"Rising from the Rails: The Story of the Pullman Porter" explores the little-known history of the African American men hired to work on railroad sleeping cars beginning in the late 1860s. Serving wealthy, white passengers in the golden age of rail travel, the Pullman Porters carried labor organizing skills, civil rights ideals, and elements of black culture – such as jazz and blues – across the country. As trailblazers in the struggle for African American self-sufficiency, the Pullman Porters inspired future generations of independent black leaders, including their own future descendants.
View "Rising from the Rails: The Story of the Pullman Porter" and learn about one of the largest employment opportunities for African Americans after the Civil War. According to ASALH.org, "2025 marks the 100-year anniversary of the creation of Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters and Maids by labor organizer and civil rights activist A. Philip Randolph, which was the first Black union to receive a charter in the American Federation of Labor. Martin Luther King, Jr incorporated issues outlined by Randolph’s March on Washington Movement such as economic justice into the Poor People’s Campaign, which he established in 1967. For King, it was a priority for Black people to be considered full citizens."
The Learning Commons will stream the movie at our TEC location at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, February 25, 2025. The film will be screened, with a brief historical presentation before and a discussion follow-up on Wednesday, February 26, 2025 beginning at 2:30 p.m. in the Campfire.