| |
Sunday, October 13, 2024
|
|
 |
 |
| |
“Hold the Fort for we are coming,
Union men be strong,
Side-by-side we’re marching on,
‘
Til victory is won.”
Pullman Porter’s Union Song
As recorded in A Long Hard Journey: the story of the Pullman Porter,
by Patricia and Fredrick McKissack. |
| |
 |
| |
|
|
September 1, 1859 George Mortimer Pullman debuted
his first railroad sleeping car. The Pullman Sleeping Car became
extremely popular with travelers and the secret to their success
was the exception level of service provided by the Pullman Porter.
In the post Civil War period Pullman employed former slaves as
porters. He cashed in on the fact that |
|
Porter
with passengers on Canadian Pacific Transcontinental in the
1890’s – Courtesy
of Canadian National Railway
|
|
these individuals would perform obediently and for
very little money because they were accustomed to being enslaved.
The porters worked 400 |
|
| hours or 11,000
miles per month away from their families with only 3 hours of sleep
a night. They catered to the eating
sleeping and grooming needs of the travelers in return for tips and
often had to endure very poor treatment. However, despite the many
hardships, the life of a ‘Travelin’ Man’ provided
a new sense of freedom and financial security that was appealing. So
much so that by the 1900’s the Pullman Palace Car Company was
the largest employer of African Americans in the United States. Porters
were also a feature on trains in Canada such as the Canadian Pacific
pictured from the 1890’s. |
| |
|
|
|
Porters were very respected members of their communities.
For many individuals being a Sleeping Car Porter was a stepping
stone on their way to success in other fields. It was a way to
pay for higher education for themselves or their families.When
researching the lives of successful African Americans or Canadians
it is very likely that that individual had a porter in his or her
past. For example Actor Richard
B. Harrison, who played ‘De Lawd’ in ‘The Green Pastures’ was
a Pullman porter as was the father of Canadian Jazz legend Oscar Peterson.
(Left picture:
Richard B. Harrison - Clipping from the Windsor Star courtesy of Marie
Martin) |
|
| |
|
|
|
The Sleeping Car Porters were barred from employment
in other positions with the company and were not admitted in the
Order of Sleeping Car Conductors a white labour union. In 1925
A. Philip Randolph began organizing for a union of sleeping car
porters. Those porters who took up the cause jeopardized the income
and security of their families. The fight for union was a long
and difficult one spanning 12 turbulent years. The Brotherhood
of Sleeping Car Porters was the first African-American labor union
to |
|
A. Philip Randolph - Courtesy of Rising From the Rails
|
|
win a collective bargaining agreement and to gain
a charter from the American Federation of Labor (AFL). In 1938
the International Brotherhood of Red Caps was organized followed
by the Provisional Committee for the Organization of Colored Locomotive
Firemen in 1941. |
|
| |
|
|
|
In 1946 the Brotherhood organized the porters of
the Canadian Pacific and the Northern Alberta Railway. The Brotherhood
of Sleeping Car Porters in Canada was the first trade union in
Canada organized by and for African Canadians. Along with seeking
better wages and working conditions for union members the Brotherhood
also pressured federal and provincial governments to create legislation
prohibiting discrimination in employment and housing. In 1964 African
Canadian porters were finally |
|
My Name is not George, by Stanley G. Grizzle – Umbrella Press
|
|
employed in other positions at the Canadian Pacific
and Canadian National Railways (CPR and CNR). The book, ‘My
Name is not George: The Story of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car
Porters in Canada’, by Stanley G. Grizzle, is |
|
| an excellent insight into Mr. Grizzle’s
20 years as a sleeping car porter in Canada and the struggle they faced.
February 15, 1999 Heritage Canada unveiled a plaque at Windsor Station
in Montreal to honour African Canadian railway porters. The plaque
recognizes their contributions as nation builders and pioneers in the
fight to eliminate discrimination. |
| |
|
|
|
The dining car workers and Red Caps joined the union
at a later date. The Red Caps were responsible for taking passengers’ luggage
to and from the train terminal and also worked for tips. A very
famous Red Cap in the city of Windsor was born in Colchester Township
but came to Windsor in 1917. Known to travelers from far and wide
as “Louie the Red Cap” A very dedicated and dependable
employee with a reputation for never missing a train Mr. Louis
E. Powell was a great asset to the CNR for 30 years. |
|
Louis E. Powell – Windsor Star 02/12/1957
|
|
During his career he met Prime Ministers and celebrities
and was pleased to assist during the visit of King George VI and
Queen Elizabeth in June of 1939. Louis E. Powell passed away at
the station while waiting for the 2:20 p.m. train. Mr. Powell was
74. |
|
| |
