League of Struggle for Negro Rights
Encyclopedia
The League of Struggle for Negro Rights was organized by the Communist Party
in 1930 as the successor to the American Negro Labor Congress
. The League was particularly active in organizing support for the "Scottsboro Boys
", nine black men sentenced to death in 1931 for crimes they had not committed. It also campaigned for a separate black nation in the South, one of the CPUSA's principal tenets in the early 1930s, and against police brutality, the Italian occupation of Ethiopia
and Jim Crow laws, while also advocating a more general policy of opposition to fascism
and support for the Soviet Union
.
Langston Hughes
became its President in 1934. Harry Haywood
was its General Secretary. The organization largely disappeared after 1935, when the Communist Party, as part of its Popular Front
strategy, joined with other non-communist organizations and individuals to form the National Negro Congress
.
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....
in 1930 as the successor to the American Negro Labor Congress
American Negro Labor Congress
The American Negro Labor Congress was established in 1925 by the Communist Party as a vehicle for advancing the rights of African-Americans, propagandizing for communism within the black community and recruiting African-American members for the party...
. The League was particularly active in organizing support for the "Scottsboro Boys
Scottsboro Boys
The Scottsboro Boys were nine black teenage boys accused of rape in Alabama in 1931. The landmark set of legal cases from this incident dealt with racism and the right to a fair trial...
", nine black men sentenced to death in 1931 for crimes they had not committed. It also campaigned for a separate black nation in the South, one of the CPUSA's principal tenets in the early 1930s, and against police brutality, the Italian occupation of Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
and Jim Crow laws, while also advocating a more general policy of opposition to fascism
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
and support for the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
.
Langston Hughes
Langston Hughes
James Mercer Langston Hughes was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist. He was one of the earliest innovators of the then-new literary art form jazz poetry. Hughes is best known for his work during the Harlem Renaissance...
became its President in 1934. Harry Haywood
Harry Haywood
Harry Haywood was a leading figure in both the Communist Party of the United States and the Communist Party of the Soviet Union . He contributed major theory to Marxist thinking on the national question of African Americans in the United States...
was its General Secretary. The organization largely disappeared after 1935, when the Communist Party, as part of its Popular Front
Popular front
A popular front is a broad coalition of different political groupings, often made up of leftists and centrists. Being very broad, they can sometimes include centrist and liberal forces as well as socialist and communist groups...
strategy, joined with other non-communist organizations and individuals to form the National Negro Congress
National Negro Congress
The National Negro Congress is an organization which was put into place by the Communist Party of the United States of America in 1935 at Howard University. It was a popular front organization created with the goal of fighting for Black liberation and was the successor to the League of Struggle for...
.
Pamphlets
- The South Comes North in Detroit's Own Scottsboro Case by Harry Haywood New York : Published for League of Struggle for Negro Rights, by Workers' Library Publishers, 1932
- They Shall Not Die! The Story of Scottsboro in Pictures; Stop the Legal Lynching! by Elizabeth Lawson, Anton RefregierAnton RefregierAnton Refregier was a Russian immigrant painter in the United States.He made the 27 murals in the Rincon Center in San Francisco, California, which depict the history of California, in the style of the social realism.- Life and early career:Refregier was born in Moscow and emigrated to the United...
and B. D. AmisB. D. AmisB. D. Amis was an African American labor organizer and civil rights leader. Particularly influential in the fight for African Americans' and workers during the period of official segregation in the South and informal discrimination throughout the country, Amis is most remembered for his militant...
New York: Published for League of Struggle for Negro Rights, by Workers' Library Publishers, 1932 - Equality, land and freedom: a program for Negro liberation New York City : League of Struggle for Negro Rights, 1933
- The Borden case : the struggle for Negro rights in Boston, under the leadership of the L.S.N.R. Boston : The League, 1934.
- "You cannot kill the working class," New York: International Labor DefenseInternational Labor DefenseThe International Labor Defense was a legal defense organization in the United States, headed by William L. Patterson. It was a US section of International Red Aid organisation, and associated with the Communist Party USA. It defended Sacco and Vanzetti, was active in the civil rights and...
and the League of Struggle for Negro Rights 1937.