Roland Sheppard is a retired Business Representative of Painters Local # 4 and District Council #8 in San Francisco. He has been a life long social activist and socialist. Prior to his being elected as a union official, he had worked for 31 years as a house painter.
He became especially interested in the environment when he was diagnosed with cancer due to his work environment as a painter.
When he first got a computer, in 1998, he learned how to write on his word processor in order to put together all the medical legal arguments on his breakthrough workers’ compensation case in California, proving that his work environment, as a painter, had caused his cancer. After a five-year struggle, he won a $300,000 settlement on his case.
He has led a unique life. He is one of the few people remaining who were at the Audubon Ballroom when Malcolm X was assassinated.
Now retired, he is interested in writing about his experiences as a socialist, as a participant in the Black Liberation Movement, the Union Movement, and almost all social movements.
The following essays are based upon his involvement in the struggle for freedom for all humanity. He hopes that his essays, based upon his life’s experiences will help future generations of Freedom Fighters.
