Cedric de Leon, "Freedom Train: Black Politics and the Story of Interracial Labor Solidarity" (U California Press, 2025)

Apr 9, 2026

Cedric de Leon, Professor of Sociology and former union organizer, author of Freedom Train. He traces Black political organizing inside U.S. labor, from Harlem socialists to the Memphis sanitation strike. He highlights how conflict and cultural work shaped interracial labor solidarity and rescued overlooked Black leadership in labor history.

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ANECDOTE

March On Washington Was Built By Black Labor

The March on Washington was organized principally by the Negro American Labor Council and Black labor leaders.
Bayard Rustin and Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters rank-and-file organizers ran much of the on-the-ground mobilization.

INSIGHT

Conflict Fueled Black Political Agency

Black politics included both unity and intense internal conflict that strengthened movements for interracial labor solidarity.
Cedric de Leon argues debates within Black civil society produced tactical innovations like united fronts and new organizing strategies.

INSIGHT

Rifts Produced Tactical Innovations

Internal disagreements between left and centrist Black activists produced new tactics rather than paralysis.
Example: the March on Washington emerged from a rift between A. Philip Randolph and the Communist-influenced National Negro Congress.

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Our guest today is Cedric de Leon, author of Freedom Train: Black Politics and the Story of Interracial Labor Solidarity (U California Press, 2025). In this book, de Leon explores the complex and often overlooked history of Black political organizing within the U.S. labor movement. Rather than presenting a simple story of unity, he highlights the tensions, debates, and internal conflicts within Black civil society that ultimately strengthened movements for interracial labor solidarity. The book traces key organizations, leaders, and events from early socialist influences in Harlem to the rise of labor coalitions and the Memphis sanitation strike; demonstrating how Black workers and leaders actively shaped strategies for liberation. By focusing on both cooperation and disagreement, de Leon argues that Black political agency is best understood through this dynamic interplay. Freedom Train ultimately reframes labor history by centering Black voices and showing how their activism was crucial in pushing forward both civil rights and workers’ rights in America.

Our guest, Cedric de Leon, is a Professor of Sociology and Labor studies at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. From 2018 to 2022, Cedric directed the UMass Amherst Labor Center, the country's premier worker-side graduate program in Labor Studies. He was the first person of color to do so. Before de Leon became an academic, he worked as a staff organizer and elected leader in the U.S. labor movement. His research focuses on race, labor, social movements, and political sociology, and he has published several books examining labor history and organizing. He has written extensively about how social movements organize and how political identities are formed, particularly within Black communities and labor struggles. His research combines historical analysis with sociological theory to better understand power, resistance, and collective action.

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