The African American Encounter with Japan and China: Black Internationalism in Asia, 1895-1945

by Marc S. Gallicchio

In the first book to focus on African American attitudes toward Japan and China, Marc Gallicchio examines the rise and fall of black internationalism in the first half of the twentieth century. This daring new approach to world politics failed in its effort to seek solidarity with the two Asian countries, but it succeeded in rallying black Americans in the struggle for civil rights.Black internationalism emphasized the role of race or color in world politics and linked the domestic struggle of African Americans with the freedom struggle of emerging nations "of color," such as India and much of Africa. In the early twentieth century, black internationalists, including W. E. B. Du Bois and Marcus Garvey, embraced Japan as a potential champion of the darker races, despite Japan's imperialism in China. After Pearl Harbor, black internationalists reversed their position and identified Nationalist China as an ally in the war against racism. In the end, black internationalism was unsuccessful as an interpretation of international affairs. The failed quest for alliances with Japan and China, Gallicchio argues, foreshadowed the difficulty black Americans would encounter in seeking redress for American racism in the international arena.

Genres: History

271 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 18, 2000

About the author

Marc Gallicchio is professor of history at Villanova University.

Reviews

[Jeremy Hurdis · Rating 2 out of 5]

A rigorous archival study of 'Black Internationalism' for which Japan served as an ideological symbol for the overthrow of white power around the world. However, lacking a theoretical framework, Gallicchio does not provide us with a way to understand the discrepancy between Japan and China as the Black Internationalists viewed them (symbolic) and reality of Japan and China, an imperialist context in which racism and exploitation were reproduced.

[Gerard]

The 20th century political origins of "race war." The effectiveness of imperial Japanese propaganda on black Americans. And how the diplomatic needs of WW2 affected the civil rights movement.