When I was 4 or 5 my mother took me and my sister from San Francisco to Chicago on what must have been a Pullman sleeping car. It was 1967 or 68. I have a vivid memory of the elderly man in his uniform who served us breakfast. No one, had up to that time in my life, had shown such a loving, kind interest in us lonely, scruffy children. He was like an angel. I find this intensely moving, now I know more about the life he must have led up to then.
😮💨👏Yes and many were murdered because of it, but that Did NOT STOP them! 👉IF only they could see how much the RAILROAD has changed... 🫡Where We Are Now...The Wonderful History told by men & women who tell it like it *"t-i-s"* 👋
got a hold of a book, from where? I don't know. But I ran out of paperbacks and I picked up the Pullman Porter's book that was laying around. It was a great read!!
When I was 6, my family traveled cross country to the 1962 Seattle World's Fair. We drove out there, but due to unforeseen circumstances, we were forced to take the train home. It was a Pullman sleeping car. Now, as a credit to my parents, I didn't see the Porters as any different than us because of their skin color. What I did see were their crisp, clean uniforms, their well shined shoes, and their warm, genuine smiles. I suppose what impressed me the most was the way that they made a middle class kid from the Midwest like me feel like I was visiting royalty. When I got back to school in the fall and wrote my obligatory "What I did on my Summer Vacation" essay, being served a 4-course dinner on the train by the Pullman Porters was right behind having lunch at the top of the Space Needle and having a 4th of July snowball fight on top of Mt Ranier.
Love docs like this, cant forget our history and how fragile freedom and rights can be as to not let them be so easily taken away from us when it was so hard to get initially
I'm afraid, just like in 'A Brave New World', people just care less about freedom than pleasure, comfort and being entertained. Keeping freedom requires voluntary adoption of difficulty, a loss of income perhaps, but it's what is required to keep one's dignity and control of one's destiny.
Do you know how big textbooks would have to be to contain everything? 😂😂 Reading writing arithmetic. That's what school is for. You can read all the history you want in archives.
@@kinte1870Do you know what year you’re in? You can Google anything with a Small device we call a phone, that fits right in the palm of your hand. Even if the world were not available to you in this handy phone size, there’s (obviously) nothing that can be done about those who don’t care to learn; who probably even refuse to educate themselves. In this day and age, that’s tragic.
@@kinte1870 "Reading writing arithmetic. That's what school is for." < Educators aren't even teaching reading, writing and arithmetic. Many young people are moving from one grade to another with out knowing anything about reading, writing and arithmetic. And actually History IS a subject that should be taught in schools.
@billwilson5341 History and Civics need to be taught. Back in the day (I'm 66yo) my first history class was in 2nd grade. Grew up in Chicago and we learned Chicago history, civics and community. From there on I fell in love with history.
My grandfather always kept a picture of this man, A Phillip Randolf, in his home. I never knew why until now. Randolf is truly unsung in American 20th century history. A movie should be made.
Right? Why don't they make movies about these fascinating and historical GIANTS? Maybe they think it would give the rest of us too many ideas about what WE could achieve if WE all worked together.
I am so moved by these heroes that didn't give up on their request for dignity and fairness. I am a latina struggling in Chicago, but i can't complain, it feels like we live in luxury compared to what some people went through in the past. I am so proud of the porters, they really help the entire african american socierty to achieve a better life.
I don't see "a better life" happening for most of the Black communities in Chicago or elsewhere in the US. It's still about race, class, and privilege.
"When fascism comes to America it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a Bible." (Sinclair Lewis) Does the above quote describe a certain well known person? I mention that to emphasize that the struggle continues. While things might appear to be better than they were during the 20th century, the ruling classes are insidious and diligent in undermining the workers (whether white-collar or blue-collar or pink-collar).
@@billwilson5341I love Chicago It’s my favorite American city ( other than my hometoen San Francisco) Great architecture Amazing food, friendly people. Beautiful neighborhoods. I don’t know what you’re talking about. It’s a great city. You have a bad attitude
Always hearing about unemployment and poverty but never about the hard workers. Never about the people who service the nation in the trenches out here They are the ones struggling with high rent. trying to hold jobs and keep their heads above water ❤
This informative documentary tells a lot of the real stories behind Labor Day and why we celebrate this day in September. It highlighted some of the highs and lows of bring a black Pullman.
At 73, I'm able to be educated about these histories in such a convenient way. The facts are more honest with the pictures to support them. I'm finally becoming aware of all the mini facts that affected us all!!! The man who tells us the story is a great speaker. I love this example of history telling.❤❤❤❤
Being from 1960s south side of Chicago I know how important this story is to my community. We literally stood in the Porters shoulders! Thank you! 🙏🏽❤️
Never before has a documentary moved me to tears. 2024, The struggle goes on, as there is someone or an entire class waiting to take these hard earned victories away one by one if we let them.
@@billwilson5341 Do you realize that the struggles and the hard-won victories of the American labor movement formed the basis of the American middle class?
I must have been either lucky or the stories are not true and I have done some traveling. My public school education was second to none. Both my elementary and junior high/ middle had libraries inhouse. They taught the black experience. I started advance mathematics in the 7th grade. Idk maybe it was some kind of experiment.
You should visit - I grew up only a short distance from there. My dad would take us there and talk about Pullman and unions. My grandpa and family friend had been Porters and Bartenders in the 30s thru 60s. I like Pullmans initial plan. The idea of pampering middle class riders while providing steady job opportunnities to new Euro immigrants and Black migrants. Pullmans model of creating worker cities was a part of what had been happening in the UK since the start of the industrial age. But of course profit margins and the stockholders big dividends are priority.
@@magicphred Dude you are mentally ill if you think this is a socialistic potential of Pullman Just to help me uninstall, what looks like socialism in this presentation?.
