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THE COLD WAR: Its Impact on the Black Liberation Struggle Within the United States

CHARLES W. CHENG

I do not believe that loyalty to the United States involved hatred for other peoples, nor will I promise to support my country "Right or Wrong."  I will defend this country when it is right.  I will condemn it when it is wrong.  If, for instance, during the Civil War, I had lived in Georgia...and if by law I had been compelled to fight for slavery or die, I would have died.¹      W. E. B. Du Bois

THE ESSENCE of the thought expressed above by W. E. B. Du Bois did not win him wide popular acclaim in America when he penned these words.  On the contrary, the core of this belief brought ridicule and persecution, not only from citizens who disagreed but by the United States government as well.  What brought about this persecution?  Answering this question will be a general theme of this discussion.  Probing this question requires an examination of the emerging foreign policy formulated by the U.S. during the post-war period (WWII).  From this policy grew the Cold War - the holy war against Communism and the containment of the Soviet Union.  A complete study of the Cold War is a task beyond this undertaking.  Instead, the focus will be primarily limited to the impact on the black liberation struggle in America.

An effort here will be made to examine the motivations behind the foreign policy that emerged and relate this foreign policy to the black liberation struggle.  Obviously, complete treatment of such a broad issue is beyond the scope of this writing.  The intent, nevertheless, will be to provide an overall impression on what was occurring within the United States as a result of President Harry S. Truman's foreign policy.  Since this survey will not be comprehensive, many important events, persons, and social forces that were


¹ Charles W. Cheng, formerly assistant to the President of the Washington Teachers Union, has been active in the teachers' union movement.  He is currently enrolled in the doctoral program of the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

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