The African Blood Brotherhood for African Liberation and Redemption (ABB) was a militant black liberation group founded in 1919 by West Indian journalist Cyril Briggs. Cyril Briggs, a West Indian-born radical of mixed racial parentage living in New York. Briggs was a staunch exponent of the theory of racial separatism. The ABB was a revolutionary secret organization whose purpose and program was the liberation of African people and the redemption of the African race. It was a propaganda organization built on the model of the secret fraternity, organized in "posts." It was centered in Harlem, the ABB established local branches throughout the country.
The African Blood Brotherhood was an unusual Afro-Marxist organization operative in New York
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City's Harlem during the period commonly referred to as the "Harlem Renaissance." The African Blood Brotherhood, or ABB as it is sometimes called, is certainly an extension of an antecedent socio-political heritage dating back to the early nineteenth century. However, the ABB is the first independent socialist/communist organization composed exclusively of persons of African descent in the United States. The ABB emerged within a socio-political climate influenced by World I, dissention within the white socialist movement, a rift among Harlem's African American and West Indian socialists, a renaissance among Harlem's African American creative intellectuals, and the beginning of a popular and invigorating Marcus Garvey movement. During World War I, an impressive group of young African American and West Indian radicals emerged in Harlem who were enthusiastic about socialism and committed to the struggle for African American liberation. Men such as Hubert H. Harrison, an influential member of the Socialist Party's local branch 5 of Harlem and organizer of the Colored Socialist Club and 21st AD Socialist Club, and A. Philip Randolph and Chandler Owen, two of the most important African American socialists during this period and publishers of The Messenger, were deeply involved in Harlem radical politics and responsible for attracting militant, vocal young people of African descent to socialism. When the Socialist Party split in 1919 over support for the Russian Revolution, it also influenced a rift among African American and West Indian socialists.
This was also a period which witnessed the emergence of the African American creative writer which has been variously called the "Harlem Renaissance," the "Black Renaissance," and the "New Negro Movement." Also, this was a time when Marcus Garvey and his Universal Negro Improvement Association captured the imagination of the African American masses. The UNIA has been described as the largest mass based African American organization in American history. Thus, Cyril V. Briggs, a West Indian immigrant and publisher of the Crusader magazine, organized the African Blood Brotherhood. Briggs, initiated the ABB as a revolutionary secret organization along the lines of a fraternal society specifically for men and women of African descent. It had its own rituals, passwords, signs, formal initiation ceremony, and solemn oath. The ABB was also organized into degrees which represented stages of progress within the organization, and policy was determined by the Supreme Council composed of Cyril V. Briggs, Theodore Burrell, Otto Huiswood, Richard B. Moore, Ben E. Burrell, Grace Campbell, W. A. Domingo, and William H. …show more content…
Jones.. The organization came to public attention as a result of its interaction with Marcus Garvey. Members of the ABB attempted to influence Garvey and the Universal Negro Improvement Association. But the two groups parted company in 1921 when the ABB was expelled from the UNIA because of the ABB's extremism. The ABB also came to public attention when the Tulsa, Oklahoma post was implicated in the Tulsa riot of 1921. Following the arrest of an African American man a riot ensued which ended with the bombing of an African American neighborhood. The ABB played a leading role in defending the African American community. The purpose and program of the ABB was the liberation of Africa and people of African descent and the redemption of the African race. The program espoused racial pride, Black Nationalism, Pan-Africanism, and the economic nature of the African American struggle. The ABB's program also advocated the organization of African American unions, opposition to the Ku Klux Klan, industrial development, higher wages, shorter work hours, better living conditions, education, cooperation with other darker peoples and revolutionary class-conscious white workers, and a united African American front. The ABB advocated armed defense against racist assaults and the creation of an independent black socialist Commonwealth. The ABB sought to unite black radicals around the issues of racism, colonialism, black nationalism, and anti-capitalism and, through its merger of class and race consciousness. The ABB supported armed defense against lynching, the right to organize unions, equal rights for blacks, and the abolition of Jim Crow laws. The ABB also put forward the idea of a federation of African American organizations as a unified centralized movement for the liberation and protection of African Americans, and within this federation a secret protective military cell would be developed for defensive purposes. The ABB had a large West Indian following that included many Caribbean-born political radicals. Although there is some discrepancy over the total membership, posts were established throughout the United States and West Indies with the largest posts being in Harlem and Chicago. Briggs had hoped to offer an alternative to the populism of Marcus Garvey’s Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), but the ABB’s membership never approached the numbers of that group. The group's size has been variously estimated between 1,000 to Briggs' claim of "less than 3,000" members at its peak. Especially in Harlem, its membership included some of the most influential black radicals of the period, including Briggs and fellow West Indian immigrants Richard B. Moore and Otto Huiswoud, as well as American-born Grace Campbell. In 1921, the ABB gained notoriety and a boost in membership after its Tulsa, Oklahoma branch was linked to the armed resistance of local blacks during the Tulsa race riot. At the start, the ABB was clearly independent of the communist movement, but its leadership evolved to pro-communism after it gained notoriety for its association with the armed resistance of blacks against whites. By the mid-1920s, its leadership had opted for a more class-centered interracial proletarian party and allied itself with the Communist Party of the United States of America. This shift entailed moderating some of the group's nationalist militancy in favor of more class-conscious interracial solidarity. Blending a strong sense of African identity and national culture with communist ideology, Briggs formulated arguments to combine a struggle for an independent black-governed state that could be located in Africa or elsewhere. Although the ABB was a bold experiment in black Marxist organization, it was short-lived, destroyed by its own internal logic. Due to financial difficulties, the ABB's formal end came in 1924 when it folded into the Party's American Negro Labor Congress. Many of its members merged into the regular Workers Party of America and later into the National Negro Labor College. The ABB's most important platform and recruitment tool was Briggs' newspaper, the Crusader, which had been founded in 1918.
