Karen Buford Gets the Sankoffer Prize in the Pullman Porter Contest

Karen reached back into her family history, learned about Grand Pop Washington and became a winner.

SHE STATES I was lucky enough to find my grand pops information on the census with the address in Chicago and lo and behold there was the building the family lived at in 1940 still standing today!

Grandpop Hosea B. Washington eventually moved his family to Denver another hub of the railroads. In Denver he lived, worked and supported his family. He provided well for his step-daughters.

The photo in which Grandpop Washington appears is the wedding photo of my mother and father and the merging of those two families.

I usually enter contests without a prize just for fun. I did want to create a special piece of art for this contest not only to honor the legacy of the African-American men and women who worked on the U.S. railway systems, but also in remembrance of my own family history.


The man pictured surrounded by family was my GrandPop. I don't remember which particular railroad line he worked for, but he brought my grandmother and her daughters out of the Deep South to live in Chicago on the rails of those trains! He made a home for them and his son there for many years.

Thank you so much for selecting my artwork for 1st place in the Pullman Porter's art contest! I am truly grateful to receive this recognition of my peers! I am also very happy to receive the prize winnings as well.

You are to be commended Karen!

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