A. Phillip Randolph Born Timelines: Catto Postscript

A. Phillip Randolph is born. He led the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters in a successful national effort that gained improved employment conditions and higher wages for the car porters. The porter labor movement was the backbone for building the black middle class and became a force in producing the modern Civil Rights Movement with its early “March on Washington” campaigns. This latter work was accomplished with the aid of local Brotherhood Women’s Auxiliaries in major cities, including Philadelphia, and in alliance with Baynard Rustin from West Chester, Pennsylvania (outside of Philadelphia) and a graduate of Cheyney University. In 1956 Baynard became an important ally and supporter to Dr. Martin Luther and brought the tactics he learned working for the Brotherhood to King’s efforts. Baynard is the unrecognized genius behind the 1963 March on Washington, as were the women, who were the  troops on the ground, executing the strategy.