Burgos

ConradBurgos ProfessorMartin AfricanAmericanLiterature 11/26/13 Mr.burgos716@gmail.com ExerciseV:TheNegroisSeeingRed TheClimateoftheCountry:GettingreadyforRed ThelandscapeoftheUnitedStatesafterthecivilwarwasoneofuncertaintyinthefaceof Nationalchange.Thisgrandscaleofuncertaintysawmanygroupsofmenandwomenvyingforthe attentionandmindsoftheAmericanMassesinanattempttoguidethefutureofthenationwithanew (asin,lastingfromhereonout)doctrine.Southernwhitecouncilsandpoliticianswerefightingforhome rule,andtheAfricanAmericanswerefightingforhumanityandpersonhoodthatwouldberecognized legislatively,andsocially.Inthemidstofaninhumanlackofempathyinthewhitesoutherner,itwasup totheAfricanAmericanwritertoputonpaperwhatsouthernerswereignoringintheflesh,and northernsweretoofarawayfromtofeel.Thefightforbiologicalhumanitythroughthementalproving groundsofbelletristicwriting,orBellesLettresbroughttheAfricanAmericanmindupfromthe barbaricidentitywhichwasthrustuponslavesandintothehomesandheartsofwhitepeopleacrossthe country(Clotel,williamWellsBrownPoemsonVariousSubjects,ReligiousandMoral,Phillis WheatleyPoeticalWorks,GeorgeMosesHorton).Whilehumanitywasslowlybeingrecapturedin engineering,agricultural,andscientificstudy,literatureprovedtobeamongthemostrecognized,ifnot prolificvehiclesforAfricanAmericanexpression.Infact,theroleoftheBlackwriterblossomedin popularityandprolificacyatsucharatetherebetweenreconstructionandtheendoftheharlem

Burgos

renaissance,thereweremoreAfricanAmericanpublicationsrunningthantherearetoday. Whiletheblackaestheticagencywasbirthedoutofnecessitytobehuman,itevolvedintoa naturalexpressionofpersonhood.Disagreementsbetweenblackleadersandwritersonlyreflectedthe naturaldissentionthathappenswithincomplexsocietiesfurther,intheBlackAmericansadolescence ofidentity,therewasstillaneedforthesocialandlegislativerecognitioninWhiteAmerica.Jimcrow, raceviolence,peonage,andschoolsegregationwereamongthefactorsthatkeptabittertasteinthe mouthofAfricanAmericansbytheendofthe1800s.RecognizingtheBlackman,womanandchilds placeintheclassdistressofthecountry,MarxistssoughttoenlightentheBlackpeopleoftheplaceof Communisminanimpendingrevolution,orrather,Blackpeoplesplaceinthatrevolution.

Theenemyofmyenemy... Duetothegreatmigrationintotheurbancentersofthenortheast,midwest,andsouthern california,Blackpeoplenowhadvariedperspectivesonlabor.Varietyinnowayimpliesfairness, however.Thepatriarchalandwhitesupremacistsystemsofchaingang,sharecropping,andpeonage sentAfricanAmericansrunningstraightintojobsasdomestics,railroaders,andmorechaingangs.Many familieswereabletosupportthemselves,butthiswasnotdonewithoutagainsacrificingsome hardearneddignity.Tosupplementeconomicstrains,thesummerof1919broughtraceviolenceso intensethatitwasdeemedRedSummer.Blackmenwerebeinglynchedinscoresduetoanexcuse forthesame,anewcry,asfalseasitisfoul,israisedinanefforttoblastracecharacter,acrywhichhas proclaimedtotheworldthatvirtueandinnocenceareviolatedbyAfroAmericanswhomustbekilled likewildbeaststoprotectwomanhoodandchildhood(Wells).Amidstunjustlegislationthatpainted AfricanAmericanmalesasanimminentsexualthreat,therewerestillinsurrectionlawsthatgavethe

