As chief porter of Grand Central Terminal's Red Caps, James H. Williams (1878-1948) organized Harlem-based black men into the essential labor force of America's most august railroad station. Despite the exploitative nature of the work, Eric Washington notes that the Red Cap was a highly coveted job for college-bound black men determined to join the bourgeoning middle class. Examining the deeply intertwined subjects of class, labor, and African American history, Washington chronicles Williams's life, showing how the enterprising son of freed slaves successfully navigated the segregated world of the northern metropolis.