NPR News and Communism in the South

        Going through some sites yesterday, I stumbled upon a NPR news segment that was aired in 2010. It had a doubtful title, and I was intrigued, “How 'Communism' Brought Racial Equality to The South.” It confused me because it presupposed the end of inequality in the South. Moreover, it supposed the actualization of communism in the South and its ideals. However, as we well know, communism never gained enough traction to threaten “democracy” in the Deep South, and widespread inequality still exists throughout the United States, especially in the South.

        As I was scrolling through the transcript, I stumbled upon the name Robin Kelley and the title, Hammer and Hoe: Alabama Communists During the Great Depression. It was a transcript of an interview with him about the very book we were reading in class, and so, of course, I had to continue reading. 

         Not surprisingly, they began to discuss some of the very same things that we discussed in class: these multiple title accumulations (Black, poor, communist, radical), the racial makeup of the Alabaman Communist Party, and the Scottsboro case. Shortly, they went over some of the basic bullet points we hit on in class; however, they also discussed some of the stories that were only referenced in the text. For instance, Kelley tells the story of a common party practice put in place if one of their community members were cut-off from social programs or welfare. He describes how the party would send dozens or hundreds of penny postcards to the social worker in charge of the case with the words, “The workers are watching you,” written on the back to send a message and to push the envelope (Robin Kelley, interview by Michel Martin, National Public Radio, 91.1 NPR FM, February 16, 2010).     

         Following, they discussed the party’s religious affiliations in light of their communist background, illustrating the continued religiosity of the black community even in light of “godless communism.” In this way, Kelley tried to shunt off those common and misconstrued antagonisms of both the black community and communism. Even more, throughout the entire interview, Kelley and Michel spent their time trying to deconstruct some of those stereotypes that limited and limit social progress in the United States, especially in regard to communism, and ultimately, they described as well as humanized. They try to connect the listener with those historical, communist figures of the American South, humanizing them and connecting with them all the while, hoping for some future wherein social justice and change could take place in the eyes of communism and for those black folk that gave their lives for their future and for their community’s future.