From L-R: State Senator Elgie R. Sims, Jr., Dr. David Peterson, Dr. Lyn Hughes, Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller, Ald. Stephanie Coleman and Cook County Commissioner Stanley Moore (Photo Credit: Tacuma Roeback).
They were the wives, the fundraisers, the backbone of a movement. Now, they will finally have a place that tells their story.
On a gray, drizzly Saturday in March, the National A. Philip Randolph Pullman Porter Museum broke ground on a first-of-its-kind museum—the BSCP Ladies Auxiliary Women’s Museum. Set to rise in the heart of Pullman, along what will become Randolph’s Way, the project honors the unsung heroines of the Black labor movement.
These women—wives and maids of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters—held annual conventions, ran local chapters, canvassed door-to-door and collected fees for a burgeoning movement. While their husbands fought for fair wages and humane working conditions, the women organized in the shadows. Now, the spotlight is finally on them.
The event took place along what will become Randolph’s Way, America’s first Black Labor History Tourism District. The ceremony, held during Women’s History Month, marked a defining moment for a movement that had long been under-recognized.
A Building, a Mission, and No Government Strings
Dr. Lyn Hughes, who founded the museum, described how the dream of a women’s museum went from concept to reality—without federal help.
She emphasized the museum’s independence, particularly now under a presidential administration that seems intent on erasing Black history. “We never got any money from the federal government. So we don’t have to answer to that,” she said. “We operate on an entrepreneurial basis.”
Hughes said the decision to dedicate an entire space to women was intentional.
“Women are the mothers of our existence… putting women in the middle of an indivisible, more active role—is a game changer,” she said.
Standing in Their Footsteps
Ald. Stephanie Coleman, who chairs the Chicago Aldermanic Black Caucus, helped lead the groundbreaking.
“Here we are, 100 years later, living out our ancestors’ wildest dreams,” she said. “Thank you for asking this girl from Englewood to be a part of such an occasion.”
Coleman acknowledged the contributions of women like Shirley Chisholm, Carol Moseley Braun, Kim Foxx, Rosina Tucker and Madam C.J. Walker—“whose shoulders we stand on.”
History You Can’t Erase
For Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller, the moment was personal. Her great-grandfather was a Pullman Porter, and her family has lived in Cook County for over a century.
“When we see what’s happening in our country—where they’re trying to erase our history—we can’t erase what we know,” she said.
“This auxiliary will have the visionary leadership that you knew you were destined to bring forth for all of us,” she continued. “The efforts and achievements of this auxiliary will leave a lasting legacy… for the labor movement, for the civil rights movement, for women, for children, for equality, for justice.”
The Women Who Held It All Together
Dr. David Peterson, president of the museum, spoke about how the Ladies Auxiliary enabled the union to survive and grow.
“The Brotherhood of the Sleeping Car Porters would not have been able to exist without their support,” he said.
He credited Madam C.J. Walker with not only introducing A. Philip Randolph to the Rockefeller family but also helped the union raise money through her beauty products. Randolph’s wife ran a beauty salon that helped fund organizing efforts.
“This is the second installation of the Black Labor Tourism District,” Peterson said. “We call it CDF 2020… the clear vision of what we understand our community can become when we use cultural, economic development as our tool.”
A Living Monument to a Labor Legacy
The BSCP Ladies Auxiliary Women’s Museum will do more than preserve the past. It will speak to the power of memory and the women who carried it.
As Commissioner Miller said, “We’re not going to be erased. We’re only going to amplify.”
Here are more photos from the BSCP Ladies Auxiliary Women’s Museum groundbreaking:
National A. Philip Randolph Pullman Porter Museum Founder Dr. Lyn Hughes (Photo Credit: Tacuma Roeback).
Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller (Photo Credit: Tacuma Roeback).
Dr. Lyn Hughes, Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller, Ald. Stephanie Coleman (Photo Credit: Tacuma Roeback).
National A. Philip Randolph Pullman Porter Museum junior historian and sixth grader Layla Patrick (Photo Credit: Tacuma Roeback).
Museum President David Peterson Jr. (Photo Credit: Tacuma Roeback).
