1 00:00:01,320 --> 00:00:04,280 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production 2 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:14,560 Speaker 1: of iHeartRadio. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Tracy V. 3 00:00:14,680 --> 00:00:16,480 Speaker 1: Wilson and I'm Holly Frye. 4 00:00:16,800 --> 00:00:19,920 Speaker 2: Back in twenty fourteen, we did an episode on the 5 00:00:19,960 --> 00:00:23,400 Speaker 2: Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters and one of the key 6 00:00:23,440 --> 00:00:26,960 Speaker 2: figures in the history of that union was a Philip Randolph. 7 00:00:27,080 --> 00:00:28,960 Speaker 2: He has been on my to do list for his 8 00:00:29,040 --> 00:00:32,360 Speaker 2: own episode ever since then. So I went on vacation 9 00:00:32,640 --> 00:00:34,839 Speaker 2: not long ago, and I took a train out of 10 00:00:34,960 --> 00:00:38,080 Speaker 2: Back Bay Station in Boston, and there in the Back 11 00:00:38,120 --> 00:00:41,760 Speaker 2: Bay Amtrak waiting area is a bronze statue of a 12 00:00:41,840 --> 00:00:45,520 Speaker 2: Philip Randolph that I did not know was there. I'd 13 00:00:45,640 --> 00:00:48,479 Speaker 2: gone through Back Bay before, but not in the Amtrak area. 14 00:00:49,360 --> 00:00:51,920 Speaker 2: There's also an exhibit over there called Knights of the 15 00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:55,440 Speaker 2: Rail that's full of information and quotes from oral history 16 00:00:55,480 --> 00:00:59,560 Speaker 2: interviews that were conducted with retired railroad workers over a 17 00:00:59,560 --> 00:01:02,400 Speaker 2: period years, mostly in the mid late nineteen eighties. So, 18 00:01:03,440 --> 00:01:05,280 Speaker 2: standing there waiting for my train, I was like, well, 19 00:01:05,400 --> 00:01:07,880 Speaker 2: guess I know what I'm doing when I get back. 20 00:01:10,280 --> 00:01:13,160 Speaker 1: I love it when that happens. Travel is inspiring. It 21 00:01:13,240 --> 00:01:17,760 Speaker 1: is a Philip Randolph was born Asa Philip Randolph on 22 00:01:17,800 --> 00:01:21,360 Speaker 1: April fifteenth, eighteen eighty nine, in Crescent City, Florida, that's 23 00:01:21,400 --> 00:01:24,360 Speaker 1: just south of Jacksonville, and the family moved to Jacksonville 24 00:01:24,360 --> 00:01:27,399 Speaker 1: when he was still a toddler. His parents were Elizabeth 25 00:01:27,480 --> 00:01:30,760 Speaker 1: Robinson and James William Randolph, and his older brother, also 26 00:01:30,840 --> 00:01:34,319 Speaker 1: named James, had been born in eighteen eighty seven. The 27 00:01:34,440 --> 00:01:37,679 Speaker 1: elder James Randolph, was a minister in the African Methodist 28 00:01:37,720 --> 00:01:40,959 Speaker 1: Episcopal Church, and he also worked a number of other jobs, 29 00:01:41,000 --> 00:01:43,800 Speaker 1: including running a tailoring shop out of the family home, 30 00:01:44,319 --> 00:01:47,720 Speaker 1: one in which he also cleaned, pressed, and died clothing. 31 00:01:48,480 --> 00:01:51,640 Speaker 1: Elizabeth was a skilled seamstress and she also ran the 32 00:01:51,640 --> 00:01:53,760 Speaker 1: shop when her husband had to be away from home. 33 00:01:54,800 --> 00:01:58,160 Speaker 2: Jacksonville was home to a thriving black neighborhood, including a 34 00:01:58,240 --> 00:02:01,000 Speaker 2: number of other black owned businesses, and there were also 35 00:02:01,120 --> 00:02:04,520 Speaker 2: some black people in respected positions within the greater city, 36 00:02:04,680 --> 00:02:08,440 Speaker 2: including a judge. But when Asa was still very young, 37 00:02:08,639 --> 00:02:11,760 Speaker 2: white authorities in Jacksonville started making the city more and 38 00:02:11,840 --> 00:02:15,760 Speaker 2: more racially segregated. In eighteen ninety six, the Supreme Court 39 00:02:15,880 --> 00:02:20,280 Speaker 2: issued its decision and Plusy versus Ferguson that racial segregation 40 00:02:20,520 --> 00:02:24,840 Speaker 2: was legal under the US Constitution. ASA's parents were really 41 00:02:24,840 --> 00:02:28,400 Speaker 2: furious as segregation became more and more codified and the 42 00:02:28,480 --> 00:02:32,000 Speaker 2: Supreme Court decision was announced, and Asa and his brother 43 00:02:32,240 --> 00:02:36,000 Speaker 2: consequently weren't allowed to write on segregated street cars or 44 00:02:36,040 --> 00:02:39,480 Speaker 2: to use the segregated reading room at the library. Was 45 00:02:39,560 --> 00:02:43,560 Speaker 2: sort of their way of refusing to participate in this system. 46 00:02:44,120 --> 00:02:47,400 Speaker 1: This response to segregation in Jacksonville was just a tiny 47 00:02:47,480 --> 00:02:50,640 Speaker 1: piece of how the family approached things like race and racism. 48 00:02:51,360 --> 00:02:54,519 Speaker 1: Elizabeth and James raised their sons to be avid readers, 49 00:02:54,800 --> 00:02:58,440 Speaker 1: proud of who they were, and politically aware. As a family, 50 00:02:58,600 --> 00:03:00,920 Speaker 1: they regularly read the work of people like Booker T. 51 00:03:01,160 --> 00:03:04,720 Speaker 1: Washington and web Do Boys and then discussed it together. 52 00:03:05,480 --> 00:03:08,200 Speaker 1: One work that really influenced Aso when he was still 53 00:03:08,280 --> 00:03:11,320 Speaker 1: very young was WEBD. Boyce's The Souls of Black Folk, 54 00:03:11,600 --> 00:03:14,640 Speaker 1: a collection of essays published in nineteen oh three that 55 00:03:14,760 --> 00:03:19,320 Speaker 1: discussed race, racism, racial progress, and obstacles that stood in 56 00:03:19,360 --> 00:03:22,600 Speaker 1: the way of that progress. The family also studied and 57 00:03:22,680 --> 00:03:24,760 Speaker 1: talked about the events of the day and people and 58 00:03:24,800 --> 00:03:28,280 Speaker 1: events from history, especially as they related to concepts like 59 00:03:28,400 --> 00:03:32,880 Speaker 1: race and class. This was deeply interconnected with James's work 60 00:03:32,919 --> 00:03:36,440 Speaker 1: in the African Methodist Episcopal Church and the church's outlook 61 00:03:36,520 --> 00:03:40,600 Speaker 1: on things like race consciousness, liberation, and activism. 62 00:03:40,920 --> 00:03:43,840 Speaker 2: In that earlier episode we did on the Brotherhood of 63 00:03:43,920 --> 00:03:46,480 Speaker 2: Sleeping car Porters, which we also just ran as a 64 00:03:46,520 --> 00:03:50,520 Speaker 2: Saturday Classic, we described A. Philip Randolph as an atheist, 65 00:03:50,560 --> 00:03:54,200 Speaker 2: and a number of historians and commentators do describe him 66 00:03:54,240 --> 00:03:57,880 Speaker 2: that way, but there's also some nuance to that. In 67 00:03:57,920 --> 00:04:00,920 Speaker 2: his adult life, a Philip Randolph wasn't a member of 68 00:04:00,960 --> 00:04:04,520 Speaker 2: any church. He generally lived a secular life, and sometimes 69 00:04:04,520 --> 00:04:08,320 Speaker 2: he was critical of organized religion. In nineteen seventy three, 70 00:04:08,400 --> 00:04:12,840 Speaker 2: he signed the Humanist Manifesto two, which described Theism as 71 00:04:13,000 --> 00:04:17,680 Speaker 2: quote an unproved and outmoded faith. But at the same time, 72 00:04:17,960 --> 00:04:21,479 Speaker 2: ASA's father was a devout minister, and Asa was raised 73 00:04:21,520 --> 00:04:24,920 Speaker 2: in a religious tradition that had from its very founding 74 00:04:25,240 --> 00:04:30,480 Speaker 2: actively resisted racism and discrimination. His outlook, approach, and manner 75 00:04:30,560 --> 00:04:34,360 Speaker 2: of speaking were all deeply informed by this upbringing. He 76 00:04:34,440 --> 00:04:37,560 Speaker 2: also absolutely recognized that for a lot of people their 77 00:04:37,640 --> 00:04:40,600 Speaker 2: church was not just their spiritual home, it was the 78 00:04:40,640 --> 00:04:43,799 Speaker 2: center of their social and political life, and he understood 79 00:04:43,839 --> 00:04:46,760 Speaker 2: how critically important churches were to the work that he 80 00:04:46,800 --> 00:04:49,280 Speaker 2: went on to do as an activist and an organizer. 81 00:04:50,320 --> 00:04:52,919 Speaker 2: That work was of course still to come at this 82 00:04:53,040 --> 00:04:56,320 Speaker 2: part of a Philip Randolph's story, but he was standing 83 00:04:56,440 --> 00:04:59,080 Speaker 2: up for himself and for other people from a young age. 84 00:04:59,520 --> 00:05:02,120 Speaker 2: As one example, he and his brother James were both 85 00:05:02,200 --> 00:05:04,600 Speaker 2: paper boys, and when they went to pick up their 86 00:05:04,640 --> 00:05:07,640 Speaker 2: papers to sell in the morning, they and the other 87 00:05:07,720 --> 00:05:11,200 Speaker 2: black paper boys had to wait until last. So no 88 00:05:11,240 --> 00:05:13,720 Speaker 2: matter how early they got there to get their papers, 89 00:05:13,800 --> 00:05:15,960 Speaker 2: they made their way out to the street corners to 90 00:05:16,040 --> 00:05:19,320 Speaker 2: sell them after the best spots had already been taken. 