LEADER 00000cam a2200397Ii 4500 
001    on1053998101 
003    OCoLC 
005    20191029014452.0 
008    180924s2019    nyuac         001 0beng d 
020    9781631493225|q(hardcover) 
020    1631493221|q(hardcover) 
035    (OCoLC)1053998101 
040    YDX|beng|erda|cYDX|dBDX|dOCLCQ|dSSH|dOCLCO|dSNR|dACN|dGK8
       |dUAP 
049    CKEA 
050 14 HD8039.R36|bW37 2019 
082 04 331.7/6138522092|aB|223 
100 1  Washington, Eric K.,|eauthor. 
245 10 Boss of the grips :|bthe life of James H. Williams and the
       Red Caps of Grand Central Terminal /|cEric K. Washington. 
250    First edition. 
264  1 New York :|bLiveright Publishing Corporation, a division 
       of W. W. Norton & Company,|c[2019] 
300    xviii, 350 pages :|billustrations, portraits ;|c25 cm 
336    text|btxt|2rdacontent 
336    still image|bsti|2rdacontent 
337    unmediated|bn|2rdamedia 
338    volume|bnc|2rdacarrier 
504    Includes bibliographical references (pages 303-330) and 
       index. 
520    A long-overdue biography of the head of Grand Central 
       Terminal's Red Caps, who flourished in the cultural nexus 
       of Harlem and American railroads. In a feat of remarkable 
       research and timely reclamation, Eric K. Washington 
       uncovers the nearly forgotten life of James H. Williams 
       (1878-1948), the chief porter of Grand Central Terminal's 
       Red Caps--a multitude of Harlem-based black men whom he 
       organized into the essential labor force of America's most
       august railroad station. Washington reveals that despite 
       the highly racialized and often exploitative nature of the
       work, the Red Cap was a highly coveted job for college-
       bound black men determined to join New York's burgeoning 
       middle class. Examining the deeply intertwined subjects of
       class, labor, and African American history, Washington 
       chronicles Williams' life, showing how the enterprising 
       son of freed slaves successfully navigated the segregated 
       world of the northern metropolis, and in so doing 
       ultimately achieved financial and social influence. With 
       this biography, Williams must now be considered, along 
       with Cornelius Vanderbilt and Jacqueline Onassis, one of 
       the great heroes of Grand Central's storied past. Includes
       80 photographs. 
600 10 Williams, James H.|q(James Henry),|d1878-1948. 
610 20 Grand Central Terminal (New York, N.Y.)|xHistory. 
650  0 Porters|zUnited States|vBiography. 
650  0 African American railroad employees|zNew York (State)|zNew
       York|xHistory. 
655  7 Biographies.|2lcgft 
994    C0|bCKE