The still-standing Pullman Hotel, (located at SE corner of present-day intersection of East 111th Street & South Cottage Grove Avenue) always fascinated me as a child growing-up on Chicago's far Southeast Side-I learned about history of the Pullman Company town, as well as modern (1890 - 1960) U.S. suburbanization trends - this was an outstanding video about so much of United States labor history from the1860s through the 1950s, & beyond.
I have heard of the Pullman railroad cars and how very nice they were but this paints a very different picture of how terribly the Porters were treated. I am so glad that, although it took many years, they finally got recognized and won their rights. But it's such a shame that Mr. Pullman lived in total luxury while he and his company treated the Porters so terribly. And while we do have Labor Day it has really been exploited to just giving workers time and a half at best. I was forced to be in a union many years ago while working at a major supermarket chain for minimum wage. And when I had to attend when a union superintendent visited our store I always said "well I see that your knees are dirty again" because that union ALWAYS caved into the demands of the corporation. And by the way I am white but have a lot of Native American blood in me.
I also had an experience like what happened to Wolfman, in early 1975, I started working at local Vons market, bagging groceries, retrieving carts. Think the position was called "Boxboy" now, it's courtesy clerk. I was asked ( or, actually "told") I would have to pay $100 to join a union ( Retail clerks 770) in Los Angeles CA. I was part time working another PT job, making about $2.50 an hour, I Quit the market job, and stayed with the other one, a small rehab hospital working in a kitchen as a dishwasher and tray setter, started in May of '74@$2.65 per hr, ended up with FT benefits and Kaiser Health benefits. Left in July of '79, was making about $6.10 per hr with full benefits, death in the family, moved to Long Beach, still there
I grew up with the Pullman heirs in Vermont where they had a large estate near Robert Todd Lincoln’s Hildene in Manchester. The Lincoln Family & the Pullman Family were very close at the time of the assassination… Lincoln was planning to summer there in 1865 & an extra king bed was made for him. It was discovered over a 100 years later in an old inn there. The Pullman family fought over the last of their property but Edie was always generous with her charitable donations to my humane society. I remember her coming up to me with a $100 bill & wishing me well
@@WayCoolJr27 Propaganda for who? I don't think you understand propaganda. My assumption is you are on the conservative side of politics. I am curious why you consider this propaganda?
I’ve lived in Chicago most of my life. Of course I’ve been in the Pullman area many times. Our southside residents are the most awesome in the country❤️❤️ But it was always a difficult life for them.
If only my people had the same memories of this era. We have always treated your people well, so no surprise there. You say this as to say there was the opposite happening at the time. What’s sick is that even though Pullman was oppressing the YT worker’s, they still felt that their million dollar worth of whiteness endowed them with the right to treat the Black Porter’s the exact same way, keeping them out of the Union. Sickness.🙄
Nearly all the men on my family worked on the railroad out of blue island Illinois. I have always,loved trains and often went to visit my aunt in Lansing when I was "a big girl" I recall being in the dining car and this nice man with candy and tiny toys in,his pocket brought me lunch. Everything was white like his uniform and he spoke to me like I was grown-up(except for the treats".it was thrilling maybe I was 6 or 7. When I became 12 I was allowed to take my 11 yr. Old sister on the south shore to Chicago from south bend Indiana. I now live in a little town in Tennessee and I go to sleep and wake up to our train whistle. Little did I know all that was going on behind the scenes growing up..but those porters were like heroes to me for good reason. Thankyou for this background. I would love to see something about the south shore.
@asullivan4047 the comment about A. Phillip Randolph was completely relevant to the video...and just about a repeat of things stated in the video. Your response is actually what is strange.
‘Many passengers called porters “boy” or “George,” after George Pullman, regardless of their real names. This was an uncomfortable throwback to slavery, when slaves were named after their owners. Pullman porters often worked 400 hours a month, with little time off.’
@@jacquelynemcelweebrown4367 yup. And not allowed in the Union. Blacks were treated badly. Even Vets of War. "Sir, Mr fire Chief. I just got back from serving in WWll, Korea. I'd like to be a fireman.". "we don't hire your kind."
wow! i worked in haiti 1988-89. i was a secretary to a hospital, probably the best hospital in the coyntry. im from Detroit suburb of Lathrup Village, MI. my parents never ever said the "n" word, it was not allowed in ou4 house. so i was shocked when a doctor said "get me a boy" at the hospital in Haiti, and they were referring to a man over 30 woth kids. i coyld not comprehend. we did have a black maid, Tillie, who rode the bus back and forth, from Detroit to our house tl dust and vacuum ( we had dishwasher and washing machin & dryer). Tillie was afraid to dust dads duck- hunting guns in a rack on the wall in our rec. room where we used to watch t.v. she rarely saw us kismds, left our place by 3 pm. i remember 1967 Detroit riots, the sky was orange at day and night. my dad had the week off work at generL motors downtown Detroit. we still have a long way to go, us whites, in affirming, accepting, and living in peace with usa black people. its kind of interesting to me that hair relaxers for black people are considered cancer-causing nowadays, and there sre lawsuits out for that. so many black people who are leaders and rlemodels in society even in 2023 adopt caucasian feature surgery or wear wigs of caucasian type gently waving hair. im not perfect, im trying to change. i msrried a man who is handicapped and white supremist to the core. we are all learning how to cope and get along. the BLM movement, the Ferguson, Missouri lootings a couple years ago under obama administration, they bear witness to our disconnect.
My granddaddy was a locomotive engineer with the Southern Pacific Railroad, He was a staunch union man. He refused to cross any picket line no matter the union. A few times he left for work only to return because a union was picketing their employer.