91 00:05:20,120 --> 00:05:22,719 Speaker 2: James led Asa and the other black paper boys to 92 00:05:22,800 --> 00:05:25,599 Speaker 2: convince the distributor to hand out the papers on a 93 00:05:25,640 --> 00:05:29,880 Speaker 2: first come, first served basis, rather than segregating the distribution 94 00:05:30,160 --> 00:05:33,599 Speaker 2: by race. At the same time, though the Randolph family 95 00:05:33,680 --> 00:05:37,280 Speaker 2: largely kept to themselves, keeping most of their political discussions 96 00:05:37,279 --> 00:05:40,440 Speaker 2: and activity going within their home and at church and 97 00:05:40,520 --> 00:05:44,000 Speaker 2: not out in the greater community of Jacksonville. This was 98 00:05:44,080 --> 00:05:46,000 Speaker 2: during a period that has come to be known as 99 00:05:46,040 --> 00:05:49,640 Speaker 2: the Natier of American race relations. The post Civil War 100 00:05:49,680 --> 00:05:52,840 Speaker 2: reconstruction had ended a lot of the progress that had 101 00:05:52,880 --> 00:05:56,520 Speaker 2: been made toward racial equality, had been reversed and segregation 102 00:05:56,680 --> 00:06:01,360 Speaker 2: and racist violence were both increasing. Raising his children with 103 00:06:01,400 --> 00:06:04,400 Speaker 2: a sense of racial pride and self determination, the elder 104 00:06:04,520 --> 00:06:08,279 Speaker 2: James Randolph also conducted himself so that he would be 105 00:06:08,320 --> 00:06:12,279 Speaker 2: seen as likable and respectable without drawing the attention of 106 00:06:12,320 --> 00:06:16,200 Speaker 2: the police or of white vigilantes. He wanted his children 107 00:06:16,240 --> 00:06:18,400 Speaker 2: to have a clear sense of their innate worth and 108 00:06:18,440 --> 00:06:20,920 Speaker 2: pride in their race, but of course he also wanted 109 00:06:20,920 --> 00:06:25,240 Speaker 2: to keep them safe. One notable exception, which was a 110 00:06:25,360 --> 00:06:29,359 Speaker 2: formative moment for the young Asa Randolph, happened after his 111 00:06:29,520 --> 00:06:32,719 Speaker 2: father heard that a gang of white men was planning 112 00:06:32,760 --> 00:06:35,440 Speaker 2: to lynch a black man who was being held at 113 00:06:35,440 --> 00:06:39,520 Speaker 2: the county jail. Ace's father armed himself with a pistol 114 00:06:39,600 --> 00:06:42,800 Speaker 2: and rallied other black men to do the same. They 115 00:06:42,839 --> 00:06:46,719 Speaker 2: all went to the jail to stand guard overnight. Ace's 116 00:06:46,760 --> 00:06:49,000 Speaker 2: mother put out all the lights in the house and 117 00:06:49,120 --> 00:06:51,120 Speaker 2: sat by the door with a rifle in her lap 118 00:06:51,200 --> 00:06:55,239 Speaker 2: until James came home the next morning. While Randolph would 119 00:06:55,240 --> 00:06:59,080 Speaker 2: go on to be a huge advocate for nonviolent direct 120 00:06:59,200 --> 00:07:02,479 Speaker 2: action and is often described as a pacifist, he also 121 00:07:02,560 --> 00:07:05,000 Speaker 2: did call for black people to be able to physically 122 00:07:05,040 --> 00:07:09,400 Speaker 2: protect themselves in their communities from violence. In nineteen oh seven, 123 00:07:09,520 --> 00:07:12,760 Speaker 2: Asa Randolph graduated from the Cookman Institute, which was the 124 00:07:12,800 --> 00:07:15,440 Speaker 2: first high school for black students in the state of Florida. 125 00:07:16,160 --> 00:07:19,120 Speaker 2: He was named valedictorian, and during high school he had 126 00:07:19,120 --> 00:07:22,000 Speaker 2: also played basketball, and he sang in the school choir. 127 00:07:22,840 --> 00:07:26,200 Speaker 2: He had particularly excelled at theater and at public speaking. 128 00:07:26,480 --> 00:07:29,280 Speaker 2: That family tradition of reading and talking about books and 129 00:07:29,400 --> 00:07:32,560 Speaker 2: essays had also involved his father training him to be 130 00:07:32,600 --> 00:07:35,800 Speaker 2: a really effective orator. For the rest of his life, 131 00:07:35,880 --> 00:07:41,320 Speaker 2: Randolph spoke very precisely with a distinctive, powerful baritone voice. 132 00:07:41,400 --> 00:07:45,040 Speaker 2: Although Randolph was an excellent student, the family couldn't afford 133 00:07:45,080 --> 00:07:47,559 Speaker 2: to send him to college. He spent a few years 134 00:07:47,600 --> 00:07:50,920 Speaker 2: working at various jobs around Jacksonville before moving to New 135 00:07:51,000 --> 00:07:54,239 Speaker 2: York City with a friend in nineteen eleven. They paid 136 00:07:54,240 --> 00:07:56,800 Speaker 2: their way to get there by working in the ship's galley. 137 00:07:57,480 --> 00:07:59,760 Speaker 2: Once in New York, he settled in Harlem, where he 138 00:07:59,800 --> 00:08:02,920 Speaker 2: can continued to work at a variety of jobs, including 139 00:08:02,960 --> 00:08:06,640 Speaker 2: being a dishwasher and an elevator operator. This was a 140 00:08:06,680 --> 00:08:09,840 Speaker 2: few years ahead of the creative and cultural flourishing that 141 00:08:10,040 --> 00:08:12,720 Speaker 2: would come to be known as the Harlem Renaissance or 142 00:08:12,760 --> 00:08:16,240 Speaker 2: the New Negro movement, and while that's usually described as 143 00:08:16,240 --> 00:08:19,320 Speaker 2: starting a little later in the nineteeneens, the seeds were 144 00:08:19,400 --> 00:08:21,800 Speaker 2: being sown when Randolph arrived in New York, and he 145 00:08:22,080 --> 00:08:24,360 Speaker 2: was part of it. We'll get to that after a 146 00:08:24,440 --> 00:08:38,040 Speaker 2: quick sponsor break. Sometime after moving to Harlem, Asa Randolph 147 00:08:38,080 --> 00:08:41,120 Speaker 2: started going by a Philip Randolph, and he started making 148 00:08:41,120 --> 00:08:44,720 Speaker 2: a name for himself as a soapbox orator. The corner 149 00:08:44,840 --> 00:08:47,640 Speaker 2: of one hundred and thirty fifth Street and Lenox Avenue 150 00:08:47,720 --> 00:08:51,040 Speaker 2: became known as the Speaker's Corner, and people would stand 151 00:08:51,040 --> 00:08:55,040 Speaker 2: on soapboxes and speak on political, social and economic issues. 152 00:08:55,600 --> 00:08:58,920 Speaker 2: He also started taking classes at City College of New York, 153 00:08:59,000 --> 00:09:01,000 Speaker 2: which at the time did not charged tuition. 154 00:09:01,920 --> 00:09:05,040 Speaker 1: Although he doesn't seem to have seriously considered trying to 155 00:09:05,080 --> 00:09:08,280 Speaker 1: earn a living as an actor, Randolph did really enjoy 156 00:09:08,280 --> 00:09:12,280 Speaker 1: the theater, especially Shakespeare, and he established a Shakespearean Society 157 00:09:12,320 --> 00:09:15,520 Speaker 1: in Harlem. He also became a regular guest at parties 158 00:09:15,559 --> 00:09:18,760 Speaker 1: hosted by Alilia Walker, daughter of Madame C. J. Walker, 159 00:09:19,080 --> 00:09:22,680 Speaker 1: along with writers, musicians, artists, and activists from in and 160 00:09:22,720 --> 00:09:26,040 Speaker 1: around Harlem. That's the second time she and her parties 161 00:09:26,040 --> 00:09:29,160 Speaker 1: have come up recently on the show. We could just 162 00:09:29,200 --> 00:09:32,520 Speaker 1: have an episode called Alia's Parties. It will list all 163 00:09:32,600 --> 00:09:34,599 Speaker 1: of the guests that come and how they connect to 164 00:09:34,640 --> 00:09:35,240 Speaker 1: everybody else. 165 00:09:35,520 --> 00:09:38,760 Speaker 2: Yeah. I haven't figured out whether there's enough information about 166 00:09:38,760 --> 00:09:42,120 Speaker 2: her for a full episode, but she intrigues me. In 167 00:09:42,200 --> 00:09:45,959 Speaker 2: November of nineteen fourteen, A Philip Randolph married Lucille Green, 168 00:09:46,080 --> 00:09:48,439 Speaker 2: who had her own connection to Madame C. J. 169 00:09:48,600 --> 00:09:49,000 Speaker 1: Walker. 