The League of Struggle for Negro Rights was organized by the

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...

in 1930 as the successor to the

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 p ...

. 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 Police brutality is the excessive and unwarranted use of force by law enforcement against an individual or a group. It is an extreme form of police misconduct and is a civil rights violation. Police brutality includes, but is not limited to, ...

, the Italian occupation of

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

and

Jim Crow law The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern United States. Other areas of the United States were affected by formal and informal policies of segregation as well, but many states outside the Sout ...

s, while also advocating a more general policy of opposition to

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 ...

and support for the

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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 ...

became its President in 1934.

Harry Haywood Harry Haywood (February 4, 1898 – January 4, 1985) was an American political activist who was a leading figure in both the Communist Party of the United States (CPUSA) and the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU). His goal was to connec ...

was its General Secretary. Another prominent leader of the organization was

Bonita Williams Bonita Williams was a British West-Indian Communist Party leader, poet, and civil rights activist in Harlem, New York during the Great Depression in the 1930s. During this time, she wrote several poems and gave speeches focusing on black suffrage a ...

, a migrant from the British Caribbean living in Harlem, who joined the group after abandoning

Garveyism Garveyism is an aspect of black nationalism that refers to the economic, racial and political policies of UNIA-ACL founder Marcus Garvey. The ideology of Garveyism centers on the unification and empowerment of African-descended men, women and ...

. During her time with the league, Williams organized "'Flying Squads,' which mobilized working-class housewives to agitate against high food prices." The organization largely disappeared after 1935, when the Communist Party, as part of its

Popular Front A popular front is "any coalition of working-class and middle-class parties", including liberal and social democratic ones, "united for the defense of democratic forms" against "a presumed Fascist assault". More generally, it is "a coalition ...

strategy, joined with other non-communist organizations and individuals to form the

National Negro Congress The National Negro Congress (NNC) (1936–ca. 1946) was an American organization formed in 1936 at Howard University as a broadly based organization with the goal of fighting for Black liberation; it was the successor to the League of Struggle for N ...

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 Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * ''Elisabeth'' (s ...

Anton Refregier Anton Refregier (March 20, 1905 – October 10, 1979) was a painter and muralist active in Works Progress Administration Federal Art Project commissions, and in teaching art. He was a Russian immigrant to the United States. Among his best-kn ...

and B. D. Amis 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 Defense The International Labor Defense (ILD) (1925–1947) was a legal advocacy organization established in 1925 in the United States as the American section of the Comintern's International Red Aid network. The ILD defended Sacco and Vanzetti, was activ ...

and the League of Struggle for Negro Rights 1937.

References

External links

FBI files on the League of Struggle for Negro Rights
African Americans' rights organizations African-American history between emancipation and the civil rights movement 1930 establishments in the United States Communist Party USA mass organizations Organizations established in 1930 {{US-org-stub

See also

Pamphlets

References

External links