Final paper brainstorm Books that interest me: Sojourning this book also looks at particular moments and

d people (like Allens) to talk about the possibility of freedom That could be a paper topic the idea that two diff group of subj (allen, sojourning) how these authors/subj grapple with freedom How they do it differently (new def of radical subj, erotic subj ; mcduffie frames def of rad subj among bl left women) how authors grapple with ideas differently (idea of freedom) why matters, what it means --- think about that. Write initial intro laying it out. Start to look at specific examples to support particular arg and how connect and diverge with thesis --- writing center Have to make a point and it has to be substantiated and why should we care (Response papers fig out the issues and themes, ask questions of author and engage with it whats missing) Venceremos that moment of disidentification, self-making in rel to freedom All focus on women in some capacity Things that interest me: How people struggle for freedom How they imagine whats possible Black womens struggles Spaces of love (friendship, intimate) what theyre like, how theyre created, who constitutes them, how are they constituted

Important themes/arg of books Sojourning: - Chronicling their varied, complex journeys through the Communist Left provides a theoretical and empirical template for appreciating how the international Left served as a key site where black women in the US forged an innovative radical black feminist politics during the early and mid-20th cent that laid the groundwork for the 70s. o Themes: identity (feminist, women, black, communist, working class), space (Communist Left as a site), consciousness (radical black fem politics)

Planning for the paper

Q:

How do the subj of each book grapple with the topic of freedom? How do the authors define radical subjectivity? (McDuffie frames def of rad subj among black communist women, Allen among queer Afro-Cubanos) Ideas: The authors define radical subjectivity by analyzing how certain subjects grapple with the topic of freedom. How do the subj of each book grapple with the topic of freedom? How do the authors def radical subjectivity? McDuffie Hes site specific. He places a lot of emphasis on the International Communist Left as a site that these women occupied this context of the Cold War, Communist movements, and workers rights then becomes extremely important. Quote on pg. 2 For her and pg. 3 Through the Party Emphasis on Harlem, the epicenter of Comm Ps effort (3) ==His thesis: Chronicling their varied, complex journeys through the Communist Left provides a theoretical and empirical template for appreciating how the international Left served as a key site where black women in the US forged an innovative radical black feminist politics during the early and mid-20th cent that laid the groundwork for the 70s. Chronicle as imp, complexity as imp, theoretical/empirical templates as coming from the analysis of individuals experiences, forging of a radical black feminist politics <--> site, imp b/c laid groundwork for later stuff ==black left feminism. original def describes the post-WWII literary work of black women radicals McDuffie uses term term as conceptual framework for recovering a distinct radical black feminist politics and subject position forged by a small comm of bl women in the Communist Left during the Old Left period. (3) ==The Com left served as principal site and viable alternative for bl women radicals to agitate for bl freedom and blac womens dignity outside of womens clubs, church, and civil rights and black nationalist groups (3) later why term feminist is useful ==* by analyzing the relationship between race, gender, and class, black left feminists countered prevailing assumptions within the CPUSA and the black Left that constructed the

worker as a white male factory laborer, the working woman as white, and the shop floor as the determinant of class consciousness. (4) == black Com women challenged the CPUSAs masculinist articulations of what it termed the Negro Question and the agendas and sexist practices of Comm and non-Com bl male leadres. (5) == black women activism sim to church, clubs women, and Garvey ppl resourcefully pursued social justice and dev global visions in organizational settings often practiced pragmatic, coalitional approach for political organizing focused on winning tangible victories for underserved, disfranchised, bl communities and workers (5) == His focus: my book reveals the ways small group of bl women defiantly rejected middleclass political agendas and cult sensibilities of trad bl protest groups and looked to Communism as a fulcrum for radical change and transnational political solidarity. (7) == bl womens concerns for and theorizing of bl womens exploitation (9) == bl women not just local and grassroots, also organized and national visible leaders (10) == bl women communists had divergent understandings of female respectability (10) == representation: stewart hall def citizenship and grassroots political org on global scale AND how images are used to create and communicate meanings bl womens politics evidenced an appreciation for the connection btw meaning, language, domination, and resistance. Controlling images: PHC stereotypical images of bl women as mammies, welfare queens, etc used to construct black women as Other and therefore justify their oppression etc (11) == By uncovering black womens stories, this book join (12) my intention here is to construct an alternative genealogy of 20th cent bl fem by recognizing bl left fem as an imp progenitor (origin) for bl fem of 60s and 70s (13) recovering intergenerational connections reconfig previous conclusions about roots of bl fem (13) excavating the stories renders them visible (14)

