A. Philip Randolph

This c. 1945 portrait of Asa Philip Randolph by Ernest Hamlin Baker hangs in the National Portrait Gallery  in Washington, DC.

Civil rights activist A. Philip Randolph waged a lifelong battle for the economic empowerment of African Americans. In 1925, he accepted the challenge of organizing the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters -- the first black labor union chartered by the American Federation of Labor. Continuing his advocacy for African American workers, Randolph called for a march on Washington in 1941 to protest the exclusion of blacks from defense industry jobs. He canceled that march only after President Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945) signed an order mandating an end to discriminatory practices by government contractors.

Following World War II, Randolph led the effort to desegregate the nation’s armed forces and waged a civil disobedience campaign against the draft until President Harry Truman (1884-1972) ordered an end to segregation in the military in 1948. Randolph crowned his career in 1963 by helping to organize the celebrated March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. – National Portrait Gallery 

 Ernest Hamlin Baker

Baker's painting resembles this 1963 photo by John Bottega (LOC).

This photo by Sy Kattelson belonging to the National Portrait Gallery shows Randolph in 1948 protesting against discrimination in the U. S. military.

If We Must Die Let Us Die as Free Men Not Jimcrow Slaves