Learn about the history of the Pullman Porters at documentary screening at Rock Island Public Library

Learn about Black history at a free documentary screening on the legacy of Pullman Porters at the Rock Island Public Library.

The library will screen the Chicago Stories documentary, “Pullman and the Railroad Rebellion” on Monday, February 26 at 2 p.m. at the Rock Island Downtown Library, 401 19^th Street. The documentary highlights the civil rights legacy of the Pullman Porters, Black railroad workers who organized for better working conditions in the 1920s.

George Pullman changed long-distance rail travel with his luxury sleeping cars. When success didn’t trickle down to the workers who built, operated and staffed the cars, they went on strike. The first major strike failed, so Black Pullman sleeping car workers later organized a union of their own, the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters and Maids. Their efforts helped create a Black middle class and civil rights movement that altered the course of American history.

For more information on upcoming programs at the Rock Island Public Library, click here, call (309) 732-READ, or follow them on their Instagram and Facebook pages.

Click here to learn about the Pullman Porters.