National Negro Congress

The National Negro Congress (NNC) was formed in 1935 at Howard University as a broadly based organization with the goal of fighting for Black liberation; it was the successor to the League of Struggle for Negro Rights, both affiliated with the Communist Party. During the Great Depression, the party worked in the United States to unite black and white workers and intellectuals in the fight for racial justice. This period represented the Party's peak of prestige in African-American communities. NNC was opposed to war, fascism, and discrimination, especially racial discrimination. During the Great Depression era, a majority of Americans faced immense economic problems. Many lost their jobs and as a result, were forced to live at the margins of society. The crisis highlighted inequities for many African Americans, who were unemployed at higher rates than white.

Historically, many black workers were segregated and more often than not, racially discriminated in the labor force. In order to combat racism within their respective jobs, they had to establish a union. However, many of the unions around the depression era had exclusively white members, excluding African Americans from their protection and benefits. Black workers took initiative to unite against racism and classism. “John P. Davis and Communist Party leader James Ford decided to bring together meaningful organizations that would be dedicated in the ongoing fight against racial discrimination.” Class does not embody one particular race, but transcends racial borders to integrate many ethnic groups alike to face a similar struggle: a class struggle.

The foundation of the National Negro Congress was a response to the historical oppression African Americans faced in the United States, in particular in the workforce. Given that black workers have been historically marginalized by being exploited from the time when they were slaved, the National Negro Congress advocated for black liberation through the many sectors of the African-American life.The NNC, as Gellman demonstrates, launched a broad and multifaceted assault on racism and economic exploitation. Forging alliances with organized labor, the Communist Party, and even mainstream civil rights groups, the NNC not only drew on the talents and resources of a cross section of organizations but also established a blueprint, Gellman contends, for subsequent generations of black activists. Though the NNC coordinated activities with an array of groups, it forgedParticipants included intellectuals from Howard University, civic and civil rights leaders, labor leaders and religious groups. White participation was not excluded. Black workers affiliated with the National Negro Congress advocated for integration into the larger and better funded unions such as the CIO. Although the CIO supported the foundation of the National Negro Congress to fight for civil rights and against racism, the communist aspect of the Congress deprived both organizations from having strong ties to each other: “During the late 1930s and 1940s, despite the efforts of the National Negro Congress and others, reactionary forces operating in the interest of capital increased their attacks on the CIO. The most backward anti-Communist propaganda was directed at the CIO. This was made more complex by organized labor's positive relationship with Franklin D. Roosevelt and its support of his policy concerning World War II.”

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