In anticipation of the Reckoning with the Black Radical Tradition Conference to be held on Saturday, January 13, 2024 at the University of Washington in Seattle, the Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies is hosting a reading group focused on the writings of Jack O'Dell. 

Jack O’Dell (1923-2019) was a visionary intellectual and an astute organizer who helped shape the course of the Black freedom movement in the second half of the twentieth century. Though driven out of the spotlight by anticommunism, O’Dell worked creatively and tirelessly to advance the Black Radical Tradition through labor activism, piercing analysis, and political mobilization. 

Join the Reading Group by filling out the registration form linked to here. 

The first twenty people to register for the reading group will receive a free physical copy of the book, Climbin’ Jacob’s Ladder: The Black Freedom Movement Writings of Jack O’Dell. PDF files of readings will also be provided. 

Reading group sessions will be held monthly from 6:30pm-8:00pm on the following dates:

Tuesday, October 17, 2023
Tuesday, November 14, 2023
Tuesday, December 19, 2023

Reading group meetings will be held in-person at locations from South/Central Seattle to Tacoma, Washington. Exact locations will be announced. Light meals will be provided.

To learn more about Jack O'Dell, please see "Capitalism, Colonialism, and the Long Arc of Black Struggle: Reading Jack O’Dell" by Nikhil Pal Singh. 

Questions? Contact the Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies at hcbls@uw.edu, or (206) 948-8782.