Hellraisers Journal: From the International Socialist Review: “Socialism and the Negro” by Hubert Harrison, Part II

Share

Quote Hubert Harrison, The Voice re St Louis Horror, July 4, 1917—————

Hellraisers Journal – Thursday July 18, 1912
“Socialism and the Negro” by Hubert Harrison, Part II

From the International Socialist Review of July 1912:

Hubert Harrison, ISR p65, July 1912

[Part II of II]

The Duty of The Socialist Party.

I think that we might embrace the opportunity of taking the matter up at the coming national convention. The time is ripe for taking a stand against the extensive disfranchisement of the Negro in violation of the plain provisions of the national constitution. In view of the fact that the last three amendments to the constitution contain the clause, “Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation,” the party will not be guilty of proposing anything worse than asking the government to enforce its own “law and order.” If the Negroes, or any other section of the working class in America, is to be deprived of the ballot, how can they participate with us in the class struggle? How can we pretend to be a political party if we fail to see the significance of this fact?

Besides, the recent dirty diatribes against the Negro in a Texas paper, which is still on our national list of Socialist papers; the experiences of Mrs. Theresa Malkiel in Tennessee, where she was prevented by certain people from addressing a meeting of Negroes on the subject of Socialism, and certain other exhibitions of the thing called Southernism, constitute the challenge of caste. Can we ignore this challenge? I think not. We could hardly afford to have the taint of “trimming” on the garments of the Socialist party. It is dangerous-doubly dangerous now, when the temper of the times is against such “trimming.” Besides it would be futile. If it is not met now it must be met later when it shall have grown stronger. Now, when we can cope with it, we have the issue squarely presented: Southernism or Socialism-which? Is it to be the white half of the working class against the black half, or all the working class? Can we hope to triumph over capitalism with one-half of the working class against us? Let us settle these questions now-for settled they must be.

Continue reading “Hellraisers Journal: From the International Socialist Review: “Socialism and the Negro” by Hubert Harrison, Part II”

Hellraisers Journal: From the International Socialist Review: “Socialism and the Negro” by Hubert Harrison, Part I

Share

Quote Hubert Harrison, The Voice re St Louis Horror, July 4, 1917—————

Hellraisers Journal – Wednesday July 17, 1912
“Socialism and the Negro” by Hubert Harrison, Part I

From the International Socialist Review of July 1912:

Hubert Harrison, ISR p65, July 1912

[Part I of II]

1. Economic Status Of The Negro

The ten million Negroes of America form a group that is more essentially proletarian than any other American group. In the first place the ancestors of this group were brought here with the very definite understanding that they were to be ruthlessly exploited. And they were not allowed any choice in the matter. Since they were brought here as chattels their social status was fixed by that fact. In every case that we know of where a group has lived by exploiting another group, it has despised that group which it has put under subjection. And the degree of contempt has always been in direct proportion to the degree of exploitation.

Inasmuch, then, as the Negro was at one period the most thoroughly exploited of the American proletariat, he was the most thoroughly despised. That group which exploited and despised him, being the most powerful section of the ruling class, was able to diffuse its own necessary contempt of the Negro first among the other sections of the ruling class, and afterwards among all other classes of Americans. For the ruling class has always determined what the social ideals and moral ideas of society should be; and this explains how race prejudice was disseminated until all Americans are supposed to be saturated with it. Race prejudice, then, is the fruit of economic subjection and a fixed inferior economic status. It is the reflex of a social caste system. That caste system in America today is what we roughly refer to as the Race Problem, and it is thus seen that the Negro problem is essentially an economic problem with its roots in slavery past and present.

Notwithstanding the fact that it is usually kept out of public discussion, the bread-and-butter side of this problem is easily the most important. The Negro worker gets less for his work-thanks to exclusion from the craft unions-than any other worker; he works longer hours as a rule and under worse conditions than any other worker; and his rent in any large city is much higher than that which the white worker pays for the same tenement. In short, the exploitation of the Negro worker is keener than that of any group of white workers in America. Now, the mission of the Socialist Party is to free the working class from exploitation, and since the Negro is the most ruthlessly exploited working class group in America, the duty of the party to champion his cause is as clear as day. This is the crucial test of Socialism’s sincerity and therein lies the value of this point of view-Socialism and the Negro.

Continue reading “Hellraisers Journal: From the International Socialist Review: “Socialism and the Negro” by Hubert Harrison, Part I”

Hellraisers Journal: From The Messenger: “Negroes Organizing in Socialist Party”- Republican Party, Worst Sort of Fraud

Share

Nothing counts but pressure, pressure, more pressure,
and still more pressure through broad,
organized, aggressive mass action.
-A. Philip Randolph
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hellraisers Journal, Tuesday July 9, 1918
New York, New York – Randolph and Owen Recommend Socialist Party

From The Messenger of July 1918:

The editors of The Messenger decry the Republican and Democratic Parties as they give enthusiastic support to the Socialist Party of America.

A. Philip Randolph and Chandler Owen, Messenger, Nov 1917

—–

NEGROES ORGANIZING IN SOCIALIST PARTY

The new Negro is awakening. After having been the political Rip Van winkle of America for fifty years, sleeping in the cesspools of Republican reaction, he has at last opened his eyes. In New York City, in the very heart of the Negro settlement, there has been organized the Twenty-first Assembly District Socialist Branch which includes all white and colored Socialists in the district. The branch has grown to about one hundred members in two weeks, all of whom are dues paying and in good standing.

The new Negro leaders are pointing out the Republican party as the worst fraud under which Negroes have been laboring. The Democratic party is openly against the negro. The Republican party is ever striking him a blow in the the back. Either one or the other of those parties has been in power for the last fifty years, the Republicans the greater part of the time. The Jim Crowism, segregation, lynching, disfranchisement and discrimination are as much the work of the Republican as the Democratic party. Jim Crowism railroads was upheld in a decision by Chas. E. Hughes. Lynch laws thrived under McKinley, Roosevelt and Taft. The Grandfather disfranchisement laws were passed under the guardianship of the Republican party. The Sumner Civil Rights bill was declared unconstitutional by the Republican Supreme Court.

Lastly the Republican party is the party of plutocracy, of wealth, of monopoly, of trusts, of big business. But the Negroes-99 per cent of them-are working people. They have nothing in common with big business and their employers. They ought to belong to the workers’ party. And that is the Socialist party. The object of the employer is to get the greatest amount of work from the laborer and to give the least amount of pay. The object of the laborer is to get the greatest amount of pay for the least amount of work. In a word, the interests of the employer and the employee are opposed.

Continue reading “Hellraisers Journal: From The Messenger: “Negroes Organizing in Socialist Party”- Republican Party, Worst Sort of Fraud”