They toiled tirelessly. The metal in their hands striking metal on the ground; driving into history, the infrastructure to carry America’s railroad passengers. They toiled tirelessly. Welding and molding engines, tracks, parts – in fact – building the very railroad, railway, locomotive and street cars that would - from generation to generation - create stories, legacies and powerful life-long connections. There is no recollection of the history of the railroad system in the United States without the recollection of the contributions of African-Americans in it – or at least there should not be. In their hands, on their backs, their knees to the ground and to the grind – each mile of iron and steel laid, each turn of the locomotive wheel – the spirits of Black railroaders are embedded in miles upon miles of rail history.
The National Black Railroader’s Historical Society exists to put railroad history on the right track. We have come together to pay homage to those who built the trains, those who laid the tracks and the Pullman Porters and others who served with pride and dignity. We have come to applaud the cooks who fed thousands on their journey. We have come with a sense of gratitude for Black men and women who often left their families for days and weeks on end to work on the railroads, often during some of the most tumultuous times in African American history. From the Underground Railroad, to trains that ferried Blacks to their migration North, to the train that saved the lives of Blacks in Rosewood, Florida to the Pullman Porter era – there is a powerful and undeniable, yet sadly untold, connection between Blacks and the railroad industry.
This commemoration will continue through an array of educational, career development, literary, community and entertaining vehicles under the direction of the NBRHS and partnering organizations including the A. Phillip Randolph Institute of Miami-Dade (FL), the Gold Coast Railroad Museum, and others. Our initial celebratory event is the FIRST ANNUAL BLACK RAILROADERS REUNION AND JUNETEENTH JUBLILEE. The descendants of Black railroaders will join in what we believe will be a historic and powerful time of recognition and honor. The reunion and jubilee will be held June 18th and 19th, 2011 on the grounds of the Gold Coast Railroad Museum in South Miami, Florida. What an amazing event is planned to mark the contributions of people of African descent to the railroad industry while also remembering the oldest known celebration commemorating the end of slavery in America.
The National Black Railroader’s Historical Society exists to put railroad history on the right track. We have come together to pay homage to those who built the trains, those who laid the tracks and the Pullman Porters and others who served with pride and dignity. We have come to applaud the cooks who fed thousands on their journey. We have come with a sense of gratitude for Black men and women who often left their families for days and weeks on end to work on the railroads, often during some of the most tumultuous times in African American history. From the Underground Railroad, to trains that ferried Blacks to their migration North, to the train that saved the lives of Blacks in Rosewood, Florida to the Pullman Porter era – there is a powerful and undeniable, yet sadly untold, connection between Blacks and the railroad industry.
This commemoration will continue through an array of educational, career development, literary, community and entertaining vehicles under the direction of the NBRHS and partnering organizations including the A. Phillip Randolph Institute of Miami-Dade (FL), the Gold Coast Railroad Museum, and others. Our initial celebratory event is the FIRST ANNUAL BLACK RAILROADERS REUNION AND JUNETEENTH JUBLILEE. The descendants of Black railroaders will join in what we believe will be a historic and powerful time of recognition and honor. The reunion and jubilee will be held June 18th and 19th, 2011 on the grounds of the Gold Coast Railroad Museum in South Miami, Florida. What an amazing event is planned to mark the contributions of people of African descent to the railroad industry while also remembering the oldest known celebration commemorating the end of slavery in America.
