The Black Belt thesis is a theorectical formulation popularized by various African American and labor groups. This area is largely confined to the 11 states that were part of the Southern confederacy and were the epicenter of antebellum slavery. These states and areas contained large numbers of African Americans. Thinkers have often seen these areas as potential sites for Black resettlement and other groups have envisaged these areas as a potential Black nation within the confines of the United States. See the categories below to see how the thinking about the Black Belt has changed over time.
History https://www.marxists.org/archive/forman/self-determination/ch-3.pdf https://www.marxists.org/history/erol/1946-1956/roots-revisionism/chapter-13.pdf
Harry Haywood, CPUSA https://www.marxists.org/history/erol/1956-1960/haywood02.htm https://www.marxists.org/archive/haywood/1933/lenin-negro-question.pdf https://www.liberationschool.org/harry-haywoods-contributions-to-the-national-question-and-the-fight-for-class-unity/
James Allen, CPUSA http://www.marx2mao.com/Other/NQ36.pdf
Comintern http://www.marx2mao.com/Other/CR75.html https://revolutionarydemocracy.org/rdv26n1/BlackNationDocs.htm https://researchworks.oclc.org/archivegrid/data/144682716
Revolutionary Union https://www.marxists.org/history/erol/periodicals/red-papers/red-papers-5/index.htm https://www.marxists.org/history/erol/ncm-1/red-papers-6/index.htm
Nelson Peery: Communist Labor Party https://redstarpublishers.org/Peery.pdf
ALSC Debate (1974) https://dh.howard.edu/iah_alc74/
Malcolm X Grassroots Movement https://freethelandmxgm.org/
Nation of Islam https://noi.org/
Eugene Puryear, Party for Socialism and Liberation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpHNolgk0eQ https://1804books.com/products/the-black-belt-thesis-reader?srsltid=AfmBOoqHnpJn1JMRS4pi1DrMIyUA6BaIlRguU_-T1cJg9JPc7O2e4wHn
Advocacy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_New_Afrika https://www.marxists.org/history/erol/ncm-3/davidson/lp-intro.htm
Criticism http://www.marx2mao.com/Other/CBNT75.html https://bobwingracialjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/burnham-wing-critique-of-black-nation-thesis.pdf
Majority Black counties in the South https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_majority-Black_counties_in_the_United_States
Current CPUSA thinking https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXLvFPGPxKQ https://www.cpusa.org/article/the-black-belt-thesis-revisited-does-it-fit-today/ https://platypus1917.org/2022/02/01/the-black-belt-thesis-an-interview-with-timothy-v-johnson/ https://www.cpusa.org/article/five-misconceptions-about-the-cps-stance-on-black-liberation/
#BlackBeltThesis #HarryHaywood