Cleophas Williams My Life Story in the International Longshore & Warehouse Union Local 10

— —

Cleophas Williams

Cleophas Williams My Life Story in the International Longshore & Warehouse Union Local 10

Cleophas Williams

$56.95 $48.78

Paperback

Not in-store but you can order this
How long will it take?

Availability Information

We source books from suppliers in Australia and overseas. For books we don't currently have in stock, the time it takes to get them from our suppliers can vary widely - from a few days to a few months - so we check each book with each supplier to determine the expected time it will take to be supplied to us.

We then advise you accordingly. If the time taken to get any book is too long for you, you can let us know and we will cancel or adjust your order, and refund as required.

To find out the anticipated arrival time for specific items prior to ordering, please contact us by phone or email:

Phone +61 2 9264 3111, or 1800 4 BOOKS (1800 4 26657) if outside Sydney:
option 1 Abbey's Bookshop (Crime, History, Science, Kids & more) • info@abbeys.com.au
option 2 Language Book Centre (ESL & Foreign Languages) • language@abbeys.com.au
option 3 Galaxy Bookshop (Sci-fi, Fantasy, Romance, Graphic Novels) • sf@galaxybooks.com.au

QTY:

English

Clarence Thomas
04 May 2023

Memoirs; Social & cultural history; Labour economics

Series: Mobilizing in Our Own Name: Million Worker March

"Cleophas Williams tells the reader of his significant and historic journey in his own words. His story includes his early years in rural Camden, Arkansas, his arrival in the San Francisco Bay Area, and his rise in the International Longshore & Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 10, within the greater context of the Black liberation movement.

""Cleophas Williams My Life Story in the Longshore & Warehouse Union Local 10"" is a compilation of Williams' writings selected by Clarence Thomas and edited by Delores Lemon-Thomas. Every effort was made to stay true to his original manuscripts:

""I write these memories speaking in my own name because I think the story should be told. I write them because there is universal silence about the contributions of Black Longshoreman on the West Coast, as though we never existed. People from many sources have come to me for interviews and I have given some. I have spoken into tape recorders for someone else to transcribe, but the story of my 38 years working as a longshoreman cannot be told orally in two hours with a professional writer. I am writing the story myself. I take responsibility for all errors and omissions. I have no axes to grind. I am comfortably retired with a good longshore pension and social security which I have a right to because I earned them.

""I also write as a witness to one of the greatest stories ever told, 'The ILWU Story.' It is the history of a leader named Harry Bridges and a rank and file who supported his ideas and dreams and built the best union in the country. It is also about men who differed with Bridges and were unafraid to take him on.""

-Cleophas Williams

Clarence Thomas, a leading African American radical labor and community activist, introduces Cleophas Williams' story. Thomas writes, ""Cleophas Williams' election as president of ILWU Local 10 in 1967, made him the highest-elected African American to serve as an officer in the entire ILWU. Born in Camden, Arkansas, and part of the Great Migration to the Bay Area, he arrived in Oakland, California, in 1942, seeking to escape the horror and multifaceted structure of systemic racism and white supremacy. He was amongst the leaders who placed Local 10 into the vanguard of the labor movement by engaging in civil-rights unionism and other social movements in the 1960s and 1970s.""

This is the second in a series of books from DeClare Publishing, co-founded by Clarence Thomas and Delores Lemon-Thomas, with graphics and book design by Lallan Schoenstein. The first in this series is an anthology, 'Mobilizing in Our Own Name: Million Worker March.' It chronicles the struggles in organizing for the MWM, and subsequent movements emanating from the MWM. Only by building a unified rank-and-file movement, committed to the struggle for democracy, can labor address the crisis facing working people, and achieve political, economic, and social transformation in the United States. The book includes abridged articles, reports from conferences and meetings, endorsers, and interviews from The ILWU Dispatcher, The Organizer, and Workers World newspapers, along with other periodicals. There are also selections from the Labor Video Project, Peoples Video Network, from individuals' writings and books on Labor, as well as leaflets, photos, posters, speeches, and other video transcripts.

Thomas states, ""Now more than ever workers around the world must act in unity in our own interest. Workers must build an international rank-and-file fight-back movement to defend the rights of workers internationally to achieve economic security and a peaceful world."""

By: Cleophas Williams
Imprint: Clarence Thomas
Volume: 2
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm, Spine: 9mm
Weight: 236g
ISBN: 9798215162446
Series: Mobilizing in Our Own Name: Million Worker March
Pages: 154
Publication Date: 04 May 2023
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

The history of African Americans in the International Longshore & Warehouse Union (ILWU) in San Francisco is indeed worthy of docu---men-tation. Such an individual is Cleophas Williams, whose distinguished career as a member of the Local 10 spanned 38 years. Cleophas Williams' election as president of ILWU Local 10 in 1967, made him the highest elected African American to serve as an officer in the entire ILWU. Born in rural Camden, Arkansas, and part of the Great Migration to the Bay Area, he arrived in Oakland, California, in 1942 - seeking to escape the horrors and multifaceted structures of systemic racism and white supremacy. He was amongst the leaders who placed Local 10 into the vanguard of the labor movement by engaging in civil-rights unionism and other social movements in the 1960s and 1970s. Here is Cleophas Williams' historic journey - his rise in Local 10 within the greater context of the Black liberation movement.