Communist Councilman from Harlem – Revised & Expanded Edition

Description

Benjamin Davis, Jr., lawyer and Communist, was elected to the New York City Council in 1943. He served two terms. However, he was unceremoniously – perhaps, illegally – ousted in 1949 as the Red Scare intensified. During the early-1950s McCarthy period, he served five years in jail as a victim of the fascist Smith Act. While in Federal Prison Davis, the Communist Councilman from Harlem, wrote these autobiographical notes.

Though written during a time of anticommunist political repression and published in 1960, Davis’ notes are full of optimism and hope for a socialist future. Just as relevant today, his example demonstrates the power of Popular Front politics, as well as the fierce government repression used to repress demands for expanding democracy, African American equality, Black liberation, and socialism.

The original Foreword by Henry Winston, as well as an Introduction by Simon W. Gerson are included. This Revised and Expanded Edition include comments on Davis’ life from Jarvis Tyner, two time CPUSA Vice Presidential candidate, as well as other supplementary material.