Burgos

Stateauthoritytoarrestanygroupofpeopleonsuspicionofcausingtrouble(Martin131).Intheir questforclassbasedrevolutionsoughttoutilizethefightforcivilrightsasaplatformtogain moremembers. TheCommunistPartywouldfightthecorruptlegislationthathinderedBlackpeople,inorderto gainBlacksupportfortheirclassandlaborideology.TheywouldusetheScottsborocase,acasein whichblackboyswerewrongfullyaccusedofrape(perpetuatingthewhitesupremacistcorruptionof legislaturetojustifymoblynching),andtheAngeloHerndoncase,ayoungcommunistwhowas arrested,essentially,forstirringuptroublewiththegoodNegroesinthistown.Itwasthethe [InternationalLaborDefenses]handlingoftheScottsboroandHerndonCaseswhichfirstpropelledthe CommunistPartyintothenationalandinternationalnotorietyastheselfprofesseddefenderof AfroAmericansagainstoppression(Martin132).

Historically,peoplewhoadvocateforchange,andspecificallypeopleinthesouthwhoadvocatedfor changewereseenaspeoplewhocorruptthedocileandcontentmindoftheoppressedblacksfor somereason,itisthenatureoftheoppressortobelievetheoppressedarecontent.Eventually, Communistinvolvementinlabordisputesonthegrassroots,andnationallevelcausedwhitesoutherners tocombinehatredofthetwo.Intheargumentsofwhitesouthernersduringthisperiod,itwasdifficult todistinguishantiblackfromanticommunistsentiments(Singh831).TheCommunistPartyinAmerica

Burgos

(CPUSA)waspullingoutofftheproverbialstops:peacefulrallies,payingfordefensesandfunerals, massmarketinganythingtowootheblackman(Martin). Eventually,thetruegoalsoftheCommunistleadershipwererevealedasbeingmanipulativeand membershipbased.ConstantattacksontheNAACPfortheirstrictlylegislativestandpointonbettering thecountry,sawmanyBlackswhowerereluctanttobecomeradicalssimplyrejectthenotionthat CommunistsreallywantedtohelpBlackpeople.WhilemanyCommuniststrulybelievedintheliberation ofBlacksandallclasswarprisoners,theaimsasawholewererecruitionary,andmanipulativeof sentimentsintheAfricanAmericancommunity. ThefirstmanipulativewastheneedfortheBlackmantofeelinternationalbrotherhood.As statedbefore,theblacksociality,madeupofcollectiveandindividualpersonality,wasfracturedand ambivalent.RalphEllisonsInvisibleManexplorestheincompletepsycheoftheBlackmantryingto findidentityinthesatiricalmarxistorganizationcalledTheBrotherhood.SimilartoDuboisideaof DoubleConsciousness,EllisondrawsontheMarxistandHegelianideasofdefiningoneselfin referencetoanotherConsciousnessfindsthatitimmediatelyisandisnotanotherconsciousness (Hegel,quotedinWolfe622).TheBlackmanhasanimageofhimself,adefinition,andyetis constantlysubjecttoacontradictoryother(withalltheimplicationsofothering)imagebywhite America.Thefactthathefeelsthattheseidentitiesarepermanentmeanshisconsciousnessis permanentlytornbetweenthemthatfactthathemustlivetosatisfybothmeansheliveswithaperpetual ambivalence(Wolfe).Ellisonsambivalence,describedinAmbivalence:EllisonsRejectionof CommunismbyJesseWolfe,indicatestheverydrawofcommunismtothehesitantBlackman.He wantstoendhisracialapartheidcommunismholdclassoverrace!Hewantstofightforhislegislative humanitytheILDhasandwilldothis!Henolongerwantstobeusedbyawhitepowerstructure..

