Black Labor in Richmond

Tuesday, February 1, 2022

6 PM

Use this link to join on Zoom.

For 150 years, Richmond’s place in history has been as “the capital of the Confederacy.” But this label hides a rich and complex history, a history that, when placed in conversation with the present, can provide insight, inspiration, and direction.

Join Peter Rachleff for Black Labor in Richmond, organized by Target Workers Unite and The Virginia Worker, where he will present one part of that hidden history, that of Black and White workers in the second half of the 19th century. Peter’s presentation will introduce us to the “Noble and Holy Order of the Knights of Labor,” through which Richmond workers in the 1880s organized workplaces and trades, carried out strikes, created cooperatives, published a weekly newspaper, challenged Jim Crow and convict labor, and, in 1886, gave birth to the Workingmen’s Reform Party, a third party, which swept a city election and took control of the city council.

His presentation will not only lay out these accomplishments but will also explore the organizing strategies and tactics which made them possible. Peter will also explore with us how this rich history became hidden and how its unearthing can help us envision a better future for all working people.