Pullman Porters Laid the Track for a Better Life

Sept. 18, 2008 — -- In the booming era of railroads, African-American men — many of them former slaves or the sons of slaves — were recruited for jobs as attendants on the Pullman sleeping cars. While the well-off enjoyed glamorous cross-country travel, the Pullman porters became fixtures on the trains — carrying bags, serving in the dining car and attending to passengers' needs.

But more than "hospitality ambassadors," the Pullman porters were also trailblazers laying tracks for a better life for their families and their communities, and those who followed.

Linus Scott, now 97 years young, was a Pullman porter from 1941 to 1979. For $68 a month plus tips, he made beds, waited on the passengers and always offered a smile.

"Well, I tell you, I ran into some snobs out there," Scott said. "But mostly, when I put that smile on, they responded. They responded, so we got along."

Dr. Lyn Hughes founded the Pullman Porter Museum in Chicago 12 years ago. She was so moved by the Pullman porters' stories that she decided to devote her entire life to preserving their legacy.

"They withstood verbal abuse, sometimes physical abuse," Hughes said.

"They made a difference in what they did by living an example. And so having pride in oneself and the commitment to family. And they stressed education. And the seeds they planted in their families and their descendants have gone on for generations."

Some of history's heavyweights, including Thurgood Marshall and Malcolm X, worked as Pullman porters.

"It was considered what they call a clean job. They didn't get dirty," Hughes said. "But the fact of the matter is they worked 20 hours, slept four."

The Pullman porters created the first black labor union in America, which was recognized formally in 1937. And through it, they changed the course of history by securing better wages and shorter hours. In 1941 they organized the first march on Washington to protest racial discrimination in government hiring. The march was cancelled when president Franklin D. Roosevelt signed an order conceding to their demands.