The Untold Story of A. Philip Randolph

The Untold Story of A. Philip Randolph
Author: Artika R Tyner
Publisher: Capstone
Total Pages: 33
Release: 2024-08
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 1669069958

You may have heard about labor organizers like Cesar Chavez, who helped organize farmworkers in California. But decades earlier, A. Philip Randolph started a union for Black porters who worked on Pullman railcars. It was the first predominately Black union in the United States. Randolph was also involved in the civil rights movement and organized the March on Washington in 1963. With key biographical information and related historical events, this Capstone Captivate book uncovers Randolph's story and his important works as a labor organizer and civil rights activist. Dive into the First but Forgotten series to read rarely told stories from history.

A. Philip Randolph and the Struggle for Civil Rights

A. Philip Randolph and the Struggle for Civil Rights
Author: Cornelius L. Bynum
Publisher: University of Illinois Press
Total Pages: 274
Release: 2010-12-13
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0252035755

A. Philip Randolph's career as a trade unionist and civil rights activist shaped the course of black protest in the mid-20th century. This book shows that Randolph's push for African American equality took place within a broader progressive program of industrial reform.

The Untold Story of A. Philip Randolph

The Untold Story of A. Philip Randolph
Author: Artika R Tyner
Publisher: Capstone Press
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2024-08
Genre: African Americans
ISBN: 9781669069911

"You may have heard about labor organizers like Cesar Chavez, who helped organize farmworkers in California. But decades earlier, A. Philip Randolph started a union for Black porters who worked on Pullman railcars. It was the first predominately Black union in the United States. Randolph was also involved in the civil rights movement and organized the March on Washington in 1963. With key biographical information and related historical events, this Capstone Captivate book uncovers Randolph's story and his important works as a labor organizer and civil rights activist. Dive into the First but Forgotten series to read rarely told stories from history"--

A. Philip Randolph

A. Philip Randolph
Author: Cynthia Taylor
Publisher: NYU Press
Total Pages: 304
Release: 2006
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0814782876

Scholarship has portrayed A. Philip Randolph, an African American trade unionist as an atheist and anti-religious. Taylor places him within the context of American religious history and uncovers his complex relationship to African American religion.

Troublemaker for Justice

Troublemaker for Justice
Author: Jacqueline Houtman
Publisher: City Lights Books
Total Pages: 215
Release: 2019-08-13
Genre: Young Adult Nonfiction
ISBN: 0872867986

Chosen a Best Children's Book of the Year by the Bank Street Center! Voted a Best Book of the Year by School Library Journal and Kirkus Reviews! A biography for younger readers about one of the most influential activists of our time, who was an early advocate for African Americans and for gay rights. "Bayard had an unshakable optimism, nerves of steel, and, most importantly, a faith that if the cause is just and people are organized, nothing can stand in our way."—President Barack Obama "Bayard Rustin was one of the great organizers and activists of the Civil Rights Movement. Without his skill and vision, the historic impact of the March on Washington might not have been possible. I am glad this biography will make young people aware of his life and his incredible contribution to American history.—Congressman John Lewis "'We need, in every community, a group of angelic troublemakers,' declared Bayard Rustin in the late 1940s. A proponent of nonviolent resistance and a stalwart figure in the civil rights movement, Rustin organized a profound and peaceful milestone in American history—the 1963 March on Washington. . . . Troublemaker for Justice describes not only how Rustin orchestrated the March on Washington in two months but also how he stood up for his Quaker principles throughout his life. The three authors, Jacqueline Houtman, Walter Naegle and Michael G. Long, show the difficulties Rustin faced as a gay black man in 20th-century America, and that he shouldered them with strength, intelligence, and a quest for peace and justice."—Abby Nolan, The Washington Post "An excellent biography that belongs in every young adult library. Readers will find Rustin’s story captivating; his story could encourage young people to fight for change."—Michelle Kornberger, Library Journal,*Starred Review "In today's political landscape, this volume is a lesson in the courage to live according to one's truth and the dedication it takes to create a better world."—Kirkus Reviews, *Starred Review "A long-overdue introduction to a fascinating, influential change maker."—Publishers Weekly, *Starred Review "This biography is an indispensable addition to the literature of both civil and gay rights."—Michael Cart, Booklist, *Starred review Bayard Rustin was a major figure in the Civil Rights movement. He was arrested on a bus 13 years before Rosa Parks and he participated in integrated bus rides throughout the South 14 years before the Freedom Riders. He was a mentor to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., teaching him the techniques and philosophy of Gandhian nonviolent direct action. He organized the March on Washington in 1963, one of the most impactful mobilizations in American history. Despite these contributions, few Americans recognize his name, and he is absent from most history books, in large part because he was gay. This biography traces Rustin’s life, from his childhood and his first arrest in high school for sitting in the “whites only” section of a theater, through a lifetime of nonviolent activism. "Authors Jacqueline Houtman, Walter Naegle, and Michael G. Long provide middle and high school students with a biography of Rustin that illustrates how the personal is political. Young readers will take away valuable lessons about identity, civics, and 20th-century history."—Rethinking Schools Teachers: Discussion Guide Available! Explanation of Common Core Instructional Standards Available! Reach out to the publisher at Stacey [@] citylights.com

