User:Carson277/Afro-Russians

Early Travelers and the "Negro Question"
The Early Soviet Period in Russia was marked by a focus on increasing the speed of industrialization and the reconstruction of the economy following almost two decades of war. Following the 2nd Communist International, John Reed, a journalist who served as the head of the Communist Labor Party, extended invitations to black American revolutionaries to visit Moscow. During the 1920s and 1930s, a multitude of African Americans traveled to the Soviet Union. These "sojourners" were specialized laborers and intellectuals with expertise in the arts, engineering, and agriculture. Some of the well known African Americans who visited the Soviet Union include: Claude McKay, Langston Hughes, Oliver Golden, George Tynes, and John Sutton.

One of the most notable aspects of the Black experience during the Early Soviet Periods were the debates on "The Negro Question" during the Fourth Congress of the Communist International (Comintern) in 1922. Jamaican poet and leader of the Harlem Renaissance, Claude McKay, visited Russia in 1922 to participate in the 4th Comintern. The goal of this meeting was to contextualize the struggle of African Americans in the United States as a part of a larger movement against capitalism and colonialism led by the Communist Party. The conference ended in a resolution titled "Theses on the Negro Question" which detailed the Communist Party's stance on the race issues faced by Black people around the world. The resolution ended with a pledge from the Fourth Congress to support "all forms of the black movement which aim either to undermine or weaken capitalism and imperialism or to prevent their further expansion." In January 1923, the International Press Correspondence published Claude McKay's speech to the 4th Congress of the Comintern entitled "Report on the Negro Question." During his speech, McKay proclaimed that "The Third International stands for the emancipation of all workers of the world, regardless of race or color." For McKay, part of contextualizing the African American fight for Civil Rights within the struggle for emancipating the international working class involved drawing comparisons between the Communist and American approaches for addressing race issues. Specifically, the Communist Party invited people of color to Moscow to debate the best way of emancipating the working class and people of color. McKay and other African Americans in the United States saw the meeting of the Third International as a concrete step toward freeing the working class of the world because it validated the African American experience and brought it into the overall fight against capitalism and colonialism. This contrasts the American approach — the ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment — which McKay saw as being "merely on paper;" an empty symbol of African American liberation. Though, not everyone in the Communist Party was in agreement with Lenin's strategy for addressing "The Negro Question." John Reed argued that Lenin's traditional Nationality Policy would not be applicable because "the Negro" were not interested in national independence; they were Americans and wanted America to be their home. Instead of proposing African American nationalism, Reed suggested that the Communist Party think of "the Negro" as a laborer, which is how they in which they were discussed during the 1922 Comintern.

McKay continued to write about the relationship between the Communist Party and African Americans in the Crisis magazine published by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). In his article titled "Soviet Russia and the Negro," Claude McKay wrote on his experience in the Soviet Union following his trip to Western Europe in 1919. During his stay in Western Europe, McKay came to the realize and "the effectiveness of the insidious propaganda" used against the "Negro Race." McKay tells the story of when a respondent of a Danish newspaper who suggested that he should not be considered representative of the Black population because during her tenure in America she "found all Negroes lazy, bad, and vicious, a terror to white women." In the article, McKay juxtaposes his experiences in Western Europe with his experience in Soviet Russia. In Europe, he faced racism and prejudice on the personal and professional levels; however, in Soviet Russia he was treated as a celebrity. During every meeting with students, children, and factory workers, McKay "was received with boisterous acclaim" and "mobbed with friendly demonstration." Furthermore, Claude McKay refers to his time in Soviet Russia as "the most memorable of my [his] life." He became emboldened by the Soviet intelligentsia because they were interested in his identity as a poet and intellectual rather than as a "Negro." The fervor with which McKay was received by people in Soviet Russia is evidence of the Communist Party's position regarding "The Negro Question" under Lenin.

