THE COMMUNIST PARTY from its very inception has held itself out as the “vanguard of the working class,” and as such has sought to assume the role of protector and champion of minorities. It directs special attention, among others, to Negroes and nationality groups. Actually the vast majority of Negroes and members of foreign-language groups have rejected communism for what it is: a heartless, totalitarian way of life which completely disregards the dignity of man.
In the case of the Negro minority the Comintern began in 1928 to lay down a specific Party line for the guidance of comrades in the United States. According to Comintern instructions, Negroes were to be considered as an “oppressed race.” The Party was told to carry on a struggle “for equal rights,” but “in the South . . . the main Communist slogan must be: The Right of Self-Determination of the Negroes in the Black Belt”
Communist leaders, faithfully following Moscow’s instructions, promptly started a campaign of agitation. In nominating James W. Ford, a Negro, to run for Vice-President of the United States on the Communist Party ticket in 1932, with presidential candidate William Z. Foster, C. A. Hathaway, then a member of the Party’s Election Campaign National Committee, reiterated instructions received in a 1930 Comintern resolution:
“In the first place, our demand is that the land of the Southern white landlords . . . be confiscated and turned over to the Negroes . . .”
“Secondly, we propose to break up the present artificial state boundaries. and to establish the state unity of the territory known as the “Black Belt,” where the Negroes constitute the overwhelming majority of the population.”
“Thirdly, in this territory, we demand that the Negroes be given the complete right of self-determination; the right to set up their own government in this territory and the right to separate, if they wish, from the United States.”
Hence, “equal rights” and “self-determination” in the Black Belt became the Party’s chief slogans for Negroes. By “self-determination” the Party meant what Stalin had said:. the right of the oppressed peoples of the dependent countries and colonies to complete secession, as the right of nations to independent existence as states.”
As for the “Black Belt,” or as one article termed it, the “new Negro Republic,” the communists have given various descriptions. In 1948 they described the Belt as extending through twelve Southern states: “Heading down from its eastern point in Virginia’s tidewater section, it cuts a strip through North Carolina, embraces nearly all of South Carolina, cuts into Florida, passes through lower and central Georgia and Alabama, engulfs Mississippi and the Louisiana Delta, wedges into eastern Texas and Southwest Tennessee, and has its western anchor in southern Arkansas.”
By 1952 the communist concept of the Black Belt had been narrowed to “at least five Southeastern states, with port outlets at Charleston on the Atlantic and Mobile on the Gulf, encompassing the bulk of Mississippi, and a good section of South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama.”
As we know from cumulative evidence, the Party’s position toward Negroes is determined not by concern for their welfare but obedience to Soviet foreign policy. As World War II approached, for example, the Party switched its tactics regarding “self-determination” in the Black Belt. Instead of calling for the immediate and revolutionary overthrow of white landlords, as the Comintern had originally instructed, the Party now switched these demands to a purely theoretical and propaganda level: “. . . It is clear that the Negro masses are not yet ready to carry through the revolution which would make possible the right to self-determination.” Why the shift? To satisfy the Party’s united-front program, which demanded that the Party work harmoniously with other groups to strengthen the Soviet Union.
The World War II period found the Party cynically abandoning any alleged struggle for Negro rights. The aim was to help not Negroes but Moscow. “When we fought for the right of Negro workers to enter industries we often fought for such jobs mainly in the interest of the war effort.” Earl Browder in 1945 admitted that as early as 1942 the Party had adopted the theory that “. . . the struggle for Negro rights must be postponed until after the war. . . .” The Negro, in communist eyes, was a mere pawn, to be manipulated for the attainment of Party aims.
It became obvious that the Party, despite great efforts, had failed to win over even a significant minority of Negroes. Negroes resented the Party’s severe criticism of Negro clergymen who had been vigorously denouncing communism. Earlier the Party had been unable adequately to justify Russia’s aid to Italy in its invasion of Ethiopia. American Negroes had realized that the Party was a fraud and a deception and that it was willing to betray the Negro to better serve Soviet Russia.
