Pullman Porters

[Rio Presidio]

Hi

I know most Pullman porters were blacks, but there were any white ones ? or it was 100% blacks ?

Were not mexicans or latinos as porters ?

 

thanks

[Red Horse]

What about Native Americans?

All my Porters will be Native Americans when I get too that part!!!

[Texas Chief]

In all my train travels in the 50's and 60's, I never seen a latino or an Indian, American or otherwise, as a porter. A handful of whites but predominately Black

Dick

Texas Chief

[passengerfan]

Phillipinos were also Pullman Porters, Pullman Conductors were generally white. Most western railroads also featured blacks in the dining cars with white stewards. Of course all of that has changed with Amtrak, in fact it was changing in the last few years before the National passenger carrier was formed.

Al - in - Stockton 

[KCSfan]

While the vast majority of Pullman porters were black, on at least one trip years ago I had an oriental porter on my car.

Mark

[wjstix]

Before the 1950's it would have been virtually all blacks. A white who was going to work for Pullman probably wouldn't start as a porter, but a step or two up as a Pullman conductor or dining car steward. Being a Pullman porter was a good paying job for blacks, but whites could usually find easier work that paid better. Similarly, many southern railroads had black firemen who worked their whole careers as firemen and could never be promoted to engineer, so a 50 year old black fireman might be assigned to work with a 25 year old white engineer. I suspect there may have been a few non-black porters, especially in the fifties-sixties, but before that it was all-black or close to it.

http://americanhistory.si.edu/ONTHEMOVE/exhibition/exhibition_9_6.html

[egmurphy]

I know most Pullman porters were blacks, but there were any white ones ? or it was 100% blacks ?  Were not mexicans or latinos as porters ?

Not north of the Rio Bravo.  But Pullman also provided sleeping car service for the NdeM (and probably the FCP and/or SPdM)  And in Mexico I suspect that the porters would have been Mexican. 

Regards

Ed

[al-in-chgo]

BIENVENIDOS

        AND

WELCOME !! 

[daveklepper]

In Canada, both CP and CN had white porters.  And black.

[hopper]

There's a great DVD out called" 10,000 men called George." It's the whole saga of the Pullman Portors & what they had to go through to try to start a union.It paid well for them,but there was plenty of hardship. Hopper

[wjstix]

There's a great DVD out called" 10,000 men called George." It's the whole saga of the Pullman Portors & what they had to go through to try to start a union.It paid well for them,but there was plenty of hardship. Hopper

Just to follow up on that..."10,000 men called George" refers to the fact that rail travallers called all Pullman porters "George" for George Pullman, something which most porters hated but  accepted. Plus, the job did pay pretty well but only compared to the few other jobs open to blacks at that time. Still, Pullman porters were often respected leaders in their communities, were able to send their children to college, and many took leading roles in the Civil Rights movement.

BTW in "Roots II" Alex Haley's father or grandfather was a Pullman porter, and there's a good section showing him starting out and learning the ropes as a porter.

[KenRuben]

Hi Everyone:

There was a program some years ago on PBS about A. Philip Randolph, who for many years, was the head of the Porters' Union (I forget the exact title of the Union but I am sure someone here can obtain or post the name) and there was a good history of his involvement with the union and the Pullman porters he represented.  This program may be available on DVD although I am not sure.

I saw Mr. Randolph once on I think the Coast Starlight in the dining car after he had retired and the black waiters were treating him with much respect.

FYI.

---"Ken" Ruben---

 

 

 

 

[wjstix]

The union was the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. The video probably was "For Jobs and Freedom" (1996) from WETA public television. Cassettes and possibly DVDs are available on the web.

[AgentKid]

In Canada, both CP and CN had white porters.  And black.

This puts me in mind of a story my brother's mother-in-law tells. Calgary experineced huge population growth after WWII because of the petroleum industry. However, it was still a small place 100,000? people or so before the war. Calgary had two high schools and only one black student between them. His father was the porter on the CPR overnight trains between Calgary and Edmonton. Up one night and back the next. These trains were called The Eskimo, NB, and The Stampeder, SB. Named after the Calgary and Edmonton's CFL football teams.

[txhighballer]

My paternal grandfather and his brothers all went to work as Pullman porters,but a couple of them went into the operating crafts..one became a brakeman and the other a fireman. Ogf the six of them,three went off to war and the two in the operating crafts stayed there. One even marked up as an engineer for a short time during the war but was paid a fireman's pay! He eventually retired from the railroad as an engineer in 1976.

[Red Horse]

I was just watching "Good Morning America" this morning and they had a whole segment on the Pullman Porters, they interviewed one who was a porter back in the day he was old but had a great memory and was proud to be a Pullman Porter he stated that for blacks back then it was concidered a "clean job" and he took pride in his job, they did the interview from the Pullman Porter museum that his daughter started, they even had his latern that was presented to him upon his retirement, very cool segment, I wish I would have recorded it.

GMA might have clips of the interview on their site, I haven't looked.

Just wanted to let you folks know that it was a very cool portion of my morning viewing.