The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1929-05-09
(Member of the Executive Council
of the Red International of
Labor Unions.)
By ]. W. FORD.

The Negro intellectuals of Amer
lea never come out supporting
Fundamentally, unwaveringly, fully
and completely, the interests of the
Negro workers and the working class
as such. In the. struggles of the
Negro masses against the abuses of
capitalism, where racial interests
temporarily throw together all
strata of the Negro masses, lawyers,
doctors, business men, workers, ETC.,
we sometimes find the Negro in
tellectuals supporting and fighting
for general racial demands which
are of tremendous Importance to
the Negro workers.
But this is only for short time;
as class differentiations become
sharper, and as the class struggle
intensifies, they betray the work
ers, they go over to the side of tbe'
oppressors. This tendency and sitd-
alton is becoming more marked in
the struggle of the Negro masses
in America.
Du Bots Turns Coat.
Decades ago we find the Negro
intellectuals some of the staunchest
supporters of some of the racial
interests of the Negro workers. Out
standing among these was DR.. w.
E. B. Dubois, leader of the Ma
tional Association for the Advance
ment of Colored People, editor of
the Crisis" and leader in the Pan
African Congress. Since he has
some influence among the Negroes
of America and is a sort of intel
lectual leader of the Negro race in
general it is necessary to expose
his present anti-working class ten
denotes and his complete capitula-
ton, from his early position, on
some of the vital questions of the
Negro masses; tendency that is
not only evident with him but is the
trend of all the Negro intellectuals.
Two decades ago we found Du
Bots one of the bitterest opponents
of the Booker T. Washington lead
ership, and advocating full social,
economic and political equality for
Negroes. But today he kneels at
the tomb and shrine of. Booker I.
Washington and denies that Ne
groes demand full social, economic
and political equality in America.
In a recent debate in Chicago with
Lothrop Stoddord,* Du Bots becomes
a vacillating capitulator and COM
promiser.
The very wording of the subject
of this debate, "Shall the Negro Be
Encouraged to Seek Cultural Equal
ity," is a complete compromise of
Du Bots ON this question of social,
economic and political equality. A
few years ago Du Bots would not
have entered such debate unless
the subject contained social, eco
nomic and political equality" for
Negroes.
In discussing the subject Du Bots
wandered along for 80 minutes talk
ing about the amount Of Couture"
there is in the world, finally MAX
ing a plea that Negroes should be
granted a little, which, because Of
the nature of things, the white peo-
pie would not miss: for as he says
culture is not a quantitative sort
of thing"
This is a miserable plea, even from
the point of view of the interest of
the Negro "elite," to say nothing of
its betrayal Of the toiling masses of
Negroes. However, this is the gem
eral plea which is made by Negro
intellectuals for their place in the
capitalist scheme of things, for a
share in the Golden Calls In re-
turn for sharing in capitalist profits
Du Bots and the rest expect to lead
the Negro masses into blind alleys
and further into the clutches Of CAPT
talist exploitation. This is Of tre-