African Americans, China, and the Struggle for Racial Equality, 1865–1900

Despite the passage of three constitutional amendments and two civil rights Acts in the postbellum years, African Americans continued to face daily injustices, especially as the North and South accelerated reconciliation in the latter years of Reconstruction. This situation compelled the Black population to attempt securing citizenship rights through actions that could potentially embarrass white America into honoring its commitment. China provided them with a convenient trope through which they could critique white society while endorsing its objective to civilize supposedly less developed races. Black American commentators emphasized China’s perceived lack of civilization to align themselves with America’s civilizing missions and prove their communities’ civilized status, or at least their rapid progress toward it. In so doing, they aimed to portray white Americans’ ongoing anti-Blackness as both irrational and unjustified. China’s alleged inferiority transformed from a marker of despicable character into an antiracist tool for Black Americans.