Homer Bates Chase (January 29, 1917 – August 29, 1985) was an activist in the American Communist Party. He was the head of the Georgia Communist Party in the 1940s.

Early life

Chase's ancestors first arrived in America in the 1600s. His parents, Fred B. and Elba Chase, were leaders in the American Communist Party in

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

. Chase was born in

Washington, New Hampshire Washington is a town in Sullivan County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,192 at the 2020 census. Situated in a hilly, rocky, forested area, and with 26 lakes and ponds, Washington is a picturesque resort area. It is home to Pill ...

. Chase fought for the

Republicans Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

in the Lincoln Battalion in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

. He also fought in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Communist activism

During the 1940s, Chase was the head of the Communist Party in Georgia. He participated in the early

civil rights movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, Racial discrimination ...

, campaigning for black people's right to vote. While in Georgia, Chase was arrested after threatening to harm a 20-year-old member of the Communist Party if he divulged information regarding the party's operations. He was defended by

Klansman The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...

James Venable. In the late 1950s, he was section organizer for the New England party branch. In the 1960s, Chase denounced President Kennedy's foreign policy as a threat to world peace.

Personal life

Chase had four daughters: Norah, Hannah Bates Cowen, Claudette Chase, and Rebecca Jo Kyle. He also had a son, Leonard Foster Chase.

Death

Chase died in his sleep at his home in Hingham, Massachusetts, on August 29, 1985.

References

External links

The Papers of Elba Chase Nelson
at Dartmouth College Library {{DEFAULTSORT:Chase, Homer 1917 births 1985 deaths Members of the Communist Party USA Abraham Lincoln Brigade members United States Army personnel of World War II