Freedom Train
Book • 2025
Cedric de Leon's Freedom Train recounts the often-overlooked role of Black workers and organizations in shaping interracial labor solidarity in the United States.
Drawing on archival research, it traces debates, organizations, and leaders from Harlem's socialist circles to the National Negro Congress, the March on Washington, and the Memphis sanitation strike.
De Leon emphasizes that internal conflicts and tactical disagreements within Black civil society strengthened, rather than weakened, political agency and strategies for desegregating unions.
The book reframes labor history by centering Black voices and showing how cultural work, transnational influences, and rank-and-file organizing advanced both civil rights and workers' rights.
It argues that recognizing Black leadership in labor history changes our understanding of coalition-building and the development of the multiracial labor movement.
Drawing on archival research, it traces debates, organizations, and leaders from Harlem's socialist circles to the National Negro Congress, the March on Washington, and the Memphis sanitation strike.
De Leon emphasizes that internal conflicts and tactical disagreements within Black civil society strengthened, rather than weakened, political agency and strategies for desegregating unions.
The book reframes labor history by centering Black voices and showing how cultural work, transnational influences, and rank-and-file organizing advanced both civil rights and workers' rights.
It argues that recognizing Black leadership in labor history changes our understanding of coalition-building and the development of the multiracial labor movement.
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Presented by the hosts as the book authored by the guest and the episode's focus on Black politics and interracial labor solidarity.
Cedric de Leon, "Freedom Train: Black Politics and the Story of Interracial Labor Solidarity" (U California Press, 2025)
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Tom DeSena
Cedric de Leon, "Freedom Train: Black Politics and the Story of Interracial Labor Solidarity" (U California Press, 2025)
Mentioned by ![undefined]()
Tom DeSena
Cedric de Leon, "Freedom Train: Black Politics and the Story of Interracial Labor Solidarity" (U California Press, 2025)
