A. Philip Randolph Biography

A. Phillip Randolph was an African American civil rights activist who played a pivotal role in the early African American civil rights movement and led the first predominantly African American labor union. A fearless and bold leader, he fought relentlessly for the rights of African American laborers, demanding equal rights and better working conditions and wages for them. He was a major figure in the American labor movement and led the struggle for equality and justice for the black community. Along with another activist, Chandler Owen, he founded an employment agency for blacks in order to boost their chances of getting meaningful employment. He organized and led the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, a predominantly black labor union. A man of strong character and conviction, he credited his parents for teaching him the importance of education, equality, justice and freedom. He was a bright young man but was unable to find meaningful jobs after school solely because of his color and thus he resolved to take up the cause of social equality. He dedicated his life to fighting for social justice and to empower the African American community so that blacks could live with dignity. He headed The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963 which ultimately helped the passage of the Civil Rights Act (1964).