Bayard Rustin worked with A. P. Randolph & wrote speeches for Martin Luther King! Rustin was gay, at a time when that was considered totally unacceptable. He was blackmailed by FBI, so Rustin had to keep invisible.
A Philip Randolph.......The Pullman Porters ..Skilled , Viable. Workforce Before Dr King. .. What happened after Dr King!?????! 13% of the population did sooooooo much for this country And yet .. .
The finest group of rail travel pro's I met ere ALL PULLMAN PORTERS. Caring, gentle, kind and always willing to help if needed. I had a lo of contact with this fine group. Thy were proud of their work too. I salute those who survive these great professionals. Their legacy was well earned
Absolutely loved this. Stories of Black American's immense struggle to survive and beat the political and captalist system make me feel proud of these people. Such determination, prowess, skill and fight are amazing! Fantastic documentary that makes one more aware of black people's struggles in history, and to this day (2024) still continue, but what a awesome landmark of change within the politics of the workforce.
interesting.. I just picked up a book last week called 'The Pullman Blues ' and oral history of the African American railroad attendant by David D. Perata ✔️ very consistent
Nothing seems to have changed in many places in America even today with oligarchs literally awash in wealth while the ordinary citizens struggling to make ends meet .
@@mikeoveli1028it’s criminal, if only everyone knew how badly we are all being ripped off . with all the technical advancements we should all by now be living in heaven on earth..
We have a pullman car here in Galesburg IL on display for Railroad days. They allow everyone to walk through the car along with the steam engine. Very huge railroad community
We have become complacent and lazy. This history shows how labor unions gave us our great standard of living which we just allowed to disappear again by being lazy and thinking that the owner class would continue to obey the laws put into place after long struggles.
Reagan started the destruction of labor unions and the Republicans have continued his vendetta and made it more difficult to organize to this day. "Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. If there is no struggle there is no progress." Frederick Douglas, 1857.
@@mscoyote50 was just about to post that Reagan was the one who started the ‘busting’ of unions with the Air Traffic Controllers’ PATCO Union ..it was decertified…irony is that he had welcomed PATCO’s endorsement during his campaign
Okay, Im only 5 minutes in but one would think that a documentary would detail how Pullman raise up building, while people were still in them, which seems like an architectural achievement.
My struggle with humans is we all want to be treated properly but remain unbothered by the mistreatment of others. It's sad how many of us are willing to sacrifice another for our own comfort and well being. They understood the pain of suffering and it's affect on the family/community yet was willing to agree to disregard the pain of blacks for there own relief.
Interesting documentary. It is laughable to say Pullman was a self-made man, though. In reality, he was a shrewd, unscrupulous exploiter of human capital who achieved financial success off the backs of many thousands of workers. Pullman took full advantage of weak labor laws, the dire straights of a recently enslaved population, government largesse towards gilded age robber barons, and transportation infrastructure that existed thanks to Uncle Sam.
Your screen name is quite apt. Comprehension is big. He made his money raising buildings out of the mud in Chicago. Then decided to build nice railcars where there were none. So yea, self made is am apt description. He hired the labor that was available. The porters could have easily been white. His dealings with labor was consistent, you certainly shouldn't try to inject racism where isn't any. Surely there was between the passengers and the Porters but not really the company as he was the largest employer of black men in the nation.
I love it when liberal viewers with radical leftist views go over their heads within the course of a paragraph. Pullman paid for the land, bought the machinery, had the idea, paid the taxes, paid the energy bills to produce the coaches .... oh yeah and he had the idea that employed thousands. Don't forget he had the fiduciary responsibility to earn a profit for the investors. Also improved the lives of the sharecroppers by giving them an opportunity to become upwardly mobile. Or maybe you all think the blacks that came northwards should've remained on the plantation.
Very well done, bravo and brava to the filmmakers. Tells a story everyone should hear, especially those deluded into thinking a "right-to-work" state has any interest in the workers' well-being. In those states, it's all about the right of well-heeled businesses to strike a deal on the back of its workforce.
Its funny that giving a person a fair shake equates to such a negative. A fair day's pay is never a call to supersede or degrade anyone. I enjoy hearing history...ALL of it. No one can ever live on tips alone.
I worked for the railroads for 9 years as a union worker and more than Mr. Pullman, The Black Pullman Porters were responsible for all Unions in this U S of A!!!
Excellent Documentary and I learned a heck of a lot more than I was expecting. Now I have to try and find the other documentary about the Porter's lives onboard the trains that was spoken about in this one.
Thank you for this historical documentary. It inspires hope and revives my commitment to maintain the victories and continue the work, stay strong in "the struggle." P.S. This is my second time watching.
Of Course, there is much more to African Amer History than MLK. I taught My children & Students about Harriet Tubman, King Mansa Musa, Sundiata Keita, Pharaoh Thutmoses, Amenhotep, Queen Hatshepsut, Queen Amenarina & African Empires before we came to America
An interesting side note concerns the grave of George Pullman. Because there was so much fear that Pullman's body would be dug up and desecrated, his grave was turned into something impervious to anything but a hit (or near miss) from thermonuclear weapons. Layers of concrete and welded together steel rails-among other things. This did not (rumor has it) stop people from urinating on the grave.
..... Ida got my Man to go piss on his grave too! The way he did his Black employees. They were little more than slaves to him. Thanks for that bit of history about that racist pt belly pullman.
What an interesting and engrossing documentary. I had heard of the Pullman strike and the attack on them, but I wasn't aware of the events surrounding it. It's really fascinating to me to see these people organize, get knocked down by greedy employers then regroup to come back stronger than ever. As the narrator said, they learned to organize at a community level and get their voices heard. We need more of this active organization today.
