A DAY IN THE LOUNGE - MONDAY, LABOR DAY, SEPTEMBER 01, 2003

undergroundrailroad

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Mon Sep-01-03 09:27 AM
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A DAY IN THE LOUNGE - MONDAY, LABOR DAY, SEPTEMBER 01, 2003

Welcome Everybody to Mondays 'IN' The Undergroundrailroad where we meet, greet and jump start the week ahead. Today, Labor Day, I am serving Strawberry Short Cake. I have tested this recipe and it is very very good. To compliment your Strawberry Short Cake I am serving iced ruby red Shri Tea. It is a wonderful cool drink, brews up ruby red in the glass.

OK, grab your goodies and let's check out the Undergroundrailroad.
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THE SILENCE OF HUMANITY. The enigma of that "silence" was Reconstruction and Jim-Crow. It was a painstakingly ugly silence that brought about inequality for the Negro worker and "manhood" for the African-American male. When Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation Act in 1863, the United States made few provisions for the future employment of freed slaves.

Enter Chicago industrialist George Pullman. George Pullman revolutionized rail travel with his famous Pullman Cars. The Pullman Cars were equipped with elegant dining rooms, comfortable sleeping quarters and George. "George" was the Pullman porter, a glorified bellhop, that was considered another piece of "equipment" on Pullman's accounting records. They were named "George" after founder, George Pullman and the porter's position was inherited from slavery. Legal equality achieved in 1865 did not erase the image of black people as moral inferiors which had been stamped on the consciousness of white America through years of slavery. There was a conscious link between the black male and his white employer in a master-servant narrative. But to the unemployed black male it looked great! It offered a steady income and opportunity to travel across America in a position free of heavy physical labor. The Porters were good looking, clean and immaculate in their dress with a snappy, polite manner to match. It was a prestigious position for it's time. Yet, no matter how good looking, polite or efficient they were in their jobs as porters, the legacy of slavery could not be erased in the minds of so many. Soon the Porters were mistreated. They were underpaid, overworked and subjected to countless indignities while working, like being called "George" the name of their employer as opposed to being called by their real names. The company expected the men to pay for their own meals, uniforms, shoes, shoe polish, and only allowed them very short naps in the smoking car. They demanded that the Porters work 400 hours a months or 11,000 miles, sometimes working 20 plus hours in one day. Disgruntled Porters began to question their situation and to their credit, the largest rise of protest politics began in Black American.

In 1925, the porters formed a union called The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. This marked the beginning of a twelve-year struggle for dignity, better working conditions, and fair pay. (Its leaders were charismatic black activist A. Philip Randolph and former porter Milton Webster, head of the Chicago union local.) Their eventual triumph marked the first time in American history that a black union forced a powerful corporation to the negotiating table. It was a significant step forward for black equality.

The union members learned how to organize and negotiate. They discovered that even in a time of great prejudice in America, blacks could effect change if they stood together and persevered. They would later apply these techniques to the civil rights movement.

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Please visit the A. Philip Randolph Pullman Porter Museum

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The Boondocks by Aaron McGruder

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Questions of The Day

1. What are your labor day plans?

2. Did you see any Summer Movies? If so, rate the movie ! :thumbsup: :thumbsdown:

3. Have you ever traveled by rail, Amtrack? What was your experience?

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I'm OUTTA. See you next Monday 'IN' The Undergroundrailroad. Have a great holiday!