The Pullman Porter
The firebox behind the Civil Rights Movement
The firebox behind the Civil Rights Movement
by Anne Vandenburgh, M.A.
In the steam locomotive, the firebox was
where the coal or wood was burned, producing heat
to create steam. As the firebox was the unheralded
first step to providing the energy to make the
locomotive pull the train, so were the Pullman
Porters the unheralded energy behind the
movements for civil rights from the 1920s through
the 1960s.
The porters financed and organized civil rights
movements, including the Montgomery Bus Boycott,
the 1963 March on Washington, and the Selma to
Montgomery Marches in 1965.
All over the country, the porters had not been
In the steam locomotive, the firebox was
where the coal or wood was burned, producing heat
to create steam. As the firebox was the unheralded
first step to providing the energy to make the
locomotive pull the train, so were the Pullman
Porters the unheralded energy behind the
movements for civil rights from the 1920s through
the 1960s.
The porters financed and organized civil rights
movements, including the Montgomery Bus Boycott,
the 1963 March on Washington, and the Selma to
Montgomery Marches in 1965.
All over the country, the porters had not been
allowed to join labor unions but were treated as strikebreakers if they went to work. In 1925 they successfully organized the Brotherhood of
Sleeping Car Porters, which was the first African-American labor union. The BSCP was not formally recognized by the American Federation
of Labor until 1935.
The porters worked 14-hour days a day, every day that they were on the train. Sleeping only three to four hours a night was common.
And, when they weren’t on the trains, they had jobs in their own communities to supplement their incomes. Although they needed the
incomes to support their families, they also organized and financed activities to improve the lot of all African Americans.
The porters hired an outsider named Asa Philip Randolph, who eventually won a collective bargaining agreement in 1937. Randolph used
his experience fighting the Pullman Company to help organize the Civil Rights movement.
A. Philip Randolph published the “Messenger” which he labeled “The World’s Greatest Negro Monthly.” Because he had been so
outspoken about the need for cultural change since the 1920s, porters would cross the street to avoid any possibility of accusations of
supporting unions, but they did support Randolph with time and money. He also served as mentor to the next generation of activists,
including Edgar D. Nixon and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
When the March on Washington was being planned for June 1941, he energetically organized branches in 18 cities to rally marchers.
President Roosevelt met with Randolph at the White House to try to prevent the march. As a result of that meeting, Executive Order 8802
made it illegal for the defense industries and the government to discriminate based on race, creed, color, or national origin. However, it
was not until 1948 that the President signed the law which desegregated the United States military.
Again, in 1963, President Kennedy tried to convince Randolph to cancel the March on Washington, but this time, Randolph wouldn’t
compromise. The planners had expected 100,000 people to attend; more than 250,000 showed up. The Pullman Porters arranged for 500
people to clean up the Mall after the march, again, quietly, behind the scenes.
Edgar D. Nixon, a Pullman porter and leader of a local chapter of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, used the arrest of Rosa
Parks as a rallying cry to help organize the 1955 Montgomery bus boycott in Alabama. He was a past president of the Alabama chapter of
the NAACP. His was the first home to be bombed when violence broke out in response to the Civil Rights Movement. He was the person
whom freedom marchers called when they needed bail.
The morning after Ms. Parks was arrested, he called Ralph D. Abernathy first. After Abernathy agreed to help organize the boycott, he
called the Rev. H. H. Hubbard, followed by a call to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Because of his active efforts to change the culture, Nixon was the obvious person to spearhead the boycott, but he was scheduled to
work his job as a Pullman Porter when the boycott was scheduled. So, he enlisted the help of a young black minister new to Montgomery
to run the boycott in his absence: the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. King’s first reaction was to ask time to think about it; by the time he
called back, Nixon had already told people to meet at King’s Baptist church.
All across the United States during the 1950s, the Pullman Porters planned the freedom rides, financed anti-lynching campaigns, and
supported legal actions to gain voting rights. When they were not working on the Pullman cars, they used their free time to share their
dreams of a better life with African Americans all over the country. They taught Civil Rights leaders how to conduct themselves
diplomatically in a hostile environment.
