In the early 1900s, luxury travel was by a railroad Pullman car.
Surroundings and service were the best.
However, the Pullman porters' pay was rock bottom.
That is, until A. Philip Randolph began organizing them into the nation's first powerful black union.
That 12-year battle won, Randolph went on to win defense and government jobs for blacks using his strategy of mass protest.
Years later, commenting on that strategy, Randolph said,
It demonstrated the ability of the black masses to win a victory themselves.
And it gave them a new spirit, new hope, new determination, and a belief in themselves.
In his later years, Randolph directed the famous March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.
A. Philip Randolph, 12th in the series of Black Heritage Stamps, available at your post office now.