170 00:09:49,520 --> 00:09:53,000 Speaker 2: Lucille had been born Lucille Campbell on April fifteenth, eighteen 171 00:09:53,080 --> 00:09:56,280 Speaker 2: eighty three, and she had graduated from the Teachers College 172 00:09:56,280 --> 00:10:00,600 Speaker 2: at Howard University. Her first husband was Joseph Green, and 173 00:10:00,640 --> 00:10:03,760 Speaker 2: he had studied law at Howard, but he died not 174 00:10:03,880 --> 00:10:07,800 Speaker 2: long after they got married. After his death, Lucille went 175 00:10:07,800 --> 00:10:10,840 Speaker 2: to Madame C. J. Walker's Lellia Beauty College, and she 176 00:10:11,080 --> 00:10:14,959 Speaker 2: used that education to start her own very successful salon 177 00:10:15,080 --> 00:10:18,640 Speaker 2: in Harlem. Lucille and A. Phillip were both fans of 178 00:10:18,679 --> 00:10:22,000 Speaker 2: the theater and Shakespeare. They were both like minded in 179 00:10:22,080 --> 00:10:25,680 Speaker 2: terms of political and social issues. This included a shared 180 00:10:25,720 --> 00:10:29,040 Speaker 2: interest in socialism, and they both joined the Socialist Party. 181 00:10:29,840 --> 00:10:33,400 Speaker 2: Another socialist that Randolph meant in Harlem was Chandler Owen. 182 00:10:34,040 --> 00:10:38,400 Speaker 2: They started their own political action group, the Independent Political Council, 183 00:10:38,760 --> 00:10:41,760 Speaker 2: and became known as quote the most notorious street corner 184 00:10:41,880 --> 00:10:45,760 Speaker 2: radicals in Harlem. Owen and Randolph were nicknamed Lenin and 185 00:10:45,800 --> 00:10:50,200 Speaker 2: Trotsky for their radical and revolutionary political writing. I should 186 00:10:50,240 --> 00:10:53,480 Speaker 2: note that neither of them was communist. Like those may 187 00:10:53,640 --> 00:10:56,840 Speaker 2: be names that may resonate with communism for people. Owen 188 00:10:56,840 --> 00:11:00,840 Speaker 2: and Randolph themselves, though, were not communists. But nineteen seventeen, 189 00:11:01,040 --> 00:11:03,400 Speaker 2: Owen and Randolph took a job with a union called 190 00:11:03,440 --> 00:11:06,880 Speaker 2: the Headwaiters and Sidewaiter Society of Greater New York. The 191 00:11:07,360 --> 00:11:11,640 Speaker 2: job was editing its publication, The Hotel Messenger. They took 192 00:11:11,679 --> 00:11:15,400 Speaker 2: this job in exchange for free office space for their 193 00:11:15,440 --> 00:11:20,600 Speaker 2: Independent Political Council. The union president, William White, expected them 194 00:11:20,600 --> 00:11:25,040 Speaker 2: to report on the union's activities and relevant news, and 195 00:11:25,120 --> 00:11:29,320 Speaker 2: they did technically, but the activities they focused on involved 196 00:11:29,440 --> 00:11:33,800 Speaker 2: corruption among the union members. In particular, some of the 197 00:11:33,840 --> 00:11:37,520 Speaker 2: head waiters were taking advantage of the sidewaiters and profiting 198 00:11:37,559 --> 00:11:41,120 Speaker 2: from it. Owen and Randolph were fired, and a few 199 00:11:41,120 --> 00:11:44,360 Speaker 2: months later they started their own publication, The Messenger, a 200 00:11:44,480 --> 00:11:48,120 Speaker 2: radical socialist newspaper for black readers that ran from late 201 00:11:48,200 --> 00:11:51,840 Speaker 2: nineteen seventeen to nineteen twenty eight. It was billed as 202 00:11:51,920 --> 00:11:55,319 Speaker 2: quote the only radical Negro magazine in America, and they 203 00:11:55,320 --> 00:11:59,560 Speaker 2: printed it at Lucille Randolph's salon. Especially during these years, 204 00:11:59,640 --> 00:12:02,480 Speaker 2: randolph UF's work as an activist was only possible with 205 00:12:02,559 --> 00:12:07,199 Speaker 2: Lucille's continual support, both her encouragement of his activities and 206 00:12:07,320 --> 00:12:11,640 Speaker 2: her financial contributions. She was their primary breadwinner well into 207 00:12:11,679 --> 00:12:14,480 Speaker 2: the nineteen thirties and also funded a lot of his 208 00:12:14,559 --> 00:12:17,120 Speaker 2: work for years. Yeah, we're not going to talk about 209 00:12:17,120 --> 00:12:19,960 Speaker 2: her much in this episode, but he would not have 210 00:12:20,120 --> 00:12:22,880 Speaker 2: had the career and advocacy that he did without her. 211 00:12:24,120 --> 00:12:27,320 Speaker 2: When the US became involved in World War One, Randolph 212 00:12:27,360 --> 00:12:29,720 Speaker 2: added anti war advocacy to his work. 213 00:12:30,240 --> 00:12:30,959 Speaker 1: In addition to. 214 00:12:30,920 --> 00:12:33,880 Speaker 2: Opposing the war, he argued that black men should not 215 00:12:34,040 --> 00:12:36,720 Speaker 2: fight on behalf of a government that was not treating 216 00:12:36,760 --> 00:12:40,920 Speaker 2: them as equal citizens at home. In nineteen eighteen, he 217 00:12:40,960 --> 00:12:44,000 Speaker 2: and Owen were both arrested at an anti war rally 218 00:12:44,080 --> 00:12:48,079 Speaker 2: in Cleveland, Ohio, and they were charged under the Espionage Act, 219 00:12:48,840 --> 00:12:52,000 Speaker 2: but a judge dropped those charges, saying that he did 220 00:12:52,000 --> 00:12:55,520 Speaker 2: not believe the two men were old enough or smart 221 00:12:55,640 --> 00:12:57,960 Speaker 2: enough to have written the material that they were distributing. 222 00:12:59,080 --> 00:13:03,040 Speaker 2: Apart from this probably having racist roots in terms of 223 00:13:03,040 --> 00:13:05,600 Speaker 2: his belief of their intelligence, they were about twenty nine. 224 00:13:06,840 --> 00:13:10,240 Speaker 2: After World War One was over, Randolph ran for office 225 00:13:10,320 --> 00:13:12,520 Speaker 2: at a couple of points as part of the Socialist 226 00:13:12,520 --> 00:13:15,720 Speaker 2: Party ticket, but he was not elected, and he gradually 227 00:13:15,760 --> 00:13:19,800 Speaker 2: became less active in socialism and the Socialist Party. The 228 00:13:19,920 --> 00:13:23,360 Speaker 2: US Communist Party was established in nineteen nineteen in the 229 00:13:23,400 --> 00:13:26,439 Speaker 2: wake of the Bolshevik Revolution, and a number of socialists 230 00:13:26,520 --> 00:13:30,960 Speaker 2: joined it, and while Randolph generally supported the revolutionaries in Russia, 231 00:13:31,400 --> 00:13:36,120 Speaker 2: he thought communism was undemocratic. Around the same time, he 232 00:13:36,280 --> 00:13:41,920 Speaker 2: also started to increasingly disagree with activist Marcus Garvey. Randolph 233 00:13:41,960 --> 00:13:44,800 Speaker 2: and Garvey had met in nineteen sixteen, not long after 234 00:13:44,880 --> 00:13:49,600 Speaker 2: Garvey had emigrated to Harlem from Jamaica. While still in Jamaica, 235 00:13:49,679 --> 00:13:53,960 Speaker 2: Garvey had founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association, which was 236 00:13:54,000 --> 00:13:57,600 Speaker 2: a fraternal, benevolent organization and also a major part of 237 00:13:57,640 --> 00:14:00,640 Speaker 2: the Back to Africa movement in the early twentieth century. 238 00:14:01,480 --> 00:14:05,160 Speaker 2: Randolph had introduced Garvey to the soapbox scene and at 239 00:14:05,200 --> 00:14:09,440 Speaker 2: first had really respected Garvey's ideas, calling him quote one 240 00:14:09,480 --> 00:14:13,040 Speaker 2: of the militant black fighters for social and racial justice, 241 00:14:13,760 --> 00:14:17,000 Speaker 2: but Randolph's opinion of Garvey started to shift after World 242 00:14:17,000 --> 00:14:20,480 Speaker 2: War One. Garvey was advocating for the establishment of an 243 00:14:20,520 --> 00:14:24,320 Speaker 2: independent black nation in Africa and for black Americans to 244 00:14:24,440 --> 00:14:27,800 Speaker 2: move there, but Randolph argued that black people had the 245 00:14:27,880 --> 00:14:30,000 Speaker 2: right to be in the US and should have equal 246 00:14:30,040 --> 00:14:33,400 Speaker 2: civil and economic rights where they were without having to 247 00:14:33,400 --> 00:14:37,720 Speaker 2: move to another country. In addition to their growing ideological differences, 248 00:14:37,840 --> 00:14:42,520 Speaker 2: Garvey's actions became increasingly controversial. He admitted to holding a 249 00:14:42,560 --> 00:14:45,880 Speaker 2: secret meeting with the Imperial Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, 250 00:14:46,400 --> 00:14:50,640 Speaker 2: and he was also convicted of mail fraud. Randolph started 251 00:14:50,640 --> 00:14:54,400 Speaker 2: a Garvy Must Go campaign calling for Garvey to be deported, 252 00:14:54,720 --> 00:14:58,280 Speaker 2: and some of Randolph's rhetoric on this went beyond just 253 00:14:58,440 --> 00:15:02,800 Speaker 2: criticizing Garvey. He criticized immigrants from the West Indies a 254 00:15:02,840 --> 00:15:03,680 Speaker 2: lot more broadly. 