Although their wives became virtually single parents, since the porters were away from home for long periods, they, too, put time and
energy into improving the lot of African Americans.
“If not for those Black women, we would have starved to death, all the women who catered to us Pullman porters from out of town.
They were our refuge, you might say.” — Lawrence “Happy” Davis, former Pullman Porter
The Pullman Porters were the unheralded energy behind civil rights movements from the 1920s through the 1960s. The porters
financed and organized activities like the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the 1963 March on Washington, and the Selma to Montgomery Marches
in 1965. hey financed anti-lynching campaigns, supported voting rights, and shared their dreams of a better life for African Americans with
their children, their grandchildren, and with people all over the nation.
Sleeping Car Porters, which was the first African-American labor union. The BSCP was not formally recognized by the American Federation
of Labor until 1935.
The porters worked 14-hour days a day, every day that they were on the train. Sleeping only three to four hours a night was common.
And, when they weren’t on the trains, they had jobs in their own communities to supplement their incomes. Although they needed the
incomes to support their families, they also organized and financed activities to improve the lot of all African Americans.
The porters hired an outsider named Asa Philip Randolph, who eventually won a collective bargaining agreement in 1937. Randolph used
his experience fighting the Pullman Company to help organize the Civil Rights movement.
A. Philip Randolph published the “Messenger” which he labeled “The World’s Greatest Negro Monthly.” Because he had been so
outspoken about the need for cultural change since the 1920s, porters would cross the street to avoid any possibility of accusations of
supporting unions, but they did support Randolph with time and money. He also served as mentor to the next generation of activists,
including Edgar D. Nixon and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
When the March on Washington was being planned for June 1941, he energetically organized branches in 18 cities to rally marchers.
President Roosevelt met with Randolph at the White House to try to prevent the march. As a result of that meeting, Executive Order 8802
made it illegal for the defense industries and the government to discriminate based on race, creed, color, or national origin. However, it
was not until 1948 that the President signed the law which desegregated the United States military.
Again, in 1963, President Kennedy tried to convince Randolph to cancel the March on Washington, but this time, Randolph wouldn’t
compromise. The planners had expected 100,000 people to attend; more than 250,000 showed up. The Pullman Porters arranged for 500
people to clean up the Mall after the march, again, quietly, behind the scenes.
Edgar D. Nixon, a Pullman porter and leader of a local chapter of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, used the arrest of Rosa
Parks as a rallying cry to help organize the 1955 Montgomery bus boycott in Alabama. He was a past president of the Alabama chapter of
the NAACP. His was the first home to be bombed when violence broke out in response to the Civil Rights Movement. He was the person
whom freedom marchers called when they needed bail.
The morning after Ms. Parks was arrested, he called Ralph D. Abernathy first. After Abernathy agreed to help organize the boycott, he
called the Rev. H. H. Hubbard, followed by a call to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Because of his active efforts to change the culture, Nixon was the obvious person to spearhead the boycott, but he was scheduled to
work his job as a Pullman Porter when the boycott was scheduled. So, he enlisted the help of a young black minister new to Montgomery
to run the boycott in his absence: the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. King’s first reaction was to ask time to think about it; by the time he
called back, Nixon had already told people to meet at King’s Baptist church.
All across the United States during the 1950s, the Pullman Porters planned the freedom rides, financed anti-lynching campaigns, and
supported legal actions to gain voting rights. When they were not working on the Pullman cars, they used their free time to share their
dreams of a better life with African Americans all over the country. They taught Civil Rights leaders how to conduct themselves
diplomatically in a hostile environment.
Although their wives became virtually single parents, since the porters were away from home for long periods, they, too, put time and
energy into improving the lot of African Americans.
“If not for those Black women, we would have starved to death, all the women who catered to us Pullman porters from out of town.
They were our refuge, you might say.” — Lawrence “Happy” Davis, former Pullman Porter
The Pullman Porters were the unheralded energy behind civil rights movements from the 1920s through the 1960s. The porters
financed and organized activities like the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the 1963 March on Washington, and the Selma to Montgomery Marches
in 1965. hey financed anti-lynching campaigns, supported voting rights, and shared their dreams of a better life for African Americans with
their children, their grandchildren, and with people all over the nation.
