years of bitter struggle, the Pullman Company finally began negotiating with the Brotherhood in 1935, and a contract was signed in 1937. The Brotherhood was a member of the American Federation of Labor .
Randolph became one of the most famous civil rights advocates for African American people. In 1941, together with Bayard Rustin and AJ Muste , he proposed a march to Washington to end discrimination in the armed forces. After long negotiations, the march was called off when President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Fair Employment Act . Some activists felt betrayed that Roosevelt's announcement only referred to the defense industry and not the armed forces themselves.
In 1947, Randolph formed the Committee Against Jim Crow in Military Service, later renamed the League for Non-Violent Civil Disobedience . President Harry S. Truman abolished segregation in the armed forces through Executive Order 9981 on July 26, 1948. Randolph supported restrictions on immigration and was also a member of the Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc.
Randolph helped Rustin and Martin Luther King Jr. organize the March 28, 1963 on Washington for Work and Freedom .
Appreciation
- On September 14, 1964, Randolph received the Presidential Medal of Freedom .
- Randolph's struggle for the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters is featured in Robert Townsend 's 10,000 Black Men Named George . (All African American workers at the Pullman Company were addressed as "George", after George Pullman.)
Web links
- Transcript, A. Philip Randolph Oral History Interview I, 10/29/69, by Thomas H. Baker, Internet Copy, LBJ Library. 26 pages. Reviewed April 2, 2005.
- A. Philip Randolph Pullman Porter Museum
- A. Philp Randolf Institute The Senior Constituency Group of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO)
Documentaries
- 10,000 Black Men Named George Entry in the Internet Movie Database
- A. Philip Randolph Exhibit in the George Meany Memorial Archives.
- A. Philip Randolph: For Jobs and Freedom 86 minutes, Producer: WETA . Director: Dante James. Distributor: California Newsreel. 1996 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Randolph, Asa Philip |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American socialist, labor and civil rights activist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 15, 1889 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Crescent City , Florida |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 16, 1979 |
| Place of death | new York |