255 00:15:04,440 --> 00:15:05,440 Speaker 1: This was also. 256 00:15:05,320 --> 00:15:08,480 Speaker 2: Connected to his criticisms of communist as some of the 257 00:15:08,520 --> 00:15:12,440 Speaker 2: most prominent black members of the US Communist Party were 258 00:15:12,680 --> 00:15:17,080 Speaker 2: West Indian immigrants. During all of this, in September of 259 00:15:17,200 --> 00:15:21,680 Speaker 2: nineteen twenty two, Randolph received a box containing a severed 260 00:15:21,800 --> 00:15:25,840 Speaker 2: human hand at the Messenger office that contained a note 261 00:15:25,880 --> 00:15:28,360 Speaker 2: signed by the ku Klux Klan, but he thought it 262 00:15:28,440 --> 00:15:33,640 Speaker 2: had really come from Garvey's Universal Negro Improvement Association. Garvey 263 00:15:33,920 --> 00:15:36,800 Speaker 2: was deported from the US in nineteen twenty seven after 264 00:15:36,840 --> 00:15:40,240 Speaker 2: spending about three years in prison for that mail fraud conviction. 265 00:15:41,080 --> 00:15:44,440 Speaker 2: Marcus Garvey was not the only person Randolph had changed 266 00:15:44,480 --> 00:15:47,800 Speaker 2: his mind about. He frequently revised his thoughts or his 267 00:15:47,840 --> 00:15:52,720 Speaker 2: outlook based on changing circumstances. As an example, we mentioned. 268 00:15:52,400 --> 00:15:55,680 Speaker 1: Earlier that Wed d Voyz's The Souls of Black Sulk 269 00:15:55,800 --> 00:15:58,720 Speaker 1: had helped set Randolph on a path of lifelong activism 270 00:15:59,040 --> 00:16:03,160 Speaker 1: for social ecttion economic justice. He had seen himself in 271 00:16:03,240 --> 00:16:07,520 Speaker 1: Dubois's description of the Talented tenth, the exceptional men who 272 00:16:07,520 --> 00:16:11,640 Speaker 1: would save the race, but Randolph later became deeply critical 273 00:16:11,720 --> 00:16:14,360 Speaker 1: of du Bois's support of the US involvement in World 274 00:16:14,360 --> 00:16:18,360 Speaker 1: War One and described Dubois as a quote parlor socialist 275 00:16:18,600 --> 00:16:21,440 Speaker 1: whom no one in the streets could recognize as a radical. 276 00:16:22,320 --> 00:16:24,520 Speaker 1: Randolph also came to view many of the people who 277 00:16:24,640 --> 00:16:28,160 Speaker 1: might be described as the Talented tenth as focused mostly 278 00:16:28,160 --> 00:16:31,880 Speaker 1: on their own self interests, aligning themselves with white capitalism, 279 00:16:32,440 --> 00:16:37,000 Speaker 1: rather than focusing on liberation for everyone. In nineteen twenty five, 280 00:16:37,120 --> 00:16:40,520 Speaker 1: Randolph was approached by railroad porters who worked for the 281 00:16:40,520 --> 00:16:44,480 Speaker 1: Pullman Company, who wanted his help informing a union. He 282 00:16:44,560 --> 00:16:48,360 Speaker 1: had been advocating for organized labor for years, including working 283 00:16:48,400 --> 00:16:52,200 Speaker 1: with elevator operators and dock workers who wanted to unionize. 284 00:16:52,680 --> 00:16:55,359 Speaker 1: He had built a really strong reputation as an organizer 285 00:16:55,440 --> 00:16:59,120 Speaker 1: and an activist, and the Pullman workers wanted somebody who 286 00:16:59,120 --> 00:17:02,320 Speaker 1: didn't work for them employer, so somebody who couldn't be 287 00:17:02,480 --> 00:17:06,080 Speaker 1: fired or bullied on the job for their activism. So 288 00:17:06,600 --> 00:17:09,919 Speaker 1: we won't walk through this whole union campaign because we 289 00:17:09,960 --> 00:17:12,480 Speaker 1: have covered it in an earlier episode that we just 290 00:17:12,600 --> 00:17:15,199 Speaker 1: ran as a Saturday Classic. But it went on for 291 00:17:15,240 --> 00:17:19,080 Speaker 1: more than a decade. Randolph and the Pullman porters really 292 00:17:19,119 --> 00:17:22,760 Speaker 1: struggled during the Great Depression, but then in nineteen thirty three, 293 00:17:22,880 --> 00:17:26,240 Speaker 1: a piece of new deal legislation called the National Industrial 294 00:17:26,280 --> 00:17:31,560 Speaker 1: Recovery Act protected employees' right to collective bargaining. The National 295 00:17:31,600 --> 00:17:35,439 Speaker 1: Labor Relations Act followed in nineteen thirty five. The Pullman 296 00:17:35,560 --> 00:17:39,280 Speaker 1: Company finally recognized the union in nineteen thirty seven, and 297 00:17:39,359 --> 00:17:42,200 Speaker 1: the union signed its first contract with the company later 298 00:17:42,280 --> 00:17:46,639 Speaker 1: that year. Up until this point, Randolph had seen unions 299 00:17:46,680 --> 00:17:49,840 Speaker 1: as a way for black workers to fight for economic equality. 300 00:17:50,400 --> 00:17:53,240 Speaker 1: He had always focused on liberation and equal rights for 301 00:17:53,280 --> 00:17:57,199 Speaker 1: Black Americans, but he also had thought that fighting for 302 00:17:57,280 --> 00:18:00,879 Speaker 1: economic equality was a way to achieve that. But his 303 00:18:00,960 --> 00:18:05,080 Speaker 1: experiences during the Pullman Porter's Union campaign made it obvious 304 00:18:05,160 --> 00:18:09,879 Speaker 1: that racial and economic equality were inextricably linked. One of 305 00:18:09,920 --> 00:18:13,959 Speaker 1: them would not simply follow from the other. He started 306 00:18:13,960 --> 00:18:17,480 Speaker 1: really pushing for racial equality and an end to discrimination 307 00:18:17,720 --> 00:18:22,520 Speaker 1: within organized labor. This included fighting against the establishment of 308 00:18:22,680 --> 00:18:28,800 Speaker 1: segregated local unions and fighting racial discrimination within integrated unions. 309 00:18:29,520 --> 00:18:32,639 Speaker 1: He also fought for unions of black workers like the 310 00:18:32,680 --> 00:18:35,760 Speaker 1: Brotherhood of Sleeping car Porters, which was an all black 311 00:18:35,840 --> 00:18:38,479 Speaker 1: labor force, because that was who Pullman hired to do 312 00:18:38,520 --> 00:18:40,919 Speaker 1: that job. He fought for them to be full and 313 00:18:41,040 --> 00:18:44,600 Speaker 1: equal members of federations like the American Federation of Labor. 314 00:18:45,400 --> 00:18:48,399 Speaker 1: As Randolph was fighting for equality for black workers in 315 00:18:48,560 --> 00:18:52,359 Speaker 1: organized labor, he also worked to integrate and end racial 316 00:18:52,400 --> 00:18:56,080 Speaker 1: discrimination in the federal government, the defense industry, and the 317 00:18:56,200 --> 00:18:59,720 Speaker 1: armed forces. We'll talk more about that after a sponsor break. 318 00:19:09,040 --> 00:19:11,879 Speaker 2: World War two was just beginning as the Brotherhood of 319 00:19:11,920 --> 00:19:14,960 Speaker 2: Sleeping Car Porters was signing its first contract with the 320 00:19:15,000 --> 00:19:19,600 Speaker 2: Pullman Company. Japan invaded Manchuria in nineteen thirty seven, and 321 00:19:19,720 --> 00:19:23,880 Speaker 2: Germany started annexing territory in nineteen thirty eight, before invading 322 00:19:24,000 --> 00:19:28,719 Speaker 2: Poland on September one, nineteen thirty nine. Although the United 323 00:19:28,760 --> 00:19:32,640 Speaker 2: States did not formally enter the war until after Japan 324 00:19:32,840 --> 00:19:35,800 Speaker 2: bombed the naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, in December 325 00:19:35,840 --> 00:19:40,399 Speaker 2: of nineteen forty one, the US started offering significant aid 326 00:19:40,440 --> 00:19:42,480 Speaker 2: to the Allies. Before that point. 327 00:19:43,200 --> 00:19:46,360 Speaker 1: That meant that the US government factories that were producing 328 00:19:46,359 --> 00:19:50,640 Speaker 1: war material and other employers all needed workers, but black 329 00:19:50,680 --> 00:19:54,199 Speaker 1: people were often excluded from civil defense training programs and 330 00:19:54,240 --> 00:19:57,919 Speaker 1: from wartime jobs, or faced on the job discrimination if 331 00:19:57,960 --> 00:20:01,640 Speaker 1: they were hired. Under the Selective Training and Service Act 332 00:20:01,680 --> 00:20:04,920 Speaker 1: of nineteen forty, men between the ages of twenty one 333 00:20:05,000 --> 00:20:08,280 Speaker 1: and thirty five, regardless of their race, were also required 334 00:20:08,320 --> 00:20:11,520 Speaker 1: to register for the draft, but the military they were 335 00:20:11,520 --> 00:20:16,320 Speaker 1: being drafted into was racially segregated. Often all black military 336 00:20:16,400 --> 00:20:19,280 Speaker 1: units were assigned to the tasks that were necessary, but 337 00:20:19,359 --> 00:20:23,439 Speaker 1: were also considered the most menial and degrading. So A. 338 00:20:23,520 --> 00:20:27,080 Speaker 2: Philip Randolph started trying to push the government to end 339 00:20:27,240 --> 00:20:32,159 Speaker 2: this kind of racial discrimination. On September twenty seventh, nineteen forty, he, 340 00:20:32,600 --> 00:20:35,879 Speaker 2: Wilster White of the NAACP, and t Arnold Hill of 341 00:20:35,920 --> 00:20:39,800 Speaker 2: the Urban League all met with President Franklin Delano Roosevelt 342 00:20:39,800 --> 00:20:43,360 Speaker 2: and other government officials. This meeting didn't lead to any 343 00:20:43,440 --> 00:20:47,800 Speaker 2: kind of meaningful change, so the following January Randolph watched 344 00:20:47,920 --> 00:20:49,760 Speaker 2: the March on Washington movement. 345 00:20:50,560 --> 00:20:55,120 Speaker 1: This movement was focused on direct action, specifically getting thousands 346 00:20:55,160 --> 00:20:58,320 Speaker 1: of black people to march on Washington on July first 347 00:20:58,359 --> 00:21:02,240 Speaker 1: of that year to demand equality in the government, wartime industries, 348 00:21:02,320 --> 00:21:06,560 Speaker 1: and the military. Randolph was inspired by earlier marches that 349 00:21:06,560 --> 00:21:09,280 Speaker 1: had taken place in the US and elsewhere, including a 350 00:21:09,280 --> 00:21:13,000 Speaker 1: march on DC planned by Jacob Coxey in eighteen ninety four, 351 00:21:13,359 --> 00:21:15,880 Speaker 1: which we covered on the show in twenty twenty, and 352 00:21:15,960 --> 00:21:20,080 Speaker 1: the campaigns of civil disobedience led by Mohandas Gandhi in India. 353 00:21:21,000 --> 00:21:24,040 Speaker 2: The Pullman Porters were a major part of the March 354 00:21:24,080 --> 00:21:27,320 Speaker 2: on Washington movement. As we talked about in that earlier 355 00:21:27,359 --> 00:21:32,480 Speaker 2: episode on them, the porters became a critical source of information, support, 356 00:21:32,560 --> 00:21:36,760 Speaker 2: and organizing for civil rights. Their unionizing effort had given 357 00:21:36,800 --> 00:21:40,760 Speaker 2: them experience and advocacy in organizing, and their jobs took 358 00:21:40,760 --> 00:21:44,800 Speaker 2: them to cities all around the United States. Randolph described 359 00:21:44,880 --> 00:21:47,960 Speaker 2: the March on Washington movement as something that could not 360 00:21:48,160 --> 00:21:52,280 Speaker 2: have happened without them. The porters spread the word about 361 00:21:52,280 --> 00:21:56,040 Speaker 2: plans for the march, including organizing in their union halls 362 00:21:56,080 --> 00:21:59,080 Speaker 2: and through social and political organizations that they were also 363 00:21:59,280 --> 00:22:03,800 Speaker 2: members of of. Other political and civil rights organizations also 364 00:22:03,880 --> 00:22:07,280 Speaker 2: played a big part in this effort, including the NAACP 365 00:22:07,520 --> 00:22:09,040 Speaker 2: and its president Walter White. 366 00:22:09,760 --> 00:22:12,679 Speaker 1: Randolph got some criticism for a key part of this 367 00:22:13,000 --> 00:22:15,760 Speaker 1: which was that he wanted to exclude white people from 368 00:22:15,840 --> 00:22:20,000 Speaker 1: participating in the march. This seemed to contradict his ongoing 369 00:22:20,000 --> 00:22:24,480 Speaker 1: criticisms of separatism and black nationalism, including a lot of 370 00:22:24,480 --> 00:22:28,760 Speaker 1: his criticisms of Marcus Garvey. White people were also an 371 00:22:28,800 --> 00:22:32,240 Speaker 1: active part of the civil rights movement, and some organizations, 372 00:22:32,240 --> 00:22:37,960 Speaker 1: including the NAACP, had been intentionally founded as multiracial organizations. 373 00:22:38,720 --> 00:22:42,240 Speaker 1: People questioned whether allowing only black participants in the march 374 00:22:42,400 --> 00:22:45,479 Speaker 1: was the same thing as establishing white's only businesses and 375 00:22:45,560 --> 00:22:50,240 Speaker 1: social clubs. Randolph argued that no, it was not. The 376 00:22:50,280 --> 00:22:53,879 Speaker 1: planned March on Washington was about black people fighting for 377 00:22:54,080 --> 00:22:57,720 Speaker 1: rights they did not already have access to, but any 378 00:22:57,800 --> 00:23:01,000 Speaker 1: white marcher who might join them already had those rights. 379 00:23:01,480 --> 00:23:05,280 Speaker 1: He also argued that white people weren't losing anything by 380 00:23:05,280 --> 00:23:09,120 Speaker 1: being excluded from the march. Additionally, he really didn't want 381 00:23:09,119 --> 00:23:13,200 Speaker 1: this march to be overwhelmed by white activists, especially since 382 00:23:13,240 --> 00:23:15,960 Speaker 1: some of the white people who were most likely to 383 00:23:16,000 --> 00:23:20,800 Speaker 1: participate were communists, and Randolph was still deeply against communism 384 00:23:20,880 --> 00:23:23,440 Speaker 1: and wanted to distance the march from it as much 385 00:23:23,480 --> 00:23:27,400 Speaker 1: as possible. Lastly, he really thought this was an opportunity 386 00:23:27,480 --> 00:23:31,280 Speaker 1: for black people to show the whole country, regardless of race, 387 00:23:31,359 --> 00:23:34,400 Speaker 1: that they were capable of coming together for this kind 388 00:23:34,440 --> 00:23:37,960 Speaker 1: of action on their own. Randolph and the rest of 389 00:23:38,000 --> 00:23:41,119 Speaker 1: the organizers faced a lot of pressure from the federal 390 00:23:41,200 --> 00:23:45,320 Speaker 1: government and other officials to cancel this march. The idea 391 00:23:45,440 --> 00:23:48,640 Speaker 1: of bringing thousands of black demonstrators to the nation's capital, 392 00:23:48,960 --> 00:23:52,560 Speaker 1: which was full of racially segregated restaurants, hotels, and other 393 00:23:52,640 --> 00:23:55,879 Speaker 1: facilities as a war was looming, was seen as just 394 00:23:55,960 --> 00:23:59,639 Speaker 1: inherently threatening. This was especially true as word of the 395 00:23:59,640 --> 00:24:03,400 Speaker 1: march spread and Randolph's projection of how many people would 396 00:24:03,440 --> 00:24:07,320 Speaker 1: be there kept growing. By the spring of nineteen forty one, 397 00:24:07,480 --> 00:24:10,480 Speaker 1: He said to expect one hundred thousand black marchers on 398 00:24:10,680 --> 00:24:12,760 Speaker 1: Washington on July first. 399 00:24:13,600 --> 00:24:16,800 Speaker 2: As the march date was approaching, Randolph met with First 400 00:24:16,880 --> 00:24:21,360 Speaker 2: Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and New York City Mayor Firella LaGuardia. 401 00:24:21,920 --> 00:24:24,479 Speaker 2: They told him the President was working on the issue 402 00:24:24,720 --> 00:24:28,080 Speaker 2: that he should call off the march. Basically, they advised 403 00:24:28,160 --> 00:24:30,960 Speaker 2: him to be patient and wait for the president's response. 404 00:24:31,800 --> 00:24:34,840 Speaker 2: Randolph pointed out that black Americans had been patient for 405 00:24:34,960 --> 00:24:37,720 Speaker 2: centuries and had served with valor going back to the 406 00:24:37,720 --> 00:24:41,240 Speaker 2: American Revolution, and were still not being treated as equal 407 00:24:41,320 --> 00:24:45,120 Speaker 2: members of society or equal parts of the military. Some 408 00:24:45,200 --> 00:24:48,640 Speaker 2: back and forth followed, with the President offering to instruct 409 00:24:48,640 --> 00:24:50,919 Speaker 2: the people who were in charge of factories involved in 410 00:24:50,960 --> 00:24:55,600 Speaker 2: defense projects to give equal employment opportunity to black workers. 411 00:24:55,920 --> 00:24:59,040 Speaker 2: But Randolph insisted this was not enough, that the only 412 00:24:59,119 --> 00:25:01,960 Speaker 2: thing that would be suff misition was an executive order 413 00:25:02,119 --> 00:25:07,720 Speaker 2: banning discrimination by the US government and by government contractors. Finally, 414 00:25:07,880 --> 00:25:11,520 Speaker 2: President Roosevelt issued Executive Order eighty eight oh two on 415 00:25:11,600 --> 00:25:15,280 Speaker 2: June twenty fifth, nineteen forty one, just days before the 416 00:25:15,320 --> 00:25:18,440 Speaker 2: march was scheduled to take place. It read in part 417 00:25:18,520 --> 00:25:22,119 Speaker 2: quote there shall be no discrimination in the employment of 418 00:25:22,200 --> 00:25:26,960 Speaker 2: workers in defense industries and in government because of race, creed, color, 419 00:25:27,080 --> 00:25:31,199 Speaker 2: or national origin. The order also established the Committee on 420 00:25:31,320 --> 00:25:35,119 Speaker 2: Fair Employment Practice to investigate any violations. 