A. Philip Randolph Pullman Porter Museum, Chicago
The A. Philip Randolph Pullman Porter Museum celebrates the legacy of A. Philip Randolph and the contributions made by African Americans to America's labor movement, including the story of the Pullman Company. The museum was founded in 1995 by Dr. Lyn Hughes and is in the Historic Pullman District in Chicago.
By 1920, more than 20,000 African Americans worked as Pullman porters and other train personnel. This was the largest category of black labor in the United States and Canada at the time. The Pullman Company began in 1867, when George M. Pullman opened a sleeping car service in Chicago to supply linens, housekeeping and attendants for the sleeping cars used to transport passengers in the lucrative and growing railroad industry. Pullman porters were known around the world for their excellent service, and the cars were renowned for their luxury. In a time of racial discrimination, Pullman offered good jobs, but working conditions were difficult, and employees were often taken advantage of. Porters were required to work 400 hours or 11,000 miles per month in order to collect full pay. The porters were finally successful in their attempts to unionize in 1925, when they founded the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, the first predominantly African American labor union. The new union's president was Asa Philip Randolph. Under his leadership, employees gained pay increases, a shorter work week and overtime pay.
Visitor information
A. Philip Randoph Pullman Porter Museum
10406 S Maryland Ave
Chicago, IL 60628
(773) 850-8580
http://www.aphiliprandolphmuseum.com/
Black Metropolis-Bronzeville Historic District, Chicago
Chicago's black population grew from 320 to almost 3,700 between 1850 and 1870. At first African Americans lived in pockets throughout the city, but after 1870, a distinct "black belt" emerged — an enclave of black residences and businesses extending five miles from Van Buren Street (the Loop) to 39th Street. Essentially barred from participating in Chicago's white social and business establishments, African Americans developed their own independent commercial, political and social institutions. As the population grew, financial opportunities and growing resources became available to blacks completely independent of their white neighbors. The community became so diversified it was able to publish its own directory of business services. In addition, its political strength led to the election of John Jones to the Cook County Board of Commissioners. Churches and other social organizations collaborated to assist newly arrived southern blacks in navigating Illinois' urban centers. By 1920, Chicago boasted an African American population of 110,000. Today, the Black Metropolis-Bronzeville Historic District, often simply called Bronzeville, takes in nine historic structures located in the Douglas Area of Chicago on the city's south side.
The name Bronzeville was coined in 1930 by a local theater editor of the Chicago Bee who referenced the brown skin color of the African Americans who predominantly lived there. The name came to be embraced by the community itself. Buildings in the district include the Wabash YMCA, Quinn Chapel African Methodist Church and the Chicago Defender building founded by Robert S. Abbott.
Quinn Chapel African Methodist Church
Quinn Chapel African Methodist Church was one of the most influential black churches in Chicago. Located in the Black Metropolis-Bronzeville Historic District of the city, it is home to Chicago's oldest black congregation. In 1844, a group of seven African Americans formed a prayer group and met regularly in each other's homes. As the group grew in numbers, its members approached the African Methodist Episcopal Church to admit them as a congregation. They were admitted in 1847 and named the church Quinn Chapel after Bishop Paul William Quinn, who had founded AME churches throughout the Midwest, including in Brooklyn, Illinois. The church, many of whose members were former slaves, advocated for abolition and became a station on the Underground Railroad. After the Civil War, the church became a hub for social activism, promoting the rights of African Americans. Speakers like Frederick Douglass, W.E.B. Dubois, Susan B. Anthony and, later, Martin Luther King Jr. all spoke at Quinn Chapel, using the church as a platform in promoting social change to benefit the black community. The original church was destroyed during the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. The current church building, constructed in 1892, is still an active church today.
Visitor information
Quinn Chapel AME Chicago
2401 S Wabash Ave
Chicago, IL
(312) 791-1846
http://www.quinnchicago.org
Wabash YMCA
The Wabash YMCA, built in 1913 in what is now the Black Metropolis-Bronzeville Historic District of Chicago, became a crucial resource for the African American community at the turn of the century, offering housing, job training and a venue for socializing. Carter G. Woodson — historian, author, educator and the founder of Black History Month — stayed at the Wabash Avenue YMCA during his frequent visits to Chicago. Though declining membership and deterioration of the building led to the Wabash YMCA's closure in the 1980s, a renovation project was undertaken by its new owners in the 1990s. The building, designated a National Historic Landmark in 1998.
Visitor information
Wabash YMCA
3763 S Wabash Ave.
Chicago, IL 60653
(773) 285-0020
http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/chicago/c21.htm
