BLACK HISTORY MONTH | Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters legacy still lasts 100 years after founding

#inform-video-player-1 .inform-embed { margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 20px; } #inform-video-player-2 .inform-embed { margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 20px; } JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – A century ago this year, on Aug. 25, 1925, 500 Pullman Company railroad porters secretly gathered in New York City’s Harlem for a meeting that would become a key event in the Civil Rights Movement and the development of a Black middle class in the U.S. They launched the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, with A. Philip Randolph as president. It became the first predominantly Black organization to be chartered by the American Federation of Labor. Forming a union helped the porters get higher wages, more benefits and improved working conditions. But their efforts affected more than just their own jobs. Over the years, their success inspired other Black workers to get involved with the civil rights and labor movements, including in places such as Johnstown. “I think what’s most important here in Johnstown is when the porters formed that Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters union, that gave the steelworkers the message that it was OK to join unions,” said Barbara Zaborowski, Pennsylvania Highlands Community College’s dean of library services and special projects. A. Philip Randolph, International President of the Brotherhood...