The Black Cultural Front: Black Writers and Artists of the Depression GenerationUniv. Press of Mississippi, 9.7.2012 - 288 sivua The Black Cultural Front describes how the social and political movements that grew out of the Depression facilitated the left turn of several African American artists and writers. The Communist-led John Reed Clubs brought together black and white writers in writing collectives. The Congress of Industrial Organizations's effort to recruit black workers inspired growing interest in the labor movement. One of the most concerted efforts was made by the National Negro Congress (NNC), a coalition of civil rights and labor organizations, which held cultural panels at its national conferences, fought segregation in the culture industries, promoted cultural education, and involved writers and artists in staging mass rallies during World War II. The formation of a black cultural front is examined by looking at the works of poet Langston Hughes, novelist Chester Himes, and cartoonist Ollie Harrington. While none of them were card-carrying members of the Communist Party, they all participated in the Left at one point in their careers. Interestingly, they all turned to creating popular culture in order to reach the black masses who were captivated by the movies, radio, newspapers, and detective novels. There are chapters on the Hughes' "Simple" stories, Himes' detective fiction, and Harrington's "Bootsie" cartoons. Collectively, the experience of these three figures contributes to the story of a "long" movement for African American freedom that flourished during the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s. Yet this book also stresses the impact that McCarthyism had on dismantling the Black Left and how it affected each individual involved. Each was radicalized at a different moment and for different reasons. Each suffered for their past allegiances, whether fleeing to the haven of the "Black Bank" in Paris, or staying home and facing the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). Yet the lasting influence of the Depression in their work was evident for the rest of their lives. |
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... called the Brotherhood, his fictional version of the Communist Party. During the 1960s, Harold Cruse's The Crisis of the Negro Intellectual (1967) cemented this Cold War narrative that has since pervaded African American literary ...
... called in front of McCarthy to explain several of his recent statements. While Himes criticized the Communist Party for failing to take seriously the plight of black workers, his first two novels still express hope in the labor movement ...
... called on black and white workers to form a “United Front from below.” In their landmark study of Chicago, Black Metropolis (1945), Horace Cayton and St. Clair Drake dedicated a section to “Bronzeville's United Front,” noting the ...
... called “white chauvinism,” and the belief that a society free from all forms of oppression could exist. Historians of what has come to be called the “Long Movement” have started to recover links between the Depressionera black struggle ...
... called before McCarthy to answer questions about his radical poems such “Goodbye, Christ.” Himes complained of being blacklisted by the publishing industry after having several of his manuscripts rejected. He left for Paris in 1953 in ...
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The Black Cultural Front: Black Writers and Artists of the Depression Generation Brian Dolinar Rajoitettu esikatselu - 2012 |
The Black Cultural Front: Black Writers and Artists of the Depression Generation Brian Dolinar Esikatselu ei käytettävissä - 2012 |