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, explores Black political leadership in U.S. labor history. He highlights tensions and debates that shaped interracial labor solidarity. Topics include Harlem radicals, the March on Washington’s labor roots, the National Negro Congress, cultural mobilization, and the Memphis sanitation strike.

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INSIGHT

March Was Built By Black Labor Organizers

The March on Washington was organized principally by Black labor activists, not solely by Dr. King.
A. Philip Randolph and Bayard Rustin led the Negro American Labor Council and the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, which mobilized rank-and-file Black workers for the march.

INSIGHT

Internal Conflict Strengthened Black Political Agency

Black politics combined conflict and consensus inside Black civil society, and that internal friction strengthened agency.
Cedric de Leon argues debates, betrayals, and tactical rifts produced new strategies like united fronts and the March on Washington.

INSIGHT

Rifts Produced New Tactics Like The March

Disagreements between left and centrist Black factions produced tactical innovations like the March on Washington.
A. Philip Randolph left groups he saw as Communist-influenced and created alternative strategies to pressure the state directly.

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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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