A Long Way From Home.pdf - Site de Thomas - Free

introduction • xxix
Despite his voiced reluctance to separate his literary and political activities,
political distinction enabled him to tour the world as a celebrity and
secure the social capital required for his travel both among the radical
societies of Europe and in the provinces of Russia. In other words, his
international literary celebrity would have been impossible without his
political radicalism. In turn, his tour of Russia in the wake of his celebrity
facilitated his self-understanding as a writer and internationalist.
What precisely were the racial implications of McKay’s radicalism? He
confronted the question of what deserved greater emphasis—race or
class—in the Communist movement. He found himself trapped
between a rock and a hard place. On the one hand, certain members of
the intelligentsia, such as Jewish American educator and critic Joel Elias
Spingarn, disapproved of McKay’s Socialist, class-based radicalism; they
encouraged a race-based radicalism that would benefit the political
interests of African Americans. On the other hand, McKay encountered
Communist radicals who argued that “it was impossible for any man to
be pro-Negro and anti-radical” at the same time (chapter 13).
In this sense, the so-called Negro problem could not be interpreted
solely in terms of its origins in racism. It also needed to be recognized
in terms of its socioeconomic consequences, which would enable
blacks and whites of a common disadvantaged class to unite in a common
political cause. By tackling this subject, A Long Way from Home
anticipated the discussion of race, class, and politics attributed to
another autobiography, the second half of Richard Wright’s Black Boy
(1945), which focused on Wright’s life in Chicago from 1926 to 1936. 19
Much like Wright, who addressed the racism of the Communist party,
McKay desired a transnational political movement in which both
blacks and reds, both race and class, could take center stage.
McKay, however, exploited his race within the radical circles he
belonged to. Capitalizing on his dark skin color, he claimed that he was
authentically black, that is, more pure-blooded than the lighterskinned
intellectuals and political activists around him. He came to
realize that in order to enjoy the privilege of attending Communist
congresses, he had to perform like a “typical Negro” who not only
looked black but demonstrated a peculiarly racial vision of the world
(chapter 16).
Further empowering himself as a political spokesman for the race,
McKay expressed his opinion of the organizational failings of African