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Born April 15, 1889, in Crescent City, Florida, Asa Philip Randolph was the second son of Reverend James William Randolph and Elizabeth Robinson Randolph, both advocates for equal rights for African Americans.

Founded and served as president of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters (BSCP), which became the first successful African-American trade union in the United States after securing its first major contract with the Pullman Company in 1937 and AFL membership.

Organized nearly 100,000 Black citizens to march on Washington, D.C., protesting employment discrimination, leading President Franklin D. Roosevelt to issue Executive Order No. 8802 on June 25, 1941, banning discrimination in defense industries and establishing the Fair Employment Practices Commission.

Founded the League for Nonviolent Civil Disobedience Against Military Segregation, which pressured President Harry S. Truman to end military segregation on July 26, 1948.

Served as chair of the 1963 March on Washington where Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech, and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1964; later established the A. Philip Randolph Institute to promote trade unionism in the Black community.