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Black waiter serving white passengers
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Black waiter dressed in a crisp, white uniform serves two well dressed, white passengers.

Credit: Courtesy of the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania Operated by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission

Service by African-American waiters and Pullman porters was an attraction of rail travel, for it allowed white passengers to enjoy the privileges of personal service and attention associated with wealth. These service positions were the highest jobs to which most African Americans could aspire in the American railroad industry.

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