== He also charts bl womens political and intellectual engagement with the black radical tradition So that tradition was already there before them? They ID as bl radicals has to do with being in relation to the already existent form?

== Shifting from a singular focus on Claudia Jones and her rel to the bl radical trad --> a wider analysis of bl leftist womens collective engagement with black radicalism during the entire Old Left period. Calling attn. to bl left fem demonst how bl women collectively forged their own coherent, free-standing, radical praxis within this larger bl radical tradition. This might help me locate where theres a space I can analyze for how Claudia grappled with topic of freedom (16) He is concerned with how a small group of bl women (diff social bg and geog locations inside and outside of the US) became radicalized, joined the CPUSA, came to understand themselves as diasporic and transnational citizens, forged a dynamic community of left-wing activists, and profoundly shaped modern bl fem. Their radicalizations were not inevitable. A unique interplay btw local and global events and their lived experiences brought these women into the CPUSA, shaped their exp within it, and nurtured their global sensibilities. Examining comm of bl women rad provides insight into making of bl left fem collective ID. Their shared exp, solidarities forged this sensibility (understanding that they were a small but dynamic comm of bl women radicals) (16) ??What to do with this? Does he really talk about this again? == Creation of a Black International pg 17 and Black womens international through their activism, journalism, and overseas travel, they practiced a radical internationalist, feminist politics within the US and global Communist Left that was committed to building transnational political alliances with WOC and politically progressive white women Note: * even global travel was delineated by gender, class, and sexuality * ==** Emphasizing the agency of bl Com wom, he examines how they negotiated the contours of and tensions around gender, race, class, and sexuality and politics within the CPUSA. Pg 20 REALLY INT TENSION to explore: bl women radicals tried best to implement Party policy; sometimes defended inexcusable positions taken by Party officials and the Soviet Union. And they proudly and openly identified as Communists. At same time, were unapologetic in challenging racism and sexism w/i Com Party and sexist agendas of bl men inside and outside Party

Im looking up key index words free love Freedom Freedom newspaper, Freedomways journals identity Thinking through this stuff

So, I mean, it seems that McDuffie spends a lot of time on sites, globally and locally as a way to think through things like identification and radical subjectivity. Sites include: political organizations and publications Com (this was a nuanced rel w tension) records of travel diasporic, transnational history and events, time period really important (as site) Whereas, Allen focuses more on the intimacies in relationships, relationship with self, with lover, with friend and uses these to theorize about subjectivity, self-making, and radicalizing. This is more about space and intimacy within it. McDuffie is more about organizations and large collectives and how people dealt with institutions. I guess my topic is about how McDuffies analysis could have been a lot more nuanced and complicated and complete if he had used Allens methods, especially since McDuffie did over 40 oral histories, as did Allen. DG: space versus sites I like that way of framing it! DG: Is there any part of McDuffies methodology that could in turn complement or complicate Allens analysis? DG: It might be interesting to look at the political ideologies implied by the two works. McDuffie is pretty invested in the idea of a vanguard leading political change, whereas Allens politics are maybe less social-movement oriented? This might be hard to suss out though. JB: In my mind, Allen is less politically oriented than McDuffie in framing, so it calls to mind how does the personal what is enacted in relationship spaces becomes political, and then I guess how is that shaped by the site (?) where it occurs Jafari Allens Venceremos provides for us an understanding of radicalized subjectivity through examination of erotic/intimate spaces of becoming where self-making happens. In contrast McDuffie is useful to understand x but does not do y. This paper will make claim that [Jafari Allen and intimate sites of radical becoming is the right way to go] b/c organizations do not adequately allow us to ____. Jafari Allens Venceremos: The Erotics of Black Self-Making in Cuba works to provide us with an understanding of radicalized subjectivity through an examination of erotic/intimate spaces of becoming that allow for the process of self-making. In contrast, Erik McDuffies Sojourning for Freedom: Black Women, American Communism, and the Making of Black Left Feminism is useful to understand the ways in which leftist political organizations operate to provide sites where radical subjectivity can be realized. This paper will make the claim that in order to understand radical self-becoming we must focus on interpersonal relationships because it is through these that we become social subjects, and radical subjectivity occurs primarily in the social realm. Examining organizations, while helpful, does not adequately allow us to understand the totality of radical self-making. It limits our lens to a very narrow understanding of radicalization, namely by privileging institutions and therefore neglecting the spaces of self-making located offsite of formal, established, and (inter)national institutions.

