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Jacksonville Adds Randolph Memorial to Planned 40-Site Civil Rights Trail
A marker honoring labor and civil rights leader A. Philip Randolph has been installed at the Eastside park named for him. It is part of a city effort to place 40 markers recognizing Jacksonville’s role in the struggle for equity.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A new Civil Rights Trail marker honoring labor and civil rights leader A. Philip Randolph has been unveiled at the Eastside park that bears his name, recognizing the Jacksonville-raised organizer’s place in the nation’s history and the city’s civil rights legacy.
Randolph attended Cookman Institute in Jacksonville and went on to found the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. The union became the first predominantly Black labor union to secure a collective bargaining agreement with a major American corporation.
The marker is part of Jacksonville’s participation in the U.S. Civil Rights Trail, a national initiative highlighting people and places connected to the movement for equity. The city plans to install 40 markers across Jacksonville.
Those present for the unveiling included the Rev. Christopher McKee, Hazel Gillis, Rodney L. Hurst, Nigelle Kohn, Charles Spencer and Pat McCollough. The installation adds a public reminder of Jacksonville’s contributions to the broader fight for civil rights and workers’ rights.