Boston's African-American Railroad Workers - Back Bay Station - Boston, MA - Massachusetts Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

In Boston's Back Bay Station is a series of signs chronicling the lives of African-Americans working on the railroad.

There are six signs located just outside the waiting area for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Commuter Rail waiting area, which is to the south of the entrance to the MBTA Orange Line subway. From Dartmouth Street, enter the station, then turn right - the signs are in a corridor area.

There is a lot of text and pictures in these signs. Here, I will enter some of the text and summarize other text.


Sign 1:

The main sign, with the credits, has the following text:

"Boston's African-American Railroad Workers

During the first half of the 20th century, Back Bay/South End Station was the terminus for many African-American workers who migrated from the South seeking employment in the North. Many who went to work on the railroads were organized by the Brotherhood of Sliiping Car Porters and became a stabilizing force in the community located in the South End and Lower Roxbury.

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) dedicates this historical exhibit to honor the unique contributions of Boston's African-American railroad workers - Pullman porters and dining car waiters; their community; and the American railroading industry. Also, this exhibit memorializes A. Philip Randolph, the pioneering labor and civil rights leader who organized the first recognized Black union in America, the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters.

At the unveiling ceremonies of the A. Philip Randolph statue on October 8, 1988, the MBTA paid tribute to forty-three retired Boston railroad workers and their families. Subsequently, thirty-two retirees were interviewed. Their "voices combined with over 90 historical photographs in this display describe their working lives and struggles for justice and dignity not only in the railroad industry but in society as well."

Additional text includes the people who provided oral histories; references; the Governor, Lt. Governor, and Secretary of Transportation and Construction; people from the MBTA, and the designers of RCH Associates.


Sign 2:

""Well it was exciting... to have a job on the railroad..., to be travelling from city to city. I've been in every state, practically every big city in the United States. The places I've Seen..." Theron Brown

During the last era of old-time, high-quality passenger service on the rails, black porters, waiters, waitresses, cooks and 'red caps' earned union wages, served the travelling public with distinction and grace and represented the black community across the Continent. Pullman porters travelled to the segregated South and helped break the color line and the Dining Car workers union in Boston helped attack job segregation in the North."

There are several pictures and quotes related to the theme of this sign.


Sign 3

""Being a Porter was Educational...because of the traveling. And it was a clean job. You had your nice uniform, white shirt, and black tie. And, well you felt like an executive. I served for the Rockefeller family, the old man Rockefeller.
And I had Jackie Robinson on my train." Theron Brown, Porter

The African-American men who came to Boston and sought employment on the railroads needed help from veterans in the industry. Shut out of other skilled jobs in the city, black workers gravitated to the rails and helped each other out when they could."

Again, more pictures and text pertaining to the theme of this sign.


Sign 4:

""So I selected Boston. Came to Boston, right...to Back Bay Station with my baggage. Got in a cab and asked the guy to take me to the colored section." Elias Henderson, Dining Car Waiter

Before the Civil War Boston's black community was located in two areas. African-Americans lived in the North End near the docks and also on the north slope of Beacon Hill, where many worked as servants and caterers. Black people founded the historic African Meeting House there as their first free church. Black abolitionist homes on Beacon Hill were opened to slaves fleeing to the North on the Underground Railroad.

Many black men were attracted to railroad work because they were excluded from other occupations and because the Pullman Company and others recruited them to serve their passengers."

Again, there is more text, quotes and pictures on this sign.


Sign 5:

""The essence of Trade Unionism...is social uplift. The labor movement traditionally has been the haven for the dispossessed, the despised, the downtrodden, the poor." A. Philip Randolph

To fight against the discrimination and exploitation they suffered. Pullman porters began organizing a labor union in the 1920's. The effort began in New York, led by Ashley Totten, a native of St. Croix, who worked as a porter on the New York Central until he was fired for organizing."

More text, quotes, and pictures on this sign.

Sign 6:

""...Let The Nation Know - the meaning of our numbers. We are not a pressure group, we are not an organization...we are not a mob. We are the advance guard of a massive moral revolution for jobs and freedom...But this civil rights revolution is not confined to the Negro, nor is it confined to civil rights, for our white allies know that they are not free while we are not..." A. Philip Randolph

In 1941, after opening defense jobs for black workers, Randolph became the nation's most popular black poilitical figure. As a pioneer of the modern civil rights movement, Randolph developed a philosophy of protest based on the principles of non-violent disobedience. He influenced a whole generation of civil rights activists, including Roy Wilkins of the NAACP and Martin Luther King, Jr."

More text, pictures and quotes are on this sign.

Be sure to see the statue in the commuter rail waiting area.

Agency Responsible for Placement: Other (Place below) Agency Responsible for Placement (if not in list above): Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Year Placed: 10/8/1988 County: Suffolk City/Town Name: Boston Relevant Web Site: Not listed

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