Revolutionaries to Race Leaders: Black Power and the Making of African American Politics

336 Pages·2007·2.2 MB·English

by  Cedric Johnson

Revolutionaries to Race Leaders
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Revolutionaries to
Race Leaders
Black Power and the
Making of African
American Politics
C E D R I C J O H N S O N
University of Minnesota Press
Minneapolis • London
An earlier version of chapter 4 was previously published as “From Popular Anti-
Imperialism to Sectarianism:The African Liberation Support Committee and Black
Power Radicals,”New Political Science 25,no.4 (December 2003); reprinted with
permission from Taylor & Francis.
Copyright 2007 by the Regents ofthe University ofMinnesota
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system,or transmitted,in any form or by any means,electronic,mechanical,
photocopying,recording,or otherwise,without the prior written permission ofthe
publisher.
Published by the University ofMinnesota Press
111 Third Avenue South,Suite 290
Minneapolis,MN 55401-2520
http://www.upress.umn.edu
Library ofCongress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Johnson,Cedric,1971–
Revolutionaries to race leaders :Black power and the making ofAfrican American
politics / Cedric Johnson.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8166-4477-3 (hc :alk.paper)—ISBN 978-0-8166-4478-0 (pb :alk.
paper)—ISBN-10:0-8166-4477-2 (hc)—ISBN-10:0-8166-4478-0 (pb)
1. African Americans—Politics and government—20th century. 2. Black power—
United States—History—20th century. 3. Radicalism—United States—History—
20th century. 4. African American leadership—History—20th century.5. African
American political activists—History—20th century. 6. African American
intellectuals—History—20th century. 7. Revolutionaries—United States—History—
20th century. 8. United States—Race relations—Political aspects—History—20th
century. I. Title.
E185.615.J59 2007
322.4089'96073—dc22 2007008264
Printed in the United States ofAmerica on acid-free paper
The University ofMinnesota is an equal-opportunity educator and employer.
12–11–10–09–08–07 10–9–8–7–6–5–4–3–2–1
For Lietha Davis and Morris Davis Jr.
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Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Abbreviations xv
Note on Usage xvii
Introduction: All Power to the People? xix
Part I Black Power and African American Politics
1 The “Negro Revolution”and Cold War America:
Revolutionary Politics and Racial Conservatism
in the Work ofHarold Cruse 3
2 Return ofthe Native:Amiri Baraka (LeRoi Jones),
the New Nationalism,and Black Power Politics 42
Part II Racial Technocrats,Democratic Struggles
3 The Convention Strategy and Conventional Politics:
The 1972 Gary Convention and the Limits
ofRacial Unity 85
4 From Popular Anti-Imperialism to Sectarianism:
The African Liberation Day Mobilizations and
Radical Intellectuals 131
5 Radical Departures:The National Black Political
Assembly,the National Black Independent Political
Party,and the Struggle for Alternatives 173
Conclusion: The Ends ofBlack Politics 217
Notes 231
Index 281
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Acknowledgments
T
his project began as a dissertation at the University of Mary-
land. I was blessed with an incredibly talented, supportive disserta-
tion committee.Sincerest thanks go to my dissertation chair,Ronald
W.Walters,who adamantly supported this project from our earliest
conversations. My research benefited immeasurably from his rich,
extensive personal history with the civil rights movement and post-
segregation black politics.The late Linda Faye Williams shaped this
project and my thinking on race and American politics in profound
ways.I hope this book would have made her proud.I seriously doubt
that I would have completed my graduate studies without the con-
stant support and wisdom of Ollie Johnson. I am also thankful to
Clarence Stone, whose graduate course on power, leadership, and
social change convinced me that there was room within the discipline
of political science to do work that was historically nuanced and
politically relevant.Sincerest thanks go to Elsa Barkley-Brown,who
shared her many personal experiences and keen insights regarding
the National Black Independent Political Party. During my time in
College Park, I was blessed with the friendship and community
of some incredibly creative and smart people. I am forever grateful
to Wendy Smooth, Yusifu Bangura, Tamelyn Tucker-Worgs, Donn
Worgs,Adolphus Belk Jr.,Tom Ricker,Erika Gordon,Guy E.DeWeever,
Avis Jones-DeWeever, Guichard Cadet, Kweku Nuamah, Sekou
Franklin, Bernard Moore, Delgreco Wilson, Phyllis Jeffers, Michelle
Miller,Reggie Tynes,Ester Carr,Levita Mondie,and Farah Cherry.
At various stages, this research benefited from the insights and
assistance of archivists and staff at Howard University’s Moorland-
Spingarn Research Center, the University of Maryland’s McKeldin
Library, the University of Rochester’s Rush Rhees Library, Hobart
ix