This year s Black History Month (BHM) in the US also officially marks nine months to the US presidential elections. While black Americans celebrate a legacy of triumph over institutional and racial inequalities, election cycles highlight the US political elite s apathy toward black Americans who often feel neglected in the interim period before politicians return to court them for their votes come election season.
When the slender, affable Chinese man took the podium in Harlem’s posh Golden Gate ballroom on a late autumn afternoon to denounce three recent lynchings in Mississippi, the audience’s FBI informant perked up.
Author and history professor Gao Yunxiang unpacks the little-known yet important relationship between Paul Robeson and China, which continues to resonate powerfully today.