In the group’s newspaper, The Crusader, Briggs attacked U.S. Pres. Woodrow Wilson for not supporting African nationalism. Provided the primary gateway for black radicals' entrance into the Communist movement in the early to mid 1920s. Its historical significance lies in the fact that not only is the ABB a consequence of a preceding socio-political tradition, but it was the first of its kind and so a forerunner of later radical African American political organizations. Consequently, this makes the study of the ABB appurtenant to African American social and political history. The uniqueness of the ABB was its militant Black Nationalism and left-wing communist ideology which none of the previously mentioned organizations in total sanctioned. By 1925, the ABB stood out among other organizations during that time because of its synthesis of Black Nationalism with Marxism-communism. The ABB also stands as a precursor of later revolutionary Black Nationalist groups. The influence of the ABB on African American social and political thought was primarily its blending of Black Nationalism with socialism and its revolutionary program for the social, political, and economic liberation of African Americans. The ABB represented a continuation and an extension of the Black Nationalist tradition prevalent in the stream of radical African American social and
political thought begun early in the nineteenth century.
The Universal Negro Improvement Association is an organization (UNIA) that was developed by a man named Marcus Garvey. Now Garvey was not the only one to have established this organization, however he was the face of it. His ideas, connections, work, and influences where all huge factors in establishing the UNIA. However, creating Garvey’s vision into a reality was not an easy road, the organization changed a lot through out the decades and has impacted many lives. The Universal Negro Improvement Association and Marcus Garvey did not just stop at singling out one object, but reached out in many different ways also.
Hahn discusses both the well-known struggle against white supremacy and the less examined conflicts within the black community. He tells of the remarkable rise of Southern blacks to local and state power and the white campaign to restore their version of racial order, disenfranchise blacks, and exclude them from politics. Blacks built many political and social structures to pursue their political goals, including organizations such as Union Leagues, the Colored Farmers’ Alliance, chapters of the Republican Party, and emigration organizations. Hahn used this part of the book to successfully recover the importance of black political action shaping their own history.
In this paper, I will also provide some discussion of the difference between the different civil right’s leaders and their movement in relation to the Tulsa Race Riot and why some of their advances were met with success when the one in Tulsa was met with complete failure. I will detail some of the prominent figures and the unknown figures that were crucial during the race riot and elaborate on their contributions. My thesis for this paper is as follows: After World War I the hope for equality both in the law and through the law was prominent in the minds of African Americans and many of them believed that taking a stand and declaring their rights was the way to fight against the inequalities against blacks; this was especially true for the African Americans whose actions spurred the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921.
The NAACP was a coalition of black and white radicals which sought to remove legal barriers to full citizenship for Negroes.
Booker over came the obstacles of the free black man by educating himself and other blacks to become “equal” to whites. Until the start of World War I African Americans had a difficult time. His speaking tours and private persuasion tried to equalize public educational opportunities and to reduce racial violence. There were many gains earned after the Civil War seemed lost by the time of World War I because racial violence and lynching reached an all time high. However, both the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the National Urban League (NUL) were founded by blacks and whites during this time. Both of these major civil rights organizations make efforts on the part of blacks and their white allies to insure that the United States provides "freedom and justice to all".
“Black Supremacy Cult in the U.S.” U.S. News & World Report 9 November 1959: 112-114.
As you well know, this country was found by criminal minded beasts, who colonized this area just as they did Afrika in the 1800s. As we had our plantations in the south with house negroes and field Afrikans, we find that this trend has never changed as the years have gone by. Thanks to research done by brutha Cokely, we have found that there is a black secret society that has been closely associated with maintaining the grip of white supremacy on people of color. These same secret societies, these house negroes answer to, have a long history rooted in the physical and mental enslavement of Afrikans around the globe. This black "secret society" is called the Boule' aka. Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity Incorporated, founded May 15, 1904. This is the 1st black fraternity in america and was before the 1st black "college" frat, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Incorporated.
