James Yates (August 9, 1906, Quitman, Mississippi – November 7, 1993, New York City, New York) was an African American

anti-fascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were ...

who fought 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 ...

as a soldier in the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. Before he volunteered to go to Spain to fight

fascism Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...

in 1937, he lived first in Quitman, Mississippi, as the son of sharecroppers. He went to Chicago at the age of 16 and found work as a meatpacker. He was active in the movement to protest the Scottsboro Case and became active in the Unemployed Councils organized by the

Communist Party USA The Communist Party USA, officially the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA), is a communist party in the United States which was established in 1919 after a split in the Socialist Party of America following the Russian Revo ...

. He joined the

in 1936. In Spain he met

Langston Hughes James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1, 1901 – May 22, 1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Joplin, Missouri. One of the earliest innovators of the literary art form called jazz poetry, Hug ...

and

Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century fic ...

. He served as an ammunitions and ambulance driver. He later wrote a memoir about his experiences in Spain, ''Mississippi to Madrid: Memoir of a Black American in the Abraham Lincoln Brigade''. During

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 ...

he served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

. According to his obituary in the ''New York Times'' he struggled to find work in the 1950s due to

McCarthyism McCarthyism is the practice of making false or unfounded accusations of subversion and treason, especially when related to anarchism, communism and socialism, and especially when done in a public and attention-grabbing manner. The term origin ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yates, James 1906 births 1993 deaths Abraham Lincoln Brigade members United States Army personnel of World War II African-American communists Members of the Communist Party USA People from Quitman, Mississippi African Americans in World War II