As a result of his role in the Third Communist International, McKay became renowned and influential both at home and in the Soviet Union. After the Comintern, McKay traveled throughout the Soviet Union doing things, such as befriending Leon Trotsky and other Party members. For years after the Comintern McKay was lauded in Soviet Russia and served as a beacon for other black Americans seeking an escape from the Depression and Jim Crow. In the years following McKay's sojourn, other prominent figures including W.E.B. Du Bois visited the Soviet Union.

Scientists, Engineers, and Agricultural Specialists
Making his sojourn in 1924, Oliver Golden was one of the first people to respond to the growing need for scientists and skilled laborers in the Soviet Union. Golden was fascinated with the anti-racist ideology and the opportunity to conduct meaningful work without being impeded by racial prejudices. Shortly after arriving in the Soviet Union, Golden enrolled in the University for Oriental Workers, from which he received his degree in 1928. After receiving his degree, he returned to the United States where he began work for the American Communist Party (CPUSA). In the 1930s, Oliver Golden began conversations with George Washington Carver with the goal of creating a team of black agricultural specialists who would travel to the Soviet Union to help improve collectivization. After 10 months of negotiation, Golden was able to secure the following terms for their contract: transportation to and from the Soviet Union, all-expense paid vacations on the Black Sea, full health benefits, and the opportunity for the specialists to bring their families. At the time, this offer far outweighed any professional prospects available to black people in the US; when coupled with Carver's notoriety, the opportunity was incredibly lucrative.

In October 1931, Golden traveled with 14 African American cotton specialists to the Soviet Union. The group arrived in Leningrad on the 14th anniversary of the October Revolution and was received enthusiastically by Party members and laborers. One specialist, Joseph Roane noted that the experience was unfamiliar as he was not used to being treated as an equal. The Soviet Union quickly proved to be free of racial discrimination. After a short stay in Leningrad they traveled to Uzbekistan where some went to work in Tashkent and others were sent to a collective cotton farm in Yangiyul. Conditions on the collective farm were worse than in Leningrad; still the specialists remarked that they were happy with their freedom and independence, as well as with the knowledge that they were helping others. In 1934, members of the group were reassigned to various parts of Soviet Asia. After completing their contracts everyone, except Oliver Golden, returned to the United States. Oliver Golden remained in the Soviet Union until his death.

Another technical specialist who traveled to the Soviet Union in the 1930s was Robert Robinson. Before journeying to Leningrad, Robinson was the only black tool-and-die technician at Ford Motor Company. While working in the United States he was approached by Soviet recruiters who offered the opportunity to move to Leningrad for employment under a 1-year contract. Robinson made the journey to the Soviet Union with other white American specialists via an American steamboat. During a stopover in London, he was discriminated against and not allowed to go on excursions with the rest of the group. After their stay in London, the group completed their journey to Leningrad via a Soviet steamboat. Robinson's experience during this leg of the journey starkly contrasted the previous leg. When his white colleagues refused to share a cafeteria with him, the crew responded that the everyone is equal in the Soviet Union and proceeded to allow Robinson to eat. Robinson was shocked by this experience because it was different than anything he had experienced in the United States during Jim Crow. When they arrived in Leningrad, his white colleagues complained that they were sharing a hotel with Robinson, a black man. Again, the Soviets did not accept their request for a room change. Robinson began to settle into his routine and became more comfortable at the Stalingrad tractor plant when he was attacked by two white Americans. In his memoir, Robinson recounts this incident and explains that, in that moment, "something inside me [Robinson] exploded – the rage that had been building for years." In the United States Robinson would have suffered through the humiliation; however, being in the Soviet Union empowered him to fight against his attackers.

The attack against Robinson made international news and Robinson himself became a public figure. Two years after the incident his notoriety continued as he was elected to a prominent position in the Moscow Soviet. Robinson placement in the Moscow Soviet led to backlash in the United States. He returned to the United States for vacation, during which he concluded that he had no desire to stay in America. Robinson returned to Moscow in the middle of the Great Purges. Throughout this period of political repression, Robinson lost a lot of friends and he became increasingly concerned for his safety. He enlisted the help of Homer Smith and Paul Robeson to try and return to the U.S., but despite his efforts his requests to leave were denied. Eventually, after renouncing his American citizenship and becoming a Soviet citizen, Robinson was able to leave the Soviet Union to work in Uganda where he trained machinists. Finally, in 1978 he returned to the U.S. where he lived a quiet life to avoid political and social persecution resulting from his time in the Soviet Union.

