April 15 A Philip Randolph Birthday

April 15--This date marks the birthday of A. Philip Randolph in 1889. He was an outstanding African-American labor and civil rights leader. Born in Crescent City, Florida, Randolph worked as a section hand on a railroad during his youth. After graduating from high school, he moved to New York City and attended the College of the City of New York. During his student days, he organized a small union of elevator operators. Concerned over the treatment of African American employees on railroads, Randolph organized the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters in 1925. It was the first union of predominantly Black workers to be granted a charter by the American Federation of Labor. After more than ten years of struggle, his union won recognition as bargaining agent with the Pullman Company. Randolph later pulled the union out of the AFL citing its failure to wage a determined fight against segregation. A longtime supporter of civil rights, Randolph began organizing a march on Washington to demand full equality in 1941. As a result of the threatened march, President Franklin D. Roosevelt to set up the Fair Employment Practices Committee that attempted to eliminate discrimination in the federal government and in war related industry. In 1957, after the merger of the AFL with the CIO, Randolph was elected a vice president of the AFL/CIO. He was one of the principal organizer of the 1963 March on Washington, coordinating the march with the numerous civil rights, labor & community organizations. Randolph died May 16, 1979 in New York City.