Rising from the Rails

Rising from the Rails
Author: Larry Tye
Publisher: Macmillan + ORM
Total Pages: 481
Release: 2005-06-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 1466818751

"A valuable window into a long-underreported dimension of African American history."—Newsday An engaging social history that reveals the critical role Pullman porters played in the struggle for African American civil rights When George Pullman began recruiting Southern blacks as porters in his luxurious new sleeping cars, the former slaves suffering under Jim Crow laws found his offer of a steady job and worldly experience irresistible. They quickly signed up to serve as maid, waiter, concierge, nanny, and occasionally doctor and undertaker to cars full of white passengers, making the Pullman Company the largest employer of African American men in the country by the 1920s. In the world of the Pullman sleeping car, where whites and blacks lived in close proximity, porters developed a unique culture marked by idiosyncratic language, railroad lore, and shared experience. They called difficult passengers "Mister Charlie"; exchanged stories about Daddy Jim, the legendary first Pullman porter; and learned to distinguish generous tippers such as Humphrey Bogart from skinflints like Babe Ruth. At the same time, they played important social, political, and economic roles, carrying jazz and blues to outlying areas, forming America's first black trade union, and acting as forerunners of the modern black middle class by virtue of their social position and income. Drawing on extensive interviews with dozens of porters and their descendants, Larry Tye reconstructs the complicated world of the Pullman porter and the vital cultural, political, and economic roles they played as forerunners of the modern black middle class. Rising from the Rails provides a lively and enlightening look at this important social phenomenon. • Named a Recommended Book by The Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, and The Seattle Times

The Black Cabinet

The Black Cabinet
Author: Jill Watts
Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Press
Total Pages: 640
Release: 2020-05-12
Genre: History
ISBN: 0802146929

An in-depth history exploring the evolution, impact, and ultimate demise of what was known in the 1930s and ‘40s as FDR’s Black Cabinet. In 1932 in the midst of the Great Depression, Franklin Delano Roosevelt won the presidency with the help of key African American defectors from the Republican Party. At the time, most African Americans lived in poverty, denied citizenship rights and terrorized by white violence. As the New Deal began, a “black Brain Trust” joined the administration and began documenting and addressing the economic hardship and systemic inequalities African Americans faced. They became known as the Black Cabinet, but the environment they faced was reluctant, often hostile, to change. “Will the New Deal be a square deal for the Negro?” The black press wondered. The Black Cabinet set out to devise solutions to the widespread exclusion of black people from its programs, whether by inventing tools to measure discrimination or by calling attention to the administration’s failures. Led by Mary McLeod Bethune, an educator and friend of Eleanor Roosevelt, they were instrumental to Roosevelt’s continued success with black voters. Operating mostly behind the scenes, they helped push Roosevelt to sign an executive order that outlawed discrimination in the defense industry. They saw victories?jobs and collective agriculture programs that lifted many from poverty?and defeats?the bulldozing of black neighborhoods to build public housing reserved only for whites; Roosevelt’s refusal to get behind federal anti-lynching legislation. The Black Cabinet never won official recognition from the president, and with his death, it disappeared from view. But it had changed history. Eventually, one of its members would go on to be the first African American Cabinet secretary; another, the first African American federal judge and mentor to Thurgood Marshall. Masterfully researched and dramatically told, The Black Cabinet brings to life a forgotten generation of leaders who fought post-Reconstruction racial apartheid and whose work served as a bridge that Civil Rights activists traveled to achieve the victories of the 1950s and ’60s. Praise for The Black Cabinet “A dramatic piece of nonfiction that recovers the history of a generation of leaders that helped create the environment for the civil rights battles in decades that followed Roosevelt’s death.” —Library Journal “Fascinating . . . revealing the hidden figures of a ‘brain trust’ that lobbied, hectored and strong-armed President Franklin Roosevelt to cut African Americans in on the New Deal. . . . Meticulously researched and elegantly written, The Black Cabinet is sprawling and epic, and Watts deftly re-creates whole scenes from archival material.” —Minneapolis Star Tribune

Sweet Land of Liberty

Sweet Land of Liberty
Author: Thomas J. Sugrue
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
Total Pages: 738
Release: 2009-10-13
Genre: History
ISBN: 0812970381

Sweet Land of Liberty is Thomas J. Sugrue’s epic account of the abiding quest for racial equality in states from Illinois to New York, and of how the intense northern struggle differed from and was inspired by the fight down South. Sugrue’s panoramic view sweeps from the 1920s to the present–more than eighty of the most decisive years in American history. He uncovers the forgotten stories of battles to open up lunch counters, beaches, and movie theaters in the North; the untold history of struggles against Jim Crow schools in northern towns; the dramatic story of racial conflict in northern cities and suburbs; and the long and tangled histories of integration and black power. Filled with unforgettable characters and riveting incidents, and making use of information and accounts both public and private, such as the writings of obscure African American journalists and the records of civil rights and black power groups, Sweet Land of Liberty creates an indelible history.

