Asa Philip Randolph (1889-1979) was one of the most influential labor and civil rights leaders of the 20th century. Randolph was revered by many younger civil rights activists, who regarded him as the spiritual father of the movement. In 1925, Randolph founded the nation's first black labor union, the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, which fought a successful battle for recognition by the railroad companies.

Randolph pressured President Roosevelt in 1942 to end discrimination in wartime industries, leading to the establishment of the federal Fair Employment Practices Committee. He also encouraged President Truman to desegregate the military in 1948. As an elder statesman of the civil rights movement, he was a principal organizer of the March on Washington in 1963.