Cipriano Samonte: Racial Solidarity in the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters
Areas of History/Tags: Chicago History, Asian American History, Pacific Islander History, and Labor History.
Code(s): Complex--Limited Primary and Secondary Sources
Overview: The Brotherhood of the Sleeping Car Porters (BSCP), led by A. Philip Randolph and Milton P. Webster, was formed in August 1925. Initially created to improve the treatment and working conditions of African Americans employed by the Pullman Company, the BSCP did not immediately gain popularity. For the Pullman Company, the Labor Union threatened the supply of laborers and the image of high standards expected of them. For African Americans, joining the BSCP posed a risk of losing their income. To subvert African American membership from joining the Union, the Company hired 400 Filipino Club Car attendants just two months after the creation of the BSCP.
Meant to create fear among African American laborers with the threat of losing their employment, the inclusion of Filipino laborers simulated tensions along color lines. Unsurprisingly, Filipino employees experienced similar unjust working conditions, acts of discrimination, and racism. With the leadership of attendant Cipriano Samonte, Filipino employees soon realized that they had more in common with the struggles of African American attendants than the Company had led them to believe. Samonte understood that bridging the gap between the two groups was necessary for the protection of Filipino rights. For the BSCP, recognition, and membership of the Union meant that the organization had to promote inclusivity. Through Samonte's advocacy, Filipino membership in the BSCP allowed the organization to broaden its influential reach by championing a campaign for the rights of all workers regardless of race.
Relevant Collections:
Links to preliminary sources:
Secondary
Primary
Areas of History/Tags: Chicago History, Asian American History, Pacific Islander History, and Labor History.
Code(s): Complex--Limited Primary and Secondary Sources
Overview: The Brotherhood of the Sleeping Car Porters (BSCP), led by A. Philip Randolph and Milton P. Webster, was formed in August 1925. Initially created to improve the treatment and working conditions of African Americans employed by the Pullman Company, the BSCP did not immediately gain popularity. For the Pullman Company, the Labor Union threatened the supply of laborers and the image of high standards expected of them. For African Americans, joining the BSCP posed a risk of losing their income. To subvert African American membership from joining the Union, the Company hired 400 Filipino Club Car attendants just two months after the creation of the BSCP.
Meant to create fear among African American laborers with the threat of losing their employment, the inclusion of Filipino laborers simulated tensions along color lines. Unsurprisingly, Filipino employees experienced similar unjust working conditions, acts of discrimination, and racism. With the leadership of attendant Cipriano Samonte, Filipino employees soon realized that they had more in common with the struggles of African American attendants than the Company had led them to believe. Samonte understood that bridging the gap between the two groups was necessary for the protection of Filipino rights. For the BSCP, recognition, and membership of the Union meant that the organization had to promote inclusivity. Through Samonte's advocacy, Filipino membership in the BSCP allowed the organization to broaden its influential reach by championing a campaign for the rights of all workers regardless of race.
Relevant Collections:
- Chicago History Museum. “Pullman Porters, Chicago 1920’s.” Facing Freedom in America. (Link)
- Library of Congress. “Brotherhood Of Sleeping Car Porters, A. Philip Randolph, Benjamin F McLaurin, and Ashley Totten. Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters records.” Manuscript/Mixed Material. (Link)
Links to preliminary sources:
Secondary
- Villar, Don. “How Black and Filipino Unity Was Forged in the Pullman Workers Union.” Positively Filipino | Online Magazine for Filipinos in the Diaspora. May 26, 2021. (Link)
- Barbara M. Posadas & Roland L. Guyotte (1998) “Filipinos and Race in Twentieth Century Chicago: The Impact of Polarization between Blacks and Whites.” Amerasia Journal, 24:2, 135-15 (Link)
Primary
- Chicago Federation of Labor records, Chicago History Museum (Link)