Members of the American League Against War and Fascism Protesting Agents the invasion of Ethiopia by the Fascist Mussolini in 1936 ====================== Emperor Haile Selassie’s diplomatic campaign against imperialism and Fascism in 1930s brought Ethiopia to the attention of the international community. The Emperor speeches and commentaries on the principles of collective security became inspiration for those who were fighting imperialism at that time. The American League Against War and Fascism (ALAWF) was an organization formed in 1933 by the Communist Party USA and pacifists united by their concern as Nazism and Fascism rose in Europe. In 1937 the name of the group was changed to the American League for Peace and Democracy. Members of this group organized a protest against the invasion of Ethiopia by Fascist Mussolini on May 1936 on Fifth Avenue, New York. Many Americans were upset with the Italian attitude toward Ethiopia. One protester said to the New York Times “We are here to protest against war and fascism. I wish I could go to Italy and tear the black shirt from Mussolini.” Police arrested some protesters at the end and some even faced court charges. The New York Times made a great deal of the racial aspects of the hearing reporting “Most of the court room spectators were Negroes, many of whom wore green, red and black buttons inscribed ‘Defend Ethiopia.’ In the later years after the fall of Mussolini, His Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie became a well known international celebrity insuring the presence of Ethiopia on the world map at the time; he was remembered for his eloquent appeal for collective security to the League of Nations in 1936. His visit to the U.S was taken as extra ordinary making him the only Ethiopian leader to have received a State reception in America until today. Emperor Haile Selassie was the first African leader that most Americans had ever seen. His stalwart military bearing and dress were the epitome of dignity. The Emperor even was remembered in the lyrics of a popular song, Shanty in an Old Shanty Town, by Johnny Long (Id be just as sassy as Haile Selassie, if I were a King...). Emperor Haile Selassie was cheered by more than a million New Yorkers in a ticker tape parade down lower Broadway and was given honorary degrees by Howard University, Columbia University, McGill University, and the University of Michigan for his bold resistance against imperialism and Fascism.
Posted on: Thu, 31 Jul 2014 07:47:05 +0000
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