Intellectuals and Creatives
On June 14, 1932, a group of African Americans journeyed from New York to Moscow on board the North Bremen Liner Europa. Some of those who made the journey included the following: Langston Hughes, Wayland Rudd, Taylor Gordon, Loren Miller, Ted R. Poston, and Henry Lee Moon. They were invited to Moscow by the Soviet government in order to participate in a film detailing the problem of race in the United States. Entitled Black and White, the film was intended to serve as Communist propaganda to be disseminated to parts of Asia and Africa to highlight, "the manner in which capitalist America discriminated against and oppressed its colored citizens. Per the group's contract, each person received 400 rubles a month, ration cards, and coverage for accommodation and travel expenses. The cinema group did not immediately start filming, rather they waited more than a month while the script was being finalized. The group stayed in Moscow during the Soviet Famine of 1932. Initially, members of the the Black and White film company were fed whatever was available – typically this meant borscht, potatoes, and a vegetable. As a result of the growing discontent, the group was given access to higher quality food, of which the general public could not access. In their free time the Americans would go dancing, eat at restaurants, attend parties, and visit theaters. For them, their experiences indicated that Russia did not have racism. After weeks of debate over the specifics of the script, the final copy had been finished. Upon review, Langston Hughes felt that the script presented an inaccurate portrayal of the Black experience in the Jim Crow South.

Two weeks before filming would have begun, the Americans took a train to Odessa where they lived lavishly: they stayed in seafront hotels, swam, and took a cruise on the Black Sea. Meanwhile, relations between the United States and the Soviet Union began to improve. In exchange for US diplomatic recognition of Russia, President Franklin Delano Roosevel t stipulated that the Soviet government avoid any propaganda attacking American social policies. After hearing the film had been cancelled, the actors returned to Moscow where they were no longer treated as celebrities – since there was no more funding, the group had to eat and sleep like the working class. Of the 22 actors, writers, and intellectuals, only two decided to remain in Russia permanently. The rest either journeyed directly to the US, or traveled around Europe and Asia before returning home.

After the collapse of the Black and White film project, Langston Hughes traveled throughout the Soviet East. Eager to explore parts of the Soviet Union where people of color lived, Hughes visited places such as Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan. Throughout his travels, Hughes experienced greater interest in his writing than he had in the United States. His works quickly international acclaim and were translated into Russian as well as other languages spoken in the Soviet Union. Langston Hughes was regarded as a "Negro proletariat" and his works were seen as having the strength to solve the problems of racial discrimination in the United States. He often framed his experiences in Central Asia against the experience of black people in the US. This was done for the reader's ease in evaluating the progress of the Soviet experiment. Some of his most famous essays were published in the Chicago Defender, in which he praised the Soviets for having accomplished social change that was seen as impossible in the United States. In the 1950s, the US House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) pressured Hughes to stop writing about the positive effects of the Soviet experiment.

Williana Burroughs was an African American woman who moved to the Soviet Union to pursue professional opportunities and protect her children from Jim Crow. Desiring to positively alter the conditions of the working class and the poor, Williana Burroughs joined the Communist Party in September 1926. A year later, Burroughs visited the Soviet Union as a delegate for the CPUSA. During her visit, Burroughs became more confident in Marxism after noticing the way in which the Soviet Union solved the problem of race. Prior to returning to New York, Burroughs chose to send her children to boarding school in Moscow to give them greater opportunities and protect them from racism. After returning to the United States she became frustrated with the mainstream African American leadership. Burroughs became a role model for African American women by pushing the boundaries and fighting for greater social, political, and economic reforms. After running for Lieutenant Governor of New York, she submitted a request to move to the Soviet Union. Upon approval, Burroughs was placed at Radio Moscow where she worked for the next seven years. While working for Radio Moscow, she played a crucial role in maintaining the support of rural regions of the Soviet Union as well as during the war. Eventually, Burroughs's health began to deteriorate and the Soviet government made an exception, allowing her to return to the United States. Shortly after returning to the U.S., Williana Burroughs passed away.

