China in African Americans’ Struggle for Equality, 1900–1919

Abstract: The existing literature suggests that African Americans historically approached China either as a reliable ally or as a supplicant to white people. However, these perspectives mainly pertain to the post-1930s relationship. Prior to this period, African Americans ascribed a different significance to China in their quest for equality. They regarded it as an inadvertent destabilizer of America’s prevailing racial hierarchy, which marginalized African Americans as non-members of the nation. They asserted their claim to national inclusion by expressing pride in the supposed appeal of American civilization among the Chinese, protesting the neglect by white Americans, and pledging to adopt resistance strategies from China. These assertions, aimed at proving African Americans’ eligibility for full American identity, reflect complex attitudes toward a non-white Other as well as their resourcefulness in seeking pathways to achieve equality.