Clifton DeBerry
Encyclopedia
Clifton DeBerry was an American communist and two-time candidate for President of the United States
of the Socialist Workers Party
. He was the first black American in the 20th Century to be chosen by a political party as its nominee for President.
. He worked as a house painter and was a trade union
ist.
In the 1940s, DeBerry left his native South and moved to Chicago
, where he worked in a factory owned by International Harvester
. He became active in the Farm Equipment Workers Union and joined the Communist Party
. DeBerry grew critical of the official Communist movement, however, and in 1953 he joined the Socialist Workers Party
, a Trotskyist organization.
During his Chicago years in the late 1950s, DeBerry found it hard to keep a job. "I would get a job and it would last only 3 days. I would go from one job to another. The FBI would visit my boss and I would be fired." DeBerry gave up on the city and moved to New York
in 1960.
of Emmett Till
back home in his native Mississippi. DeBerry spoke out in defense of the Cuban Revolution
, in support of African liberation struggles, and demanded withdrawal of U.S. troops from Vietnam
.
DeBerry marched for civil rights
in Selma, Alabama
and Memphis, Tennessee
and was a supporter of Malcolm X
in the 1960s. He was a delegate to the founding conventions of the Negro Labor Congress and the Negro American Labor Council.
In November, 1963, DeBerry ran for Councilman in the Brooklyn
borough of New York City. He received 3,514 votes in the race.
DeBerry was the Socialist Workers Party's candidate in the 1964 election
. He was the party's first African American
candidate as well as the first African American candidate for President of any existing party (he was preceded in 1960 by marginal candidate Clennon King). DeBerry's running mate was Ed Shaw
, a printer from Illinois
.
In the 1965 city election, DeBerry was the SWP's candidate for Mayor of New York.
In 1970, he ran for Governor of New York
and polled 5,766 votes.
DeBerry ran again in United States presidential election, 1980
as one of three candidates the party had that year, the others being Andrew Pulley
and Richard Congress
. Matilde Zimmermann
was the vice presidential candidate on all three tickets.
. He was 82 years old. A memorial meeting was held in his honor by the Socialist Workers Party in New York City on April 29, 2006.
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
of the Socialist Workers Party
Socialist Workers Party (United States)
The Socialist Workers Party is a far-left political organization in the United States. The group places a priority on "solidarity work" to aid strikes and is strongly supportive of Cuba...
. He was the first black American in the 20th Century to be chosen by a political party as its nominee for President.
Early years
Clifton DeBerry was born in 1924 in Holly Springs, MississippiHolly Springs, Mississippi
Holly Springs is a city in Marshall County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 7,957 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Marshall County. A short drive from Memphis, Tennessee, Holly Springs is the site of a number of well-preserved antebellum homes and other structures and...
. He worked as a house painter and was a trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
ist.
In the 1940s, DeBerry left his native South and moved to Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, where he worked in a factory owned by International Harvester
International Harvester
International Harvester Company was a United States agricultural machinery, construction equipment, vehicle, commercial truck, and household and commercial products manufacturer. In 1902, J.P...
. He became active in the Farm Equipment Workers Union and joined the Communist Party
Communist Party USA
The Communist Party USA is a Marxist political party in the United States, established in 1919. It has a long, complex history that is closely related to the histories of similar communist parties worldwide and the U.S. labor movement....
. DeBerry grew critical of the official Communist movement, however, and in 1953 he joined the Socialist Workers Party
Socialist Workers Party (United States)
The Socialist Workers Party is a far-left political organization in the United States. The group places a priority on "solidarity work" to aid strikes and is strongly supportive of Cuba...
, a Trotskyist organization.
During his Chicago years in the late 1950s, DeBerry found it hard to keep a job. "I would get a job and it would last only 3 days. I would go from one job to another. The FBI would visit my boss and I would be fired." DeBerry gave up on the city and moved to New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 1960.
Political career
DeBerry's career as a political activist began in earnest in the 1950s. In 1955 he helped organize a mass protest in Chicago to protest the lynchingLynching
Lynching is an extrajudicial execution carried out by a mob, often by hanging, but also by burning at the stake or shooting, in order to punish an alleged transgressor, or to intimidate, control, or otherwise manipulate a population of people. It is related to other means of social control that...
of Emmett Till
Emmett Till
Emmett Louis "Bobo" Till was an African-American boy who was murdered in Mississippi at the age of 14 after reportedly flirting with a white woman. Till was from Chicago, Illinois visiting his relatives in the Mississippi Delta region when he spoke to 21-year-old Carolyn Bryant, the married...
back home in his native Mississippi. DeBerry spoke out in defense of the Cuban Revolution
Cuban Revolution
The Cuban Revolution was an armed revolt by Fidel Castro's 26th of July Movement against the regime of Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista between 1953 and 1959. Batista was finally ousted on 1 January 1959, and was replaced by a revolutionary government led by Castro...
, in support of African liberation struggles, and demanded withdrawal of U.S. troops from Vietnam
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
.
DeBerry marched for civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
in Selma, Alabama
Selma, Alabama
Selma is a city in and the county seat of Dallas County, Alabama, United States, located on the banks of the Alabama River. The population was 20,512 at the 2000 census....
and Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
and was a supporter of Malcolm X
Malcolm X
Malcolm X , born Malcolm Little and also known as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz , was an African American Muslim minister and human rights activist. To his admirers he was a courageous advocate for the rights of African Americans, a man who indicted white America in the harshest terms for its...
in the 1960s. He was a delegate to the founding conventions of the Negro Labor Congress and the Negro American Labor Council.
