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know for sure. But Baltimore's social movements were ripening in 1934, and a real
convergence between the Black freedom movement, the progressive workers'
movement, and a segment of the radical movements was possible. But even
without an independent coalition platform, the Socialist Party candidacy of Broadus
Mitchell and Elisabeth Oilman in November 1934, as we shall see below, partially
realized the goals the militants set out in their plan. How much more would have
been achieved through the more appropriate form of a united front is impossible to
know — but it would have been more.

Before moving on to consider the growing convergence of Baltimore's social
movements in 1934, a final question should be raised: what was the relationship of
the PUL to Baltimore Communist Party? As has been noted above, the PUL
moved into a space first opened up by the CP's unemployed work in the first three
years of the decade, and the young Socialist militants were inspired by the CP's
example, if only negatively. However, possibly because of the CP's turn toward
other activities in 1932, the contact between the PUL and the CP was minimal. In
the first few months of its existence, a PUL local came under CP domination, and
was dissolved, then reorganized by the PUL leadership. The reason for this action
was reputedly CP sectarianism; Naomi Riches remembered that the local was
raising money to send someone to Russia. The PUL did not, however, attempt to
ban Communists from the organization. In 1935, PUL leaders indicated to Aubrey
Williams that a few Communists were active in the PUL, and, according to Riches,
the leadership did not actively discourage members from joining the. CP. M[T]he
rank-and-file members seemed afraid of the C.P. - influenced probably by the
press and churches," Riches later wrote.^

Naomi Riches did, however, remember one particular Communist in PUL:

We did have one active C.P. member ~ very active in a cooperative way with
P.U.L. He died after a short illness at local hospital and he asked to be
buried with a C.P. flag — and I saw to it that this was done. I had to make