Richard B.

Moore, an African Blood Brother on Scottsboro

The conclusion seems inescapable that so long as racist oppression persists, so long will the more militant Afro-Americans turn to radical parties seeking a solution to the oppressive conditions to which they are subjected Richard B. Moore, Afro-Americans and Radical Politics

Khary Pestaina Florida International University Teaching For American History

Scope
My research examines Richard B. Moores role in the Communist partys defense of the Scottsboro Boys. It demonstrates Moores commitment to African Blood Brotherhood(ABB) ideals, critical to his participation and activism during the trial, rather than a Communist idealism more regularly attributed to him and the case.

The Scottsboro trial is usually presented as the Communist Party USAs cause clbre during the 30s, but my presentation shows an ABB directive and ambition which expressed an acute energy, mobilized to produce the release of the 9 defendants.
The scope of my research begins pre-1920s, exploring Moores developing ideas about socialism, his clandestine participation in the African Blood Brotherhood, and then his vital role in the absorption of that group into the Communist Party USA. It highlights Moores integral role during the Scottsboro trial and political organizing in Harlem around the case.

Thesis

Richard B. Moore, reportedly an early American communist who worked closely on the Scottsboro trial, is instead a prominent member of the African Blood Brotherhood, an indigenous and vital Harlem organization whose critical influence is mistakenly overlooked.

INTRODUCTION Richard B. Moores core ideals:

Militancy Progressive Nationalism Pan-Africanism African Blood Brotherhood as an independent, influential Black Radical Organization: Agent vehicle of African Revolution Critical analyses of Marxian socialism Moores common legacy: Moores critics- Harold Cruse, W.E.B Du Bois, John Pepper, Marcus Garvey Moores supporters- John Henrik Clarke, Cyril Briggs, W.A. Domingo, Claude McKay, Arturo Schomburg

MOORES AMERICANIZATION
Immigrant Moores July 4th Arrival: West Indian literacy vs. Black/White American literacy West Indian skills vs. Black/White American literacy Moores First Experiences with Racism Struggles in finding employment equitable to education level Loss of job Moores Loss of religious belief YMCA rebuke Bias and discrimination within the Church

NADIR: Lynchings Great Migration Great Retreat Jim Crow Hubert H. Harrisons Critical Influence: The Black Socrates according John G. Jackson Rogers, J.A. Worlds Great Men of Color Vol.2. Harrison, Hubert H. The Negro and the Nation. Harrison, Hubert H. When Africa Awakes. Perry, Jeffrey B. Hubert Harrison: the Voice of Harlem Radicalism, 1883-1918. Harlem Soapbox tradition: Moore, Richard B. Africa Conscious Harlem, from Freedomways, Summer 1963 Moore, Richard B. Afro-Americans and Radical Politics, from WCBS TV broadcast, Black Heritage Series, March 19, 1969. Manuscript Moore, Richard B. The Critics and Opponents of Marcus Garvey in Marcus Garvey and the Vision of Africa: Edited, and with an Introduction and commentaries, by John Henrik Clarke With the assistance of Amy Jacques Garvey. Black Classic Press (Baltimore, 2011) Moore & ABBs Increasing Militancy: ABB goes public ABB recruits an army The Crusader

MOORES RADICALIZATION

COMMUNIST ALLURE
Successful Bolshevik Russian Revolution Revolutionary success by Russian Bolsheviks Lenins theses on the Colonial Question African Blood Brotherhood(ABB) in Russia 1922 Critical Influence on development of official Comintern policy towards African Americans Claude McKays key Role in creating alliance Synthesis of ABB goals Goals and Aims of the ABB ABB goes public to recruit ABB vs. UNIA on the streets of Harlem

MOORE, COMMUNIST

Rationalization for Joining Communist Party Comintern United Front policy Militant Potential Internationalist Agenda of ABB Communists pass Moores Test League Against Imperialism Rejection at Du Bois 4th Pan African Congress Harlem Tenants League adopted as model for recruiting African Americans into Communist Party Yokinen Trial where American communists reject White Chauvinism

STRUGGLE WITHIN

1928 Self-Determination Thesis- Pros & Cons Harry Haywood, ABB member & WW I veteran educated in Moscow Nation within a Nation thesis Moore as Black Communist Leader American Negro Labor Congress League of Struggle for Negro Rights National Negro Congress Clandestine ABB (Underground) International Labor Defense Struggle against White Chauvinism John Pepper, comunist theorist, attacks Moores communist credentials Consistent chauvinism & colorism within party Bukharins Speech, Daily Worker, Sept.5 1928, Moore responds to Peppers criticism Yokinen Trial Significance of CPUSA commitment to rooting out Chauvinism

AFRICAN BLOOD BROTHER ON SCOTTSBORO

Background of Scottsboro Case 9 Negro youths arrested for fight 2 White women accuse boys of rape Boys, ages 13 to 20, all given death penalty Significance of International Labor Defense (ILD) Commitment to defending radicals in USA Experience on Mooney, Sacco-Vanzetti cases William Pattersons significance Annual Analysis of Moores Role on Scottsboro Early Years Mid Thirties Late thirties/early forties

MOORE vs. FORD, DIRECTION of the PARTY

Communists consolidate Scottsboro gains African Americans recruited into Communist Party Communist view Scottsboro as bulwark for work in American south NAACP Threat NAACP attempts to hijack case from ILD Walter White raises money on behalf of Boys but refuses to give to communists Samuel Leibowitzs anti-communist views Minimization of Moore/Arrival of James Ford James Ford installs doctrinaire Communism on independent minded Harlem base Moore & Briggs question Fords leadership & agenda Moore & Briggs relegated and demoted Moore Soldiers On Leads Scottsboro Mothers & Ruby Bates to White House to meet with President Roosevelt 4 Cross-country tours in promotion of Scottsboro Boys case

Conclusion
Shift in Communist Policies Critical shifts within Comintern policy affected Moores influence within the party Browders negative influence Moore back in the mix Organizes movement for Caribbean Independence Recovers and publicizes Frederick Douglasss Autobiography after 40 years of censorship Establishes Book Store in Harlem Moore kicked out Kicked out of party for being too nationalist Refuses re-entry to party Re-establishes an independent, autonomous black radical critique in the US

Moore reading

Archives
Richard B. Moore Papers, from the Schomburg Collection, New York Public Library International Labor Defense Record Group, from the Schomburg Collection, New York Public Library Crusader News Service, from the Schomburg Collection, New York Public Library Marxists Internet Archive, www.marxists.org In Motion: African American Migration Experience, online exhibit of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, New York Public Library. http://www.inmotionaame.org/migrations/topic.cfm?migration=8&topi c=1 NAACP archive- A Century in the Fight for Freedom, 1909-2009 in Library of Congress, http://myloc.gov/Exhibitions/naacp/earlyyears/ExhibitObjects/RedSu mmer.aspx