Script – Asa Philip Randolph

“Loyalty is meaningless; it depends on what one is loyal to.”

Those are the words of Asa Philip Randolph, “a trailblazing leader, organizer and social

activist,” who never ceased in his quest of achieving equality for the African-Americans of the

20th century. He founded the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, “the first successful black

trade union”, and the Negro American Labor Council, or NALC.

Randolph was born on April 15, 1889, in Crescent City, Florida, to a seamstress and a

preacher deeply committed to racial politics. He attended the Cookman Institute in 1911, and

soon after moved to New York City. Asa Philip Randolph was a superior student; he excelled

in multiple topics, as well as became valedictorian of the 1907 graduating class. In New York

he pursued a career in acting, but gave it up once he failed to win his parents’ approval. There,

Randolph met Chandler Owen, who shared many of his interests, and they soon became friends.

Three years before the war, Asa met and courted Lucille E. Green, a widow who shared his

social and politic interests, and earned enough money to support them both. The two had no

children. In January 1917, Randolph was reunited with Owen to work on a political magazine

called “The Messenger.” War industry, armed forces, and higher wages – these were some of

the topics Randolph and Owen published articles about, fighting for the inclusion of

African-Americans.

Years later, in 1925, he fought for the inclusion of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car

Porters in the American Federation of Labor. At the time, rules were enforced that stopped

African-Americans to join. The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters was the first black union in

the United States. For some organizations, this achievement would have meant progress and
success and security. However, Randolph only wanted the best for his union and withdrew the

BASCP from the AFL the following year due to discrimination within the organization. Equality

was the end goal; inclusion the means.

During the 1940s, Randolph planned a march on Washington to protest discrimination in

the workforce. The march was called off after President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued an

executive order and declared “there shall be no discrimination in the employment of workers in

defense industries or government because of race, creed, color, or national origin.” The Fair

Employment Practices Commission was also passed that day to oversee the order.

In 1963, Randolph worked alongside Martin Luther King Jr., James Farmer, John Lewis,

Roy Wilkins, and Whitney Young, an alliance called the “Big Six,” to initiate the March On

Washington for Jobs and Freedom. It was there that King delivered his famous speech “I Have A

Dream.” An interesting fact from that day is that President John F. Kennedy opposed the march,

fearing it might bring violence into Washington. The Civil Rights Act was passed; the “Big

Six” (King, Randolph, Farmer, Lewis, Wilkins, and Young) was not persuaded; the show

went on. If he were to succeed, MLK Jr. would have never had a chance to share his dream with

the world.

From the first black union, to pushing the pass of the Civil Rights Act, there is no

shortage of achievements Asa Philip Randolph has managed in his lifetime. For that, he will

always remain an important figure in the history of the United States.