AWESOME! hearing the narrator talk about how the Black workers used to give the kids candy, then their parents would give the Black workers a bigger tip reminds me of that scene from The Color Pueple. When Celie threw the candy off the train for the Black children running beside it. It must've really been a sight to see, and a job of prestige - Black People all dressed up riding on a train. But where are pullmans children's children now? They the ones that need to pay into the reparations fund. I'm sure his family is still living high off the hog in chicago. Off of wealth they obtained from Black People. They needta pay MONEY to the descendants of every worker on any one of those trains FOR LIFE.
You are owed nothing. People who weren’t even born then could in no way control what happened. It’s like they say. No one alive today owned a slave and no one has been a slave or ever picked an ounce of cotton.
I heard all the stories of the Pullman Porters. (George Pullman) He made the porters answered to the name: George and they were treated badly as compared to the white workers. They only were paid if the car they were working on, sold tickets. They were never paid overtime if worked outside of their normal hours. Pullman was a slumlord and expected his workers to keep paying the same rent even after their salary was cut.
When I was 4 or 5 my mother took me and my sister from San Francisco to Chicago on what must have been a Pullman sleeping car. It was 1967 or 68. I have a vivid memory of the elderly man in his uniform who served us breakfast. No one, had up to that time in my life, had shown such a loving, kind interest in us lonely, scruffy children. He was like an angel. I find this intensely moving, now I know more about the life he must have led up to then.
Bravo, Black men and Black women. Bravo! Organized labor and civil rights. 🙌🏾
😮💨👏Yes and many were murdered because of it, but that Did NOT STOP them!
👉IF only they could see how much the RAILROAD has changed...
🫡Where We Are Now...The Wonderful History told by men & women who tell it like it *"t-i-s"* 👋
got a hold of a book, from where? I don't know. But I ran out of paperbacks and I picked up the Pullman Porter's book that was laying around. It was a great read!!
@@DntUTlkAbtAntHennywell gotta break a few eggs to make a omelette. But you can't sit and do nothing.
Only if we had the balls to fight for something nowadays
All people worked
When I was 6, my family traveled cross country to the 1962 Seattle World's Fair. We drove out there, but due to unforeseen circumstances, we were forced to take the train home. It was a Pullman sleeping car. Now, as a credit to my parents, I didn't see the Porters as any different than us because of their skin color. What I did see were their crisp, clean uniforms, their well shined shoes, and their warm, genuine smiles. I suppose what impressed me the most was the way that they made a middle class kid from the Midwest like me feel like I was visiting royalty. When I got back to school in the fall and wrote my obligatory "What I did on my Summer Vacation" essay, being served a 4-course dinner on the train by the Pullman Porters was right behind having lunch at the top of the Space Needle and having a 4th of July snowball fight on top of Mt Ranier.
Lucky you to have those great experience!
Such well behaved black people. How uncommon! Your comment is indicative of your delusion
My great grandad was a Pullman Porter. Very proud of that fact!
Same here.
My father, uncles grandfather and great grandfather were Pullman Porters. There were many books and documentaries produced on this period of time.
3 😢
Wow. A Canadian labour activist here. This story is incredibly important. Wonderful, important history. Thank you!
HOW'S THE N D P? MR LABOUR ACTIIVIST. SAY HI TO YER RAG HEAD NDP LEADER. GOOMBA.😊😊😊😊😊
I’m glad to see this documentary. My grandfather was born in 1907. He was a Pullman.
Love docs like this, cant forget our history and how fragile freedom and rights can be as to not let them be so easily taken away from us when it was so hard to get initially
Black peoples are the only ones denied, freedom, in this country. yet a lot of us do take it for granted.
I agree.
I'm afraid, just like in 'A Brave New World', people just care less about freedom than pleasure, comfort and being entertained.
Keeping freedom requires voluntary adoption of difficulty, a loss of income perhaps, but it's what is required to keep one's dignity and control of one's destiny.
amen!
" I my soul to the company store ". tennessee ernie ford song.
This is an outstanding documentary; yet another subject never covered in school text books. This is why i love youtube.
Can’t have it in a school text. They’re Black and that might make some white lady uncomfortable. /S
Do you know how big textbooks would have to be to contain everything? 😂😂 Reading writing arithmetic. That's what school is for. You can read all the history you want in archives.
@@kinte1870Do you know what year you’re in? You can Google anything with a Small device we call a phone, that fits right in the palm of your hand. Even if the world were not available to you in this handy phone size, there’s (obviously) nothing that can be done about those who don’t care to learn; who probably even refuse to educate themselves. In this day and age, that’s tragic.
@@kinte1870 "Reading writing arithmetic. That's what school is for." < Educators aren't even teaching reading, writing and arithmetic. Many young people are moving from one grade to another with out knowing anything about reading, writing and arithmetic. And actually History IS a subject that should be taught in schools.
@billwilson5341 History and Civics need to be taught. Back in the day (I'm 66yo) my first history class was in 2nd grade. Grew up in Chicago and we learned Chicago history, civics and community. From there on I fell in love with history.
My grandfather always kept a picture of this man, A Phillip Randolf, in his home. I never knew why until now. Randolf is truly unsung in American 20th century history. A movie should be made.
There is a movie about A. Phillip Randolph. Goggle it.
Right? Why don't they make movies about these fascinating and historical GIANTS? Maybe they think it would give the rest of us too many ideas about what WE could achieve if WE all worked together.
I am so moved by these heroes that didn't give up on their request for dignity and fairness. I am a latina struggling in Chicago, but i can't complain, it feels like we live in luxury compared to what some people went through in the past. I am so proud of the porters, they really help the entire african american socierty to achieve a better life.
I don't see "a better life" happening for most of the Black communities in Chicago or elsewhere in the US. It's still about race, class, and privilege.
