Today we’d like to introduce you to Peter Rachleff.
Hi Peter, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I consider myself to be a “child of the 60s.” I was formed by the movements for racial and gender justice, and for peace in the world. These movements and the issues they centered led me to be oriented not only to social change and solidarity, but also to learning and education, first as a student, later as a teacher (and, still, as a learner). I became a student of Marxism, Anarchism, and critical theory, then of labor and African American history, and then a professor and, less formally, a community-based teacher. From 1982 to 2012 I taught at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, and, in 2014, wit my partner Beth Cleary, we co-founded the East Side Freedom Library, with the mission to “inspire solidarity, work for justice, and advocate for equity for all.” I continue to teach — from labor history to apprentices in unions to mentoring middle and high school students pursuing national history day projects. I also continue to learn — from passionate members of generation z to my new immigrant neighbors.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Navigating the institution-laden path has been a challenge — from the liberal lip service of academia to the elite-driven nonprofit-industrial complex. The path has been strewn with individual rewards, material as well as egocentric, as well as obstacles and pitfalls. But I have been fortunate to find mentors and comrades who have been honest with me, about my own work as well as theirs.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Educator and community/labor organizer..
Peter Rachleff has spent the last forty-five years exploring the intersections of race and class in the development of the United States, from our economy, politics, and popular culture to the emergence and evolution of social movements for progressive change. These concerns have driven his research, writing, teaching, and community activism. Peter studied with David Montgomery at the University of Pittsburgh, earning his Ph.D. in 1981, and he later published his dissertation as BLACK LABOR IN RICHMOND, 1865-1890 (University of Illinois Press, 1989). From 1982 to 2012 he taught labor, immigration, and African American history at Macalester College, and from 2000 to 2012 he was faculty director of the college’s Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Program, preparing students of color for graduate school. Beyond the college, he served on the executive board of the Labor and Working Class History Association from 2005-2009 and as President of the International Labor and Working Class Studies Association in 2006-2007. He also served on the Editorial Board of SOCIAL SCIENCE HISTORY, LABOR HISTORY, LABOR: STUDIES IN WORKING CLASS HISTORY OF THE AMERICAS, and SAFUNDI: SOUTH AFRICAN & AMERICAN COMPARATIVE STUDIES. In 2014, Peter and his partner Beth Cleary co-founded a nonprofit in an historic Carnegie Library, the East Side Freedom Library, with the mission to “inspire solidarity, work for justice, and advocate for equity for all.” In the fall of 2022, Peter and Beth stepped down from formal leadership of the ESFL, but they continue to work in community and labor education and activism.
Do you any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
My favorite childhood memory was participating in the grape and lettuce boycotts in support of California farmworkers.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://eastsidefreedomlibrary.org/
