Directed by
Santino, Jack Ph.D., American, born 1947
Wagner, Paul, American, born 1948
Subject of
Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, American, 1925 - 1978
Tucker, Rosina, American, 1881 - 1987
Randolph, A. Philip, American, 1889 - 1979
Owned by
D.C. Public Library, American, founded 1896
Date
1982
Medium
acetate film
Dimensions
Duration: 56 Minutes
Length (Film): 2000 Feet
Caption
This 1982 documentary details the history of the Black Pullman Porters who organized for the right to unionize and form the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. Narrated by the activist, educator, and wife of a Pullman Porter, Mrs. Rosina Tucker, the film uses the first-hand accounts of former Pullman porters to explicate the working conditions that Black male Pullman Porters endured prior to the formation of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters in 1937. Directed by Paul Wagner in 1982, this film offers a comprehensive history of the Black Pullman porters who fought for equal pay and treatment, despite racial discrimination, through the organization and formation of a union during the Jim Crow Era.
This film was a part of the Washington D.C. Public Library's circulating 16mm film collection housed at the Martin Luther King Jr. Central Library. The collection is particularly noted for the wide variety of African American and African diaspora content.
Description
A documentary film with the title Miles of Smiles, Years of Struggle. It consists of a single reel of color 16 mm acetate film with bilateral area optical sound.
The documentary details the history of the Black Pullman Porters who organized for the right to unionize and form the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. It begins with a brief history of the Pullman Car Company and their reliance on exploited Black male labor. Narrated by the activist, educator, and wife of a Pullman Porter, Mrs. Rosina Tucker, the film uses a combination of archival footage, photographs, and first-hand accounts of former Pullman porters to explicate the working conditions that Black male Pullman Porters endured prior to the formation of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters in 1937. It shows how they fought for equal pay and treatment, despite racial discrimination, through the organization and formation of a union during the Jim Crow Era. Individuals featured in the documentary include Lawrence W. Davis, C.L. Dellums, Ernest Ford Jr., Green Glenn, Homer Glenn, William Harrington, Hunter Johnson, L. Long, William D. Miller, E.D. Nixon, L.C. Richie, J.D. Shaw, Rex Stewart, and C.J. Talley.
Place used
Washington, District of Columbia, United States, North and Central America
Collection title
DC Public Library Film Collection
Classification
Time-based Media - Moving Images
Type
sound films
color films (visual works)
16mm (photographic film size)
Topic
Activism
Associations and institutions
Civil rights
Documentary films
Film
Labor
Professional organizations
Pullman Porters
Race discrimination
Segregation
Credit Line
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
Object number
2017.55.116.4a
Restrictions & Rights
Restrictions likely apply. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
GUID
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd5b11fce2c-1670-42ce-a266-d0bcc6fdffef

Cataloging is an ongoing process and we may update this record as we conduct additional research and review. If you have more information about this object, please contact us at NMAAHCDigiTeam@si.edu

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