“Freedom is never granted, it is won. Justice is never given, it is exacted.” -A. Philip Randolph
Asa Philip Randolph (1889-1979) was a civil rights activist and prominent voice in the Black labor movement. Growing up during the Jim Crow Era, Randolph witnessed firsthand the violence and inequality of the South. Inspired by W.E.B. Du Bois’ The Souls of Black Folk, he moved from Jacksonville, Florida, to New York City, convinced that the fight for social equality was more important than anything else. Randolph joined the Socialist Party and co-founded The Messenger, a highly influential magazine that advocated for socialism and the unionization of Black workers.
In 1925, Randolph was asked to help form the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters (BSCP), which under his motto “Fight or Be Slaves,” became the first labor organization led by African Americans to receive a charter from the American Federation of Labor. After 10 challenging years of union organizing and campaigning, the BSCP was recognized as the exclusive collective bargaining agent of Pullman porters, the all-Black service staff on Pullman sleeping cars. Randolph hailed this as “the first victory of Negro workers over a great industrial corporation.”
Through his success with the BSCP, Randolph became one of the most visible civil rights spokespeople. In 1941, he threatened to organize a march on Washington if the federal government did not address racial discrimination in the defense industry. In response, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 8802, which banned racial discrimination in the defense industry and established the Fair Employment Practices Committee.
Six years later, Randolph founded the League for Nonviolent Civil Disobedience Against Military Segregation. He urged young men to “refuse to cooperate with a Jim Crow conscription service” and threatened widespread civil disobedience if segregation in the military continued. President Harry S. Truman responded with an executive order in 1948 to end military segregation as quickly as possible, marking a major victory for the Civil Rights Movement.
In 1963, over 20 years after Randolph first threatened to march on our nation’s capital, he played a key role in organizing the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Over 200,000 demonstrators participated in the historic event, which became famous for Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech. The provisions of the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965 reflected many of the demands made during the march.
Randolph’s famous quote, “Freedom is never granted; it is won. Justice is never given; it is exacted,” is not attributed to one specific speech or writing. Rather it reflects a recurring theme throughout his activism. The quote embodies Randolph’s belief that change is achieved through action, not passivity. He argued that freedom and justice will not materialize naturally over time, but only through the tireless efforts of advocates. Randolph argued this further when he said, “the beneficiaries of a system cannot be expected to destroy it.” These ideals were ever-present in his life, as he continually confronted inequality and sought to make the U.S. a freer and more just place for all people.
Randolph’s words resonate with the Civil Rights Movement, where decades of oppression demonstrated that passively waiting for change was ineffective. It was only after decades of impassioned struggle that meaningful progress began to take shape. This principle applies to the fight against human trafficking as well. Human trafficking has existed for virtually all of human history and although it is illegal in every country, an estimated 24.9 million people are victims of sex and labor trafficking. History has clearly shown that this problem that will not disappear naturally. Human trafficking and forced labor will only be abolished through the relentless effort of individuals and organizations committed to making change. The Human Trafficking Institute answers this call to action by combatting trafficking at its source and empowering justice systems to stop traffickers. Through the effective enforcement of strong anti-trafficking laws, current traffickers are stopped, future traffickers are deterred, and victims are saved. Freedom for victims will not be given, it must be won. Justice will not simply be granted; it must be exacted.
