An exhibition titled "Pullman Porters & Maids: Invisible Labor, Visible Legacies" by artist Shane-Jahi Jackson is on view at the Block House Gallery in Pullman, Chicago. The show features paintings inspired by Jackson's research into the employment records of Pullman porters and maids at the Newberry Library, where he discovered his own great-great-grandfather worked as a porter from 1945 to 1950.
The exhibition matters because it brings visibility to the often-overlooked contributions of African American railroad workers—porters and maids—whose labor was essential to the Pullman Company and American rail travel. By connecting personal family history to broader historical narratives, Jackson's work highlights how art can uncover and preserve marginalized stories, fostering community memory and identity in the historic Pullman neighborhood.