@@marsthatdamnrebel In 1860, 10 Democrat states blocked Abraham Lincoln from the election ballots.
I don't see "a better life" happening for most people of any color in Chicago or elsewhere. This is by design.
"When fascism comes to America it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a Bible." (Sinclair Lewis)
Does the above quote describe a certain well known person? I mention that to emphasize that the struggle continues. While things might appear to be better than they were during the 20th century, the ruling classes are insidious and diligent in undermining the workers (whether white-collar or blue-collar or pink-collar).
@@billwilson5341I love Chicago It’s my favorite American city ( other than my hometoen San Francisco) Great architecture Amazing food, friendly people. Beautiful neighborhoods. I don’t know what you’re talking about. It’s a great city. You have a bad attitude
Thank you for sharing this important history of our black people.
People of all colors were spoken about in this video.
Yessssssssss
@@billwilson5341lol in those people are always spoken about. It would definitely treated better. Stay mad.
Didn't know about the Pullman maids. Interesting.
Nor did I.
Always hearing about unemployment and poverty but never about the hard workers. Never about the people who service the nation in the trenches out here They are the ones struggling with high rent. trying to hold jobs and keep their heads above water ❤
This informative documentary tells a lot of the real stories behind Labor Day and why we celebrate this day in September. It highlighted some of the highs and lows of bring a black Pullman.
At 73, I'm able to be educated about these histories in such a convenient way. The facts are more honest with the pictures to support them. I'm finally becoming aware of all the mini facts that affected us all!!! The man who tells us the story is a great speaker. I love this example of history telling.❤❤❤❤
Being from 1960s south side of Chicago I know how important this story is to my community. We literally stood in the Porters shoulders! Thank you! 🙏🏽❤️
Get your head in the game. Were in the last ditch [v] hispanics.
@@bunk95 WTF does that mean"?
... what a WONDERFUL DOCUMENTARY about part of our NATION'S HISTORY.
Never before has a documentary moved me to tears. 2024, The struggle goes on, as there is someone or an entire class waiting to take these hard earned victories away one by one if we let them.
Seems everyone wants to be a victim.
@@billwilson5341seems like you hate hearing the TRUTH about Amerikkkan HIStory! 🤬
@@billwilson5341
Do you realize that the struggles and the hard-won victories of the American labor movement formed the basis of the American middle class?
A sad but worthwhile part of American history.
This is one of the best American stories told. Thank you for providing such clear facts and history that all Americans can benefit.
I really enjoyed this. I ignored labor history and African-American history for way too long.
I'm also enjoying this new age of Enlightenment at 72! I'm so Excited! 👍☮️
I must have been either lucky or the stories are not true and I have done some traveling. My public school education was second to none. Both my elementary and junior high/ middle had libraries inhouse. They taught the black experience. I started advance mathematics in the 7th grade. Idk maybe it was some kind of experiment.
My Ancestors were among
That Number.
❤🖤💚
I wouldn't think you ignored it if you are a person loves learning, it just may have not been presented to you in the past.
@@WarrenHolly....please go away
Need more Randolph's today. Many unrecognized great leaders. Thank you for this great educational video..
I love learning about Chicago history even though I've never been there.
These docs are so fascinating.
Keep it up.
Me too! It's just so sad these have to presented with such an obvious political bias toward socialism
You should visit - I grew up only a short distance from there. My dad would take us there and talk about Pullman and unions. My grandpa and family friend had been Porters and Bartenders in the 30s thru 60s. I like Pullmans initial plan. The idea of pampering middle class riders while providing steady job opportunnities to new Euro immigrants and Black migrants. Pullmans model of creating worker cities was a part of what had been happening in the UK since the start of the industrial age. But of course profit margins and the stockholders big dividends are priority.
same! and i live in Oregon, with no family history in Chicago.
There is so much important history re race relations, industry, etc.
involved
I grow up in Chicago and I didn't know this. Thank you and keep up the good work 👍🏽
@@magicphred
Dude you are mentally ill if you think this is a socialistic potential of Pullman
Just to help me uninstall, what looks like socialism in this presentation?.
The still-standing Pullman Hotel, (located at SE corner of present-day intersection of East 111th Street & South Cottage Grove Avenue) always fascinated me as a child growing-up on Chicago's far Southeast Side-I learned about history of the Pullman Company town, as well as modern (1890 - 1960) U.S. suburbanization trends - this was an outstanding video about so much of United States labor history from the1860s through the 1950s, & beyond.
It was actually named Hotel Florence. It is now museum.
Just learned so much more about the area I grew up!
I have heard of the Pullman railroad cars and how very nice they were but this paints a very different picture of how terribly the Porters were treated. I am so glad that, although it took many years, they finally got recognized and won their rights. But it's such a shame that Mr. Pullman lived in total luxury while he and his company treated the Porters so terribly. And while we do have Labor Day it has really been exploited to just giving workers time and a half at best. I was forced to be in a union many years ago while working at a major supermarket chain for minimum wage. And when I had to attend when a union superintendent visited our store I always said "well I see that your knees are dirty again" because that union ALWAYS caved into the demands of the corporation. And by the way I am white but have a lot of Native American blood in me.
i hear u wolfnan.
I also had an experience like what happened to Wolfman, in early 1975, I started working at local Vons market, bagging groceries, retrieving carts. Think the position was called "Boxboy" now, it's courtesy clerk. I was asked ( or, actually "told") I would have to pay $100 to join a union ( Retail clerks 770) in Los Angeles CA. I was part time working another PT job, making about $2.50 an hour, I Quit the market job, and stayed with the other one, a small rehab hospital working in a kitchen as a dishwasher and tray setter, started in May of '74@$2.65 per hr, ended up with FT benefits and Kaiser Health benefits. Left in July of '79, was making about $6.10 per hr with full benefits, death in the family, moved to Long Beach, still there
The black guys who werent faking debts/ownership/pay before?
