By 1910, approximately 140,000 African Americans worked in the railroad industry. Two thirds of these were laborers, such as porters and maids.1 The tradition of African Americans working in the industry extended back prior to the Civil War. The Pullman Palace Car Company became one of the major employers of African Americans. After slavery was abolished, these jobs enabled thousands of African Americans to migrate to other parts of the country. This company leased Pullman railroad cars, and the staff to run them, to the railroads.

In the early days, travel by railroad could be uncomfortable. George Pullman’s goal was to make rail travel more attractive for passengers. To make the journey more tolerable, railroads added services like dining and sleeping cars. These services required workers to carry luggage, cook, and attend to the personal needs of the white passengers. Pullman porters and maids performed this service.

At the same time, people of color were expected to ride in separate railway cars with little or no services. Railroads were another part of society that was segregated.

Why did George Pullman hire so many African American people for these railroad jobs? Pullman believed popular stereotypes about African American people. He believed that the African American experience with slavery would make them ideal porters. For over a century, stereotypes like this have made it difficult for African Americans to achieve job equality and their civil rights in the United States.

Well-educated African American workers often held these positions because other opportunities were closed to them. Working conditions led African American railway workers to establish their own union, the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters.