Sojourning for Freedom: Black Women, American Communism, and the Making of Black Left Feminism

"This is an important book for Black women’s history. Generally, when we talk about Black radicalism, especially in the US context, it tends to be focused on men. What’s great about this particular book is that it centers Black women and gender politics. Sojourning for Freedom also helps us understand the lineage of intersectionality, a concept Kimberlé Crenshaw popularized. Erik McDuffie’s work shows that Black women in the Communist Party—individuals like Claudia Jones, Vicki Garvin and others—were already grappling with the intersecting dimensions of race and class and sexuality. Another key aspect of this book is its internationalist dimension. The book helps readers see how Black women in the United States were thinking critically about what was taking place across the globe—especially on the African continent, in the Caribbean and in Latin America. McDuffie shows the threads of internationalism in a way that other books have not done as effectively. The book is groundbreaking for helping us see how the Communist Party, a party that’s predominantly white, male dominated and led by white men, ends up becoming an interesting space for Black women. Even though they are, for the most part, marginalized, Black women still use their presence in the party to articulate a vision of intersectionality that informs later movements. Even though Black women were sidelined within the organization, they still asserted their voice and their authority. They spoke out about the plight of Black women in the organization, and in Black radical politics generally. Exclusion or marginalization does not deter these women, it propels them. Black women who were not respected demanded respect."