@@bunk95 ??
I grew up with the Pullman heirs in Vermont where they had a large estate near Robert Todd Lincoln’s Hildene in Manchester. The Lincoln Family & the Pullman Family were very close at the time of the assassination… Lincoln was planning to summer there in 1865 & an extra king bed was made for him. It was discovered over a 100 years later in an old inn there. The Pullman family fought over the last of their property but Edie was always generous with her charitable donations to my humane society. I remember her coming up to me with a $100 bill & wishing me well
Rat Pullman went to boarding school and college with my father in law Otis L. Hubbard
I'm proud of all the Men that came before me whom made it possible to enjoy the benefits of today.
You have my respect , we all should come to this understanding at some point in our lives.
Females are a part of history as well.
...no women?
@@billwilson5341
Thank you. I do hope the females in your life appreciate their good fortune!
I live for a good documentary ❤😊
This was an excellent documentary.
This is a proganda piece.
@@WayCoolJr27
Propaganda for who?
I don't think you understand propaganda.
My assumption is you are on the conservative side of politics.
I am curious why you consider this propaganda?
This was definitely a good documentary and very educational, we must never forget those who made positive change.
I’ve lived in Chicago most of my life. Of course I’ve been in the Pullman area many times. Our southside residents are the most awesome in the country❤️❤️ But it was always a difficult life for them.
I traveled in 1953 at 6 and never saw anything but gracious helpful kind black people and they treated me well and not just because I was a child!
Why would you even think anything else?
Who taught you to be afraid?
If only my people had the same memories of this era. We have always treated your people well, so no surprise there. You say this as to say there was the opposite happening at the time. What’s sick is that even though Pullman was oppressing the YT worker’s, they still felt that their million dollar worth of whiteness endowed them with the right to treat the Black Porter’s the exact same way, keeping them out of the Union. Sickness.🙄
Nearly all the men on my family worked on the railroad out of blue island Illinois. I have always,loved trains and often went to visit my aunt in Lansing when I was "a big girl" I recall being in the dining car and this nice man with candy and tiny toys in,his pocket brought me lunch.
Everything was white like his uniform and he spoke to me like I was grown-up(except for the treats".it was thrilling maybe I was 6 or 7. When I became 12 I was allowed to take my 11 yr. Old sister on the south shore to Chicago from south bend Indiana. I now live in a little town in Tennessee and I go to sleep and wake up to our train whistle. Little did I know all that was going on behind the scenes growing up..but those porters were like heroes to me for good reason. Thankyou for this background. I would love to see something about the south shore.
Black folks of yesteryear are certainly far superior to many of the people today. It's sad.
Me, too. Still travel only by train long distance, but I do miss the great Porters of my childhood!
They were giants of U. S. history. It is so important that their contributions be told. ATB from sunny Cancun.
You give such an wide perspective on Chicago History. It is not only informative, but pulls me in. I enjoy learning about Chicago History. Great job.
I had never heard most of this ... such a great American story full of amazing people :-) thanks for putting this out here!
A Philip Randolph is the granddaddy of the CivilRights movement.
So what+???
@@asullivan4047HE WAS ALSO QUITE SUPPORTIVE, AND IMPORTANT TO THE LABOR UNIONS!!
@asullivan4047 the comment about A. Phillip Randolph was completely relevant to the video...and just about a repeat of things stated in the video. Your response is actually what is strange.
Thank you for this historical documentary. It is well- researched, written, narrated, and edited; it is inspiring, entertaining and uplifting.
1953 I was 6 and traveled halfway across the country and back and remember these Great men who made me feel comfortable and super friendly!
I had an uncle who worked as a Pullman Porter. Sharp dresser in deed.
MY GOD!!!!!! HISTORY IS SO IMPORTANT. I am very familiar with the Pullman area but did not know the complete HISTORY. THANK YOU AGAIN. FREEDOM
they made a movie about this called 10,000 Black Men, name George Pullman porter’s Excellent movie.
And a movie called "10,000 Black Men Named George," which has Andre Braugher in it.
6:10 am Tennessee. Amazing documentary. Bravo. I'm a 3 generation railroad child
‘Many passengers called porters “boy” or “George,” after George Pullman, regardless of their real names. This was an uncomfortable throwback to slavery, when slaves were named after their owners. Pullman porters often worked 400 hours a month, with little time off.’
Upon seeing the Union didn't take Pullman Porters onboard. I recall reading that Northern Unions were as racist as the South was.
400 hours per month is abt 100 per week and 14.5 hours per day +/-.
@@jacquelynemcelweebrown4367 yup. And not allowed in the Union. Blacks were treated badly. Even Vets of War. "Sir, Mr fire Chief. I just got back from serving in WWll, Korea. I'd like to be a fireman.". "we don't hire your kind."
wow! i worked in haiti 1988-89. i was a secretary to a hospital, probably the best hospital in the coyntry. im from Detroit suburb of Lathrup Village, MI. my parents never ever said the "n" word, it was not allowed in ou4 house. so i was shocked when a doctor said "get me a boy" at the hospital in Haiti, and they were referring to a man over 30 woth kids. i coyld not comprehend. we did have a black maid, Tillie, who rode the bus back and forth, from Detroit to our house tl dust and vacuum ( we had dishwasher and washing machin & dryer). Tillie was afraid to dust dads duck- hunting guns in a rack on the wall in our rec. room where we used to watch t.v. she rarely saw us kismds, left our place by 3 pm. i remember 1967 Detroit riots, the sky was orange at day and night. my dad had the week off work at generL motors downtown Detroit.
we still have a long way to go, us whites, in affirming, accepting, and living in peace with usa black people. its kind of interesting to me that hair relaxers for black people are considered cancer-causing nowadays, and there sre lawsuits out for that. so many black people who are leaders and rlemodels in society even in 2023 adopt caucasian feature surgery or wear wigs of caucasian type gently waving hair.
im not perfect, im trying to change. i msrried a man who is handicapped and white supremist to the core.
we are all learning how to cope and get along. the BLM movement, the Ferguson, Missouri lootings a couple years ago under obama administration, they bear witness to our disconnect.
