Les Lester's Chronicle, Message Board

Les Lester's Chronicle, Message Board
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Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters,... hmmmmm, I don't think I've heard of them before

Posted by theone on 5/5/2025, 4:37 pm

The first predominantly Black labor union in the United States was the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters founded in 1925(photo below) and the first Black union to register with the American federation of labor in the same year. And lawwwd, it's also the first and only union that sparked the civil rights movement.

Sounds like Dr King would not have appeared if it wasn't for the Brotherhood of sleeping Car Porters. Oh yes, definitely, because this Black labor union was there for 30 years before Rosa Parks showed up.

Link: ARTICLE

Re: Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters,... hmmmmm, I don't think I've heard of them before

Posted by Les on 5/5/2025, 9:31 pm, in reply to "Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters,... hmmmmm, I don't think I've heard of them before"

Never realized the Porters in the U.S. were connected with those in Canada. Nice reporting, there, TheOne!

Previous Message

Re: Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters,... hmmmmm, I don't think I've heard of them before

Posted by theone on 5/6/2025, 12:32 pm, in reply to "Re: Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters,... hmmmmm, I don't think I've heard of them before"

Thanks, Les,...actually the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters was founded in Chicago. And the man who made it happen was Mr Milton Price Webster(photo below) Webster devoured books and the news of the day, and was a stalwart back room negotiator.

He was the son of enslaved parents from Clarksville, Tennessee, who, after successfully purchasing their own freedom, eventually moved to Chicago, where Webster was raised. A former Pullman Porter of twenty years, and a devoted husband and father of three, Webster had been fired by the company for attempting to organize porters in the Railroad Men's Benevolent Association.

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