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Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters graphic, ca. 1920s.
Porters helped passengers to board trains, handled baggage, shined shoes, made berths, cleaned cars and sold tickets, but were explicitly excluded from service as conductors. Initially, all porters were black men -- many of them ex-slaves -- and were the longest-working, lowest-paid, latest-unionized craft in railroading. Photograph courtesy: A. Philip Randolph Institute. |