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FREEDOMWAYS     THIRD QUARTER 1973

in the struggle for black rights. For during the height of its organizing the CIO had been in the vanguard of both organizing black workers and fighting for civil rights.

It seemed as though a new day was dawning. On the other hand, not all civil rights leaders shared this optimism. While many saw this distinct possibility for a new dawning, the National Negro Congress held a conference in Detroit in 1946 and adopted a petition to be presented to the United Nations. Concluding its petition, after documenting the systematic and entrenched nature of racial discrimination, the Congress declared: "The cancer of racism has spread its poison throughout the life of America. Its throttling and killing effect upon the people of the entire nation-North and South, Negro and white-grows more fearful and more anachronistic with the passing of each hour."23 Drafting of this petition was partially triggered by the lynching of four black men and women in Monroe, Georgia, in 1946. There was also a vicious assault on a black veteran in South Carolina at this time.

Despite the accuracy of the position taken by the National Negro Congress, it seems likely that by and large general mood of optimism, reinforced by "war gains" prevailed throughout large sections of the black community. Tragically, this optimism did not take into account the implications Truman's Cold War policy would have on the drive for civil and human rights.

the cold war at home: retardation of the struggle for human rights?

Indeed, before the "cold war" brought about a different atmosphere, those broader interests of mine were considered by many Negroes to be quite admirable; and when in 1944 I was honored by the NAACP with the Spingarn Medal my activities in behalf of "freedom for all men" were said to be a special contribution I had made.24       Paul Robeson

One of the important social forces Truman sought to gain backing from for his foreign policy was the labor movement. With the American Federation of Labor (AFL) he would have little difficulty in securing support, for it had a history of an anti-communism phobia. It was another story with the CIO. It is important to underline that the CIO had welcomed communists during the infant and crucial stages of its formation. This is not to suggest that the CIO was opposed outright to the Truman Doctrine. Many CIO union leaders backed Truman. There were, nevertheless, a number of CIO

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