In early 1956 the Party decided to modify its advocacy of “self-determination,” realizing that Negro opposition to communism was growing. In making this change, communists said they would still consider the Negroes as constituting a national as well as a racial minority.
Eugene Dennis, resuming his old post as General Secretary of the Communist Party (in 1956) after serving a prison term for violation of the Smith Act, said:
“In re-appraising our position on self-determination in the Black Belt, our Party should emphasize, as never before, that the struggle for Negro rights and freedom, north and south of the Mason-Dixon line, has emerged as a general, national democratic task, upon the solution of which depends the democratic and social advance of the whole nation, particularly of the workers and farmers.”
The Party’s claim that it is working for Negro rights is a deception and a fraud. The Party’s sole interest, as most American Negroes know, is to hoodwink the Negro, to exploit him and use him as a tool to build a communist America.
The Party has made vigorous efforts to infiltrate the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). This organization in 1950 authorized its board of directors to revoke the charter of any chapter found to be communist-controlled. Nevertheless the Party has tried various infiltration tactics:
—In Philadelphia, the Party secured NAACP applications and instructed Party members to join.
—In Louisiana, the Party’s District Organizer instructed all Negro Party members to join the NAACP and urge the creation of a youth organization, and to form committees to encourage Negroes to register to vote.
—In Gary, Indiana, a Party member, also an NAACP member, promoted the signing of petitions to pass a city ordinance.
—In Cincinnati, a Party Organizer instructed that Party members call the NAACP and urge the holding of a city-wide mass meeting. When calling, they should claim to be members of the NAACP.
The NAACP’s national leadership has vigorously denounced communist attempts at infiltration. In 1956, when the NAACP and other organizations sponsored a National Conference on Civil Rights in Washington, the Party attempted to “move in,” and started promoting the conference. The NAACP countered by screening the delegates.
Similarly, in 1957, in the Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom in Washington, the Party again attempted to move in and tried to exploit the pilgrimage as a rallying point for unity. NAACP leaders publicly told the communists that they were not welcome, and steps were taken to keep them off the platform. One outstanding Negro leader even tried to cancel the pilgrimage to prevent communists from propagandizing the event. Concerning Paul Robeson, who has long fronted for the communists, he stated: “. . . the boat is waiting to take him to Russia. . . .” He added that he would raise the necessary funds to defray expenses. In Philadelphia, a Negro clergyman told the Baptist Ministers Conference that the Negro people did not want the communists interfering with their problems.
One of the most effective anticommunist measures I have heard of is the following: The NAACP had a meeting in Norfolk, Virginia, presided over by a clergyman. The minister opened the meeting with the simple statement that if any members of the Communist Party were present they would be excused. Silence ensued, with no person leaving. Then the chairman, starting with the front row, asked each individual if he were a communist. All entered denials until he got to the back of the room, where the state organizer for the Communist Party was sitting with a white woman. When asked the question, he tried to evade, but the minister pinned him down. The state organizer then stated that he did not think it was proper to ask such a question. The minister calmly replied, “You are excused,” and the couple left.
The Communist Party has stated: “The Negro race must understand that capitalism means racial oppression and Communism means social and racial equality.” Many Negroes, however, have learned by bitter experience how fraudulent and deceitful communists are. For example, Richard Wright, the Negro novelist, tells in the book, The God That Failed, why he rebelled against communist thought control. In describing how at the time he left the party he was assaulted on a Chicago street, he wrote, “I could not quite believe what had happened, even though my hands were smarting and bleeding. I had suffered a public, physical assault by two white Communists with black Communists looking on.”
In Buffalo, New York, at a Party meeting, a Negro comrade stated that many Negroes felt they were joining a union when they were recruited into the Party. The comrade, however, was stopped at this point and not permitted to speak further. In many cases Negroes have been recruited by deceptive methods with the hope that once in the Party they could be converted to communism. In one New York State club the functionary learned that thirty members thought they were joining a union rather than the Communist Party. The matter was investigated, and it turned out that a Negro woman had become overly enthusiastic in a membership drive. She had not fully explained the nature of the organization being joined.
