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The Black Belt Thesis: A Reader
A portrait of worker solidarity in the South, and of the fight for Black liberation.
In 1928, the Third International adopted a resolution on the right of self-determination for African Americans in the Black Belt, in the southeastern US. Over the next decade, this resolution guided the CPUSA’s regional focus in the US South, as a frontline organization in the struggle against white supremacy. This was a period of great experiments in building an independent multiracial working class movement in North America, a movement that confronted the remnants of slavery, under conditions that foreshadowed the fascism that would soon develop in Europe. Across the cities and rural areas of the US South, communists engaged existing traditions of struggle, and planted seeds for the growth of the movement against racism in the following decades. This reader presents primary documents from the period to aid the study of the history, theory, and political application of the Black Belt thesis.
In 1928, the Third International adopted a resolution on the right of self-determination for African Americans in the Black Belt, in the southeastern US. Over the next decade, this resolution guided the CPUSA’s regional focus in the US South, as a frontline organization in the struggle against white supremacy. This was a period of great experiments in building an independent multiracial working class movement in North America, a movement that confronted the remnants of slavery, under conditions that foreshadowed the fascism that would soon develop in Europe. Across the cities and rural areas of the US South, communists engaged existing traditions of struggle, and planted seeds for the growth of the movement against racism in the following decades. This reader presents primary documents from the period to aid the study of the history, theory, and political application of the Black Belt thesis.
336 pages, Paperback
Published August 1, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 15, 2025
This is a great overview of the history and theory behind the Black Belt Thesis, consisting mainly of primary source documents of the Black communists who developed and implemented this line. It’s a sadly forgotten piece of history that the CPUSA was on the forefront of the struggle for Black Liberation in the 30s and 40s, taking seriously the task of eradicating racism among its ranks and the labor movement. As a work of theory, the Black Belt Thesis proved its own correctness through its implementation; the CPUSA going from a mainly white organization which paid lip service to equal rights beforehand, to becoming the preeminent, widely-recognized champion (especially among Black workers) of the Scottsboro Boys, Angelo Herndon, and national self-determination of the Black Belt.
Eye-opening passages describe the conditions of organizing Black workers and sharecroppers in the South, conditions which can only be described as truly fascistic, a term often misunderstood by liberals to be of foreign import and new to the country. Yet the comrades persevered through the homegrown American fascism of lynchings, KKK terror, and racial apartheid, finding success in brining white and Black workers together and setting the stage for the social revolution that was the Civil Rights Movement decades later. American Communists really should study this forgotten history, which is our history. Many lessons are to be learned about revolutionary optimism, theory and practice, and what it takes to actually bring about revolutionary change here at home.
Eye-opening passages describe the conditions of organizing Black workers and sharecroppers in the South, conditions which can only be described as truly fascistic, a term often misunderstood by liberals to be of foreign import and new to the country. Yet the comrades persevered through the homegrown American fascism of lynchings, KKK terror, and racial apartheid, finding success in brining white and Black workers together and setting the stage for the social revolution that was the Civil Rights Movement decades later. American Communists really should study this forgotten history, which is our history. Many lessons are to be learned about revolutionary optimism, theory and practice, and what it takes to actually bring about revolutionary change here at home.
June 8, 2024
This book is very useful reading for activists and organizers, especially those in the south. I can't recommend it enough, and I have an extra copy I plan to give to someone who will put it to good use.
October 31, 2024
Damn yall, long live the BBR
February 26, 2025
An essential anthology for working class revolutionaries.
The book details the realities of the African slave-descendants of the Black Belt and their struggle for self-determination during (what may be considered) the peak of organized communist activity in the South, the 1930s.
The book details the realities of the African slave-descendants of the Black Belt and their struggle for self-determination during (what may be considered) the peak of organized communist activity in the South, the 1930s.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews