Asa Philip Randolph was the son of a Methodist (AME) Pastor. He was born on April 15, 1889 in Crescent City, Florida. In 1891, the Randolph family moved to Jacksonville. Randolph attended high school at the Cookman Institute where he graduated at the top of his class.

Randolph moved to Harlem, New York in 1911 where he attended classes at City College and joined the Socialist Party. He taught at the Rand School of Social Science and in 1917 founded the journal, "The Messenger," In 1921 Randolph ran an unsuccessful campaign for New York Secretary of State.

Randolph began lecturing throughout the country and urged Blacks to join unions. He organized the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters in 1925, (Today - the Brotherhood of Railway and Airline Clerks).

The Pullman Company organized a vicious campaign against the union and persuaded Black Newspapers and Ministers to attack the Brotherhood. Union members were labeled as Reds and Communist agitators.

In 1935 the Brotherhood officially became a part of the American Federation of Labor, (now the AFL-CIO).  The union negotiated a contract with the Pullman Company in 1937 becoming the first Black Union to have a contract with a company.

In 1941, Randolph convinced President Roosevelt to establish the Fair Employment Practice Committee, which led the way in obtaining equal opportunities for minority employment in government and in the defense industry. 

Randolph formed the League for Nonviolent Civil Disobedience in the Armed Forces in 1947.  Under pressure from Randolph and the League, President Truman issued an executive order against discrimination in the military. This order allowed Blacks to be admitted to the Army and Navy Academies. 

When the AF of L and the CIO merged in 1955, Randolph was appointed to the executive council and became Vice President in 1957. He founded the Negro-American Labor Council in 1960 and served as it's president until 1966. He helped organize the march on Washington, D.C. in 1963. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a direct result of this march. Randolph was appointed the honorary chairman of the White House Conference on Civil Rights in 1966.

Randolph wrote articles for the Journal of the Urban League and founded the A. Philip Randolph Institute to help train minority youths in skilled occupations.

A. Phillip Randolph died in New York, New York on May 16, 1979.