The Communist International and the Dilemma of the American “Negro Problem”: Limitations of the Black Belt Self‐Determination Thesis

Abstract

In hopes of solving the American “Negro Problem” in a way that would bring African Americans into the communist fold, the Communist International developed an agenda that included a “Black Belt Self‐Determination Thesis.” According to this thesis, American blacks were an oppressed nation within a nation and should thus have the right of self‐determination in the part of the United States known as the Black Belt. This thesis failed to gain traction beyond a small group of intellectuals within the Communist Party. Realizing the impractical nature of the thesis, leaders of the American Communist Party (CPUSA) devised more practical means of helping Black Americans fight racism and injustice in the U.S. Even though the thesis ultimately failed to bring masses of Black Americans into the Party, it did help foster the development and growth of African‐American history and studies that examine the role of race in U.S. history.