Camille Taylor
Emanuel Hurst Sr., Art Taylor's grandfather and a Pullman porter, 1942-1968.
How are unions, black history, and the current debate over state workers and labor rights related?
Both my husband Art and I had grandfathers who worked for the railroad. My husband’s grandfather was a Pullman porter from 1942 to 1968. All Pullman porters were black, referred to as “George,” (after founder George Pullman), and worked as personal attendants for passengers in the Pullman sleeper cars. My grandfather was a Sky Cap, carrying passengers’ luggage for the Illinois Central Railroad.
Asa Phillip Randolph organized the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters in 1925. It took 12 years, an amended Railroad Labor Act from President Franklin Roosevelt, and gaining membership in the American Federation of Labor, before the Pullman Company would negotiate the first contract with the porters. During those 12 years, the company used its power and money to perpetrate fear by firings and violence to deter organizing efforts. Their union fought to get a fair wage, benefits, and better working conditions.
As a result of the contract, wages for porters increased, their work week was shortened, and they got overtime pay. The lives of our parents improved due to increased wages for our grandfathers. Education and the value of hard work was stressed, and this was passed on to me and my husband.
A. Phillip Randolph was the mastermind behind the March on Washington Movement in the 1940’s that sought to end discrimination in the military, war industries, government agencies, and in labor unions. He also organized the famous March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963 where Dr. Martin Luther King made his “I Have a Dream" speech.
Camille Taylor, for many years an educational leader in Bloomington, serves on the Not In Our Town: Bloomington-Normal steering committee, with her husband Art, who works with State Farm.
For a history of the Pullman porters and their struggle, watch this video on The A. Philip Randolph Pullman Porter Museum, whose mission is to promote, honor and celebrate the legacy of A. Philip Randolph and contributions made by African-Americans to America's labor history. Visit the museum at 104th & Maryland Ave., Chicago, and find out more at http://www.aphiliprandolphmuseum.com/.