Social Reformer. African-American labor and civil rights leader. Originally from Florida, he started an employment bureau for untrained blacks arriving in New York City. He was a co-founder of a publication "The Messenger," and the organizer of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. He was also the organizer and director of the "March on Washington" Movement. He lobbied for integration of United States Armed Forces, and organized and directed the 1963 Freedom March on Washington, DC. He served as vice-president for the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), was a member of New York Mayor La Guardia's Commission on Race, and an honorary chairman of the White House Conference on Civil Rights. He was the founder and president of the Negro American Labor Council. Among the awards he earned were an honorary LL.D. from Howard University, the Spingarn Medal of the NAACP and a civil rights award from the American Federation of Teachers. He was cremated and his ashes are kept in an urn at the headquarters of the A. Philip Randolph Institute, Washington, DC.
Social Reformer. African-American labor and civil rights leader. Originally from Florida, he started an employment bureau for untrained blacks arriving in New York City. He was a co-founder of a publication "The Messenger," and the organizer of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. He was also the organizer and director of the "March on Washington" Movement. He lobbied for integration of United States Armed Forces, and organized and directed the 1963 Freedom March on Washington, DC. He served as vice-president for the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), was a member of New York Mayor La Guardia's Commission on Race, and an honorary chairman of the White House Conference on Civil Rights. He was the founder and president of the Negro American Labor Council. Among the awards he earned were an honorary LL.D. from Howard University, the Spingarn Medal of the NAACP and a civil rights award from the American Federation of Teachers. He was cremated and his ashes are kept in an urn at the headquarters of the A. Philip Randolph Institute, Washington, DC.
Bio by: Warrick L. Barrett
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