Miles of Smiles, Years of Struggle
Stories of Black Pullman Porters
Illuminating the Pullman porters' struggle for dignity
Paper – $28
978-0-252-06194-3
Publication Date
Paperback: 01/01/1991
About the Book
As service workers in a luxurious sleeping-car train system, Pullman porters had both high status in the black community and the lowest rank on the train. They were trapped in the dual roles of charming host and obedient servant, and their constant smiles--even in the face of unreasonable demands by white passengers--were part of the job.Jack Santino's interviews with retired porters provide detailed firsthand accounts of their work, the job inequities they faced, the formation of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters (BSCP), and the aborted Pullman porter strike of 1928. The testimony of rank-and-file workers stands beside that of key figures like E. D. Nixon, the porter who initiated the Montgomery bus boycott and helped launch the career of Martin Luther King Jr., and C. L. Dellums, the last surviving founding member of the BSCP.
About the Author
Jack Santino is a retired professor at Bowling Green State University. He is a producer of the Emmy Award-winning Miles of Smiles, Years of Struggle, a documentary based on his book. He is the editor of Halloween and Other Festivals of Death and Life.Also by this author
Reviews
"The reader can almost hear the porters' voices, imagine their faces, and appreciate the texture of their daily lives."--NewsdayAwards
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