#37 "Communism and its Influence for the Civil Rights Movement"
- Podcast Teaser Trailer
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Episode Preview -- "Communism and its Influence for the Civil Rights Movement"
- Episode Number
- Students Podcasting History Episode #37
- Episode Title
- #37 "Communism and its Influence for the Civil Rights Movement"
- Episode Date
- April 16, 2025
- Key Words
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Communism, Civil Rights Movement, NAACP, Malcolm X, Joseph McCarthy, Red
Scare, Martin Luther King Jr, NOI, Elijah Muhammad, FBI - Episode Introduction
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The political evolution of Communist theory, and its intersections with the Civil Rights Movement, reveals the diverse ways in which the ideas of communism were
adapted to address both class struggle and racial oppression. Communism was seen as a threat to mankind, but also a foundation of the Civil Rights Movement. From the NAACP to Malcolm X, many people AND groups adopted and eventually adapted the Communism ideas for their own benefits. When thinking about Communism, it is a theory that really believes in a classless system. When you are a part of a Communist environment, it is referred to as a “dictatorship of the proletariat", basically meaning ruled by one person. Many Americans thought Communism
to be a bad influence, hence Joseph McCarthy’s idea of the Red Scare, whereas those of Black Communities turned this theory into something beneficial to their movements.
By diving into Race and Radicalism: The NAACP and the Communist Party in Conflict, By Wilson Record, we can read into how the NAACP was criticized for incorporating
communist beliefs into their movements. Communism praised the idea of equality, so is it bad that people advocating for Civil Rights believe in this theory? Since there is a good understanding of Communism, we will be looking into leaders, such as Malcolm X, to see what
good Communism actually did for those seeking equality. These leaders were criticized by many, Joseph McCarthy being one of them, due to the conflicting past that Communism had brought to America. This podcast will be using information from several sources to better your
understanding of how Communism was used within the Civil Rights Movement from a standpoint of Malcolm X and the NAACP. - Hosted By
- Kennedy Harcourt
- Host Biography
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Kennedy Harcourt is a part of the Students Podcasting History, an educational resource developed by students in Dr. Andrew Maginn’s History of the United States II course.
Students Podcasting History is an educational resource developed by students in Dr. Andrew Maginn’s History of the United States II course to highlight crucial movements in American History through podcasting. The students research and interpret primary and secondary sources
to discuss pivotal themes, people, and events in the United States' history from 1865 through the present. Through creatively sharing these narratives and learning digital tools, these students hope to make history more accessible and exciting for the general public. Kennedy is a first year
student at Sewanee: The University of the South, and hopes to pursue a major in biology. Kennedy also is a part of both the field hockey and lacrosse team at Sewanee, adn will continue playing both throughout her time there. - The Show
- Students Podcasting History is an educational resource developed by students in Dr. Andrew Maginn’s History of the United States II course to highlight crucial movements in American History through podcasting. The students research and interpret primary and secondary sources to discuss pivotal themes, people, and events in the United States' history from 1865 through the present. Through creatively sharing these narratives and learning digital tools, these students hope to make history more accessible and exciting for the general public.
- Source
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WHAT IS COMMUNISM?” Current History 27, no. 159 (1954): 265–66.
George Brown Tindall and David E. Shi, America :A Narrative History, Ninth edition, (New York City, New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2013
Joseph McCarthy, “Joseph McCarthy on Communism (1950), ” in The American Yawp Reader, eds, Joseph Locke and Ben Wright, Chapter 25: The Cold War, accessed April
22, 2025
Joseph McCarthy, Speech at the Republican Women's Club of Wheeling, West Virginia, February 9, 1950, in U.S. Senate Historical Office, “Communists in Government Service,
” United States Senate
BRENNAN, MARY C. “THE COLD WAR WORLD. ” In Wives, Mothers, and the Red Menace: Conservative Women and the Crusade against Communism, 13–30, University
Press of Colorado, 2008
Epps, Archie C, “The Rhetoric of Malcolm X” Harvard Review, no. 3 (1993): 64–75
Black Journals, Malcolm X: The Painful Truth About Race in America, YouTube video, 31-32, 21 April 2025
Dr. Andrew Maginn, “final paper format," History 202: History of the United States II,(class lecture, Sewanee:The University of the South, Sewanee, Tennessee, March 25,
2025
Timothy B. Tyson, "Robert F. Williams, 'Black Power, ' and the Roots of the African American Freedom Struggle,
" Journal of American History 85, no. 2 (September 1998):
545
Dr. Andrew Maginn, “final paper format,” History 202: History of the United States II,(class lecture, Sewanee:The University of the South, Sewanee, Tennessee, March 25,
2025
Wilson Record, Race and Radicalism: The NAACP and the Communist Party in Conflict (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1964), 452-454
Federal Bureau of Investigation, COINTELPRO: Black Nationalist – Hate Groups, c. 1967–1971, accessed April 23, 2025
Robin D.G. Kelley and Betsy Esch, "Black Like Mao: Red China and Black Revolution,"Souls: A Critical Journal of Black Politics, Culture, and Society 1, no. 4 (1999): 6–41
Record, Wilson. “Negro Intellectual Leadership in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People: 1910-1940. ” Phylon 17, no. 4 (1956): 375–89 - Contact Information
- https://www.andrewwyattmaginn.org/Digital_Humanities/s/studentspodcastinghistory/page/home