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Boss of the grips : the life of James H. Williams and the Red Caps of Grand Central Terminal

Title
Boss of the grips : the life of James H. Williams and the Red Caps of Grand Central Terminal / Eric K. Washington.
Author
Washington, Eric K.
Publication
New York, N.Y. : Liveright Publishing Corporation, a division of W W. Norton & Company, [2019]

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TextUse in library Sc E 20-89Schomburg Center - Research & Reference

Details

Description
xviii, 350 pages : illustrations, portraits; 25 cm
Summary
"A long-overdue biography of the head of Grand Central Terminal's Red Caps, who flourished in the cultural nexus of Harlem and American railroads. In a feat of remarkable research and timely reclamation, Eric K. Washington uncovers the nearly forgotten life of James H. Williams (1878-1948), the chief porter of Grand Central Terminal's Red Caps-a multitude of Harlem-based black men whom he organized into the essential labor force of America's most august railroad station. Washington reveals that despite the highly racialized and often exploitative nature of the work, the Red Cap was a highly coveted job for college-bound black men determined to join New York's bourgeoning middle class. Examining the deeply intertwined subjects of class, labor, and African American history, Washington chronicles Williams's life, showing how the enterprising son of freed slaves successfully navigated the segregated world of the northern metropolis, and in so doing ultimately achieved financial and social influence. With this biography, Williams must now be considered, along with Cornelius Vanderbilt and Jacqueline Onassis, one of the great heroes of Grand Central's storied past"--
Subject
  • Williams, James H. 1878-1948
  • Grand Central Terminal (New York, N.Y.) > History
  • Grand Central Terminal (New York, N.Y.)
  • Porters > United States > Biography
  • African American railroad employees > New York (State) > New York > History
  • African American railroad employees
  • Porters
  • New York (State) > New York
  • United States
Genre/Form
  • Biographies.
  • History.
Bibliography (note)
  • Includes bibliographical references (pages [329]-330) and index.
Contents
"To hustle while you're waiting" -- "A gilded, but gritty age" -- "If we cannot go forward, let us mark time" -- Fraternity and ascendancy -- Harlem exodus to the Bronx and to the sea -- War at home and abroad -- "A sweet spot in Harlem known as Strivers' Row" -- The black decade -- Testaments in transit -- Bandwidths -- Moving to the Dunbar -- Organized labor pains -- "Things reiterated as the American way" -- A second marriage.
Call Number
Sc E 20-89
ISBN
  • 9781631493225
  • 1631493221
  • 9781631493232 (canceled/invalid)
LCCN
2019029640
OCLC
1053998101
Author
Washington, Eric K., author.
Title
Boss of the grips : the life of James H. Williams and the Red Caps of Grand Central Terminal / Eric K. Washington.
Publisher
New York, N.Y. : Liveright Publishing Corporation, a division of W W. Norton & Company, [2019]
Edition
First edition.
Type of Content
text
still image
Type of Medium
unmediated
Type of Carrier
volume
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages [329]-330) and index.
Local Note
Schomburg copy with dust jacket.
Local Subject
Black author.
Research Call Number
Sc E 20-89
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