“Battleships, Atom Bombs, and Lynch Ropes”

This chapter explores how the founding of the Progressive Party (PP) in 1948 was a significant milestone in the lives of Eslanda Goode Robeson, Shirley Graham, and Charlotta Bass, helping to mark their evolution from social activists to public intellectuals. Their success in uniting race and gender emancipation ideologies and connecting them to world peace with the support of mixed-sex, racially integrated organizations complicates critiques that nationalist movements have historically discouraged women's attempts to address feminist concerns. Furthermore, the work of these women in the PP, and in organizations like the Council on African Affairs (CAA) and the Sojourners for Truth and Justice, demonstrates a comprehensive strategy to operate within both political and social movements in an attack against the dehumanizing effects of white supremacy and for the promise of global peace.