Against the backdrop of the Pullman Car invention (1857) and its African American Pullman porters, readers watch as a seed of the Civil Rights movement takes root—when pitiful living conditions, low wages, and long hours devalue lives of recently-freed men—and grows into a demand for justice. History's sequence falls into place as well-known figures impact the timeline of this movement: President Franklin D. Roosevelt, his wife, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln's son, Robert Todd Lincoln, Rosa Parks, and eventually Martin Luther King, Jr. An important legacy shared with relevance and respect. Oelschlager explains who Pullman porters were and why they are important in America's history. Predominantly African-American men, Pullman porters worked in early train cars and eventually landed at the forefront of the civil rights movement. Full color.