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A. Philip Randolph
Labor leader & civil-rights strategist
The union man who used the threat of a march to pry open America's factories.
The rise
Randolph organized the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, the first major Black labor union, winning recognition and dignity for Black railway workers.
What they did
His threatened 1941 March on Washington pressured President Roosevelt to ban discrimination in defense industries; he later pushed President Truman to desegregate the military and was chief architect of the 1963 March on Washington.
The full picture
His fusion of labor and civil rights sometimes put him at odds with both union bosses and younger activists impatient with his methods.
Why it matters
Randolph pioneered the strategy of mass economic pressure that became the engine of the civil-rights movement.
“Freedom is never granted; it is won. Justice is never given; it is exacted.”