Communism in Charlotte

By: Tyler Howard

Goals of This Research

Show the activity of the Communist Party within the Charlotte Metro Area.

Show impact of Communism in Charlotte from the late 1920’s through 1960.

Communism in Charlotte reached its climax through the 1920’s-1930’s, but began to decline through the 1940’s and beyond due to inner party disputes and Anti-Communism influence.

The Beginnings of Communism

Communism is brought to America in 1919 after the results of WWI. (Draper)

Paul Crouch first brought Communism into North Carolina in the early 1920’s. Crouch believed that North Carolina was the foundation for moving Communism into the Deep South. (Taylor)

Communism in Charlotte During the 1920’s

Working in conjunction with the National Textile Workers Union (NTWU) and other labor union organizers. (Workers World)

The Loray Mill Strike organized by Paul Crouch and Fred Beal. (Charlotte Observer)

The Scopes Trial and impact on Charlotte. 200 members consisting of educators,

medical professionals, and Communists gathered at the Second Presbyterian Church in downtown Charlotte to protest the trial and its meaning. (Phillip Koritz Interview)

Communism in Charlotte During the 1930’s

Many textile/mill workers were losing work and struggling to survive.

Calvine, Louise, Chadwick, Chadbourn, and Hoskins hosiery mills. These were located in North Charlotte and Pineville. (Edna Y. Hargett Interview)

Rent strikes in Charlotte.

Workers that were out of work were forced to pay rent or be evicted by force. (Letters to the Southern Worker)

Communism in Charlotte During the 1940’s

Conflict between William Foster and Junius Scales.

The issue of white male chauvinism

Communists averted their attention to cities such as Winston Salem, Greensboro, and Asheville (Junius Scales Interview)

Communism in Charlotte During the 1950’s

Communism in Charlotte began to rapidly decline during the 1950’s.

Cold War Conflict.

Paul Crouch working with the FBI indicting Junius Scales and Fred Beal. (Operation SOLO)

Hungarian Revolution of 1956. (Junius Scales Interview)

The Coming of Operation SOLO and the Eradication of Communism in Charlotte

Operation SOLO in 1958.

Former Party members Beal, Scales, and Crouch were used as informants.

Charlotte Committees were shut down by city police and FBI. (fbi.gov)

Threats of unemployment and red-baiting.

Conclusion Communism in Charlotte was prevalent during the late 1920’s through the

early 1940’s.

Trade Unions were in effect to unionize worker and fight for social insurance, unemployment, and other issues regarding employment.

The National Textile Workers Union was headquartered in Charlotte and worked in conjunction with the American Federation of Labor. (Southern Worker)

Communist organizers such as Beal, Crouch, and Scales were able to successfully organize blacks and minorities into the Party.

Before the end of WWII in the early 1940’s, Communism begins to take a decline in Charlotte. Disagreements between regional Communist Party members in Charlotte and the National Party.

With limited cooperation and the inability to break the integration barrier; Charlotte began to slowly eradicate itself of Communism. Operation SOLO in 1958 brought an end to Communism in the Charlotte.

Bibliography Theodore Draper, The Roots of American Communism. (New York, 1957)

Gregory S. Taylor, The History of the North Carolina Communist Party. (University of South Carolina Press, 2009)

Jack, London. "The Iron Heel." The Daily Worker, 1934

Schappes, Morris. "The Daily worker, heir to the great tradition." The Daily Worker, 1944.

Scales Junius, interview by Robert Kortstad, "Junius Scales Interview," Southern Oral History Collection, Record, May 2, 1987

William Foster, "Party Building and Political Leadership," Workers Library Publishers (1937)

Minor, Robert. "The Trial of William Z. Foster." The Liberator, sec. v.6 no.4, April 1923.

Operation SOLO Files, FBI Vault Records, http://us.archives.org/5items/FbiSoloFiles-Mar1958ToAug1960

Workers Age, Vol. I. No. 5. New York, Saturday, February 1932.

The Militant, Vol. III. No. 2. New York, Saturday, January 1930.

The Southern Worker, Vol. I. No. 3. Birmingham, Alabama, September 1930.

The Southern Worker, Vol. I. No. 1. Birmingham, Alabama, August 1930.

The Southern Worker, Vol. I. No. 2. Birmingham, Alabama, August 1930

The Southern Worker, Vol. 5. No. 12. Birmingham, Alabama, March 1937

The Southern Worker, Letters to the Editor.

The Charlotte Observer, “The Reds Say.” August 1930

The Charlotte Observer, “Cops Must Admit Reds Growing In Charlotte Area.” February 1931