Art Inspired by the Pullman Porters by Lolu Oyedele
Hi all,
As you may or may not know, My name is Lolu Oyedele and I was the Spring 2023 artist-in-residence for Coquitlam Heritage. Through the development of my performance, The Porter’s Revival, I had an opportunity to do a lot of research on the history of the Black Porters in Canada and America. In this blog, I’ll be detailing some of the interesting artistic creations that have been inspired by the lives and legacy of the Black Pullman Porters.
For more information about the Black Porters and their history, please check out the Coquitlam Heritage blog written on the topic here: https://www.coquitlamheritage.ca/our-blog/black-train-porters
Pullman Porter Blues by Cheryl West
This absolutely riveting play was written by Award Winning American playwright Cheryl West, tells the story of a group of Pullman Porters working the trains during the Great Depression. Set in 1937, the play follows three generations of Black Porter men as they navigate the challenges in their lives and their jobs as Pullman Porters and their intergenerational differences. With a soundtrack that includes many blues classics such as "Trouble In Mind" to create an evocative experience that ushers audiences into the life experiences and the tenacious nature these men would have had.
Here is an article written by PBS about the play: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/arts/pullman-porter-blues
Clarence Williams – Pullman Porter Blues
Clarence Williams was an American jazz pianist and composer amongst other things, and he wrote a song called the Pullman Porter Blues in 1921. The lyrics of the song encapsulate some of the challenges and tribulations the porters went through as they tried to attend to and create a comfortable environment for the passengers on the trains. Lyrics such as "I get nothing but abuse, so tell me what's the use" give just a taste of what some men would have felt like working for individuals who still had very prejudiced feelings towards you.
Joe Nelson’s Pullman Porter Mural
Chicago artist Joe Nelson designed a mural that was unveiled as of May 2023 in the Pullman National Historical Park, the historical district built to honor one of the first planned industrial communities in the United States. The mural sits just outside of the gates of the National Park and welcomes passerbyers to the neighborhood of Pullman with a depiction of a distinguished Pullman Porter and the Pullman train they would have worked on. It is a beautiful testament to the positive influence that the legacy of the Pullman porters continues to have to this day.
You can learn more about the artist and the mural in this article here:
https://abc7chicago.com/pullman-national-monument-railroad-days-chicago-joe-nelson/13261419/
The Porter – TV Show on CBC
This recent 2022 Canadian production created by Canadian actors Arnold Pinnock and Bruce Ramsay follows the story of a group of porter men in the 1920's, following World War 1. The show depicts the lives of Black Canadian and African-American men who worked on the pullman trains after the war, and it details their journey to the foundation of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters in 1925, the world's first Black-led labour union.