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The Story of the Pullman Porter and his Descendants in the History of America
The Texas Transportation Museum is continuing to expand its educational mission by putting the spotlight on the important role of the Pullman Porter in our nation’s history. The role of the porter has been long neglected. As a result, few of us today are aware of the respect which all former Pullman employees deserve.
In addition to sleeping car porters, Pullman employees included dining car waiters, chefs, maids, “Porterettes” and maintenance personnel. Most of these individuals have passed away unrecognized, except by their families, for the foundational role they played in bringing African Americans from slavery into the middle and upper classes of America as businessmen, scientists, doctors, lawyers, professors and nationally recognized leaders, including Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall and former First Lady Michelle Obama.
The Texas Transportation Museum of San Antonio (TTM) is taking steps to correct this historical oversight. TTM owns one of the few remaining Pullman Sleeping Cars, the McKeever, built in 1924, and also the Pullman built Atchison, Topika and Santa Fe business Car No. 404, which also was staffed by a Pullman Porter and Chef.
These cars are extremely rare; the McKeever is one of the few remaining from the 9,000 operating in 1929, carrying more than 33 million passengers in one year on America’s diverse railroads. During the 1920’s and 30’s, more than 100,000 Americans slept on Pullman cars each night, making the Pullman Company the worlds’s largest hotel. The McKeever is known to have carried passengers from San Antonio to New York and return, and like all Pullman cars, it was staffed by an African American man. This man, like all porters, would have been required to memorize and follow 217 separate rules. He would have been of above average intelligence, resilient, self disciplined and with a highly responsible attitude toward the people under his care.
He greeted and helped passengers board the train, handled their luggage and helped them off the train. He prepared the cars for night and day travel and kept them in good working order. He provided a safe environment for passengers of all ages, and he creatively handled unexpected crises large and small. He was on call 24 hours a day.
It is part of the mission of TTM to make known and to honor this history of Pullman employees, and our Pullman cars can be useful as representatives of railroad cars which provided safe, luxurious travel throughout the U.S. and into Canada and Mexico. They can bring students closer to understanding the experiences of their forebears when they are allowed to go inside and see the beauty and complexity of the railcar.
To accomplish this we need to find donors and write successful grant proposals for this project. TTM is a member of the San Antonio Area Foundation and intends to utilize their resources to discover appropriate foundations. TTM also hopes to partner with the new African American Culture and Community Museum, especially in our efforts to locate, honor and involve descendants of Pullman employees.
One possibility is to create teaching modules which could be provided to schools, complete with a summary of the history of Pullman Porters to include their struggle to organize a union under A. Phillip Randolph, America’s first black union. This gave them the power to negotiate better wages and working conditions. As a result, they were to able to provide for their children’s eduction, leading to the growth of a professional class within the African American community, thereby strengthening all of American society.
By locating these descendants in the San Antonio and South Texas area, we can highlight their successes and encourage them to join us in our efforts to honor their ancestors. The lengthy and positive contributions made by African American Pullman employees should be recognized by the broad American public. We believe that working together we can help make that happen.
John W. Worsham, Ph.D.
President of the Board of Directors,
Texas Transportation Museum
The Texas Transportation Museum is continuing to expand its educational mission by putting the spotlight on the important role of the Pullman Porter in our nation’s history. The role of the porter has been long neglected. As a result, few of us today are aware of the respect which all former Pullman employees deserve.
In addition to sleeping car porters, Pullman employees included dining car waiters, chefs, maids, “Porterettes” and maintenance personnel. Most of these individuals have passed away unrecognized, except by their families, for the foundational role they played in bringing African Americans from slavery into the middle and upper classes of America as businessmen, scientists, doctors, lawyers, professors and nationally recognized leaders, including Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall and former First Lady Michelle Obama.
The Texas Transportation Museum of San Antonio (TTM) is taking steps to correct this historical oversight. TTM owns one of the few remaining Pullman Sleeping Cars, the McKeever, built in 1924, and also the Pullman built Atchison, Topika and Santa Fe business Car No. 404, which also was staffed by a Pullman Porter and Chef.
These cars are extremely rare; the McKeever is one of the few remaining from the 9,000 operating in 1929, carrying more than 33 million passengers in one year on America’s diverse railroads. During the 1920’s and 30’s, more than 100,000 Americans slept on Pullman cars each night, making the Pullman Company the worlds’s largest hotel. The McKeever is known to have carried passengers from San Antonio to New York and return, and like all Pullman cars, it was staffed by an African American man. This man, like all porters, would have been required to memorize and follow 217 separate rules. He would have been of above average intelligence, resilient, self disciplined and with a highly responsible attitude toward the people under his care.
He greeted and helped passengers board the train, handled their luggage and helped them off the train. He prepared the cars for night and day travel and kept them in good working order. He provided a safe environment for passengers of all ages, and he creatively handled unexpected crises large and small. He was on call 24 hours a day.
It is part of the mission of TTM to make known and to honor this history of Pullman employees, and our Pullman cars can be useful as representatives of railroad cars which provided safe, luxurious travel throughout the U.S. and into Canada and Mexico. They can bring students closer to understanding the experiences of their forebears when they are allowed to go inside and see the beauty and complexity of the railcar.
To accomplish this we need to find donors and write successful grant proposals for this project. TTM is a member of the San Antonio Area Foundation and intends to utilize their resources to discover appropriate foundations. TTM also hopes to partner with the new African American Culture and Community Museum, especially in our efforts to locate, honor and involve descendants of Pullman employees.
One possibility is to create teaching modules which could be provided to schools, complete with a summary of the history of Pullman Porters to include their struggle to organize a union under A. Phillip Randolph, America’s first black union. This gave them the power to negotiate better wages and working conditions. As a result, they were to able to provide for their children’s eduction, leading to the growth of a professional class within the African American community, thereby strengthening all of American society.
By locating these descendants in the San Antonio and South Texas area, we can highlight their successes and encourage them to join us in our efforts to honor their ancestors. The lengthy and positive contributions made by African American Pullman employees should be recognized by the broad American public. We believe that working together we can help make that happen.
John W. Worsham, Ph.D.
President of the Board of Directors,
Texas Transportation Museum
Proposed sections under development: Pullman Porter history, individual stories of the men who were Pullman Porters, ...
If you know of family or friends who were Pullman Porters we want to know and publish their story. Click here to contact us.
If you know of family or friends who were Pullman Porters we want to know and publish their story. Click here to contact us.
San Antonio has a Sleeping Car that you can walk through.
Visit the Texas Transportation Museum.
Click here for details.
Visit the Texas Transportation Museum.
Click here for details.
