Asa Philip Randolph was born in Crescent City, Florida. His father was an African Methodist Episcopalian minister. There was no money for Randolph to go to college; he could find only menial work. In 1911 he went to New York hoping to become an actor.

In New York, the Harlem Renaissance was in full swing. Randolph attended city college and studied politics and economics, and also joined the Socialist Party. He married Lucille Green, a young widow. Randolph and Lucille were devoted to each other throughout their lifelong partnership.

In 1917, Randolph started a political magazine called The Messenger. In 1925, Randolph helped organize the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. It took twelve years to get the Brotherhood organized, but in 1937 a contract with the Pullman Company was signed. This made Randolph one of the first major Negro labor leaders in the country.

In the 40's and 50's Randolph was influential in the struggle for civil rights. The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom was his idea. A crowd of 250,000 people witnessed this demonstration. After the march, Randolph, Martin L. King and other leaders met with President Kennedy, and a year later the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed. Over the next years Randolph was entrenched as the elder statesman of the movement.