John H. Cleveland: A Teamster's Life

Being first at anything is difficult. The first one tests the waters of previously forbidden seas, with the dangers of the unknown on one side and the lofty expectations of those who will follow on the other. As the first to break many color barriers in his rise to Teamsters leadership, Cleveland bore the burdens that those who sail first must bear. Such was the pressure that Cleveland faced being black and a leader in the labor movement. But Cleveland successfully maneuvered those waters like an experienced ship’s captain, aided by a reliable moral compass and the determination to better himself and the workers who depended on him.