In San Francisco, Party functionaries were concerned about a club where Negro members predominated, although the club was actually controlled by white members. It was ordered that the role of the white members be decreased. The functionaries also instructed that the club be carefully watched to prevent scandals, and warned that, while scandals must be prevented, care should be exercised not to convey the impression that white girls should not mix socially with Negroes or vice versa. Some of the Negro wives were becoming suspicious, as it seemed they were being pushed into the background after their husbands joined the Party.
The Communist Party, while preaching “equality,” still differentiates between races. For example, in the 1957 convention of the Party, an accurate record of the delegates was kept. The breakdown was as follows: 209 males, 78 females; 54 Negroes, 2 Mexicans, and I Puerto Rican. The hypocrisy of the Party was clearly shown when it required each delegate to register his race, although for years the Party publicly has campaigned to have the blank for “race” removed from all questionnaires.
Communist leaders have been complaining bitterly about the turnover of Negro members and of the Party’s inability to indoctrinate any large number of Negroes. Information we have received follows a regular pattern: Negroes are rejecting communism.
“A Negro in the Midwest became interested in the Party because it claimed that Negroes were treated as equals. Later he was unjustly accused of consorting with a white non-Party member. He quit.”
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“A Negro in Illinois started going to Party social functions and became impressed with communist talk of “equality.” But when he attended more advanced meetings and heard the United States constantly denounced, he came to the conclusion that the communists were under the domination of Russia. He left the Party.”
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“A Negro woman, recruited in Chicago, was rapidly promoted by the Party. Then she noticed an incident involving a Negro man who got into difficulties on his job, but the Party refused to support him. She concluded that the Party was interested in neither trade unionism nor the welfare of Negroes. She quit.”
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“A Negro in New York joined the Party because he felt it was championing his race. After a period of Marxist instruction, he was told to secure a job with a work gang at a pier and to recruit other Negroes into the Party. He came to the conclusion that the Party was not interested in him as a Negro but only as a tool to recruit other Negroes. He quit.”
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“A New England Negro also became interested in the Party when he learned of its alleged interest in helping his race. But upon becoming a member he discovered that the Party’s interest was strictly vocal, and nothing concrete was done to help Negroes. Moreover, he disliked the Party’s denunciation of God and religion. He quit.”
As early as 1922 the Comintern approved a subsidy of 300,000 dollars for propaganda among American Negroes. In 1925 the Soviets requested that a group of Negroes be selected to come to Russia for training in propaganda work. A dozen were recruited. One of these, returning to the United States three years later, brought with him a draft for 75,000 dollars to help pay for propaganda work among his race.
One Negro later was designated to attend the Lenin School, and his experience there further unmasked communist hypocrisy and the Party’s true feelings toward the Negro. He went to Russia with a delegation of students to enter the Lenin School. This young Negro, as he has since related, then “believed that through Communism a better and fairer world could be developed for all mankind.”
He was troubled, however, by the communist position in urging Negro “self-determination” and the implications of a “buffer” state in this country being carved out of the so-called “Black Belt.” Almost immediately after his arrival in Russia he “was told long stories of political persecution” by the Negroes attending the Lenin School. He was slow to give credence to these stories until he saw for himself: “I found that Negroes were special objects of political exploitation. The sacrifices and dirty work planned for the American Negro Communists as spearheads for communizing the United States made it obvious that we were considered only as pawns in a game where others would get the prize.”
Becoming more outspoken and cynical about the communist program for Negroes, he became the target of a slander campaign inside the Lenin School. Finally this young American Negro was charged and tried before a court-martial. He was guilty of disaffection. A few students, sympathizing with his position, made a bold decision to report their grievances to the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Then things began to happen. Classes in the American Section of the school were suspended. Some of the instructors were disciplined.
The young Negro explained that the Comintern ordered Earl Browder, then Secretary of the Communist Party in the United States, to Moscow immediately. Browder arrived and sought to smooth things over. Eventually the young Negro returned to the United States, working for a while as a Party functionary in Detroit. One of his last jobs was to make preparations for the founding of the National Negro Congress. Then he quit because he could no longer give aid to the communists “concentrating on their most helpless, and whom they think to be, their most gullible victims: the Negro.”
