The Cry Was Unity: Communists and African Americans, 1917-1936

441 Pages·1998·10.14 MB·English

by  Mark Solomon

Mark Solomon
Mark Solomon
TheCryWas Unity
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THE CRY
WAS UNITY
Communists andAfrican Americans, 1917-36
MarkSolomon
UNIVERSITY Puss 0F Mrssxssxpm-Iackson
©1998bytheUniversityPressofMississippi
Allrightsreserved
ManufacturedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
Print-on-DemandEdition
Thepaperinthisbookmeetstheguidelinesforpermanenceanddurability
oftheCommitteeonProductionGuidelinesforBookLongevityof
theCouncilonLibraryResources.
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Solomon,MarkI.
Thecrywasunity:communistsandAfricanAmericans, 1917-36/
MarkSolomon.
p. cm.
Basedinpartontheauthor’sdoctoraldissertation.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN 1-57806-094-X(cloth:alk.paper).-—ISBN 1-57806-095-8
(pbk.:alk.paper)
1. Communism—UnitedStates-History. 2. Afro-American
communists-History. 3. Afro-Americans—Politicsandgovernment.
4. UnitedStates-Racerelations. I. Title.
HX83.S665 1998
335.43'089'96073—dc21
98-16013
CIP
BritishLibraryCataloging-in-Publicationdataavailable
ToPauline
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Contents
Acknowledgments ix
ListofAbbreviations xiii
Introduction xvii
PART I TheEarlyYears,1917-28
CHAPTER 1 ThePioneerBlackCommunists: CyrilBriggsand
theAfricanBloodBrotherhood 3
CHAPTER 2 LookingfortheBlack UnitedFront 22
CHAPTER 3 TheComintern’sVision 38
CHAPTER 4 TheAmericanNegroLaborCongress 52
CHAPTER 5 ANationwithinaNation 68
PART I] TheThirdPeriod,1929-33
CHAPTER 6 TheTurn 95
CHAPTER 7 TheCommunistPartyin theDeepSouth 112
CHAPTER 8 “TapeOuttheStenchoftheSlaveMarket 129
CHAPTER 9 FightingHungerandEviction 147
CHAPTER 10 NationalistsandReformists 164
CHAPTER 11 Deathto theLynchers 185
CHAPTER 12 TheSearchforUnityandBreadth 207
Contents
PART III TheNewDealandthePopularFront,1933-36
CHAPTER 13 NewDealsandNewDirections 233
CHAPTER 14 HarlemandthePopularFront 258
CHAPTER 15 TowardaNationalNegroCongress 285
ListofAbbreviations 311
Notes 315
BibliographicalEssay 377
Index 387
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