Research Symposium

BIO

Zoe is a second-year studying history at FSU. Her main research interests include mid-20th century American history and queer history. Outside of classes, she is involved with organizing FreeCon, one of FSU's largest student-run events. After graduating from FSU, she hopes to continue on to graduate studies.

Soviet Propaganda and Black Americans Before World War II

Abstract

The Cold War is traditionally dated as beginning with the establishment of the Truman Doctrine in 1947 and lasting until the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. However, the ideological battle between the United States and the Soviet Union that defines this conflict appears to have begun long before this. This becomes especially apparent through the experiences of Black people and how these experiences were portrayed during the interwar period (1917-1939). Through the analysis of US State Department records and digitally-archived newspaper articles originating from 1920 to 1939, we can see both how Black people thought of their encounters with communism and the USSR and how these encounters were propagandized by the Soviet Union. This research suggests a simultaneous admiration and derision of the US that existed within the USSR. We can also see how Black Americans were included in this narrative. This research contributes to a destabilization of our common understanding of the Cold War and allows us to analyze earlier interwar events through this lens.

Keywords: Black History, Cold War, Soviet Union, communism, propaganda