The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1932-12-19
The Class Content of Exposure of Chain
Gang Torture in South Shown by Daily
Barred Facts of
Oppression Of
Negro People
BY JAMES w. FORD


show by means of the most startl-
ing and amazing documentary
evidence and photographs of Neg
roes in chains, the modern slavery
of Negroes. The book shows in
cross-section something of what
is meant by the national oppres-
sion of the Negro people in the
United States in 1882 When capt.
talist culture" has reached its
highest point. 1t shows what a
lie it is to pretend that Negroes
are free, especially in the Black
Belt of the South 1t exposes
Negro refornlists and socialist
friends Of the Negro people" who
ignore the basic cause Of the OPP
preston Of the Negro masses, and
sing praises and boast Of Negro
progress and Justice" for Negroes
in capitalist America.
America is still slave country,
teeming with oppressed masses
Negro toilers, foreign-born work
erS, the entire working class. Facts
in Georgia Niger" strike like a
whirlwind sweeping the veil from
capitalist pretense, deceit and
hypocrisy, and expose in the clear
light, the conditions of misery and
suffering Of the most exploited sec
ton of the oppressed masses, the
Negro toilers. The dramatic use
of the word niger" in the title
and in the story of the book brings
ont the contemptuOus attitude OF
the white chauvinist American
slave drivers to their victims. The
bitter National oppression and
wholesale robbery Of the Negro
masses-intended to keep up the
worst and lowest conditions of
life for millions of Negroes in this
country-stand out clearly. 1t all
scandalizeS American capitalist
slavery; the title does not popu-
larize white chauvinism, as some
OF our comrades seem to think;
on the contrary, it Stigmatizes the
capitalist bandits and their con-
temptuous term niger"
THE conditions pictured in
L Georgia Niger" make the
anger of every Negro rise to the
highest pitch, and should arouse
every class conscious worker, Negro
or white, to redouble his efforts
towards building q powerful move
ment that will destroy forever the
system that is the cause of jim
crowiSnl, segregation and lynChing,
as well as the oppression Of the en-
tire working class.
OF course, Mr.. Spivak, the author
of the book, is not revolutionary.
He is long way from being q
Communist He is a liberal in
political outlook. He is not fully
clear about the meaning of the
horrible things which he found in
his investigation. He often I'M
necessarily uses the expression
niger; and has many bourgeois
notions about the conditions which
he found in Georgia prisons.
for one, however, am thankful for
his efforts.
PURPOSE OF EXPOSURE.
What Is the use, and to what
purpose is an exposure such as he
has made to be put? 1t is to be
used to expose the horrible condi-
tons of the Negro masses and to
educate uninformed workers, and
even some members of the Com
munst Party, who don't know in
order TO arouse them to fight for
Negro rights.
Georgia Niger, because of its
fictional form makes this more
easy. The book is popularity written
and people will read it. It is how
ever necessary to conduct a fight
to convince some workers.
The exposures in this book is a
vindication of the Communist
Party program of struggle against
the oppression of the Negro masses.
To see this, it is hardly necessary
to do more than ask, what was the
reaction of the enemies to the
book? What was the reaction of
the capitalist press? They tried to
avoid printing anything about it;
they tried to hide the horrible con-
ditions exposed in it. The state of
Georgia threatens to indict Spivak.
DAILY" Barred CONDITIONS.
The Daily Worker by means of
a series of popularsarticles and by
running the book serially, dareS
to expose the terrible conditions
Of the Negro masses for the pur-
pose of intensifying and stinulst-
ing the fight for Negro liberation.
The Negro bourgeois press refused
to do this.
Personally, have found the facts
set forth in Georgia Niger TO be
OF great value in exposing race
prejudice, and the horrible condi-
tons imposed upon the Negro
masses. During the election cam
paign especially found it valuable
in rallying and convincing white
workers to the necessity of sup
porting the program Of the Com
nunist Party, unconditional equal
rights for Negroes, and the Right Of
Self Determination for the Black
Belt.
THE book has very definite
L meaning for me and I am sure
1t will arouse thousands of Negro
and white workers in the South
and throughout the country,
against the system that is the
cause of Negro oppression. Dur
ing the election campaign a Negro
worker said to me: "Comrade Ford,
I stopped reading the book because
it made me so mad / didn't know
what to do"
The following, for example, are
some white chauvinist expressions
that aroused this feeling in Negroes
ard is a mart of tho ctoy1, ~