Co-Sponsored by the History Department of the University of Illinois at Chicago, Northern Illinois University, and the Labor and Working Class History Association

Friday, October 14, 2005, 3:00-5:00pm
The Newberry Library

Reconsidering Black Anti-Communism: A. Philip Randolph, the Left, and the Race Question
Eric Arnesen, University of Illinois at Chicago

Commentators: James Grossman, Newberry Library and Steven Rosswurm, Lake Forest College

The matter of American communism and race has captured the attention of numerous scholars in recent years. More than a few have embraced the positive - in some instances glowing - portrayal of the CP's record on racial equality. Conversely, those contemporaries who questioned or crusaded against the CP-left have fared less well at scholars' hands. Indeed, black anticommunism has gotten a bad name. "Reconsidering Black Anti-Communism" revisits the issue, focusing on those black activists who criticized and challenged the party in the 1930s and 1940s. A. Philip Randolph's political career allows for a reexamination and reconsideration of the party's stance on the "race question" and historians' treatment of it.

All papers are pre-circulated. For a copy of the paper, e-mail Ginger Shulick at scholl@newberry.org, or call 312.255.3524.