Ian Rocksborough-Smith interviewed Naomi R Williams about their recent book, A Blueprint for Worker Solidarity: Class Politics and Community in Wisconsin, published by the University of Illinois Press in 2025. As this timely book makes clear, worker activists from Racine, Wisconsin over the long-mid through the late 20th Century “sustained a vibrant working-class community deep into what many still point to as labor’s decline. The lessons they provided highlight how we can support workplace democracy and economic freedom in the twenty-first century” (p.4).
Focused on the activism of local labor and community leaders like Harvey Kitzman, Tony Valeo, Corinne Reid-Owens (“Racine’s Rosa Parks”) and William Jenkins, A Blueprint for Worker Solidarity is full of first-hand accounts of efforts to achieve progressive social change in a medium-sized, midwestern American city.
Video segments (viewable once you press play)
0:00 Intro
1:50 Inspirations for study
13:57 How unique was Racine?
22:17 William Jenkins and Corinne Reid-Owens; intersections of race and class
36:27 Gender and women’s activism
44:54 Impact of Early Cold War Politics
54:40 Pragmatism v. ideals in the local community and labor movement
1:00:48 Lessons for organizers today: people power and acknowledgement of differences
1:05:25 Current and future projects
