Philip S. Foner was one of the most prominent Marxist historians in the United States. A prolific author and editor, he tirelessly documented the lives of workers, African Americans, and political radicals. Shut out of academic employment for a quarter century because of his political affiliations, he nonetheless helped lay the basis for the explosion of scholarship in labor and black history during the past two decades.
Barbara Ransby is an historian, writer, and longtime political activist. Ransby has published dozens of articles and essays in popular and scholarly venues. She is most notably the author of an award-winning biography of civil rights activist Ella Baker, entitled Ella Baker and the Black Freedom Movement: A Radical Democratic Vision, (University of North Carolina, 2003). She serves on the editorial board of the London-based journal, Race and Class, and a number of non-profit civic and media organizations.