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racism with remarkable consistency, given the hostility to such a stand the majority
white population. The party in Baltimore and nationally did not, however, take up
the struggle for Black freedom solely as an aspect of its other activities, but viewed
this struggle as a distinct movement in its own right. The party's view in this regard
was an integral part of its overall Third Period line and was elaborated as what was
then called the Negro National Question.
As with its analysis of impending economic and social catastrophe in the
capitalist world and its strategy of building revolutionary trade unions, the
Communist Party's approach to the Negro National Question had its origins in the
international arena - in the shifting perspectives and debates of the Communist
International. Unlike these other aspects of the Third Period line, the analysis of
the Negro National Question was partly inspired by a particularly American (U.S.-
and Caribbean-based) phenomenon: the Black nationalism of the Marcus Garvey
movement and of related forces like the African Blood Brotherhood. The core
ideas of the Communist International's new analysis, first put forward in 1928, was
that the question of African American oppression was a national question, that
special demands should be raised for African American equality beyond those
raised for all workers, and that such demands should be central to all party work.
Despite its American origins, this analysis was :esisted by many leading
Communists in the United States, and the new line was accepted only after a much
debate and struggle between these U.S. Communists and the International.
However, once it was accepted and internalized, it was taken up by the U.S. party
with some fervor. '
There were two interrelated aspects to the CP's new program for Black
freedom. In the U.S. South, in the contiguous counties of Black Belt states where
African Americans formed a majority, they were considered to be a nation, with all
the rights of a nation including self-determination and the right to form an
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