@@jacquelynemcelweebrown4367yes.
At least one of my Grandfarhers and Ron Dellums Uncle, C.L. Dellums, were among that number
❤🧡🖤💚
I was just researching this event this summer!
Grateful to see a documentary about it 🙂
Great program!!!! Thank you.
My granddaddy was a locomotive engineer with the Southern Pacific Railroad, He was a staunch union man. He refused to cross any picket line no matter the union. A few times he left for work only to return because a union was picketing their employer.
thank you for this great doc
My great grandfather Ernest Porter was a Pullman Porter now his great grandson is a locomotive engineer true black history
A Philip Randolph......proof of hard working and excellent black people, even then. History books make room!!!
A.P.Randolph was also a leader before Martin Luther King.
Bayard Rustin worked with A. P. Randolph & wrote speeches for Martin Luther King! Rustin was gay, at a time when that was considered totally unacceptable. He was blackmailed by FBI, so Rustin had to keep invisible.
A Philip Randolph.......The Pullman Porters ..Skilled , Viable. Workforce
Before Dr King. .. What happened after Dr King!?????! 13% of the population did sooooooo much for this country
And yet .. .
They'll only ban the books in Florida...
They are banning those kinds of books.😏
The finest group of rail travel pro's I met ere ALL PULLMAN PORTERS. Caring, gentle, kind and always willing to help if needed. I had a lo of contact with this fine group. Thy were proud of their work too. I salute those who survive these great professionals. Their legacy was well earned
Absolutely loved this. Stories of Black American's immense struggle to survive and beat the political and captalist system make me feel proud of these people. Such determination, prowess, skill and fight are amazing! Fantastic documentary that makes one more aware of black people's struggles in history, and to this day (2024) still continue, but what a awesome landmark of change within the politics of the workforce.
interesting.. I just picked up a book last week called 'The Pullman Blues ' and oral history of the African American railroad attendant by David D. Perata ✔️ very consistent
Very well done! Kudos! It provides another insight to Chicago and its effects on American politics and social composition. Nicely done!
Nothing seems to have changed in many places in America even today with oligarchs literally awash in wealth while the ordinary citizens struggling to make ends meet .
They say that the difference in rich and poor today is greater than during the Robber baron era.
@@mikeoveli1028it’s criminal, if only everyone knew how badly we are all being ripped off . with all the technical advancements we should all by now be living in heaven on earth..
@@jesusislukeskywalker4294
Very true.
Those on top hoarding of the wealth keeps half of the country in artificial poverty.
@@mikeoveli1028 we need more brothers if we’re to make it ☝️ Australia 😎 ua-cam.com/video/M_DHwp5vYBI/v-deo.htmlsi=w6HOeEp9Irvu3gXK
@@mikeoveli1028 we need more brothers if we’re to make it ☝️ Australia 😎 ua-cam.com/video/M_DHwp5vYBI/v-deo.htmlsi=w6HOeEp9Irvu3gXK
Thank you so much for this series, “Chicago Stories.” It’s an Ode to a Phenomenal City with equally wonderful people.
Thank you for this documentary.
We have a pullman car here in Galesburg IL on display for Railroad days. They allow everyone to walk through the car along with the steam engine. Very huge railroad community
Union- Proud. thank you
A documentary I’m glad to have stumbled upon.
Thanks!
Thank you so much for your support!
We have become complacent and lazy. This history shows how labor unions gave us our great standard of living which we just allowed to disappear again by being lazy and thinking that the owner class would continue to obey the laws put into place after long struggles.
Reagan started the destruction of labor unions and the Republicans have continued his vendetta and made it more difficult to organize to this day. "Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. If there is no struggle there is no progress." Frederick Douglas, 1857.
💯💯💯
@@mscoyote50 was just about to post that Reagan was the one who started the ‘busting’ of unions with the Air Traffic Controllers’ PATCO Union ..it was decertified…irony is that he had welcomed PATCO’s endorsement during his campaign
The stupid in this thread is mind numbing.
These stories need to be taught in schools to show the facts in America history...this is stories of men and women and what they really went through
Reading, writing and arithmetic is not even being taught!
Great documentary of significant historical value. Note the focus on family integrity.
Okay, Im only 5 minutes in but one would think that a documentary would detail how Pullman raise up building, while people were still in them, which seems like an architectural achievement.
My struggle with humans is we all want to be treated properly but remain unbothered by the mistreatment of others. It's sad how many of us are willing to sacrifice another for our own comfort and well being. They understood the pain of suffering and it's affect on the family/community yet was willing to agree to disregard the pain of blacks for there own relief.
Well done-excellent
Interesting documentary. It is laughable to say Pullman was a self-made man, though. In reality, he was a shrewd, unscrupulous exploiter of human capital who achieved financial success off the backs of many thousands of workers. Pullman took full advantage of weak labor laws, the dire straights of a recently enslaved population, government largesse towards gilded age robber barons, and transportation infrastructure that existed thanks to Uncle Sam.
That's what "self-made" means. It's an ironic term.
@@Heyu7her3 Nope.