By privileging institutions, it neglects the spaces of radical self-making that happen offsite of formal, established, and mainstream institutionsand this is the majority of those spaces. (as opposed to the local) and this is the majority of those spaces. Examining organizations takes us only to sites where interpersonal relationships occur and leaves out the majority of sites where there is radical self-becoming. What might Sojourning have looked like with an Allen/erotic analysis?

--What are para about? paragraph 1 and two are the intro first three pages do this , next three do that conclusion paragraph or two

Emphasis/Methodologies foregrounds experiences and shared exp alternative genealogy chronology, chronicling, history stories (individual) that we can und larger stuff with; (has to uncover them from history, imp to note) agency Questions: how they negotiated the contours of and tensions around gender, race, class, and sexuality within these sites (Com, black freedom mvmt, etc) how did they radicalize? where they were, who they were with, what org/inst they were part of that lead to their radicalization (so, radicalization as being through political engagement, organizations, formal institutions and informal gatherings) Mentions: Representations Controlling images Black left feminism as a radical black feminist politics and a subject position Identity Stuff he mentions about identity: - proudly and openly ID as communists - Examining comm of bl women rad provides insight into making of bl left fem collective ID. Subjects:

rejected middleclass values and standards/respectability challenged sexist, racist ideologies w/i their political communities

OUTLINE Thesis and intro 1 page 5 pages Begin with analysis of McDuffie and the limitations of organizations 1 PAGE: intro how I basically understand his thesis and methodology 3 PAGES : good because he goes to details, good research, nuanced analysis, interested in the collective as much as individual and uses the individual to theorize the collective (Jafari is just about individ), and he has solid research 1 PAGE: BUT there is an erasure that happens when you focus solely on the organizations: 1. Bl women and the bl radical tradition erases black women as being fundamental to the founding of the bl radical tradition by showing only how they reacted to it. 2. Womens stories get lost amid the facts and figures of the organizations. Her story becomes a function of what she did in relation to the power structure of an institution. SHE becomes inconsequential to her political relation to the organization and is therefore lost. She is more than that. with his oral histories (apparently), he could have done what Jafari did

5 pages why jafari is better intro about what I see Jafari is all about. really into interstitial spaces highly erotic spaces that transcend organizations. This is where the bulk of radicalization happens. Talk about the power of the everyday and Jafaris emphasis on that and how the everyday is political <----> disidentification example w Dolores Erotic lens as the most useful/expansive/inclusive/where the most possibility is for liberation. The erotic is a way of being that is truly and completely encompassing. (Def of erotic) <----> example w Dolores ~NOTE: ties into M. Jacqui Alexander about the lesbian is not only a problem for the state, but also a fig that does not fit easily into cultural and familial [scenes] of women as selfless domestic caretakers (11); SO, it is in these personal and social spaces where the real politicized work takes place (the most challenge is located here as well). HE ALSO talks about how this is the space where the biggest barrier is presented --------- this relates to the tension in McDuffie 1 page conclusion whats at stake? Why should we care about radical subjectivity?