Paul Robeson was another African American whose fascination with the Soviet experiment led him travel to the Soviet Union. During his stay in England, Robeson became more politically aware and interested in global affairs – it is here that he became aware of Soviet ideologies. He first visited the Soviet Union after accepting an invitation from renowned Soviet filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein. Upon arrival, Robeson was met with receptions and invitations to both cultural and political events. Robeson, "was not prepared for the endless friendliness, which surrounded me [him]...." At these events he had the opportunity to meet with other black sojourners and discuss their experiences in the Soviet Union – all expressed they were happy with their lives and that the Soviet Union was free of racial prejudice. Robeson returned to the Soviet Union several times throughout the 1930s, during which he performed at concerts, gave speeches, and took vacations. He enjoyed visiting the Soviet Union because it was the first time that he was not living under the oppressiveness of racism and discrimination. Unlike other sojourners, he was not interested in making Moscow his permanent residence. As a result, he procured an apartment for his wife Eslanda Goode Robeson and enrolled their son, Paul Robeson Jr., in a Soviet school. As the threat of another World War increased, Robeson moved his family back to London to avoid being accused of espionage – foreigners at this time were typically seen as suspicious. He returned in 1949 to perform at concerts and attend the 150th anniversary of Alexander Pushkin's birth as an honored guest. While there, he spoke in favor of the Soviet experiment and made disparaging remarks about the U.S. for building its wealth by exploiting the working class. Upon returning to the United States Robeson was slandered by the government and accused of caring more for Russians than for other African Americans. Although his legacy was challenged in the United States, his celebrity in the Soviet Union was long lasting.

The Purges and World War II
Suspicion of foreigners became increasingly common at the height of Stalin's regime and the World War. Black sojourners frequently had encounters with the Soviet secret police. In Homer Smith's memoir Black Man in Red Russia he recounts being led to Pushkin square by a colleague. Smith was expecting to go on a double date, instead he was apprehended by two men working for the secret police. They took him and his colleague to a building where they were put in two separate rooms. Smith recalls being questioned and searched thoroughly – one of the men even cut his coat open to search the inside. After the search, Smith was released and he noticed that his colleague looked undisturbed. From that moment he decided against renewing his contract with the Post Office – he was concerned about the police's suspicion of postal workers – and instead became a foreign war correspondent.

Unlike Homer Smith, when Lovett Fort-Whiteman encountered the secret police he was sent to a prison labor camp in Siberia. When Fort-Whiteman settled in the Soviet Union he conducted research on fish-breeding for the University of Moscow; he also gave frequent lectures about racism in the U.S. at other universities. While living in the Soviet Union he changed his personal style of dress to match that of a Russian communist. In 1933, Fort-Whiteman requested to return to the United States, but his request was denied because he was exiled by the CPUSA. Together, the CPUSA and the Comintern monitored and regulated the travel of foreign communists. Fort-Whiteman was not allowed to leave the Soviet Union because he was accused of counterrevolutionary activities. When members of the Black and White film company arrived in the Soviet Union, Lovett Fort-Whiteman was one of the first people to greet them. After inviting new sojourners to clandestine meetings, he was accused of trying to indoctrinate them with anti-communist sentiments. After several accusations, Lovett Fort-Whiteman was arrested by the secret police and sent to a village in Kazakhstan where he was employed in schools. In 1938, the NKVD determined that the severity of his punishment needed to be increased so he was sentenced to five-years hard labor in the Sevostlag prison labor camp in Siberia. In January 1939, Lovett Fort-Whiteman died of malnutrition as a result of the inhospitable conditions of the labor camp.