Your screen name is quite apt. Comprehension is big. He made his money raising buildings out of the mud in Chicago. Then decided to build nice railcars where there were none. So yea, self made is am apt description. He hired the labor that was available. The porters could have easily been white. His dealings with labor was consistent, you certainly shouldn't try to inject racism where isn't any. Surely there was between the passengers and the Porters but not really the company as he was the largest employer of black men in the nation.
I love it when liberal viewers with radical leftist views go over their heads within the course of a paragraph.
Pullman paid for the land, bought the machinery, had the idea, paid the taxes, paid the energy bills to produce the coaches .... oh yeah and he had the idea that employed thousands. Don't forget he had the fiduciary responsibility to earn a profit for the investors.
Also improved the lives of the sharecroppers by giving them an opportunity to become upwardly mobile. Or maybe you all think the blacks that came northwards should've remained on the plantation.
@farmerbill6855 Stop! The feces coming out of your mouth is overwhelming!😳😫
Very well done, bravo and brava to the filmmakers. Tells a story everyone should hear, especially those deluded into thinking a "right-to-work" state has any interest in the workers' well-being. In those states, it's all about the right of well-heeled businesses to strike a deal on the back of its workforce.
man those 2 brothers wheren powerful,i hope and pray he made it,they are others i never herd of
A treasure of my youth trip to Florida from boston on Pullman
Its funny that giving a person a fair shake equates to such a negative. A fair day's pay is never a call to supersede or degrade anyone. I enjoy hearing history...ALL of it. No one can ever live on tips alone.
I'd bet you've never waited tables.
You have to do a deep dive into "capitalism".🙏🏾 That's where this attitude comes from. If they could have you work for free they would.
Agreed
@farmerbill6855 I have decades of restaurant experience
It's a good place to start, but only pays well when you own it.
Communication and the Higher Mind is the 🔑 to the People having Freedom.
A wonderful,educational, and thought provoking documentary. 🌞
What a fabulous story. Its amazing! Way to go Mr. Pullman. They were black people with dignity, respect and kindness. Omg, what a business..
I worked for the railroads for 9 years as a union worker and more than Mr. Pullman, The Black Pullman Porters were responsible for all Unions in this U S of A!!!
Excellent Documentary and I learned a heck of a lot more than I was expecting. Now I have to try and find the other documentary about the Porter's lives onboard the trains that was spoken about in this one.
Thank you for this historical documentary. It inspires hope and revives my commitment to maintain the victories and continue the work, stay strong in "the struggle."
P.S. This is my second time watching.
Awesome doc! I'd watch a movie about this. So next Feb remember there is more to that month than MLK
Of Course, there is much more to African Amer History than MLK.
I taught My children & Students about Harriet Tubman, King Mansa Musa, Sundiata Keita, Pharaoh Thutmoses, Amenhotep, Queen Hatshepsut, Queen Amenarina & African Empires before we came to America
An interesting side note concerns the grave of George Pullman. Because there was so much fear that Pullman's body would be dug up and desecrated, his grave was turned into something impervious to anything but a hit (or near miss) from thermonuclear weapons. Layers of concrete and welded together steel rails-among other things. This did not (rumor has it) stop people from urinating on the grave.
..... Ida got my Man to go piss on his grave too!
The way he did his Black employees. They were little more than slaves to him.
Thanks for that bit of history about that racist pt belly pullman.
For Decades i have Heard of these Great Men and Women.
Wow! This was one of the best documentaries ive ever seen!
What an interesting and engrossing documentary. I had heard of the Pullman strike and the attack on them, but I wasn't aware of the events surrounding it.
It's really fascinating to me to see these people organize, get knocked down by greedy employers then regroup to come back stronger than ever. As the narrator said, they learned to organize at a community level and get their voices heard. We need more of this active organization today.
I did not know that Labor Day was indebted to this subject I am amazed at the history that I missed
On my way into the Army I had a Pullman Booth and slept in the night time upper bed. I slept very well... 1966-July.
Thank you for sharing this amazing documentary.🙏🏿🙌🏿👍🏿💪🏿✊🏿
The research put into these videos is very thorough.
My great grandfather was a Pullman porter in Texas in the early 1900s
AWESOME!
hearing the narrator talk about how the Black workers used to give the kids candy, then their parents would give the Black workers a bigger tip reminds me of that scene from The Color Pueple.
When Celie threw the candy off the train for the Black children running beside it.
It must've really been a sight to see, and a job of prestige - Black People all dressed up riding on a train.
But where are pullmans children's children now? They the ones that need to pay into the reparations fund. I'm sure his family is still living high off the hog in chicago. Off of wealth they obtained from Black People. They needta pay MONEY to the descendants of every worker on any one of those trains FOR LIFE.
And how about the robber barons of today, the Walmart heirs, the Elon Musks, the Jeff Besos, etc. paying everyone a decent wage and benefits?
You are owed nothing. People who weren’t even born then could in no way control what happened. It’s like they say. No one alive today owned a slave and no one has been a slave or ever picked an ounce of cotton.
This was great!!❤ learned a ton😊
I learn something new every day!!
Thank you. I love this history lesson, its vitally important
Excellent documentary... Thank you❤
@willyMcCoy50
How long did you work for the railroad?
This is an amazing piece of history; Thank you for telling the porters' story ❤
This documentary is fascinating
I heard all the stories of the Pullman Porters. (George Pullman) He made the porters answered to the name: George and they were treated badly as compared to the white workers. They only were paid if the car they were working on, sold tickets. They were never paid overtime if worked outside of their normal hours. Pullman was a slumlord and expected his workers to keep paying the same rent even after their salary was cut.
My great uncle was a Pullman while living in Pittsburgh, Pa.
Thank you for this history lesson.
This is an astonishingly good documentary. I continue to be impressed by your fine videos.
My Grandfather 👴🏾 was a Pullman Porter ❤