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A review by seeceeread
Left of Karl Marx: The Political Life of Black Communist Claudia Jones by Carole Boyce Davies
3.75
𝗟𝗘𝗙𝗧 𝗼𝗳 𝗞𝗔𝗥𝗟 𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗫 : 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗕𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗮 𝗝𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀 x Carole Boyce Davies, 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘺 Malaika Cooper (2007)
💭 "Claudia Jones' best contribution to Black feminist thought is her theorizing of the super exploitation of the Black woman. Black women — as workers, as Negroes, as women — were the most oppressed stratum of the whole population."
Davies shows how Jones' political life mirrored the position of her gravestone — to the left of Marx. By reviewing Jones' vanguard efforts, the author hopes to return Jones to a rightful status in the Americas, with recognition and respect. Readers learn of Jones' writing for Communist Party USA, often on "the woman question," and especially her pushing the party to address racism and compounding forces against working Black women. Her column became the basis of a McCarthy era case against Jones, for which she was incarcerated and ultimately deported. We get excerpts of Jones' poetry while locked up, a review of her organizing to establish Caribbean political presence through a London carnival, ideological links (or tensions) between Jones and contemporaries, especially Ida B Wells and CLR James, and quotes from her federal files: "Paradoxically, the FBI becomes Claudia Jones' amanuensis." Embedded throughout is headier discussion about leftist traditions, and state power leveraged against African diaspora.
I like Davies' work to contextualize. With a political life nearly a century old, it's helpful to revisit Claudia's conditions. Davies sometimes wandered too far afield for my taste, with lengthy asides on philosophical questions that didn’t feel necessary to appreciate Jones. She repeats Claudia's words often, adding new layers of analysis each time. I wonder if different organization could have led to less repetition. Overall, I'm glad I read this and place it alongside books like 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗜𝗱𝗮 𝗕. 𝗪𝗲𝗹𝗹𝘀, 𝗟𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗟𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗲, and 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗿𝗲 𝗟𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗲 — essential for concrete examples of admirable, righteous Black women who inspire and inform.
💭 "Claudia Jones' best contribution to Black feminist thought is her theorizing of the super exploitation of the Black woman. Black women — as workers, as Negroes, as women — were the most oppressed stratum of the whole population."
Davies shows how Jones' political life mirrored the position of her gravestone — to the left of Marx. By reviewing Jones' vanguard efforts, the author hopes to return Jones to a rightful status in the Americas, with recognition and respect. Readers learn of Jones' writing for Communist Party USA, often on "the woman question," and especially her pushing the party to address racism and compounding forces against working Black women. Her column became the basis of a McCarthy era case against Jones, for which she was incarcerated and ultimately deported. We get excerpts of Jones' poetry while locked up, a review of her organizing to establish Caribbean political presence through a London carnival, ideological links (or tensions) between Jones and contemporaries, especially Ida B Wells and CLR James, and quotes from her federal files: "Paradoxically, the FBI becomes Claudia Jones' amanuensis." Embedded throughout is headier discussion about leftist traditions, and state power leveraged against African diaspora.
I like Davies' work to contextualize. With a political life nearly a century old, it's helpful to revisit Claudia's conditions. Davies sometimes wandered too far afield for my taste, with lengthy asides on philosophical questions that didn’t feel necessary to appreciate Jones. She repeats Claudia's words often, adding new layers of analysis each time. I wonder if different organization could have led to less repetition. Overall, I'm glad I read this and place it alongside books like 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗜𝗱𝗮 𝗕. 𝗪𝗲𝗹𝗹𝘀, 𝗟𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗟𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗲, and 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗿𝗲 𝗟𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗲 — essential for concrete examples of admirable, righteous Black women who inspire and inform.