Communist Front? The Civil Rights Congress, 1946 – 1956

Description

Communist Front? The Civil Rights Congress, 1946-1956 provides an essential analysis of one of the most important but understudied civil rights organizations of the twentieth century, as well as its leader William L. Patterson. This pivotal formation tirelessly advocated for the rights of African Americans, Communists, and other oppressed and marginalized groups; brought national attention to some of the most egregious frame-ups and miscarriages of justice, from Rosa Lee Ingram to Willie McGee; and helped to internationalize the struggle for Black liberation with the We Charge Genocide petition. It is no wonder, then, that as the Cold War heated up and anti-communist repression reached a fever pitch, the CRC came under constant government surveillance and attack that ultimately led to its untimely demise in 1956. This title should be read with William L. Patterson’s autobiography The Man Who Cried Genocide.