Porter’s Hat Badge, early 1900s

Porter’s Hat Badge, early 1900s

A porter’s hat badge, made by the Pullman Company during the early twentieth century. The Pullman Company was the origin for the hiring of Black men as sleeping car porters; they began this tradition, and the CPR and CNR simply borrowed their business model. They borrowed one more thing from the Pullman Company as well—the universal name. Porters wore no individualized name badges, and passengers often called them “George,” after George Pullman, the founder of the Pullman Company (Grizzle 38-39). This practice was hated by porters. This practice implied that they were not individuals with their own thoughts, let alone their own name; they were George. They were servants to George Pullman, to the passengers that labeled them as such. It was as though every Black man was one and the same, existing only to serve and to provide for the white client.

The Pullman Company

Library and Archives Canada. "Porter’s Hat Badge, early 1900s." Early 1900s. Photograph. 3743854. Library and Archives Canada. https://central.bac-lac.gc.ca/.redirect?app=fonandcol&id=3743854&lang=eng&ecopy=e011897170.

Library and Archives Canada

Early 1900s

Library and Archives Canada

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