Armed Struggle?

Description

Southern California has been a leader nationally in fomenting radicalism. The Communist Party had one of its strongest units there, buoyed by influence in Hollywood. Yet, this region also has been a stalwart of the Black Liberation Movement, as suggested by the importance of the Watts Uprising of 1965 in Los Angeles and the concomitant ascendancy of the Black Panther Party, whose leaders—e.g., Eldridge Cleaver and George Jackson—had roots in Pasadena. Angela Davis, accused in the early 1970s of murder, kidnapping, and conspiracy, was not only a bridge between the CP and BPP, but studied in San Diego before teaching at UCLA.

Black Nationalism flourished in the Southland: “Kwanzaa,,” a popular holiday, was born there. Given the prominence of Black celebrities in the region, the NAACP chapter in the area was a cash cow for the entire organization and shaped policy accordingly, including their disastrous capitulation to the Red Scare.

In this exhaustively researched book, Gerald Horne sketches the apparent paradox of some African Americans turning to armed struggle at a time when it appeared that Jim Crow was retreating. He draws critical distinctions between armed propaganda, armed self-defense—and armed struggle— all of which he places in a global context of anti-war activism, the Cold War, and African liberation.