The language of resistance : the transnational Black American press, public culture, and public discourse during the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, 1935-1941
- UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
- Kimberly M. Cheek (Creator)
- Institution
- The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
- Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
- Advisor
- Thomas Jackson
Abstract: This study investigated Pan-Africanist, Black Nationalist, Communist, liberal, and pacifist anti-fascist internationalist discourses articulated by Black publicists as they expressed solidarity around the Ethiopian cause during the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, 1934-1941. The study adopted critical discourse analysis to offer insight into the Black press' role in the Black public's attitudes and insights regarding Ethiopian war and its relationship to the expansion of global fascism. It also relied on Benedict Anderson's notion of an imagined community. Publications and political discourse functioned as a connecting thread that facilitated the creation of an imagined anti-fascist political community leading to the expansion of Black political culture support for the Ethiopian cause. This study concluded that the war resulted in the Black Americans from all strata of society and political affiliation becoming more international-minded as they expressed solidarity around the Ethiopian cause. However, this occurred while diasporic politics evolved from a racially nationalist discourse to a liberal anti-fascist internationalist discourse, uniting broad political coalitions that came to a consensus that the Ethiopian crisis and the expansion of fascism in Europe showed how the international community defined liberal democracy compared to anti-fascists. The Ethiopian War also challenged the Roosevelt administration's commitment to anti-fascism and the extension of democratic rights to Black Americans. Roosevelt used Ethiopia as a chess piece because of its strategic importance in East Africa, which became a major front during World War II in the fight against fascism in Africa.
The language of resistance : the transnational Black American press, public culture, and public discourse during the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, 1935-1941
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Created on 5/1/2022
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Additional Information
- Publication
- Dissertation
- Language: English
- Date: 2022
- Keywords
- African American press, Anti-fascism, Fascism, League of Nations, Second Italo-Ethiopian War
- Subjects
- African American press $x History $y 20th century
- Press and politics $z United States $x History $y 20th century
- Anti-fascist movements $z United States $x History $y 20th century
- Italo-Ethiopian War, 1935-1936 $x Press coverage
- Italo-Ethiopian War, 1935-1936 $x Social aspects