In the Media
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Steven Pitts interviews Cedric de Leon for Convergence Magazine and the Block & Build podcast.
Founder of the popular Black Work Talk podcast, Steven Pitts, in conversation with Cedric de Leon about his new book, Freedom Train.
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Legendary activist and historian, Gerald Horne, interviews Cedric de Leon
Cedric de Leon joins historian and activist Gerald Horne on KPFK's Freedom Now to discuss Freedom Train and the history of Black-led labor organizing in America.
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New Books Network
An interview with Tom Discenna and Shyrielle Simmons of Oakland University. Freedom Train was the Book of the Day at the New Books Network. They ask about Walter Reuther's uneven effort to desegregate the UAW and why labor scholars have ignored Black workers.
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ASU Center for Work & Democracy (CWD)
In this interview, ASU professor and CWD Director Michael McQuarrie asks questions about how Freedom Train challenges the conventional wisdom on the labor movement and says Cedric is being too kind to labor scholars.
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Against the Grain
The struggle for labor across the color line has often been credited to white activists. However, as sociologist Cedric de Leon argues, the Black labor movement, independently organized outside of the official union movement, propelled such efforts.
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C-SPAN Coverage of 2025 Printers Row Lit Fest
C-SPAN coverage of a keynote panel called, "Solidarity is a Verb," at the 2025 Printers Row Lit Fest in Chicago, the largest literary festival in the Midwest. It featured the work of Elizabeth Todd-Breland, Gloria Browne Marshall, and Cedric de Leon.
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Undercurrents Radio
The October 30 interview with Jennie Traschen on Undercurrents Radio on FM 91.1 and Spotify. Jennie and Cedric discuss his new book, Freedom Train, and the current political climate with respect to civil rights.
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How Black Labor Created An Interracial Movement
Cedric's interview on the Letter and Politics podcast.
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Interracial Solidarity in the United States
Sociologist Cedric de Leon joins Chuck Mertz, host of the This is Hell podcast, to discuss his new book, Freedom Train.
Articulating the Crisis, Renewing the United Front
Cedric’s keynote address to the Canadian Association for Work and Labour Studies (CAWLS) in June 2026. He argued that intersectionality provides not only the best structural account of neoliberal capitalism and its breakdown, but also the strongest basis for mass resistance to fascism.
A Century of Black Labor Activism
Watch this CUNY TV broadcast of a panel at the School of Labor and Urban Studies on a century of Black labor activism. It features Bill Fletcher, Jr., Tami Lee, Cameron Black, and Cedric de Leon.
Cedric de Leon brings a rare combination to your show or story: the credibility of a professor and former union organizer, and the clarity of someone who can explain complex political history in a single, quotable sentence. He's available for interviews, on-air commentary, and background conversations on race, labor, and American democracy, including the story behind his award-winning book, Freedom Train.