''Miles of Smiles, Years of Struggle'' is a 1982 documentary film about a group of

Pullman car In the United States, Pullman was used to refer to railroad sleeping cars that were built and operated on most U.S. railroads by the Pullman Company (founded by George Pullman) from 1867 to December 31, 1968. Other uses Pullman also refers to rai ...

porters who organized the

Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters Founded in 1925, The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters (BSCP) was the first labor organization led by African Americans to receive a charter in the American Federation of Labor (AFL). The BSCP gathered a membership of 18,000 passenger railwa ...

- claimed to be the first African American trade union. The film examines issues of work, race and dignity. The film uses a variety of sources including historical records and photos, old films, and interviews with and reminiscences of retired porters. The film is narrated by a porter's widow and former union organizer:

Rosina Tucker Rosina Tucker (4 November 1881 - 3 March 1987) was an American labor organizer, civil rights activist, and educator. She is best known for helping to organize the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, the first African-American trade union. At the a ...

.paulwagnerfilms.com
Retrieved 14 September 2010 The film was produced by

Jack Santino Jack (John Francis) Santino, Ph.D. is an academic folklorist. His work He is a Professor of Popular Culture at Bowling Green State University and is Director of the Bowling Green Center for Culture Studies. His work has primarily focused on ritu ...

and

Paul Wagner Paul Alan Wagner (born November 14, 1967) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher, who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1992–1997), Milwaukee Brewers (1997–1998), and Cleveland Indians (1999). Amateur career Wagner at ...

and won four regional Emmy Awards. It has been described as "One hundred years of history is spanned in an enlightening portrait of admirable dignity." – ''New York Times'' and as "A moving account of the Pullman porters' remarkable (and largely untold) history." – ''Washington Post''. In addition to its four regional Emmy Awards, the film has also been honoured at the Telluride Film Festival, and received the

American Film Festival Blue Ribbon American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

, and a

CINE Golden Eagle Ciné film or cine film is the term commonly used in the UK and historically in the US to refer to the 8 mm, Super 8, 9.5 mm, and 16 mm motion picture film formats used for home movies. It is not normally used to refer t ...

.paulwagner films
Retrieved 14 September 2010 The film was funded by the D.C. Community Humanities Council.

References

External links

* American documentary films Documentary films about labor relations in the United States Documentary films about African Americans 1982 films 1982 documentary films Documentary films about rail transport Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters 1980s American films {{US-documentary-film-stub

See also

References

External links