The communists have created numerous fronts over the years in attempts to attract Negroes. Once a front is discredited, it is allowed to die and a new one created.
The American Negro Labor Congress came into being in 1925, and in 1930 its name was changed to the League of Struggle for Negro Rights. Within six years it had ceased to exist.
In 1935 the National Negro Congress was launched in Washington, D.C., its chief purpose being to protect Negro rights. It started out as noncommunist, and James W. Ford complained in 1936 that although “The National Negro Congress did not adopt a Communist program . . . we Communists stand one hundred per cent behind it in its effort to unite the Negro people. . . .”
By 1940 communists had infiltrated the National Negro Congress to such an extent that when its president, A. Philip Randolph, “warned the Congress to stick to its principle and remain nonpartisan . . .” the communists staged a demonstration and walked out, leaving only a third of the audience to finish hearing Randolph. This 1940 convention of the National Negro Congress passed a resolution condemning the war as “imperialist,” and drew from a communist writer the observation that the congress had “only acted in accord with the fundamental interests of the Negro people.”
In 1947 the National Negro Congress merged with the Civil Rights Congress, an out-and-out communist front which has recently dissolved.
The old International Labor Defense (ILD) also tried to influence the American Negro, and came into conflict with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People as a result of the ILD’s communist tactics in converting the Scottsboro (Alabama) Case into a vehicle for communist propaganda. In this case nine Negro boys were indicted in 1931 on charges of having raped two white girls.
After the Scottsboro boys were first convicted, the NAACP charged that the defense “fell considerably short of perfection,” and then retained the late famed Chicago criminal lawyer, Clarence Darrow, to represent the boys. In 1931 the late Walter White, then head of the NAACP, said the Daily Worker accused another defense attorney, Stephen R. Roddy, “. . . of being a member of the Ku Klux Klan, of having conspired with the prosecution to electrocute the nine boys, of having been the inmate of an insane asylum.” According to White, the communists also charged the NAACP “as being in league with the lyncher-bosses of the South,’ as plotters to ‘murder the Scottsboro martyrs,’ as sycophantic ‘tools of the capitalists.’” The NAACP withdrew from the case, recognizing that the Communist Party was interested only in promoting “Red Fascism” in America.
George S. Schuyler, an editor of the Pittsburgh Courier, reflected the consensus of American Negroes when he concluded, “. . . The record shows that where and when the Communists seemed to be fighting for Negro rights, their object was simply to strengthen the hand of Russia.”
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In similar fashion the Communist Party has long considered foreign-language groups in the United States fertile fields for infiltration. Since many of the early comrades were foreign-born, agitation among national groups became a natural outlet for Party activity. In recent years the Nationality Groups Commission has coordinated agitation in this field.
The Party has attempted to use national groups, among other things, to exert pressure for changes in American foreign policy. Pressure campaigns are organized, petitions circulated, testimonials secured, hoping to make the government believe that a national group, such as the Italians, Hungarians, or Slovaks, supports the line desired by the Party. Party-controlled news-papers grind out accompanying propaganda.
Party fronts have been particularly active among national groups. The communists always make strenuous efforts to infiltrate and capture fraternal insurance societies serving national groups. As we have seen, such tactics give the Party a ready base, along with somebody else’s money, for further agitation. The Party, moreover, always likes to pose as the “protector” of national cultures. Hence, it often sponsors nationality bazaars, picnics, and dances, where costumes from native lands are worn and native music is played. After the Soviet conquest of Eastern Europe, however, the Party had increasing difficulty trying to peddle the “glories” of communism. Too much information was received from the old homelands describing true conditions behind the Iron Curtain.
Minority groups, like other patriotic organizations, have realized that no communist-created Utopia can compete with the American way of life. The ability of the communists to propagate their false doctrines is a challenge to our educational process. We need to counter communism by making the hopes and aspirations of the American ideal a reality for all to enjoy.