Historic Registry Press Release - A. Philip Randolph Pullman Porter Museum

CHICAGO, Feb. 21, 2001 /PRNewswire/

The A. Philip Randolph Pullman Porter Museum, in collaboration with Amtrak, will unveil the Historic National Registry for African-American railroad employees on February 23, 2001, at Chicago's Union Station. The idea for the registry was originally intended to document surviving members of the once renowned Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters (BSCP) union, the first African-American labor union chartered in the United States. Surviving members of the now defunct union would be documented or their descendants would register their relatives.

The legendary Pullman Porters symbolized the golden age of rail transportation as its ambassadors of hospitality. These men also influenced and created social changes in American History. "We thought it would be great to have a sort of repository or listing of every man who had ever worked as a Pullman Porter," says Lyn Hughes, museum founder. "Since the museum opened in 1995, we began receiving calls and letters from people all over the country indicating that they had a relative who worked as a Pullman Porter or for the railroad in other capacities. As a result of those inquiries, the decision was made to develop a national register and include all African-Americans who worked for the railroad from 1863 to 1969."

Thanks to our partners on this project, Amtrak and Chamerlik/CompuLogic, the e-business who developed the internet program, the program is being implemented. The official unveiling of the registry will take place on February 23, 2001. Amtrak will provide computers and people support to register surviving union members or their descendants who desire to register: Pullman Porters, dining car waiters, and other railroad employees who worked for the railroad from 1863 to 1969. The names entered on the registry will become part of history and will be honored and preserved. The A. Philip Randolph Museum plans to use the names in a Commemorative Exhibit to be displayed at the museum.

A. Philip Randolph Pullman Porter Museum Unveils Historic National Registry for African American Railroad Employees