Councilmember Mark Ridley-Thomas’s (on the record as Councilmember Harris Dawson in this excerpt) presentation on Oct. 3, 2025, marked the centennial of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, the first all-Black union formed in 1925. Councilmembers, descendants, union leaders and community organizations recounted the porters’ organizing against exploitative conditions and their influence on later civil-rights organizing.

Councilmember Harris Dawson said the Pullman Porters helped connect Black communities across the country and that their organizing laid groundwork for the civil-rights movement. Heather Hutt and Yvonne Wheeler, leader of the County Federation of Labor, emphasized the porters’ role in enabling migration, providing professional opportunities, and founding a tradition of labor activism that shaped Los Angeles.

Descendants and members of the Arthur Study Club and other community organizations thanked the council for the commemoration and urged continued attention to the history’s preservation and public recognition.

Why it matters
Speakers linked the porters’ labor organizing to the broader trajectory of civil-rights gains and migration patterns that built South and Central Los Angeles. The recognition aimed to center the porters’ history in the city’s public memory and civic celebrations.

What was said (highlights)
- Harris Dawson: noted the Brotherhood’s 1925 founding, exploitation faced by porters, and the union’s role in civil-rights leadership.
- Heather Hutt: described how porters’ work on routes like the Sunset Limited supported migration to Los Angeles and built community foundations.
- Yvonne Wheeler: traced the union’s activism and its long-term impact on worker organizing and civil rights.

The council presented a certificate recognizing the Brotherhood’s centennial and invited family members and community leaders to the chamber.