421 00:25:35,760 --> 00:25:40,480 Speaker 1: In response, Randolph postponed the march, but this effectively meant 422 00:25:40,480 --> 00:25:43,280 Speaker 1: that it was canceled, and he got some criticism for 423 00:25:43,359 --> 00:25:47,000 Speaker 1: this as well, including from youth organizer by Ard Rustin, 424 00:25:47,320 --> 00:25:49,520 Speaker 1: who we covered in a two part episode in June 425 00:25:49,560 --> 00:25:54,080 Speaker 1: of twenty sixteen. In general, the march's youth organizers did 426 00:25:54,119 --> 00:25:56,679 Speaker 1: not agree with canceling the march, and they also hadn't 427 00:25:56,680 --> 00:26:00,080 Speaker 1: been included in the decision to do so. Even so, 428 00:26:00,200 --> 00:26:04,160 Speaker 1: the president had issued an executive order. That executive order 429 00:26:04,200 --> 00:26:07,600 Speaker 1: didn't meet all of the march's demands, especially the demand 430 00:26:07,640 --> 00:26:11,080 Speaker 1: to integrate the military. People also just felt like this 431 00:26:11,240 --> 00:26:12,440 Speaker 1: was a lost opportunity. 432 00:26:13,280 --> 00:26:17,119 Speaker 2: Walter White of the NAACP supported the decision to cancel 433 00:26:17,200 --> 00:26:20,239 Speaker 2: the march because he had Randolph both believed that the 434 00:26:20,280 --> 00:26:24,040 Speaker 2: government was not going to budge on integrating the army 435 00:26:24,080 --> 00:26:27,000 Speaker 2: at that point, but something that he said during the 436 00:26:27,080 --> 00:26:31,080 Speaker 2: planning process kind of encapsulates some of why people were upset. 437 00:26:31,200 --> 00:26:35,000 Speaker 2: He said, quote, we must under no circumstances allow the 438 00:26:35,080 --> 00:26:39,000 Speaker 2: July first demonstration to be anything but an overwhelming success. 439 00:26:39,560 --> 00:26:42,240 Speaker 2: If we demonstrate to the United States Government and the 440 00:26:42,240 --> 00:26:45,400 Speaker 2: people of America that we mean business, it will help 441 00:26:45,480 --> 00:26:49,240 Speaker 2: forward attainment of racial democracy in the United States while 442 00:26:49,280 --> 00:26:52,280 Speaker 2: we are fighting for it abroad. It is time we 443 00:26:52,440 --> 00:26:55,400 Speaker 2: Negroes stop talking at the big gate and got down 444 00:26:55,440 --> 00:26:58,520 Speaker 2: to business to demonstrate that we are not going to 445 00:26:58,560 --> 00:27:03,760 Speaker 2: be satisfied with anything less than unqualified democracy for ourselves. 446 00:27:04,600 --> 00:27:08,480 Speaker 2: After this campaign, the NAACP awarded a Philip Randolph its 447 00:27:08,480 --> 00:27:12,240 Speaker 2: Spingarn Medal for outstanding achievement. And even though the planned 448 00:27:12,359 --> 00:27:15,520 Speaker 2: July first March on Washington did not take place, the 449 00:27:15,520 --> 00:27:20,160 Speaker 2: March on Washington movement continued until nineteen forty six, coordinating 450 00:27:20,200 --> 00:27:24,040 Speaker 2: direct action campaigns in other cities around the United States. 451 00:27:24,680 --> 00:27:27,520 Speaker 2: Even though Randolph thought it best to cancel that nineteen 452 00:27:27,600 --> 00:27:30,760 Speaker 2: forty one march, he did not stop his calls for 453 00:27:30,800 --> 00:27:35,240 Speaker 2: the US to desegregate its military. He established the League 454 00:27:35,280 --> 00:27:40,040 Speaker 2: for Nonviolent Civil Disobedience against Military Segregation. He served as 455 00:27:40,200 --> 00:27:44,679 Speaker 2: chair and Buyered Rusten was executive secretary. Randolph also co 456 00:27:44,880 --> 00:27:48,560 Speaker 2: chaired the Committee against Jim Crow in Military Service and training. 457 00:27:49,119 --> 00:27:52,520 Speaker 1: In nineteen forty eight, Randolph testified before the Senate Armed 458 00:27:52,520 --> 00:27:56,800 Speaker 1: Services Committee on the subject of desegregating the military, and 459 00:27:56,840 --> 00:27:59,600 Speaker 1: that same year he and other black leaders met with 460 00:27:59,600 --> 00:28:03,399 Speaker 1: President Harry Truman on the issue. The Cold War was 461 00:28:03,440 --> 00:28:06,720 Speaker 1: developing between the US and Russia, and Randolph argued that 462 00:28:06,760 --> 00:28:09,679 Speaker 1: if the US did go to war again, black people 463 00:28:09,720 --> 00:28:13,119 Speaker 1: would no longer be willing to serve in a segregated military. 464 00:28:14,040 --> 00:28:17,160 Speaker 1: This was also a presidential election year, and civil rights 465 00:28:17,200 --> 00:28:21,000 Speaker 1: had become a major campaign issue. Truman thought he would 466 00:28:21,040 --> 00:28:24,040 Speaker 1: need the support of black voters in order to win reelection. 467 00:28:25,000 --> 00:28:28,480 Speaker 1: On July twenty sixth, nineteen forty eight, Truman signed Executive 468 00:28:28,560 --> 00:28:31,600 Speaker 1: Order ninety nine eighty one, which said, in part quote, 469 00:28:31,720 --> 00:28:34,880 Speaker 1: there shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all 470 00:28:34,920 --> 00:28:39,200 Speaker 1: persons in the Armed Forces, without regard to race, color, religion, 471 00:28:39,320 --> 00:28:40,360 Speaker 1: or national origin. 472 00:28:41,400 --> 00:28:44,480 Speaker 2: Few years later, in nineteen fifty five, the American Federation 473 00:28:44,600 --> 00:28:48,360 Speaker 2: of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations or the 474 00:28:48,400 --> 00:28:53,240 Speaker 2: AFL and the CIO merged into one organization, and Randolph 475 00:28:53,360 --> 00:28:57,560 Speaker 2: was elected its vice president. In that role, he continued 476 00:28:57,680 --> 00:29:01,680 Speaker 2: pushing for desegregation and equal rights within the labor movement. 477 00:29:02,240 --> 00:29:06,400 Speaker 2: In nineteen fifty seven, he organized the prayer pilgrimage to Washington, 478 00:29:06,560 --> 00:29:09,880 Speaker 2: in which about twenty five thousand demonstrators gathered at the 479 00:29:09,920 --> 00:29:13,280 Speaker 2: Lincoln Memorial and Martin Luther King Junior gave the last 480 00:29:13,320 --> 00:29:15,400 Speaker 2: speech of the day that was his give Us the 481 00:29:15,480 --> 00:29:20,640 Speaker 2: Ballots speech. Soon after, Randolph also organized a youth march 482 00:29:20,800 --> 00:29:25,520 Speaker 2: for school desegregation. In nineteen sixty, continuing his fight against 483 00:29:25,640 --> 00:29:29,880 Speaker 2: racial discrimination and organized labor, Randolph helped found the Negro 484 00:29:30,000 --> 00:29:33,400 Speaker 2: American Labor Council, and he served as its president for 485 00:29:33,440 --> 00:29:34,960 Speaker 2: the next six years. 486 00:29:35,360 --> 00:29:39,240 Speaker 1: On April twelfth, nineteen sixty three, Randolph's wife, Lucille died. 487 00:29:39,840 --> 00:29:43,440 Speaker 1: They had been married for forty eight years. When Lucille died, 488 00:29:43,520 --> 00:29:46,120 Speaker 1: Randolph was working with Bayard Rustin to plan the March 489 00:29:46,160 --> 00:29:49,160 Speaker 1: on Washington for Jobs and Freedom that took place on 490 00:29:49,200 --> 00:29:52,760 Speaker 1: August twenty eighth, nineteen sixty three. We talk more about 491 00:29:52,760 --> 00:29:55,200 Speaker 1: this march, at which Martin Luther King Junior gave his 492 00:29:55,280 --> 00:29:57,520 Speaker 1: I have a Dream speech in our two parter on 493 00:29:57,560 --> 00:29:58,320 Speaker 1: Bayard Rustin. 494 00:29:59,600 --> 00:30:02,320 Speaker 2: As we talked about in that two parter, not long 495 00:30:02,400 --> 00:30:05,240 Speaker 2: before the March on Washington was to take place, South 496 00:30:05,240 --> 00:30:09,760 Speaker 2: Carolina Senator Strom Thurmond read from Rustin's FBI file on 497 00:30:09,840 --> 00:30:13,640 Speaker 2: the Senate floor. Rustin was gay, which wasn't a secret 498 00:30:13,720 --> 00:30:17,240 Speaker 2: among those who knew him, but same sex relationships were 499 00:30:17,320 --> 00:30:22,960 Speaker 2: widely illegal and heavily stigmatized. Thurmand called Rustin a sexual 500 00:30:23,080 --> 00:30:28,560 Speaker 2: deviant and turned his sexual orientation into national news. Acela 501 00:30:28,680 --> 00:30:31,800 Speaker 2: Randolph held a press conference on this, saying, in part quote, 502 00:30:32,040 --> 00:30:35,120 Speaker 2: I am sure I speak for the combined Negro leadership 503 00:30:35,120 --> 00:30:39,600 Speaker 2: in voicing my complete confidence in Bayard Rustin's character. That 504 00:30:39,720 --> 00:30:43,200 Speaker 2: mister Rustin was on one occasion arrested in another connection 505 00:30:43,440 --> 00:30:46,560 Speaker 2: has long been a matter of public record. I am 506 00:30:46,600 --> 00:30:49,800 Speaker 2: dismayed that there are in this country men who, wrapping 507 00:30:49,840 --> 00:30:53,360 Speaker 2: themselves in the mantle of Christian morality, would mutilate the 508 00:30:53,400 --> 00:30:58,200 Speaker 2: most elementary conceptions of human decency, privacy, and humility in 509 00:30:58,320 --> 00:31:01,680 