“The essence of trade unionism is social uplift. The labor movement has been the haven for the dispossessed, the despised, the neglected, the downtrodden, the poor.”
A. Philip Randolph
In 1964, A. Philip Randolph received the Medal of Freedom from President Lyndon Johnson. The honor was a fitting tribute for a man whose life was marked by one historic accomplishment after another. Achievement that included his pivotal role in establishing the Sleeping Car Porters union in 1925, his high-profile effort to force President Truman’s Executive Order banning discrimination in the military and his election as the first black vice president of the AFL-CIO in 1955.
The George Meany Memorial Archives offers a fine biographical sketch of Randolph and an online exhibit based on the 1992-2001 traveling exhibit on A. Philip Randolph sponsored by the AFL-CIO. Click Here.
Advancing the legacy of A. Philip Randolph is also the mission of the A. Philip Randolph Pullman Porter Museum and the A. Philip Randolph Institute. Both are valuable sources of information on the life and career of this notable American.