World War II presented several new opportunities for African Americans to participate in the war effort and thereby begin to earn an equal place in American society and politics. From the beginning of the war, the black media urged fighting a campaign for a “Double Victory”: a global victory against fascism at the warfront and national victory over racism at the homefront. In spite of the literary and artistic achievements of the Harlem Renaissance, the economic or political gains that the black community expected did not come to light from the African American participation in the First World War. (Perry 89) Thus the black media aimed to obtain that foothold that would bring about racial equality. They emphatically declared that there would be no lessening of racial activism, in order to present a consolidated front to America’s enemies.
He experienced the kind that the majority unintentionally masks their racism. They believe that their strategies are not racist, but their attempts to not be racist makes it worse. They try to control minorities instead of listening to their issues and using their privilege to actually help. The Brotherhood is a Marxist minded organization that is predominantly white. The Brotherhood recruits African-American men to hold certain positions in order to spread the word about an experiment and methodology they have developed to promote equality in the communities. However, all that their methods did was control the way African-Americans think, how they relay their ideals, and what jobs that they can have. They took what stereotypical view they had of African-Americans and designed a template for how they think African-Americans to act in order to form peace. African-Americans are not guinea pigs for social and environmental experiments. They are not a species that made their way to America, and now there needs to be a plan in order to control them. America is now a land where millions of people from different backgrounds can influence others from their cultural experiences. The Brotherhood’s use of the term “brother” is a way to include themselves in a culture they did not understand. The only reason that they cared about how African-Americans thrived in the North is because they noticed that a culture
actor, journalist , he published African times and Orient Review. The author states,” it exposed Garvey to the role of African business and the triumphs of Africa's ancestral past” (1992). During his stay in London, he read the autobiography by Booker T Washington called Up from Slavery. This book motivated him to become a race leader. In 1914, Garvey went back home to start an organization called UNIA. The UNIA was established around education, economics, and radical pride. He hoped to open up a college for young black men and women and by helping poor family that are in financial need. The organization motto,” One God! One Aim! One Destiny!”(1992).After a year, the organization had over a one hundred members. In need of funds and support
Ogbar, Jeffrey. Black Power Radical Politics and African American Identity. Baltimore: John Hopkins UP, 2004, 124.
On February 12th, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People was founded by a multiracial group of activists, who answered "The Call," in the New York City, NY. They initially called themselves the National Negro Committee. Founded in 1909, the NAACP, or National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, has been active in its attempts to break legal ground and forge better opportunities for African Americans. At the beginning in 1909, some twenty persons met together in New York City for the purpose of utilizing the public interest in the Lincoln Centennial in behalf of African Americans. The history, function, purpose, and current activities of the organization are important to work on behalf of the rights of colored people including Native Americans, African Americans and Jews.
The year was 1915, Carter G. Woodson had recently traveled from Washington D.C to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of emancipation. This gave him and thousands of other African Americans the ability to appreciate displays highlighting the progress African Americans had made since the abolishment of slavery. This occasion inspired Woodson and four others to form the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (now Association for the Study of African American Life and History or ASALH). This organization’s purpose was to recognize and promote the accomplishments and history of African Americans that often went unnoticed. In 1916, Woodson created The Journal of Negro History in hopes that it would familiarize people with the findings and achievements of African Americans. But Woodson wanted more; he wanted all people to celebrate and be aware of the great things African Americans had and were accomplishing. He wanted both whites and blacks to have strong, positive affiliations. Woodson decided the best way to accomplish these things was to create Negro Achievement Week.
Shaskolsky, Leon. “The Negro Protest Movement- Revolt or Reform?.” Phylon 29 (1963): 156-166. JSTOR. U of Illinois Lib., Urbana. 11 Apr. 2004 .
At first, Briggs tried to fuse the gap between him and Garvey realizing that it would be best if they worked together, but Garvey thought Briggs was a communist (despite him not being a communist yet) and shattered any hopes of the two working together by personally attacking Briggs. “….enmity between the ABB and UNIA turned personal. Garvey told a Harlem crowd that Briggs was a white man masquerading as a Negro and made disparaging remarks about his mother.” Briggs also spoke against Garvey and his Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) through open lectures and dedicated his last issues of his magazine to criticizing Garvey and the UNIA. This pitted Brigg’s African Blood Brotherhood for African Liberation and Redemption (ABB) against the UNIA dividing their resources and support against racial oppression. This was detrimental to ending racial inequality because they could not even stand together as a unit. “Even for Detroit’s liberal mayor, peace was based on black people quietly and gracefully accepting the fact that they had no right to their rights.” If a Liberal mayor from the north could not see black people as equal to white Americans, then the challenge to ending racial oppression was going to be too great for a incohesive group of organizations. Briggs’s and Garvey’s organizations lost their ability to create a strong force against an existing oppressive