Book Club: African Americans Against the Bomb with Vincent Intondi
In February 2023 World BEYOND War will be holding a weekly discussion each of four weeks of African Americans Against the Bomb
with the author Vincent Intondi as part of a small group WBW book club
limited to a group of 18 participants. WBW will buy each participant an
electronic version of the book (a Kindle, a Nook, or a Google Play
version). We'll let you know which parts of the book will be discussed
each week along with the Zoom details to access the discussions.
When: For one hour on four Fridays, February 3, 10,
17, 24, 2023. The time is 19:00 UTC (similar to GMT), at 9 a.m. in
Honolulu, 11 a.m. in Los Angeles, 1 pm in Mexico City, 2 pm in New York,
7 pm in London, 10 p.m. in Moscow, and on Saturday at 6 am in Sydney, 8
am in Auckland.
REGISTER HERE.
Where: Zoom (details to be shared upon registration)
This is a small group series with limited space of up to 18 people.
Sign up to reserve your spot and allow for enough time to receive the book. We look forward to reading and discussing this important book with you!
About the Book:
Well before Rev. Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr. spoke out against nuclear weapons, African Americans
were protesting the Bomb. Historians have generally ignored African
Americans when studying the anti-nuclear movement, yet they were some of
the first citizens to protest Truman's decision to drop atomic bombs in
Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. Now for the first time, African Americans Against the Bomb
tells the compelling story of those Black activists who fought for
nuclear disarmament by connecting the nuclear issue with the fight for
racial equality.
Intondi shows that from early
on, Blacks in America saw the use of atomic bombs as a racial issue,
asking why such enormous resources were being spent building nuclear
arms instead of being used to improve impoverished communities. Black
activists' fears that race played a role in the decision to deploy
atomic bombs only increased when the U.S. threatened to use nuclear
weapons in Korea in the 1950s and Vietnam a decade later. For black
leftists in Popular Front groups, the nuclear issue was connected to
colonialism: the U.S. obtained uranium from the Belgian controlled Congo
and the French tested their nuclear weapons in the Sahara.
By expanding traditional
research in the history of the nuclear disarmament movement to look at
Black liberals, clergy, artists, musicians, and civil rights leaders,
Intondi reveals the links between the Black freedom movement in America
and issues of global peace. From Langston Hughes through Lorraine
Hansberry to President Obama, African Americans Against the Bomb
offers an eye-opening account of the continuous involvement of African
Americans who recognized that the rise of nuclear weapons was a threat
to the civil rights of all people.
REGISTER HERE.
Reviews:
"This
exclusive focus on anti-nuclear activism provides a much-needed addition
to the small but growing scholarship on those who opposed nuclear
weapons throughout the Cold War and beyond. Intondi's narrative is
detail-oriented yet readable, and examines a vast array of Black voices
discussing nuclear weapons within the broader contexts of civil rights,
colonialism, and peace. He uses an impressive array of Black newspapers,
as well as a large archival base, to cover the anti- nuclear sentiments
of clergy, union leaders, civil rights organizers, pacifists, civic
leaders, and more." -- Kyle Harvey ― Canadian Journal of History
"The
Civil Rights Movement did not exist in an historical vacuum. Dr. King
spoke of the need to fight against 'racism, materialism, and
militarism,' and Intondi's stirring narrative effectively shows how
nuclear disarmament was part of the broader struggle. This is an
important read for those who are interested in properly understanding
the black freedom movement and U.S. foreign policy." -- Benjamin Todd
Jealous ― former President and CEO of the NAACP
"Intondi's
work provides a significant historiographical contribution to the
history of antinuclear activism in the United States...Intondi's
particular focus on African Americans illustrates the struggles they
faced to have their message heard and to not be restricted in the types
of activism they could engage in." -- Javan D. Frazier ― H-War
"The
African American contribution to nuclear discourse should be deemed an
essential part of the conversation on the fraught history of American
nuclear development. Intondi's well-written, well-researched book makes
certain these efforts will be known." -- Gerald Horne, John and Rebecca
Moores Professor of History ― University of Houston
"Intondi's
work provides a significant historiographical contribution to the
history of antinuclear activism in the United States . . . Intondi's
particular focus on African Americans illustrates the struggles they
faced to have their message heard and to not be restricted in the types
of activism they could engage in." -- Javan D. Frazier ― H-War, H-Net
"Intondi has produced a well-researched, succinct account of African American
involvement in the crusade to contain the threat of atomic warefare . . .
Highly recommended" -- J.H. Smith ― CHOICE
"As
a young man I was moved by two issues, civil rights and the threat of
nuclear war, and it took me many years to understand how those crises
were inseparable. Vincent Intondi's original research will shake the
complacent assumption that the civil rights and anti-nuclear movements
could be segregated. Intondi shows that ever since the Bomb first was
dropped on people of color in 1945, African-Americans have been in the
forefront of the campaign to stop the deployment of nuclear weapons. He
corrects a historical misunderstanding and contributes to an important
new perspective on our history. A brilliant first book by a young
historian seeing the world with new eyes." -- Tom Hayden ― Director of the Peace and Justice Resource Center
"To
his great credit, Intondi's study connects two strands of scholarship
that are often kept separate, namely peace history and the black freedom
struggle . . . [H]is book provides much-needed context for those who,
hopefully, will explore such topics. We need more research on activists'
efforts to connect opposition to nuclear weapons (and peace issues more
broadly) with the black freedom struggle." -- Robbie Lieberman ― American Historical Review
"African Americans Against the Bomb―a
well-written, well-researched historical study by Vincent
Intondi―explores an important subject: African-American resistance to
nuclear weapons...Intondi's pioneering study will serve as an important
guide to this intriguing subject." -- Lawrence S. Wittner ― Nonproliferation Review
"Built on solid archival research, African Americans Against the Bomb
raises as many questions as it answers, but it remains an important
contribution to broadening our scholarly conceptions of nuclear history .
. . The greatest strength of Intondi's work is in providing an overview
of the links between the black freedom struggle, colonialism, and
nuclear weapons." -- Sean L. Malloy ― The Journal of American History
REGISTER HERE.
About the Author:
Vincent
Intondi is a Professor of History and Director of the Institute for
Race, Justice, and Civic Engagement at Montgomery College in Takoma
Park, Maryland. From 2009-2017, Intondi was Director of Research for
American University’s Nuclear Studies Institute in Washington, DC. Prior
to teaching at Montgomery College, Intondi was an Associate Professor
of History at Seminole State College in Sanford, Florida. Intondi
regularly works with organizations exploring ways to include more
diverse voices in the nuclear disarmament movement. His research focuses
on the intersection of race and nuclear weapons. He is the author of
the book, African Americans Against the Bomb: Nuclear Weapons, Colonialism, and the Black Freedom Movement with Stanford University Press.
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @VincentIntondi
Website: http://vincentintondi.com
REGISTER HERE.
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