Happy Juneteenth! This a perfect day to talk about how black people have always fought for freedom and how that fight often led us to seek it beyond U.S. borders. Thanks to @kath_hicks/ @NatSecDiver for amplifying black stories in FP. #BlackVoices #BlackNatSec #NextGenNatSec

I'm posting several threads on the intersection of black folk and foreign policy today, but the most important one is that of my love for Langston Hughes and his year in the USSR in 1932-1933 and how that inspired me to pursue a career in Eastern European studies. #NextGenNatSec

First, if you have not read Langston Hughes' "I Wonder As I Wander," you are missing out on a masterpiece of a memoir. In it, he discusses his year in the USSR (mostly Russia) and why he went: to find work as a writer and escape American racism.

#NextGenNatSec

In 1932, Langston Hughes was 30-years-old. An established writer who earned national respect as a poet and magazine writer, but still struggled to find work as a staff writer. Yes. LANGSTON fuckin' HUGHES struggled to find work as a staff writer! #NextGenNatSec

Here’s the passage from “I Wonder As I Wander” in which he expresses his struggle to find work in Hollywood, even though white writers (who likely didn’t have 1/10 of his talent) easily found work. He got an invite as a lead writer for a Soviet propaganda film. #NextGenNatSec

Hughes joined a team of around 30 black folks for a weeklong boat trip to the USSR. (Folks didn't hop on Delta back in the day). What's fascinating about this group is that, while Langston could write, most of the black folks hired as actors could NOT act. LOL

#NextGenNatSec

This was some funny shit! The Soviets invited a random-ass group black folks over to produce “Black and White,” a propaganda film about workers who rose up against racism. Langston was like, “These Negroes bougie as hell.” Loool #NextGenNatSec

You have to consider that the Soviets were an emerging superpower that enjoyed what some would argue was equal world leader status with the U.S. after WWII. The USSR, via mass murder, starvation and other authoritarian means, industrialized at lighting speed. #NextGenNatSec

Also, the USSR promoted itself as a color blind society. That part was bullshit, of course. But, functionally, for black people, living in Soviet Uzbekistan was safer than living in Alabama. That is a fact. I'll explain more about racism in the USSR later today.

#NextGenNatSec

This last point is important because the USSR saw American anti-blackness as a national security weakness and believed it would weaken its nemesis internally by exploiting its race problems, THUS Langston Hughes' visit to the USSR to produce a propaganda film. #NextGenNatSec

Langston knew he was being used, but he also wanted to use the Soviets to advance his career. The problem with the USSR's efforts to target American racism was that they were just as racist. That's why their propaganda missed (and continues to do so to this day). #NextGenNatSec

Here is the scene in Black and White Langston took issue with. #NextGenNatSec #BlackVoices

I’m gonna fast forward to get to the point. The film was never made because the US recognized the USSR diplomatically in 1933. A condition of was that Moscow could not produce “anti-America” content. Black and white”
was never made. #NextGenNatSec #blackvoices

Some of the group chilled in the USSR and then returned home to the U.S. A few stayed. Why is this important to U.S. national security? Because racism was then and now continues to be a national security risk other nations can exploit. #NextGenNatSec #BlackVoices

Depending on how you slice it, being black in the USSR to a certain extend was more comfortable than worrying about being lynched in the US. Of course, you had to avoid a few inconveniences: purges (Yes. Stalin killed black people, too!), WWII, holodomor, labor camps. That's all.

Also keep in mind that Stalin almost starved Ukraine to death, suppressed millions of ethnic muslim minorities, colonized independent nations and he hated Jews almost as much as Hitler. He wasn't in the best position to lead a revolution against racism, ya feel? #NextGenNatSec

What if Langston had gone to a nation that actually serious about decolonization (impossible because that is how the USSR was created, DUH!) and ending racism? The US may have had a serious problem on its hands. This is my hypothesizing because we'll never know. #NextGenNatSec

In short, America failed Langston Hughes. So did the USSR. Neither nation wanted his liberation. They either ignored or exploited it. That is actually the story of white supremacy in the world. That is the story of America.

#NextGenNatSec #BlackVoices

As we celebrate Juneteeth, we e should also be mindful of the black folks who sought liberation beyond U.S. borders, even when we were not shackled in chains.

Langston Hughes is on my mind today.

#NextGenNatSec

I'll leave you with this: People may not see this poem as speaking to national security, but it very much is.

"Negroes - Sweet and docile, Meek, humble, and kind: Beware the day - They change their mind." ― Langston Hughes

#NextGenNatSec #BlackVoices

My next threads today will be on racism in the USSR and one on Paul Robeson. Again, both deal with national security. #NextGenNatSec #BlackVoices