Review of "The Negroes in a Soviet America," by James W. Ford and James S. Allen

 Review of

The Negroes in a Soviet America, by James W. Ford and James S. Allen

Four out of five stars

Read it in the context of the 1930’s

This pro-communist pamphlet was written in 1935, when America and the world was in the depths of the Depression. Furthermore, despite the excesses of Stalin, there was still a great deal of favorable opinion regarding the value of communism. The Depression was especially hard on the minorities in the United States, so many of their leaders were looking for something that would be economically uplifting. 

 This pamphlet puts forward the notion that if governmental and social structures called Soviets based on the model created in the Soviet Union were to be created in America, then the economic and political standing of blacks would be dramatically improved. 

 To modern readers with knowledge of 90 years of history and progress, the positions taken in this book seem simplistic and foolish. However, if you read it keeping the context of the 1930s in mind, the level to which it would appeal to the lowest economic rungs of society are clear. This pamphlet is an educational look back at the economic debates of the 1930s, when people were desperately looking for individual and collective solutions to terrible economic times.