A Porter’s Life: Riding the Rails of Black Labor History

The morning of April 6th 1907, Ross Wood decided to fill out the application to become a Pullman Porter. He was 23 years old, and until this point he has only ever worked as a servant; a “houseboy”. Wood was born to parents that were enslaved not too long before he was born. He thought about how if he had been born just 20 years earlier, he too would’ve been a slave. He wanted to be a porter. It was a respected job among his black peers and even though he would spend his days being demeaned, the $10 a week might’ve been enough incentive.

Sources

Labor Union Negotiation and Agreement Files, 1920-1969. 1920.
Pullman’s Palace Car Company. Employee Indexes and Registers, 1875-1946. 1875.
Application and Service Files, 1900-1964. 1900.
United States Railroad Administration. Union Contract Agreement Books, 1919-1958. 1919.
https://jimcrowmuseum.ferris.edu/question/2021/august.htm

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