History Senior Thesis

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Tyler Michael Howard
March 20, 2013
HIST 475
Dr. Hoefferle
Communism in the Charlotte Metro Area
The issue of Communism has always been one of great debate. Many considered
Communism to be a threat to American capitalism while others seen Communism as a savior for
equality and blue collared workers. This research project looks at the history of the North
Carolina Communist Party in the Charlotte Metro area. According to secondary sources wrote on
the history of the American Communist Party (Draper, Klehr, Taylor) The American Communist
Party was one of the most radical organizations of its time and North Carolina was a leader for
Communism spreading into the Southern United States. Looking at Communist supported
newspapers (Southern Worker, Workers Age, Daily Worker, and The Militant) as well as local
Anti-Communist views (The Charlotte Observer) show there was a prevalent Communist
influence in Charlotte. Charlotte was a hotbed of Communist activity for a brief period in the
1930’s into the early 1940’s, but it quickly declined because of anticommunist pressure and
internal disagreements.
Communism has been entrenched in the United States for almost a century. According to
Theodore Draper, a historian and author breaks down the early workings of American
Communism in the book The Roots of American Communism. The American Communist Party
got its start in the early 1920s from the October Revolution that occurred in Russia in 1917.1 The
1 Theodore Draper, The Roots of American Communism. (New York, 1957) pgs. 135-138

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American Communist Party originated in New York, but during the late 1920s and early 1930s,
it began to move into the Southern half of the United States.2 Draper focuses on the American
Communist Party’s relationship to the Soviet Union. The Comintern held documents, letters,
and other sources of information tying CPSU and CPUSA together which were held in Russia
for storage. Draper goes into great detail over the propaganda that the American Communist
Party distributed to the public. The Daily Worker was the primary source of media to the public
for party information. The newspaper, based in New York publicized information about the
American Communist Party on a national level. The Daily Worker also reached out on a
regional level to Northern as well as Southern States, including Charlotte and Monroe, North
Carolina. Draper goes into detail about the secrecy of the CPUSA as well as integration of races
in the South.3 Integrating the white working class with African American sharecroppers was a
key for the American Communist Party to achieve full effectiveness in the South. This North
Carolina was selected as one of the prominent southern states for Communism. North Carolina
was the capital of the American textile industry with the Piedmont area as its core.4 Charlotte
was not only the biggest metropolitan city in the state and was located in the center of the state
making it easily accessible through travel. Draper does well in examining the Communist Party
on a national level and explains the relationship of the American Communist Party with the
Soviet Union from a top down approach. Draper’s book does little to revel about the Communist
Party within Charlotte, North Carolina.
Harvey Klehr professor of history at Emory University takes a look at what the purpose
was of the American Communist Party and the struggles they went through in establishing
operations on American soil during the 1940s and 1950s. Klehr explains the objectives of the
4 Gregory S. Taylor, The History of the North Carolina Communist Party. (University of South Carolina Press, 2009)

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CPUSA and what they aimed to accomplish on a local, regional, and national scale. In his
research Klehr sheds light onto the mysterious workings of American Communism and
underground labor organizing. The American Communist Party is forced to go underground due
to investigations by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and to the ongoing effects of the
Cold War.5 Support for the party all but disappeared with the coming of the Cold War and a
spike in American Patriotism. Communism was seen as sleeping with the enemy by many
Americans because of the ongoing Cold War conflict. Klehr focuses on documents shared
between the CPUSA and CPSU from the newly opened Comintern in Moscow.6 These
documents show that the Soviet Union guided the American Communist Party in much of their
decision making. While Klehr details Communist underground activity throughout the United
States, Klehr does not focus regionally on North Carolina or go into detail on Communism in
Charlotte.
William Foster was the National Chairman of the American Communist Party following
WWII in 1946.7 He was tried for trying to overthrow the United States Government because of
his association with the American Communist Party from 1922 to 1923. He is portrayed in the
trial by the prosecution as a radical training the working class of America to hate their
employers. Foster is seen as planning a Red Revolution similar to that of Vladimir Lenin in the
October Revolution in Russia. What this trial shows is a consensus of how the American
Communist Party is viewed; a radical leftist group seeking a violent overthrow of the American
Government. Capitalism versus Communism was on the main stage. Foster can be seen as the
last figurehead for the American Communist Party. He attempted to fully integrate the South.
William Z. Foster was loved and hated by many of his comrades. Junius Scales, who was a
5 Harvey Klehr, The Secret World of American Communism. (New York, 1995) pgs. 195-198
6 Harvey Klehr, The Secret World of American Communism. (New York, 1995) pgs 207-212
7 Minor, Robert. "The Trial of William Z. Foster." The Liberator, sec. v.6 no.4, April 1923.

