A. Philip Randolph and the transformation of the Negro Church

This dissertation explores the religious side of the twentieth century labor leader and civil rights activist, A. Philip Randolph. Although much has been written about Randolph's political achievements in organizing black workers and civil rights activists, little has been written regarding Randolph's religious character or his relationship to African-American religion and its institutional counterpart, the Black Church. Standard interpretations of Randolph's religious nature conclude that he was an atheist, anti-religious, and a severe critic of the Black Church. This study posits that Randolph should be placed in a context of black Christian humanism, in order to more accurately judge his religious character. By placing Randolph within a liberal Protestant tradition, Randolph's statements and actions are better understood.;The scope of this dissertation is limited to Randolph's life prior to 1954, when the Supreme Court Brown decisions changed the nature of race relations in America. In the four decades before that decision, Randolph, as a radical magazine editor, labor union organizer, and social movement leader, worked to overcome the racial barriers that existed for African Americans in the United States. At each of these stages, Randolph worked closely and sympathetically with black religious leaders and communities to achieve his goals, not just for politically expedient reasons, but because he remained faithful to a radical interpretation of African Methodism.;The study is divided into two parts. The first part explores three aspects of Randolph's religious foundations: his humanistic approach to religion; a comparative study of Randolph's criticisms of religion and the Black Church with other studies by contemporary African American intellectuals; and his upbringing in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. The second part investigates Randolph's mobilization of progressive religious leaders and communities with three different social movements: the Friends of Negro Freedom (FNF) in the 1920s; the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters (BSCP) in the 1930s, and the March on Washington Movement (MOWM) from 1940 to 1942.;A. Philip Randolph's personal decision to join an African Methodist Episcopal church in his late sixties reflected larger cultural changes occurring in African American religion and to the institutional Black Church since World War I.