Speaker 2: order to attack other men. A few years later, at 510 00:31:01,680 --> 00:31:04,719 Speaker 2: a birthday celebration for Randolph, Rustin said that other than 511 00:31:04,760 --> 00:31:08,040 Speaker 2: his grandparents, quote, no one has stood beside me in 512 00:31:08,080 --> 00:31:12,080 Speaker 2: times of trial the way mister Randolph has. At the 513 00:31:12,120 --> 00:31:15,719 Speaker 2: same time, by this point, Randolph was in his seventies 514 00:31:15,720 --> 00:31:18,120 Speaker 2: and people were starting to see him as part of 515 00:31:18,120 --> 00:31:22,120 Speaker 2: the old Guard in the movement more moderate or even conservative, 516 00:31:22,320 --> 00:31:24,560 Speaker 2: rather than as the radical that he had been in 517 00:31:24,600 --> 00:31:28,520 Speaker 2: his youth. For example, during the nineteen sixty three March 518 00:31:28,520 --> 00:31:31,280 Speaker 2: on Washington, A Philip Randolph was one of the people 519 00:31:31,320 --> 00:31:34,360 Speaker 2: who convinced John Lewis, who at the time was the 520 00:31:34,440 --> 00:31:38,440 Speaker 2: chair of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, to tone down 521 00:31:38,520 --> 00:31:42,640 Speaker 2: some of his rhetoric. Randolph also helped Louis rewrite his 522 00:31:42,800 --> 00:31:46,040 Speaker 2: speech to be more moderate before it was delivered. 523 00:31:45,600 --> 00:31:50,320 Speaker 1: At the march. This gives me a giggle, Yeah, yeah, 524 00:31:50,440 --> 00:31:55,440 Speaker 1: just because you know, having John Lewis be so much 525 00:31:55,440 --> 00:31:57,200 Speaker 1: a part of Atlanta and we know him, and like 526 00:31:57,440 --> 00:32:00,360 Speaker 1: the idea of someone being like no no les plus 527 00:32:00,440 --> 00:32:06,680 Speaker 1: of that. Yeah, well, and it's very fascinating to think of. Yeah, 528 00:32:06,720 --> 00:32:10,640 Speaker 1: we talked about in that in the episodes about Buyer Dress, 529 00:32:10,640 --> 00:32:12,480 Speaker 1: and we talked about how like as the plans for 530 00:32:12,520 --> 00:32:14,880 Speaker 1: the March on Washington got bigger and bigger, they also 531 00:32:15,000 --> 00:32:18,880 Speaker 1: became a like less radical would probably be the best 532 00:32:18,880 --> 00:32:21,600 Speaker 1: way to put it. And like a Philip Randolph was 533 00:32:21,640 --> 00:32:25,800 Speaker 1: afraid that if if John Lewis had said everything that 534 00:32:25,840 --> 00:32:30,000 Speaker 1: he needed to say about his opinions on like JFK, 535 00:32:30,560 --> 00:32:34,040 Speaker 1: then that could wind up like coming back on them 536 00:32:34,160 --> 00:32:35,880 Speaker 1: rather than getting them the goals that they wanted. They 537 00:32:35,880 --> 00:32:38,200 Speaker 1: would lose some potential allies. Yeah. 538 00:32:38,480 --> 00:32:41,040 Speaker 2: Yeah. And then like after John Lewis died, one of 539 00:32:41,080 --> 00:32:45,840 Speaker 2: the things that was like kind of came around again 540 00:32:45,840 --> 00:32:48,400 Speaker 2: in new circles was like the two versions of that 541 00:32:48,440 --> 00:32:51,800 Speaker 2: speech and comparing them and like how his language had changed. 542 00:32:53,360 --> 00:32:56,880 Speaker 1: In nineteen sixty four, President Lyndon Baines Johnson awarded A 543 00:32:56,920 --> 00:33:02,040 Speaker 1: Philip Randolph the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Two years later, Randolph, Rustin, 544 00:33:02,080 --> 00:33:05,480 Speaker 1: and King developed a ten year anti poverty program called 545 00:33:05,520 --> 00:33:08,920 Speaker 1: the Freedom Budget for All Americans, which was presented at 546 00:33:08,920 --> 00:33:12,680 Speaker 1: a conference at the White House. This plan contained proposals 547 00:33:12,680 --> 00:33:16,960 Speaker 1: for full employment, living wages, affordable medical and dental care, 548 00:33:17,120 --> 00:33:20,640 Speaker 1: clean air and water, and sustained economic growth for the nation, 549 00:33:21,320 --> 00:33:24,920 Speaker 1: all of it without a cost to taxpayers. Although the 550 00:33:24,960 --> 00:33:28,520 Speaker 1: three of them promoted these ideas extensively, and Rustin in 551 00:33:28,560 --> 00:33:32,400 Speaker 1: particular was a strident advocate, most of what they proposed 552 00:33:32,480 --> 00:33:36,200 Speaker 1: was not put into action. In nineteen sixty five, Randolph 553 00:33:36,240 --> 00:33:40,000 Speaker 1: and Rustin also established the A Philip Randolph Institute to 554 00:33:40,040 --> 00:33:43,400 Speaker 1: build alliances between the civil rights movement and the labor 555 00:33:43,440 --> 00:33:47,960 Speaker 1: movement and to advocate for political and economic justice. In 556 00:33:48,040 --> 00:33:50,600 Speaker 1: the last years of his life, A. Philip Randolph developed 557 00:33:50,600 --> 00:33:53,800 Speaker 1: a heart condition, and he mostly retired from public life 558 00:33:53,800 --> 00:33:57,440 Speaker 1: in nineteen sixty eight. He died on May sixteenth, nineteen 559 00:33:57,480 --> 00:34:01,040 Speaker 1: seventy nine, at the age of ninety. John Lewis later 560 00:34:01,120 --> 00:34:03,240 Speaker 1: said of him, quote, if he had been born in 561 00:34:03,240 --> 00:34:06,720 Speaker 1: another period, maybe of another color, he probably would have 562 00:34:06,760 --> 00:34:10,080 Speaker 1: been president. In another land, he probably would have been 563 00:34:10,160 --> 00:34:13,520 Speaker 1: maybe prime minister. But in a real sense he was 564 00:34:13,640 --> 00:34:16,279 Speaker 1: head of the building of a new nation, of a 565 00:34:16,320 --> 00:34:20,720 Speaker 1: better America. That statue at the Amtrak station that Tracy 566 00:34:20,800 --> 00:34:24,239 Speaker 1: mentioned earlier was made by sculptor Tina Allen. This was 567 00:34:24,239 --> 00:34:26,800 Speaker 1: her first major commission, and she went on to sculpt 568 00:34:26,840 --> 00:34:31,640 Speaker 1: other black historical figures, including Sojourner Truth, George Washington Carver, 569 00:34:32,040 --> 00:34:36,000 Speaker 1: and Frederick Douglass. The A. Philip Randolph statue was unveiled 570 00:34:36,040 --> 00:34:39,120 Speaker 1: on October eighth, nineteen eighty eight, with retired members of 571 00:34:39,160 --> 00:34:43,160 Speaker 1: the Brotherhood of Sleeping car Porters in attendance. According to 572 00:34:43,239 --> 00:34:45,840 Speaker 1: news coverage from the time, Back Bay was chosen for 573 00:34:45,880 --> 00:34:49,120 Speaker 1: the statue because of its popularity as a railroad station 574 00:34:49,360 --> 00:34:52,719 Speaker 1: and because many of Boston's black reel workers had lived 575 00:34:52,719 --> 00:34:56,719 Speaker 1: in the surrounding neighborhoods. The oral history exhibit was unveiled 576 00:34:56,760 --> 00:34:57,919 Speaker 1: in nineteen ninety one. 577 00:34:58,920 --> 00:35:01,440 Speaker 2: I wasn't able to confirm, but one of the sources 578 00:35:01,520 --> 00:35:04,520 Speaker 2: that I read said that this was the first statue 579 00:35:04,560 --> 00:35:07,800 Speaker 2: of like a black figure from the civil rights movement 580 00:35:07,880 --> 00:35:12,080 Speaker 2: in the city of Boston, but again was not able 581 00:35:12,080 --> 00:35:14,760 Speaker 2: to track down whether that's accurate or not. There is, however, 582 00:35:15,160 --> 00:35:18,320 Speaker 2: kind of an irony to the statue of Randolph being 583 00:35:18,480 --> 00:35:21,719 Speaker 2: in the Amtrak waiting area at Back Bay. Over the 584 00:35:21,800 --> 00:35:25,719 Speaker 2: nineteen fifties and sixties, train travel dropped really precipitously in 585 00:35:25,760 --> 00:35:28,720 Speaker 2: the US due to a number of different factors, including 586 00:35:28,800 --> 00:35:31,440 Speaker 2: the rise of commercial air travel and the building of 587 00:35:31,480 --> 00:35:36,040 Speaker 2: a more expansive and connected interstate highway system. There were 588 00:35:36,080 --> 00:35:39,799 Speaker 2: fewer and fewer porters working on the railroads, which meant 589 00:35:39,800 --> 00:35:43,000 Speaker 2: that membership in their union plummeted, and that left it 590 00:35:43,040 --> 00:35:46,720 Speaker 2: without a lot of bargaining power. Amtrak, or the National 591 00:35:46,800 --> 00:35:51,799 Speaker 2: Railroad Passenger Corporation, started operating in nineteen seventy one. It 592 00:35:51,920 --> 00:35:54,040 Speaker 2: was founded as part of a federal effort to keep 593 00:35:54,080 --> 00:35:56,839 Speaker 2: passenger rail service going in the wake of all this 594 00:35:57,800 --> 00:36:02,000 Speaker 2: Amtrak absorbed nearly the entire interstate passenger rail industry in 595 00:36:02,080 --> 00:36:06,160 Speaker 2: the US, with the exception of some regional commuter rail lines. 