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prominent North Carolina Communist Party member quotes Foster in an interview saying “he
was twice as dangerous as the textbook Communist.”8 The trial was very similar to the trial of
Junius Scales in Charlotte in the fact that the verdict was overwhelmingly against the
Communists. This shows a connection between national views and Charlotte views of Anti-
Communism.
Alex Bittleman was a leading American Communist Party member acting under William
Foster. In his pamphlet The Party and the People’s Front, Bittelman outlines what he believes
will help build the Party into an effective leader for the working class. In the pamphlet,
Bittelman not only looks at Capitalism as an enemy, but more specifically the Republican Party.
Democrats have begun to take a more progressive approach with the response to WWII.
Browder and Bittelman share similar views on the direction of the party. Both believe in a level
of cooperation with the government in regards to the Fascists and war; however, the principles of
the party remained potent.9 Bittelman acted under the Foster administration but sought to abide
by Browder’s ideologies. Foster and Browder had different paths for American Communism.
This shows the beginnings of party divisions. Bittelman talks of party movement and mass
growth in conjunction with the spread of Communism by way of propaganda and cooperation
with other Progressive parties.10
In regards to North Carolina, Communists followed the approach laid out by Bittleman.
Communists aligned themselves with American Federation of Labor (A.F.L), Congress of
Industrial Workers (C.I.O), and National Textile Workers Union (N.T.W.U) to gain progressive
support and appeal to the factory workers concentrated in the state. Meetings with these
8 Scales Junius, interview by Robert Kortstad, "Junius Scales Interview," Southern Oral History Collection, Record,
May 2, 1987:1-7
9 Bittleman, Alex, The Party and the Peoples Front, (1937)
10 Bittleman, Alex, The Party and the Peoples Front, (1937)

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organizations occurred in Charlotte with the NTWU having headquarters based out of Charlotte.
The divisions in party direction became apparent with the close of WWII.
John Gates was a renowned American Communist Journalist and former editor of The
Daily Worker. In his pamphlet titled On Guard Against Browderism Titoism Trotskyism, Gates
talks about the influence of former American Communist Party chairmen Earl Browder had went
against the good of the party and became tied to American imperialism. “Browderism” had
begun to affect other Communist Party members throughout the states including in Charlotte
according to Gates. Browder had begun to try and separate the CPUSA away from the Soviet
Union. Browder had labeled Stalin a danger to Communism and the goals of a Communist
social world. Gates stated that Browder goes as far as blaming the Korean conflict and Chinese
aggression on Stalin and the Soviet influence. 11 Gates sites that Browder had gone against all
that Communism stands for and had attempted to lead the party into a merger with the
imperialistic capitalist powers. In the pamphlet, Gates goes on to say that Browder has
undermined his fellow comrades in acting as a “stool-pigeon”12 for the capitalists on Wall Street
in trials such as Frederick vs. Field. There is talk of the faction between Earl Browder and his
eventual successor William Z. Foster. Browder proclaimed that Foster was allegedly put into
power as National Party Chairman by European Communist leaders. Gates stated that it was in
the full interest of the American Communist Party and its members. A key issue that is brought
up once again is the issue of “The Negro Question”13. This issue is of upmost importance to
Charlotte because it raises questions of success of the CPUSA in North Carolina and the
Southern United States. Gates says Browder avoids the issue of integration within the Party.
Gates goes on to describe how Browder believes that African Americans have “integrated into
11 Gates, John. On Guard against Browderism Titoism Trotskyism. (1951)
12 Gates, John. On Guard against Browderism Titoism Trotskyism. (1951) pg.7
13 Gates, John. On Guard against Browderism Titoism Trotskyism. (1951) pg. 8

