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Their image: a corps of ever-smiling black men waiting on white luxury train passengers hand and foot. But these men and women became one of the most influential groups in African American history...becoming civil rights leaders, creating the first black labor union and being the backbone to today?s black middle class. It's been said that behind almost every successful African-American, there is a Pullman porter. From Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall to activist Malcolm X to jazz great Oscar Peterson. Laura's guest is Larry Tye, longtime Boston Globe reporter and author of "Rising from the Rails: Pullman Porters and the Making of the Black Middle Class".

*This show originally aired on 7/19/04. We will not be taking any new calls.*