''10,000 Black Men Named George'' is a 2002

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

TV movie A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a terrest ...

about

A. Philip Randolph Asa Philip Randolph (April 15, 1889 – May 16, 1979) was an American labor unionist and civil rights activist. In 1925, he organized and led the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, the first successful African-American-led labor union. In the ...

and his coworkers Milton P. Webster and Ashley Totten. The title refers to the custom of the time when

Pullman porter Pullman porters were men hired to work for the railroads as Porter (railroad), porters on sleeping cars. Starting shortly after the American Civil War, George Pullman sought out former slaves to work on his sleeper cars. Their job was to carry ...

s, all of whom were black, were addressed as "George"; a sobriquet for

George Pullman George Mortimer Pullman (March 3, 1831 – October 19, 1897) was an American engineer and industrialist. He designed and manufactured the Pullman (car or coach), Pullman sleeping car and founded a Pullman, Chicago, company town in Chicago for t ...

, who owned the company that built the

sleeping car The sleeping car or sleeper (often ) is a railway passenger car (rail), passenger car that can accommodate all passengers in beds of one kind or another, for the purpose of sleeping. George Pullman was the main American innovator and owner of sl ...

s (and other

Railroad car A railroad car, railcar (American English, American and Canadian English), railway wagon, railway carriage, railway truck, railwagon, railcarriage or railtruck (British English and International Union of Railways, UIC), also called a tra ...

s) and the industry.

Plot

The film follows union activist

's efforts to organize the black porters of the

Pullman Company The Pullman Company, founded by George Pullman, was a manufacturer of railroad cars in the mid-to-late 19th century through the first half of the 20th century, during the boom of railroads in the United States. Through rapid late-19th century d ...

in 1920s America, known as the

Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters Founded in 1925, the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters and Maids (commonly referred to as the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, BSCP) was the first labor organization led by African Americans to receive a charter in the American Federation o ...

. The effort was intertwined with the election of

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

. The

American Federation of Labor The American Federation of Labor (A.F. of L.) was a national federation of labor unions in the United States that continues today as the AFL-CIO. It was founded in Columbus, Ohio, in 1886 by an alliance of craft unions eager to provide mutual ...

chartered The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, which made it the first African-American led union to be so recognized.

Cyrus Nowrasteh Cyrus Nowrasteh (Persian language, Persian: سیروس/کوروش نورسته; ; born September 19, 1956) is an American filmmaker. He has worked on numerous television series and Television movie, made-for-TV movies including ''The Day Reagan W ...

won the Pen USA West Literary Award for Best Teleplay for its screen writing. The film is available for free via

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

Cast

Andre Braugher Andre Keith Braugher ( ; July 1, 1962 – December 11, 2023) was an American actor known for his roles as Detective Frank Pembleton in the NBC police drama series '' Homicide: Life on the Street'' (1993–1999) and Captain Raymond Holt in the ...

* Charles S. Dutton as Milton P. Webster *

Mario Van Peebles Mario Van Peebles (born January 15, 1957) is a Mexican-born American director and actor. He is best known for appearing in ''Heartbreak Ridge'' in 1986, and known for directing and starring in ''New Jack City'' in 1991, and ''USS Indianapolis: ...

as Ashley Totten *

Brock Peters Brock Peters (born George Fisher; July 2, 1927 – August 23, 2005) was an American actor, best known for playing the villainous "Crown" in the 1959 film version of ''Porgy and Bess'', and Tom Robinson in the 1962 film ''To Kill a Mockingbird ...

as Leon Frey * Carla Brothers as Lucille Randolph * Kenneth McGregor as Barton Davis * Ellen Holly as Selena Frey * Ernestine Jackson as Mrs. Randolph *

Ardon Bess Ardon Bess (born 1941) is a Canadian actor best known for appearing in a ''Heritage Minutes'' short film about the 1958 Springhill mining disaster portraying survivor Maurice Ruddick, and for playing Nestor "The Jester" Best in the sitcom '' King ...

as Morris "Daddy" Moore

Production

The movie was filmed in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada.10,000 Black Men Named George Filming & production

Internet Movie Database IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

Awards and nominations

The film was nominated for multiple awards, including the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special. Charles S. Dutton won the

NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special This article lists the winners and nominees for the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special. Currently Blair Underwood holds the record for most wins in this category with four. Winners and no ...

was also nominated in the same category.
At the

Black Reel Awards of 2003 The 2003 Black Reel Awards, which annually recognize and celebrate the achievements of black people in feature, independent and television films, took place in Washington, D.C., on March 2, 2003. '' Antwone Fisher'' took home five awards during t ...

, Robert Townsend won the Black Reel Award for Outstanding Director, TV Movie or Limited Series and the Black Reel Award for Best Director: Television Movie/Cable, Charles S. Dutton won Best Supporting Actor in a TV Movie or Limited Series, and Andre Braugher was nominated Best Actor in a TV Movie or Limited Series and won Best Actor: T.V. Movie/Cable.

References

External links