Facing the Rising Sun: African Americans, Japan, and the Rise of Afro-Asian Solidarity
- ISBN-10
- 147985493X
- ISBN-13
- 9781479854936
- Series
- Facing the Rising Sun
- Category
- History
- Pages
- 240
- Language
- English
- Published
- 2018-01-16
- Publisher
- NYU Press
- Author
- Gerald Horne
Description
The surprising alliance between Japan and pro-Tokyo African Americans during World War II In November 1942 in East St. Louis, Illinois a group of African Americans engaged in military drills were eagerly awaiting a Japanese invasion of the U.S.— an invasion that they planned to join. Since the rise of Japan as a superpower less than a century earlier, African Americans across class and ideological lines had saluted the Asian nation, not least because they thought its very existence undermined the pervasive notion of “white supremacy.” The list of supporters included Booker T. Washington, Marcus Garvey, and particularly W.E.B. Du Bois. Facing the Rising Sun tells the story of the widespread pro-Tokyo sentiment among African Americans during World War II, arguing that the solidarity between the two groups was significantly corrosive to the U.S. war effort. Gerald Horne demonstrates that Black Nationalists of various stripes were the vanguard of this trend—including followers of Garvey and the precursor of the Nation of Islam. Indeed, many of them called themselves “Asiatic”, not African. Following World War II, Japanese-influenced “Afro-Asian” solidarity did not die, but rather foreshadowed Dr. Martin Luther King’s tie to Gandhi’s India and Black Nationalists’ post-1970s fascination with Maoist China and Ho’s Vietnam. Based upon exhaustive research, including the trial transcripts of the pro-Tokyo African Americans who were tried during the war, congressional archives and records of the Negro press, this book also provides essential background for what many analysts consider the coming “Asian Century.” An insightful glimpse into the Black Nationalists’ struggle for global leverage and new allies, Facing the Rising Sun provides a complex, holistic perspective on a painful period in African American history, and a unique glimpse into the meaning of “the enemy of my enemy is my friend.”
Get the book
Other editions
-
- 2018-01-16
- 233 pages
- Paperback
- NYU Press
Similar books
-
Facing the Rising Sun: Perspectives on African American Family and Child Well-Being
By Oronde A. MillerEvident throughout these essays is Oronde Miller's clear love and belief in the transfor-mative potential of African American fami-lies and communities.
-
Facing the Rising Sun: 150 Years of the African-American Experience, 1842-1992
By Barbara A. HudsonFacing the Rising Sun: 150 Years of the African-American Experience, 1842-1992
-
Facing the Rising Sun
By Norma DeshieldsFacing the Rising Sun is filled with stories of other African-Americans who have struggled and overcome.
-
Rising Sun: A Novel
By Michael CrichtonIn a novel set within the arena of volatile Japanese-American relations, business moguls compete for control of the international electronics industry.
-
House of the Rising Sun
By Kristen PainterThe fate of the city rests on them -- -- and their fae blood that can no longer be denied. Book one in the brand new, action-packed urban fantasy Crescent City series, from award winning, House of Comarre author Kristen Painter!
-
That They May Face the Rising Sun
By John McGahernBy the novel's close we feel that we have been introduced, with deceptive simplicity, to a complete representation of existence - an enclosed world has been transformed into an Everywhere.
-
Blood on the Rising Sun: The Japanese Invasion of the Philippines
By Carlos P. Rómulo, Adalia MarquezAdalia Marquez was a police reporter living in Manila under the Japanese Occupation during World War 2 when her husband was arrested by the Japanese Military Police for aiding the resistance.
-
Dark Before the Rising Sun
By Laurie McBainLaurie McBain's classic bestselling Dominick saga "Now you can see how easily an ill-spoken word can cast doubt on or even destroy the feelings we thought inviolate," Dante warned her.
-
Facing the Rising Sun
By Lois BrownDoctor Luke McCaskill's medical practices were threatening to the safety and well-being of vulnerable patients until a class of young nurses took more than just notice.
-
Staring at the Sun: Overcoming the Terror of Death
By Irvin D. YalomThis is a wise book by a wise man about the most taboo of all subjects. Read it, and fear not.