(1889–1979), U.S. civil rights and labor leader. Born in Crescent City, Fla., Randolph organized the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters in 1925 and led a fight for equality and fairness for black laborers. After World War II, he founded the League for Nonviolent Civil Disobedience Against Military Segregation. He served as vice-president of the American Federation of Labor–Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL–CIO) from 1957 to 1977 and helped found the Negro American Labor Council in 1960 to fight discrimination in the AFL-CIO. He was awarded the Spingarn Medal in 1942 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1964. (See also Labor Movements.)