Asa Randolph And The Labor Movement

Improved Essays
America was founded and built on the principles of opportunity and equality for all. It was only during the Industrial Revolution that people started to feel like these principles were being disregarded. People were starting to want fair wages, reasonable hours and safer working conditions. When these problems became an issue for the common worker, across the board, it ultimately led to the labor movement. Over time these group of workers transformed into a movement that came together and extended the different rights that they were fighting for, which included assisting workers who were retired or injured and to stop child labor. It is a movement that continues to this day, but it is also a movement that has needed many people to help propel …show more content…
Asa Randolph was born April 15, 1889 in Crescent City, Florida. He attended the Cookman Institute in East Jacksonville, which was the only academic high school for African Americans at the time. Asa graduated at the top of his class in the year 1907. After graduating high school, Asa moved to New York, after feeling the effects of discrimination while trying to look for a job in Florida. In New York Asa worked odd jobs, while taking classes as the New York city college. While in New York, Asa found himself picking up a book called “The souls of black folk” by William Edward Burghardt Du Bois. This book talks about William Edward’s experience as an African American living in American society and the racial discrimination he faced. It was until Asa read this book, that he was convinced he had to be apart of the fight for social equality. After being inspired, Asa became more involved in organizations within the city, specifically related to social …show more content…
The Pullman Company countered Asa Randolph’s efforts by firing and acting violently. Once the Pullman Company responded to the BSCP in the way that it did Asa decided to plan a strike. The strike would have happened, but didn’t because of rumours that the Pullman Company had a ready set of replacements to replace those who participated in the strike. After the rumors, membership in the BSCP started to dwindle, but it didn’t stay like that

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