In November, 1963, DeBerry ran for Councilman in the Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
borough of New York City. He received 3,514 votes in the race.
DeBerry was the Socialist Workers Party's candidate in the 1964 election
United States presidential election, 1964
The United States presidential election of 1964 was held on November 3, 1964. Incumbent President Lyndon B. Johnson had come to office less than a year earlier following the assassination of his predecessor, John F. Kennedy. Johnson, who had successfully associated himself with Kennedy's...
. He was the party's first African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
candidate as well as the first African American candidate for President of any existing party (he was preceded in 1960 by marginal candidate Clennon King). DeBerry's running mate was Ed Shaw
Ed Shaw
Edward "Ed" Shaw was an American socialist and lifelong member of the Socialist Workers Party.Born in Zion, Illinois, on July 13, 1923, Shaw grew up in a family of working farmers. In his youth, he rebelled against the fundamentalist religious assumptions that surrounded him in Zion...
, a printer from Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
.
In the 1965 city election, DeBerry was the SWP's candidate for Mayor of New York.
In 1970, he ran for Governor of New York
Governor of New York
The Governor of the State of New York is the chief executive of the State of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military and naval forces. The officeholder is afforded the courtesy title of His/Her...
and polled 5,766 votes.
DeBerry ran again in United States presidential election, 1980
United States presidential election, 1980
The United States presidential election of 1980 featured a contest between incumbent Democrat Jimmy Carter and his Republican opponent, Ronald Reagan, as well as Republican Congressman John B. Anderson, who ran as an independent...
as one of three candidates the party had that year, the others being Andrew Pulley
Andrew Pulley
Andrew Pulley is an American politician who ran as Socialist Workers Party candidate for Vice President of the United States in 1972; at the time he was twenty years old, making him ineligible under the United States Constitution. Along with Presidential candidate Linda Jenness he received 52,799...
and Richard Congress
Richard Congress
Richard Congress was a candidate for United States President of the Socialist Workers Party. He was one of three candidates the party had that year, the others being Andrew Pulley and Clifton DeBerry. Matilde Zimmermann was the vice presidential candidate on all three tickets.Congress was on the...
. Matilde Zimmermann
Matilde Zimmermann
Matilde Zimmermann is an American author and professor who ran as the Socialist Workers Party candidate for United States Vice President in 1980. The party had three different Presidential candidates that year, Andrew Pulley, Richard H. Congress and Clifton DeBerry depending on the state. She...
was the vice presidential candidate on all three tickets.
Death and legacy
Clifton DeBerry died of heart failure on March 24, 2006 in a hospital near his home of Union City, CaliforniaUnion City, California
Union City is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It was incorporated in 1959, combining the communities of Alvarado and Decoto. Alvarado was the original county seat of Alameda County, and the site of the first county courthouse is a California Historical Landmark . The city...
. He was 82 years old. A memorial meeting was held in his honor by the Socialist Workers Party in New York City on April 29, 2006.
Works by Clifton DeBerry
- Marxism and the Negro Struggle. With Harold CruseHarold CruseHarold Wright Cruse was an American academic who was an outspoken social critic and teacher of African-American studies at the University of Michigan until the mid-1980s. The Crisis of the Negro Intellectual is his best-known book....
and George BreitmanGeorge BreitmanGeorge Breitman was an American communist political activist and newspaper editor. He is best remembered as a founding member of the Socialist Workers Party and as a long-time editor of that organization's weekly paper, The Militant. Breitman also supervised and edited several important...
. New York: Pathfinder Press, 1965. - The Case for an Independent Black Political Party [with] American Poltiics and the 1968 Presidential Campaign, by Jack BarnesJack BarnesJack Whittier Barnes is an American Communist and the National Secretary of the Socialist Workers Party. Barnes was elected the party's national secretary in 1972, replacing the retiring Farrell Dobbs. He had joined the SWP in the early 1960s as a student at Carleton College in Minnesota and...
. New York: Socialist Workers Party, 1967. - Murder in Memphis. Martin Luther King and the future of the Black Liberation Struggle. With Paul BoutellePaul BoutellePaul Boutelle was the Socialist Workers Party candidate for U.S. Vice President in 1968. He and presidential candidate Fred Halstead were on the ballot in 19 states. Boutelle toured throughout the United States during that campaign and appeared on numerous radio and television shows, including...
, George NovackGeorge NovackGeorge Novack was an American Communist politician and Marxist theoretician....
, and Joseph HansenJoseph Hansen (socialist)Joseph Leroy Hansen , was an American Trotskyist and leading figure in the Socialist Workers Party.Born in Richfield, Utah, Joseph Hansen was the oldest of 15 children in a poor working class family, and he was the only one of them who could attend college. His father, Conrad J. Z...
. New York: Merit Publishers, 1968. - "Report on Black Struggle," in May 1968 Plenum Material. New York: Socialist Workers Party, 1968.
External links
- http://www.icdc.com/~paulwolf/cointelpro/swp.htm#deberrySummary of COINTELPROCOINTELPROCOINTELPRO was a series of covert, and often illegal, projects conducted by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation aimed at surveilling, infiltrating, discrediting, and disrupting domestic political organizations.COINTELPRO tactics included discrediting targets through psychological...
materials on Clifton DeBerry.]