Prepare for a visit to AAMLO with these special topic resource guides.
This resource guide is intended to help users locate holdings at AAMLO related to the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters.
It highlights holdings in the following areas:
● Selected Library Material at AAMLO
● Selected Archival Collections at AAMLO
Other collections may contain relevant materials. Please contact AAMLO (aamlo@oaklandlibrary.org) with any questions or to schedule an appointment to view materials in person.
A printable PDF version of this resource guide is available for download.
Selected Library Materials
Marching together : women of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters by Melinda Chateauvert
Miles of Smiles, Years of Struggle : Stories of Black Pullman Porters by Jack Santino
Miles of smiles, years of struggle [videorecording] : the untold story of the Black Pullman Porter
A. Philip Randolph [videorecording] : for jobs & freedom
Selected Archival Collections
Bryant Family Papers. James J. Bryant worked as a porter for the Pullman Company and was active with the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. Thorough his correspondence, employee records, and paystubs, the working life of a Pullman porter is uniquely documented.
Contains material related to James J. Bryant's career as a railroad porter, including correspondence, employee records, paystubs, train passes, Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters records, Retired Railroad Men's Club programs, 77 Pullman Company porter name cards (3 of the listed porters have multiple cards included), and a Pullman Company porter hat.
Collier Family Papers. Muriel Taylor Collier was born in 1910 in Oakland, California the daughter of Patrick Willis Taylor and Lillian C. Taylor. She was raised in a well-educated, middle-class family, where her father worked for the Pullman Company as a sleeping car porter and was also active in the local branch of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters.
Cottrell Laurence (C.L.) Dellums Papers. The C.L. Dellums papers provide insight into Dellums' career as a civil rights activist and labor leader. They encompass files he maintained as both the International Vice President of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters and as a member of the Fair Employment Practices Commission. Dellums' roles in the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters at the local, national, and international levels are documented in papers relating to the Oakland district and various western divisions, files on national mediation procedures and agreements, and records relating to international conventions and affiliations. Several letters and memoranda written by A. Philip Randolph in the early thirties provide evidence of how he and Dellums worked together to formulate strategies for gaining recognition from the Pullman Company. [View online]
Includes an oral history interview with Dellums discussing his work with A. Philip Randolph, Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, Executive Order 8802 and the March on Washington.
Jesse W. and Marcella Ford Papers. Jesse W. Ford series includes manuals, brochures, and correspondence related to his employment with the Pullman Company and as a member of the Union of Sleeping Car Porters.
Miriam Matthews Photograph Collection. The Miriam Matthews Photographic Collection include a 1963 photograph of members of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters holding picket signs.
Additional Information
Search the library using the catalog.
Consult AAMLO's finding aids in the Online Archive of California.
We are working to create new resource guides. Have an idea for a new guide? Contact us at aamlo@oaklandlibrary.org.