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American life and have been freed of feudal survival.”14 Gates points toward the American
South and cites segregation, lower wages, and uneven land distribution as a counter to Browder’s
views. Seeing from the letters to the editor in The Southern Worker, this conclusion by Gates
can be seen as fact. The pamphlet backs up the argument that the divisions amongst the
members of the CPUSA led to its eventual demise. The Party members were divided on the
issues of integration and relation to the Soviet Union. Gates cites that there is disloyalty amongst
the comrades without naming names other than Earl Browder. This pamphlet describes the
issues that occurred in Charlotte during the late 1940s and into the 1950s. Scales makes note of
several of these issues in his interview with Kortstad. The question of integrating is one that
burdened the Communists in Charlotte. The recruitment of African Americans was seen to be
necessary for the growth of the party; however, their role in the party was one of question.
Other historians have written histories of the American Communist Party in specific
southern states. For example, Robin Kelley, a historian at UCLA focuses on Communism in the
state of Alabama. Kelley’s book Hammer and Hoe: Alabama Communists During the Great
Depression takes a look at Communism within the state of Alabama. Alabama for much of the
20th century was a center of racial segregation, but the Communists were able to use segregation
as a tool to recruit many African Americans into the party.15 There was also a large immigrant
population within the state because of the need of sharecroppers for farming. The reason that the
Communists in Alabama were able to succeed was because of their ability to take action and
protest. Communists were able to unite their goals with many of the poor whites as well as
oppressed blacks and form strong coalitions to take on capitalist oppression as well the issue of
14 Gates, John. On Guard against Browderism Titoism Trotskyism. (1951) pgs. 14-15
15 Kelley, Robin D. G. Hammer and Hoe: Alabama Communists During the Great Depression. University of North
Carolina Press, 1990.

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race.16 The party was able to establish relationships with many left-wing radical liberals as well
as the younger population of Alabama.17 Being able to unite under one common goal was rare
for the CPUSA; especially being able to align liberal, whites, and blacks all together. This could
be considered to be one of the shining moments of the American Communist Party’s success in
the Deep South. Communists in Charlotte used many of the same tactics that were employed to
recruiting African Americans into the party. While Charlotte was not as racially segregated as
Alabama, Charlotte did face many of the same obstacles and stiff opposition from Anti-
Communists.18
In the essay Mobilizing the Reserve Army: The Communist Party and the Unemployed in
Atlanta, 1929–1934, historian James Lorence goes into detail about the Communist Party in
Atlanta during the Great Depression and through the 1940s. Lorence emphasizes integrating
blacks and whites together. The focus of the Communist Party was the tenants and shantytowns
of Atlanta being able to unite a force of impoverished blacks together with poor whites working
in the factories.19 The CPUSA believed that if they were able to integrate the two together, then
they would have enough power to take over in the city. The Communists were unable to attain
these goals because of the inability to fight through the issue of segregation with many of the
white factory workers as well as other pressing issues occurring in different areas of the United
States. The issue of white chauvinism was apparent in Atlanta with fear of white workers being
replaced by blacks for cheaper wages.
19 James J. Lorence, Radicalism in the South Since Reconstruction: Mobilizing the Reserve Army: Communist Party
and the Unemployed in Atlanta, 1929.” (New York, 2006)pgs 50-51

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The cities of Charlotte and Atlanta were two major foundations from incorporating the
Communist Party into the South. Both cities were major industrial hubs for factory workers and
textile production. Communists in North Carolina worked in conjunction with Atlanta regarding
recruiting, unemployment, and the trial of Angelo Herndon.20 Prominent NCCP members such as
Paul Crouch were involved in working on the Angel Herndon trial. Fighting for the freedom and
equality of workers was what the Communist sought to achieve in the Angel Herndon trial and to
show that Herndon was falsely convicted by the capitalist system. Charlotte experienced the
same obstacles that Atlanta did with stiff Anti-Communist opposition and the issue of
segregation.
Gregory Taylor, a professor of history at Chowan University focuses on the regional
North Carolina Communist Party in his book The History of the North Carolina Communist
Party.21 Taylor goes into great detail of how the North Carolina Communist Party (NCCP)
operated. His book specifically looks at the reasons why the American Communist Party wanted
to establish itself in the state of North Carolina. Gregory includes the Loray Mill Strike, the
Kissing Case, as well as other cases dealing with labor strikes.22 Taylor explains how the process
that the North Carolina Communist Party tried to unite both the white and black working class
behind labor unions and were quite successful in Charlotte and Winston Salem, North Carolina.23
Both cities laid the fundamental foundation for spreading Communism into the Southern United
States.
20 James J. Lorence, Radicalism in the South Since Reconstruction: Mobilizing the Reserve Army: Communist Party
and the Unemployed in Atlanta, 1929.” (New York, 2006)
pgs. 66-69
pgs. 49-52

