ILA Acknowledged As Major Contributor To A. Philip Randolph Statue, Unveiled Today at Newark’s Penn Station

April 16, 2024
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NEWARK, NJ – (April 15, 2024) A stunning statue of A. Philip Randolph, a legendary champion of America’s Civil Rights and Labor Rights, was unveiled on Monday afternoon, April 15th, 2024, at ceremonies outside the entrance of Newark’s Penn Station. ILA Executive Officers Stephen Knott, Secretary-Treasurer; Dennis A. Daggett, Executive Vice President and Jerry Owens, retired ILA General Organizer, led a large delegation of ILA officers and members present for the unveiling, where the union was acknowledged for its contributions to this A. Philip Randolph Statue project.

“Whenever you need something done, you go to the ILA,” said Clayola Brown, National President of the A. Philip Randolph Institute.

“For my union – the ILA – our presence here today, and our involvement with the creation, the fund raising, and the unveiling of the A. Philip Randolph Statue, continues a long and rich history of our partnership with the A. Philip Randolph Institute,” said ILA Secretary-Treasurer Knott, one of several speakers to address the large gathering at Newark’s Penn Station. Jerry Owens, retired ILA General Organizer, was credited with creating the campaign to honor A. Philip Randolph with a statue, also offered remarks along with Herbert Hall, ILA International Vice President. Both Jerry Owens and Herbie Hall are long-time leaders of the Essex and Union County Chapters of the A. Philip Randolph Institute.

Rodney Owens, Jerry’s son, and Co-Chairman of the ILA’s Civil Rights Committee, served as Master of Ceremonies for the event today.

A. Philip Randolph helped organize the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters (BCSP) in 1925. It was also the nation’s first predominantly Black labor union and the first Black union to be granted a charter by the American Federation of Labor (AFL). Randolph became the first president of the BCSP organization. In 1957, Randolph became one of the first Black vice presidents of the AFL-CIO.

Through Randolph’s civil rights activism, he organized several major protest marches in the nation’s capital, and in 1959 he helped found the Negro American Labor Council (NALC), which aimed to fight racial discrimination within labor unions. Randolph also worked with fellow activists to help organize the infamous “March on Washington,” where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech.