He was an organizer for the National Maritime Union, one of the few racially integrated labor unions in the United States. Merchant Marines, which functioned as a branch of the military forces for the duration of the conflict. During World War II, he served in the U.S. He studied pharmacology but left to enlist in the U.S. O'Dell attended an all-black college, Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans, from 1941 until 1943.

Growing up, Jack witnessed racial violence, labor strikes, and social injustice, which would later lead to his involvement in labor and social reformation. O’Dell’s mother, Emily (Pitts) O’Dell, loved music and teaching people to play piano after studying music at Howard University. His father's name was George Edwin O’Dell, and he worked in hotels and restaurants in Detroit. Due to his parent's divorce, he was raised by his grandfather, John O’Dell, a janitor at a public library, and his grandmother, Georgianna O’Dell, who was a strict Catholic. Hunter “Jack” Pitts O'Dell was born in Detroit, Michigan, on August 11, 1923. He was also involved with the Communist Party USA (CPUSA) and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) as well as working with Martin Luther King Jr. During World War II, he was an organizer for the National Maritime Union.

Jack O'Dell (born Hunter Pitts O'Dell, Aug– October 31, 2019) was an African-American activist writer and communist, best known for his role in the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s.

Carry me home mcwhorter