In the Back Bay Station, Tina Allen’s statue of A. Philip Randolph, founder of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, signifies the importance of the role of porters in developing and sustaining African American communities all over the country, including one in the South End. Women in the union’s Boston Ladies’ Auxiliary served as hostesses at the nearby union headquarters every afternoon. Although one of the union’s goals was for the men to make a living wage so their wives would not have to work, women did operate boarding houses where porters from other cities could stay between runs. Los Angeles Sculptor Tina Allen (1949-2008), whose goal was to preserve the African American legacy, sculpted many other statues of African American leaders including one of Sojourner Truth in Battle Creek, Michigan.
