William Jamal Richardson is the founder and the editor in chief of Red Sociology. He’s a 22 year old activist from Buffalo, New York, United States where he goes to school at the University at Buffalo for Sociology. William has always been in the struggle, even from a young age with a father who was involved in the All-African People’s Revolutionary Party. Much of his childhood was spent seeing his father organize, teach, and rally with revolutionaries local and international. The memories of African Liberation Day, hearing the phrase “The people united, will never be defeated!” influenced much of the politics that inform his thinking right up till today. Even more than the political backdrop to his childhood, poverty, crime, and racism that was constantly on display around him were also large contribution to William’s politics.
Developing an interest in science, biology to be exact, William enrolled in Rochester Institute of Technology where he first dabbled in organizing. First spending time with the International Socialist Organization he then moved to starting his first organization, the Global Awareness Student Party basically a progressive awareness group. Using the brief experience organizing movies and info campaigns on various issues William wanted to move into more radical politics. William then joined the brand new organization, The United Socialist Movement of the Americas who emphasis was on bringing together all leftist forces and individuals to create revolution in the Americas. Coming back to Buffalo and going to the University at Buffalo to finish his bachelors which was now in Sociology, William spent 4 years as president and founder of USMA Buffalo. In that last year, an ideological battle arose between William, some black progressives students and the Black Student Union over its role in the political life of black students at UB. From that battle, William’s current organization, Fight the Power UB, a progressive black power organization was born.
William is finishing up his Sociology BA and planning moving into a PhD program in Sociology or African Studies. His work on Red Sociology and in his professional life focuses on race and racism, socialist politics, national liberation struggles, and social psychology of social movements.
