Blacks, Reds, and Russians : sojourners in search of the Soviet promise / Joy Gleason Carew.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Carew, Joy Gleason.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

African Americans--Soviet Union--History.

African Americans.

African Americans--Soviet Union--Biography.

African American intellectuals--Soviet Union--Biography.

African American intellectuals.

African American scientists--Soviet Union--Biography.

African American scientists.

Visitors, Foreign--Soviet Union--History.

Visitors, Foreign.

Intercultural communication--Soviet Union.

Intercultural communication.

Soviet Union--Race relations.

Soviet Union.

Soviet Union--Intellectual life--1917-1970.

Soviet Union--Relations--United States.

United States--Relations--Soviet Union.

United States.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xvii, 273 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

New Brunswick, N.J. : Rutgers University Press, c2008.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

One of the most compelling, yet little known stories of race relations in the twentieth century is the account of blacks who chose to leave the United States to be involved in the Soviet Experiment in the 1920's and 1930's. Frustrated by the limitations imposed by racism in their home country, African Americans were lured by the promise of opportunity abroad. A number of them settled there, raised families, and became integrated into society. The Soviet economy likewise reaped enormous benefits from the talent and expertise that these individuals brought, and the all around success story became a platform for political leaders to boast their party goals of creating a society where all members were equal. In Blacks, Reds, and Russians, Joy Gleason Carew offers insight into the political strategies that often underlie relationships between different peoples and countries. She draws on the autobiographies of key sojourners, including Harry Haywood and Robert Robinson, in addition to the writings of Claude McKay, W.E.B. Du Bois, and Langston Hughes. Interviews with the descendants of figures such as Paul Robeson and Oliver Golden offer rare personal insights into the story of a group of emigrants who, confronted by the daunting challenges of making a life for themselves in a racist United States, found unprecedented opportunities in communist Russia.

Contents:

Front matter

Contents

Preface

Introduction

Chapter 1. A Journey Begins

Part I. The Fellow Travelers

Chapter 2. Early Sojourners Claude McKay and Otto Huiswood: Shaping the "Negro Question"

Chapter 3. Harry Haywood, KUTVA, and Training Black Cadres

Chapter 4. W.E.B. Du Bois and the Soviet Experiment

Part II. The Technical and Agricultural Specialists

Chapter 5. Robert Robinson and the Technical Specialists

Chapter 6. George Washington Carver, Oliver Golden, and the Soviet Experiment

Chapter 7. The Agricultural Specialists Journey to the Soviet Union

Part III. The Artists and Intellectuals

Chapter 8. Langston Hughes and the Black and White Film Group

Chapter 9. Paul Robeson's Search for a Society Free of Racism

Part IV. The Expatriates and New Sojourners

Chapter 10. The Expatriates: The Purges, the War Years, and Beyond

Chapter 11. William "Bill" Davis, the American National Exhibit, and U.S. Public Diplomacy

Chapter 12. The Cold War, Solidarity Building, and the Recruitment of New Sojourners

Appendix: Family Lines of Sojourners/Expatriates

Notes

Bibliographical Essay: A Survey of Selected Sources

Index

About the Author

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 219-263) and index.

ISBN:

1-281-87893-6

9786611878931

0-8135-4577-3

OCLC:

476205570