The New Deal’s War on the Bill of Rights

The New Deal’s War on the Bill of Rights
Author: David T. Beito
Publisher: Independent Institute
Total Pages: 459
Release: 2023-10-10
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1598133586

"This book is not mere history; it is an expose. You won’t know which is more shocking: the lengths to which FDR and New Dealers like Senators (and future Supreme Court justices) Hugo Black and Sherman Minton went to suppress freedom of speech, privacy, and civil rights; or the degree to which these efforts have been concealed by pro-FDR and New Deal propagandists." —Randy E. Barnett, Patrick Hotung Professor of Constitutional Law, Georgetown University Law Center Spying on citizens. Censoring critics. Imprisoning minorities. These are the acts of communist dictators, not American presidents.... Or are they? Franklin D. Roosevelt’s legacy enjoys regular acclaim from historians, politicians, and educators. Lauded for his New Deal policies, leadership as a wartime president, cozy fireside chats, and groundbreaking support of the "forgotten man," FDR, we have been told, is worthy of the same praise as men like Washington, Jefferson, and Lincoln.... But is that true? Does the father of today's welfare state really deserve such generous approbation? Or is there a dark side to this golden legacy? The New Deal's War on the Bill of Rights: The Untold Story of FDR's Concentration Camps, Censorship, and Mass Surveillance unveils a portrait much different from the standard orthodoxy found in today's historical studies. Deploying an abundance of primary source evidence and well-reasoned arguments, historian and distinguished professor emeritus David T. Beito masterfully presents a complete account of the real Franklin D. Roosevelt: a man who abused power, violated human rights, targeted dissidents, and let his crude racism imprison American citizens merely for being of Japanese descent. Read it, and discover how FDR: shamelessly censored critics of his administration, barred them from the public square, destroyed their careers, and even bankrupted them when possible; locked up Japanese-American citizens in concentration camps built on American soil; sowed the seeds of today's out-of-control surveillance state; and much, much more... Here is an all too rare portrait of a man who changed the course of American history ... not for the better. Read it, and you'll never view the fireside president the same again.

The Confidante

The Confidante
Author: Christopher C. Gorham
Publisher: Citadel Press
Total Pages: 386
Release: 2023-02-21
Genre: History
ISBN: 0806542012

Perfect for readers of A Woman of No Importance, Three Ordinary Girls, and Eleanor: A Life comes the first-ever biography of Anna Marie Rosenberg, the Hungarian Jewish immigrant who became FDR’s closest advisor during World War II and, according to Life, “the most important official woman in the world”—a woman of many firsts, whose story, forgotten for too long, is extraordinary, inspiring, and uniquely American. Her life ran parallel to the front lines of history yet her influence on 20th century America, from the New Deal to the Cold War and beyond, has never before been told. A Goodreads Choice Awards Nominee "What The Confidante provides, with cinematic color and encyclopedic clarity, is a resurrection.” —THE WALL STREET JOURNAL As Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s special envoy to Europe in World War II she went where the president couldn’t go. She was among the first Allied women to enter a liberated concentration camp, and stood in the Eagle’s Nest, Hitler’s mountain retreat, days after its capture. She guided the direction of the G.I. Bill of Rights and the Manhattan Project. Though Anna Rosenberg emerged from modest immigrant beginnings, equipped with only a high school education, she was the real power behind national policies critical to America winning the war and prospering afterward. Astonishingly, her story remains largely forgotten. With a disarming mix of charm and Tammany-hewn toughness, Rosenberg began her career in public relations in 1920s Manhattan. She became friends with Eleanor Roosevelt, who recommended Anna to her husband, who was then running for Governor of New York. As FDR’s unofficial adviser, Rosenberg soon wielded enormous influence—no less potent for being subtle. Roosevelt dubbed her “my Mrs. Fix-It.” Her extraordinary career continued after his death. By 1950, she was tapped to become the assistant secretary of defense—the highest position ever held by a woman in the US military—prompting Senator Joe McCarthy to wage an unsuccessful smear campaign against her. In 1962, she organized John F. Kennedy’s infamous birthday gala, sitting beside him while Marilyn Monroe sang. Until the end of her life, Rosenberg fought tirelessly for causes from racial integration to women’s equality to national health care. More than the story of one remarkable woman, The Confidante explores who gets to be at the forefront of history, and why. Though she was not quite a hidden figure, Rosenberg’s position as “the power behind,” combined with her status as an immigrant and a Jewish woman, served to diminish her importance. In this inspiring, impeccably researched, and revelatory book, Christopher C. Gorham at last affords Anna Rosenberg the recognition she so richly deserves. “Far and away the most important woman in the American government, and perhaps the most important official female in the world.” —LIFE magazine, 1952