Communist Party
Who called African American women in the Communist Party “ignorant and uncouth victims”
Walter White
Define respectability politics?
A strategy used by Black church women & activists that emphasized moral behavior, domesticity, etiquette to combat racist stereotypes, with the goals of racial uplift, interracial cooperation, and equal rights.
What were the main victories championed by the the CP's Unemployed Council?
The councils handled housing evictions, advocated free lunches for the unemployed and their children, rallied against discriminatory practices of relief agencies such as the Red Cross, led hunger marches, and fought for the passage of an "Unemployed Insurance Bill".
Who is Bonita Williams, and name one position she held in the CP?
Bonita Williams was a West Indian-American activist in Harlem who led campaigns for Black workers. She served as an executive member of the New York District Council of the League of Struggles for Negro Rights.
How old was Lucy Parsons when she joined the CP?
86!
List two of the demands from the Unemployed Councils founded in 1930
Unemployment benefits for families during full period of joblessness.
Free lunches for unemployed and children.
Unemployment Insurance Bill.
Equal unemployment benefits for women workers.
Ban firing of pregnant & nursing mothers.
Who took this stance on respectability politics : "it would prove to our enemies that our condition physically and morally is nothing inherent or peculiar to race, but rather the outcome of circumstances over which we can and will become masters"
Margaret Murray Washginton.
What did Ida Bates and Jane Speed help to accomplish from their protest in 1934 at Mayor Thomas Walmsey's office?
The reinstatement of 7,500+ unemployed workers onto relief rolls.
What did Capitola Tasker highlight in her speech at the International Women's Conference against War and Fascism?
She described Jim Crow terror, starvation, and landlord oppression that Black communities faced
What was the name of the regular Column in the Harlem Liberator that helped to highlight the concerns of women?
Women's Department
What replaced the CP's American Negro Labor Congress
League of Struggles for Negro Rights (LSNR) – 1930
What was the role of militant masculinity in shaping BW's activism?
Male militancy was celebrated, which shaped women's activism, as they sometimes adopted "masculine" protest styles.
How did the 52 women protesting with Lillian Lynch in 1931 demonstrate their militancy?
They were described as willing to “fight unto the death” for higher wages and gender equality, with one protester even shaking the sheriff “like a puppy.”
What was the difference between the “new crowd” and the “old guard”
The old guard preferred a somber, reformist approach, while the new crowd sought to transform Black protest by using strategies that directly challenged the economic struggles of the Black working class and poor.
What is Lashawn Harris' main argument in the essay?
"By transcending middle-class notions of respectability, African American women leaders within the CP offered alternative images of female reform, and demonstrated their willingness to embrace radical strategies for relieving the suffering that workers male and female, black and white experienced during the depression decade."
Define Louise Thompson's term "bourgeois fraternalism" and its importance.
It was a critique of Black and white leaders who allied with capitalism, viewing corporate capitalism as a tool of white oppression and directly against the liberation movement.
How were streets used as a political arena?
The streets were dangerous, masculine-coded, and held a high risk of arrest. They allowed women to use free, “unconventional” language, and were key since churches barred radical talk.
What did Williana J. Burroughs lose her job over?
She protested against Harlem school conditions and accused of fighting a policeman. She was referred to as "loud, boisterous, contumacious" and her behavior was referred to as unbecoming of a teacher.
What did Ada Wright's speeches on her European lecture tour communicate?
she connected the scottsboro case to fascism in Europe, spoke on racism, class struggle, and directly connected the case to a "struggle against imperialist war".
Explain Antonio Gramsci's thoery of organic intellectuals" and how it applied to BW in the CP
His theory is that organic intellectuals are leaders emerging from working class struggles that protest against capitalist exploitation and build coalitions outside of academia. Black women demonstrated this as they led protest, held leadership positions, spoke at international conferences, and orated on street corners, etc.
Daily Double: For 1,000 points, come up to the center of the room and describe the Great Depression's role in mobilizing women to join the CP for 30 seconds.
The Great Depression worsened Black poverty, unemployment, housing conditions, and discrimination which led activists to turn more militant and move away from traditional reformist efforts that seemed to be failing.
DAILY DOUBLE: for 1,000 points, nominate someone to come to the front of the room and take on the role of a street corner orator. Theme: respectability politics
class vote
Tell the story of the Meat Price Protest and explain its significance.
Bonita Williams, the Harlem housewives, and the CP organized to combat high meat prices in the depression and threatened a Harlem riot repeat; many butchers cut their prices by 25% to match the women's demands; this shows how Black working-class women led militant and economic protests.
Explain the ultimate impact of BW in the CP's work in the Scottsboro case.
Many BW identified with Scottsboro mothers (fear of false rape charges against sons/husbands), Women formed local support groups, raised funds, organized demonstrations, women founded groups like Nat Turner Workers Club to aid Scottsboro defense.
Explain this quote from Ada Wright's European Tour: the Scottsboro case was a "struggle against imperialist war, because the Scottsboro persecution grows out of the war preparations of the American boss class."
we are also confused, let's talk about it!