Politics & Prose at Busboys and Poets 14th & V welcomes Steve Early to present their new book "Refinery Town: Big Oil, Big Money, and the Remaking of an American City."
In 2012, when Early moved to Richmond, California, site of one of the state’s largest oil refineries, the community showed the classic symptoms of a working-class company town: its murder rate per capita was one of the highest in the country, its unemployment rate exceeded the national average, public schools were underfunded, and housing was substandard. But the community was already taking steps to change things, and in his inspiring fourth book, Early, a long-time labor journalist and organizer, documents Richmond’s successful campaigns to raise the minimum wage, institute programs to assist undocumented workers, and defeat exploitative development projects.
Early will be in conversation with Larry Cohen, national Political Director of Our Revolution, a new D.C. based Sanders campaign follow-up organization.
Sep 14, 2026 7:00 pm - Sep 15, 2026 4:00 am