Burgos

.Inactuality,therealityoftheCPsrelationwithBlackmanisthatitAnointsacertainkindofracial spokesperson,usefulforCommunistPartypurposes,inmuchthesamewaytheracistSouthernwhites anointedawellbehavedhighschoolgraduateasausefulmodelofblackcitizenshipfortheirpurposes (Wolfe628).Somuchforthat. Another Manipulative came through the arts. In the 1920s, Communist magazines and newspapers were spreading through the urban centers of the Black belt, almostwiththesamesenseof urgency as abolitionist newspapers. With these papers came a need for fresh perspectives on the collective struggles of the working class, one which Richard Wright capturesperfectlyinITriedtoBe aCommunist, Out of the magazines I read came a passionate call for theexperiences of the disinherited, and there were none of the lame lispings of the missionary in it. It did not say: Be like us andwelikeyou,maybe.It said, If you possess enough courage to speak out what you are, you will find that you are not alone. It urged life to believe in life. I read into the night then, toward dawn,Iswung frombedandinsertedpaper into the typewriter. Feeling for the first time that I could speak to listening ears, I wrote a wild, crude poem in free verse, coining images of black hands playing, working, holding bayonets, stiffening finally in death. I felt that in a clumsy wayitlinkedwhitelifewithblack,merged twostreamsofcommonexperience.(Wright) The Black writer felt he could finally express himself in a way that wouldnt marginalizehim asaBlack writerIm sure Zora Neale Hurston enjoyed this draw. ButWrightsoonrealizedthatthemagazineto

Burgos

whom he was writing for was using him because he was Black, because he wasarealBluecollarman who really gets it. This kind of tokenism, even in an organization that boasts tobeantiracial, shows the exploitive measures that the Communist party was willing to go. The Black people in this new modern era were desperate to cling to some unifying force: Garveyites, The Freedom Riders, and the NationofIslamcanallattesttothat.Communistswerejust,tryingtoohard.

Waitaminute...Iveseenthisbefore! Asitturnsout,whatdrawstheBlackmantocommunismistheresemblanceoframpant contradictionsofcommunismthattheBlackmansubconsciouslyrecognizesinitself.Communism promisestorightenhistoricalcontradictionsintimehowever,theycontradictthemselvesbymaintaining thatclassisbiggerthanthenegroquestion,justifyingamanipulationofracerelationsinordertofurther clasbasedgoals,whereasgenuineeffortcouldhaveworkedtowardsamorefunctionalsolutionthanthe factionalismthatCommunisminstilledinthecivilrightsmovement.InPedagogyoftheOppressed, PauloFreiredetailsaphenomenonofoppressedpeopletoactinaprescribedmanner,imitatingthe oppressorsoncetheythemselveshavebeenfreed.TheCommunistpartyofthe20sand30ssought tomobilizeAfricanAmericanwriters,butreallyendedupmarginalizingthem,justasthewhitepower structureinthedeepsouth,andindustrialNorthhad.Further,TheBlackpeoplefitintothese marginalizedrolesasactionsofhabit.TheCPUSAhelpedtheBPUSAmakesomelegislativegains,but intermsofsocialityandidentity,leftourwritersmorefracturedthanbeforetheirflirtationwith communism(Baldwin). Attheendoftheday(WWII),BlackPeoplejustwanttoliveunoppressedlives,freetobuild communities,love,thrive,anddefine.ThequintessentialWesternvaluesofindividualismandfree

Burgos

thoughthelpeachprotagonisttostruggleagainstthevariouslimitationsmaterial,social, intellectualwithwhichheisfaced.Ironically(giventheCPsinitialpromiseasavehicleforliberation), thePartycomestoembodyaparticularlymenacingformoflimitationforeach(Wolfe632).There wasneveraverylargemembershipofAfricanAmericanslookslikewelearnedfromourleadersnotto makethatmistake.

Burgos

WorksCited

Martin,CharlesH.CommunistsandBlacks:TheILDandtheAngeloHerndonCase.Associationfor theStudyofAfricanAmericanLifeandHistory,Inc:TheJournalofNegroHistory64.2 (1979):131141.web. Singh,NikhilP.RetracingtheBlackRedThread.OxfordUniversityPress:AmericanLiterary History15.4(2003):830840.Web. Wells,IdaB.LynchLawandAllItsPhases.OurDay:ARecordandReviewofCurrentReform. Nov1893. Wolfe,Jesse.AmbivalentMan:EllisonsRejectionofCommunism.IndianaStateUniversity: AfricanAmericanReview34.4(2000):621637.Web. Wright,Richard.ITriedtoBeaCommunist.NathanielTurner.com.Web.