The Comintern, the CPGB, Colonies and Black Britons, 1920-1938

The Comintern espoused the liberation of colonies from its earliest days and charged the parties in the "Mother Countries" to support independence movements and to recruit "colonials" at home and in the metropoles to their ranks. From 1928 Communists were also instructed to eradicate racist attitudes and practices within the parties. The Communist Party of Great Britain generally ignored these directives: no work was done in the colonies and the issue of racism within the Party, attested to, for example, by leading Indian communist M. N. Roy, was completely ignored. Two communist "satellites" in the UK, the Seamen's Minority Movement and International Labor Defence, made some attempt at "colonial work," but were quickly "liquidated" by the Party.