On Writing in Exile: Absolving Cuba and China in Robert F. Williams' Crusader

• In Event: ICA Plenary Interactive Paper/Poster Session and Reception
  In Interactive Paper Session: Ethnicity and Race in Communication Interactive Poster Session

Abstract

Scholars have increasingly examined the potential of newer forms of media in promoting social change to develop conceptions of the “good life.” Some of this research, however, fails to historicize transnational and digital media by exploring how the national clashes with the international when social actors attempt to create solidarity across borders. This paper places these contemporary dialogues in historical context by examining The Crusader, a black-owned newspaper published during the 1960s. Informed by James Carey’s notion of “historical consciousness” and Norman Fairclough’s discourse analysis methodology, the author highlights how the newsletter integrated Cuban and Chinese revolutionary politics in the discourse of black struggle in the United States. Findings underscore how transnational media can reinforce national boundaries while simultaneously attempting to transcend those borders, limiting the potential for international solidarity. This paper, therefore, contributes to several literatures, including scholarship on media, comparative race and ethnic studies, transnationalism, and social movements.

Author

• Cristina Mislan, The Pennsylvania State University