596 00:36:06,280 --> 00:36:10,280 Speaker 2: Amtrak handles nearly all interstate rail travel in the US today. 597 00:36:11,080 --> 00:36:14,360 Speaker 2: In nineteen seventy four, Amtrak signed an agreement with a 598 00:36:14,520 --> 00:36:18,080 Speaker 2: different union for workers who did the kind of jobs 599 00:36:18,160 --> 00:36:20,920 Speaker 2: that the porters had been doing. That was the Hotel 600 00:36:20,960 --> 00:36:25,120 Speaker 2: Employees and Restaurant Employees Union. There really wasn't a way 601 00:36:25,160 --> 00:36:28,160 Speaker 2: for the Brotherhood of Sleeping car Porters to recover from this, 602 00:36:28,360 --> 00:36:31,360 Speaker 2: and it merged with the Brotherhood of Railway Clerks in 603 00:36:31,440 --> 00:36:34,520 Speaker 2: nineteen seventy eight. So if you want to have a 604 00:36:34,560 --> 00:36:38,360 Speaker 2: statue of a Philip Randolph in a train station offering 605 00:36:38,440 --> 00:36:41,960 Speaker 2: interstate passenger service in the United States, it's probably going 606 00:36:42,040 --> 00:36:45,439 Speaker 2: to be an Amtrak station. Amtrak was also a big 607 00:36:45,440 --> 00:36:47,920 Speaker 2: part of the eventual end of the union that he 608 00:36:48,080 --> 00:36:49,800 Speaker 2: was so instrumental in founding. 609 00:36:51,440 --> 00:36:53,200 Speaker 1: Do you have listener mail for that too? 610 00:36:53,480 --> 00:36:58,800 Speaker 2: I just I kept my listener mail on my screen 611 00:36:58,840 --> 00:37:01,280 Speaker 2: todance that are printing it out because it's very picture heavy, 612 00:37:01,640 --> 00:37:06,840 Speaker 2: and as we established, I have challenges with printing emails 613 00:37:06,840 --> 00:37:08,320 Speaker 2: that contain pictures. 614 00:37:08,400 --> 00:37:10,560 Speaker 1: So this is from Mendy. 615 00:37:11,680 --> 00:37:17,279 Speaker 2: Mendy's email is titled Hickory Dickree doc Door, and Mendy wrote, Hi, 616 00:37:17,360 --> 00:37:19,880 Speaker 2: Holly and Tracy. I got so excited this afternoon listening 617 00:37:19,920 --> 00:37:22,200 Speaker 2: to today's episode on Mother Goose. I was in Berlin, 618 00:37:22,280 --> 00:37:24,919 Speaker 2: Germany in November, and a large part of my time 619 00:37:25,040 --> 00:37:28,200 Speaker 2: was just wandering around the city. One day, I was 620 00:37:28,280 --> 00:37:31,239 Speaker 2: wandering around and found this amazing door which I have 621 00:37:31,360 --> 00:37:33,759 Speaker 2: no idea what the door is too or why it 622 00:37:33,840 --> 00:37:35,840 Speaker 2: was this awesome, but it appeared to be a visual 623 00:37:35,880 --> 00:37:39,320 Speaker 2: representation of the Hickory Dickree doc poem. I first noticed 624 00:37:39,320 --> 00:37:42,440 Speaker 2: the cat gargoyle while about half a black way, then 625 00:37:42,480 --> 00:37:46,080 Speaker 2: as I got closer noticed the mouse door handle. The 626 00:37:46,080 --> 00:37:48,239 Speaker 2: more I looked at it, the more I loved it. 627 00:37:48,280 --> 00:37:50,160 Speaker 2: I've searched Google a few times to see if I 628 00:37:50,200 --> 00:37:52,280 Speaker 2: can find out more about this door, but haven't found 629 00:37:52,280 --> 00:37:55,480 Speaker 2: anything yet. It was nowhere near the most historical thing 630 00:37:55,520 --> 00:37:58,200 Speaker 2: I found wandering around Berlin, but it was one of 631 00:37:58,239 --> 00:38:02,480 Speaker 2: the most whimsical. I sure do love to just wander 632 00:38:02,560 --> 00:38:06,600 Speaker 2: around the city. So I am. I am in favor 633 00:38:06,640 --> 00:38:08,440 Speaker 2: of everything that has happened as email. So first I'm 634 00:38:08,440 --> 00:38:10,279 Speaker 2: going to describe what is in this picture. That is 635 00:38:10,320 --> 00:38:13,520 Speaker 2: the next thing in the email. There is a cat gargoyle. 636 00:38:14,080 --> 00:38:16,960 Speaker 2: I'm ninety nine to nine point nine percent sure it's 637 00:38:16,960 --> 00:38:19,040 Speaker 2: a cat because this is a very long cattail, but 638 00:38:19,080 --> 00:38:21,359 Speaker 2: from some angles it looks almost like a dog. It's 639 00:38:21,440 --> 00:38:25,000 Speaker 2: like very stern looking cat gargoyle kind of on the 640 00:38:25,160 --> 00:38:28,359 Speaker 2: stonework on the facade of this building. And then there 641 00:38:28,440 --> 00:38:33,080 Speaker 2: is a door that has like the door handle has 642 00:38:33,120 --> 00:38:35,840 Speaker 2: a little mouse on it as like part of what 643 00:38:35,960 --> 00:38:39,920 Speaker 2: the door handle is carved to resemble. There's a little 644 00:38:40,000 --> 00:38:44,120 Speaker 2: cat face looking out of a little window above the 645 00:38:44,160 --> 00:38:46,120 Speaker 2: door handle with the mouse on it. And then there's 646 00:38:46,160 --> 00:38:51,120 Speaker 2: like other mice in various posas like incorporated as part 647 00:38:51,160 --> 00:38:55,279 Speaker 2: of this like fairly ornate door considering what doors usually 648 00:38:55,320 --> 00:38:58,600 Speaker 2: look like today. This email goes on to say, here 649 00:38:58,600 --> 00:39:01,200 Speaker 2: my pet tax photos. My Cataches is a snuggle bug. 650 00:39:01,280 --> 00:39:04,880 Speaker 2: My dog Brandy loves everyone. Unfortunately, my cat Dina, who 651 00:39:04,920 --> 00:39:07,319 Speaker 2: I've sent you pictures of before, recently passed away from 652 00:39:07,360 --> 00:39:10,320 Speaker 2: kidney failure. She was my constant companion for thirteen years 653 00:39:10,560 --> 00:39:13,840 Speaker 2: and I miss her brady, sassyself every single day. Peaches 654 00:39:14,080 --> 00:39:18,080 Speaker 2: and her emotional support shoes. It's a very very very 655 00:39:18,120 --> 00:39:21,399 Speaker 2: fluffy cat, and having also had a fluffy cat who 656 00:39:21,480 --> 00:39:23,320 Speaker 2: loved to love on people's shoes. 657 00:39:23,440 --> 00:39:24,280 Speaker 1: I love this picture. 658 00:39:26,400 --> 00:39:28,960 Speaker 2: Brandy is a dog who is giving us all some 659 00:39:29,160 --> 00:39:33,080 Speaker 2: side eye, and then Dina is napping in the sun. 660 00:39:33,280 --> 00:39:36,080 Speaker 2: Is very cute. Thanks for all your hard work. I 661 00:39:36,120 --> 00:39:38,920 Speaker 2: definitely appreciate the podcast and the hours and hours I've 662 00:39:38,920 --> 00:39:41,080 Speaker 2: spent with the two of you over the years. Mendy, 663 00:39:41,880 --> 00:39:44,920 Speaker 2: Thank you so much, Mendy for sending this note and 664 00:39:44,960 --> 00:39:48,120 Speaker 2: these pictures of this amazing door. I also tried to 665 00:39:48,160 --> 00:39:51,440 Speaker 2: find some more information about this door. It is in Berlin. 666 00:39:52,040 --> 00:39:56,040 Speaker 2: It is no longer a functioning door. It is like 667 00:39:56,080 --> 00:39:58,000 Speaker 2: now just sort of part of the building facade, and 668 00:39:58,080 --> 00:40:03,360 Speaker 2: the building that it is on is the Microsoft office 669 00:40:03,360 --> 00:40:09,040 Speaker 2: in Berlin. But I have I've like, I could not 670 00:40:09,120 --> 00:40:12,719 Speaker 2: find any other information about like this door, who carved it, 671 00:40:12,760 --> 00:40:13,919 Speaker 2: why it looks this way. 672 00:40:14,080 --> 00:40:15,720 Speaker 1: It's a very cool looking door. 673 00:40:15,760 --> 00:40:21,520 Speaker 2: Though if you google something like cat and mouse door Berlin, Germany, 674 00:40:21,719 --> 00:40:22,320 Speaker 2: you might. 675 00:40:22,680 --> 00:40:23,719 Speaker 1: Find some pictures of it. 676 00:40:24,160 --> 00:40:26,640 Speaker 2: So thanks so much Bendy for this email and for 677 00:40:26,680 --> 00:40:30,200 Speaker 2: these pictures, the cat pictures and the door pictures. If 678 00:40:30,239 --> 00:40:32,120 Speaker 2: you would like to write to us about this or 679 00:40:32,160 --> 00:40:35,880 Speaker 2: any other podcast, We're at History podcast from iHeartRadio dot com. 680 00:40:36,200 --> 00:40:38,880 Speaker 2: We're all over social media and miss in history, so 681 00:40:38,960 --> 00:40:41,640 Speaker 2: we'll find our Facebook, Twitter, Pinters, and Instagram and you 682 00:40:41,680 --> 00:40:44,840 Speaker 2: can subscribe to our show on the iHeartRadio app or 683 00:40:44,840 --> 00:40:52,520 Speaker 2: wherever else you'd like to get your podcasts. Stuff you 684 00:40:52,560 --> 00:40:55,680 Speaker 2: Missed in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. For 685 00:40:55,760 --> 00:40:59,960 Speaker 2: more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 686 00:41:00,320 --> 00:41:02,320 Speaker 2: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.