Powerful Talks on Labor, Race & Democracy
Cedric de Leon isn't just a scholar who talks about workers; he organized alongside workers for over a decade before he became a professor.
That history shows up the moment he takes the stage. He has a background in speech, debate, and organizing, and is known for making complex ideas immediately accessible and moving an audience to action.
What sets his work apart is the way he holds three issues together at once: race, labor, and party politics. His most recent book, Freedom Train, exemplifies that approach. Rather than retelling the familiar story of white workers driving interracial solidarity in American unions, it puts Black activists and independent labor organizations at the center of that history. Audiences leave with a sharper read on how the messiness of organizing, including ideological differences and conflicts over strategy, leads to tactical innovation and social movement success.
A Sample of Topics
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Why organized labor is a frontline defense against authoritarianism, and what it will take to build a democracy worth defending.
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A framework for understanding how political parties actively construct the social divisions they claim to represent, rather than simply reflecting them.
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Drawing on Freedom Train, a look at how Black workers and independent labor organizations, not just mainstream unions, built the multiracial labor movement we have today.
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Centering the leadership that too often goes uncredited in labor history and labor strategy alike.
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How AI is is reshaping our work and what workers can do to fight back.
Where He Speaks
Cedric speaks at union halls, union conventions, community gatherings, and academic and labor conferences nationwide. He is a frequent media commentator, having appeared on CNN, NPR's All Things Considered, and ABC News, and in The Boston Globe and USA Today. He's especially glad to work with:
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International unions, labor federations, and labor conferences
including Labor Notes, Jobs with Justice, UALE, SEIU, UNITE-HERE, UAW, SAG-AFTRA, the Writers Guild, NEA, CWA, AFT, the United Farm Workers, and the AFL-CIO.
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Civil rights, feminist, and BIPOC labor organizations
like the NAACP, the A. Philip Randolph Institute, the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, Make the Road, the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, and the Coalition of Labor Union Women.
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Progressive political organizations
including the Democratic Socialists of America and the Working Families Party.
Past Speaking Events & Organizations
Every talk is shaped around your audience, whether that's a union convention focused on wages, hours, and respect on the job, or a civil society gathering focused on organizing women, people of color, immigrants, and the LGBTQ+ community. Formats include keynotes, panel discussions, workshops, and media interviews.
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Yes, for in-person talks, Cedric asks for travel, accommodation, and an honorarium on a sliding scale. The honorarium varies by organization, type of talk, and time for preparation.
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Yes, Cedric is available for both in-person and virtual engagements, including keynotes, panels, and workshops delivered remotely. He is based in Amherst, Massachusetts, and is available for travel nationwide.
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Because Cedric maintains an active teaching schedule, you should try to book at least four months in advance.