The East Is Black : Cold War China in the Black Radical Imagination

During the Cold War, several prominent African American radical activist-intellectuals—including W.E.B. and Shirley Graham Du Bois, journalist William Worthy, Marxist feminist Vicki Garvin, and freedom fighters Mabel and Robert Williams—traveled and lived in China. There, they used a variety of media to express their solidarity with Chinese communism and to redefine the relationship between Asian struggles against imperialism and black American movements against social, racial, and economic injustice. In The East Is Black, Taj Frazier examines the ways in which these figures and the Chinese government embraced the idea of shared struggle against U.S. policies at home and abroad. He analyzes their diverse cultural output (newsletters, print journalism, radio broadcasts, political cartoons, lectures, and documentaries) to document how they imagined communist China’s role within a broader vision of a worldwide anticapitalist coalition against racism and imperialism. Robeson Taj Frazier is Assistant Professor at the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California. "During the Cold War, several prominent African American radical activist-intellectuals--including W.E.B. and Shirley Graham Du Bois, journalist William Worthy, Marxist feminist Vicki Garvin, and freedom fighters Mabel and Robert Williams--traveled and lived in China. There, they used a variety of media to express their solidarity with Chinese communism and to redefine the relationship between Asian struggles against imperialism and black American movements against social, racial, and economic injustice. In The East Is Black, Taj Frazier examines the ways in which these figures and the Chinese government embraced the idea of shared struggle against U.S. policies at home and abroad. He analyzes their diverse cultural output (newsletters, print journalism, radio broadcasts, political cartoons, lectures, and documentaries) to document how they imagined communist China's role within a broader vision of a worldwide anticapitalist coalition against racism and imperialism."--Publisher's description During The Cold War, Several Prominent African American Radical Activist-intellectuals-including W.e.b. And Shirley Graham Du Bois, Journalist William Worthy, Marxist Feminist Vicki Garvin, And Freedom Fighters Mabel And Robert Williams-traveled And Lived In China. There, They Used A Variety Of Media To Express Their Solidarity With Chinese Communism And To Redefine The Relationship Between Asian Struggles Against Imperialism And Black American Movements Against Social, Racial, And Economic Injustice. In The East Is Black, Taj Frazier Examines The Ways In Which These Figures And The Chinese Go. Ruminations On Eastern Passage -- A Passport Ain't Worth A Cent -- Soul Brothers And Soul Sisters Of The East -- Maoism And The Sinification Of Black Political Struggle -- Coda. The 1970s: Rapprochement And The Decline Of China's World Revolution -- Postscript: Weaving Through San Huan Lu. Robeson Taj Frazier. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 277-302) And Index. Contents......Page 8 Abbreviations......Page 10 Acknowledgments......Page 12 Introduction: March of the Volunteers......Page 16 Part I. The 1950s: Losing China, Winning China......Page 38 Chapter 1. Ruminations on Eastern Passage......Page 52 Chapter 2. A Passport Ain’t Worth a Cent......Page 87 Part II. The 1960s: The East Is Red and Black......Page 124 Chapter 3. Soul Brothers and Soul Sisters of the East......Page 132 Chapter 4. Maoism and the Sinification of Black Political Struggle......Page 174 Coda. The 1970s: Rapprochement and the Decline of China’s World Revolution......Page 208 Postscript: Weaving through San Huan Lu......Page 228 Glossary......Page 236 Notes......Page 240 Bibliography......Page 292 Index......Page 318