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Taylor goes into great detail about the NCCP’s inability to attract the workers of North
Carolina. The NCCP reached out to workers who were underpaid and overworked by their
superiors. Charlotte was home to many court cases involving Communist Party members. This
gave notoriety to the region. Court cases in the Charlotte area show that the Communist defense
teams were more concerned with spreading the ideology of the party than defending accused
members.24 Taylor argues that the issue of religion was one of the major drawbacks for the
NCCP as well as the CPUSA as a whole. Many Communists claimed to be atheist and this did25
not go over well with much of the population of the South, who were predominantly Southern
Baptist. Charlotte was and still is a deeply Christian conservative city. The NCCP, like the
CPUSA, also had contact with the Soviet Union. North Carolina Communists modeled
themselves after the CPSU; but also wanted some form of individuality. For example, the NCCP
protested lynching and Jim Crow Laws, and demanded equal representation for whites, blacks,
and other minorities such as women.26 Taylor’s book shows the impact of Communism not only
within North Carolina, but also major metropolitan cities within the state. While Taylor does
mention Charlotte as a base for activity by the NCCP, he does not devote great detail into the
city of Charlotte, but rather the NCCP and its effects on the state of North Carolina as a whole.
Newspapers and pamphlets were primary sources of Communist Party information. The
Southern Worker is a newspaper that was published by the CPUSA for the Southeastern United
States published from 1930 up into 1938. The Southern Worker can be seen by many as the most
effective tool used by the American Communist Party in its quest to reach out to the public
pgs 42-48
pgs 50-55
pgs.125-132

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forum of the South. One of the main focuses of The Southern Worker was to spread the
Communist ideology as well as make negative comments on the spread of American
capitalism.27 In reference to North Carolina, the paper focused on the trial of the Loray Mills
Strike in 1929 up into the 1930. The trial took place in Charlotte which brought added publicity
to the region. The Southern Worker also noted events that involved the Communist Party in the
Charlotte area. For example the National Textile Workers Union coming to hold a meeting on
14th street in North Charlotte in 1931.28 The CPUSA believed that it was paramount for
individuals to follow the principles of Communism in order to be a “textbook Communist.”29
This quote was used by Junius Scales, who was the head regional organizer in the Charlotte
Metro area to describe prominent members such William Foster. With Scales being a leader of
the North Carolina Communist Party disagreements were held between the National CPUSA and
organizers such as Scales in Charlotte. This would foreshadow events that would transpire later
into the 1950 s with the crumbling of NCCP and CPUSA.
Charlotte was mentioned frequently in The Southern Worker. The paper covered the
entire state of North Carolina, but Charlotte is a primary focus for the paper. In the paper,
meetings are documented with Communist Party members and NTWU organizers headquartered
in Charlotte. 30 Prominent NCCP members such as Fred Beal, Paul Crouch and Junius Scales
were featured in the paper. Fred Beal was a head NTWU organizer who came to Charlotte from
New York to organize workers for strike in the Loray Mill in Gastonia. Beal played a key role in
organizing workers into unions in Charlotte and surrounding areas. Paul Crouch wrote many
27 Jack, London. "The Iron Heel." The Daily Worker, 1934.
28 The Southern Worker, V.2, No.2 (1931)
May 2, 1987:1-7.
30 Crouch, Paul. “Textiles Strike Again” The Southern Worker (1936)

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stories for the paper, including articles on the rise of the textile unions in Charlotte.31 The paper
showed the progressive steps that the party was making within the Charlotte Area. The Southern
Workers shows that progress was made within North Carolina and Charlotte in the 1930s. An
article from the paper details 3,000 workers pushing back Charlotte Mecklenburg Police in the
streets trying to break up a meeting.32 Communist party members ran for election for county
seats on city council. 33 The Southern Worker detailed progress made by the Communists in
Charlotte as well as other areas of North Carolina. The Southern Worker shows that Charlotte
indeed had a Communist presence in the late 1920s and throughout the 1930s.
In conjunction with The Southern Worker, there was a letters to the editor section in
which subscribers could list their grievances to the writers of the paper. There were a few letters
sent in from Communist members in Charlotte detailing working and living conditions in the
area in the 1930s. The letters goes into detail about the rent strikes going on in the early 1930s
by unemployed workers who struggled to survive because of the Great Depression and
struggling economy.34 Landlords were described as coming to homes and ripping off doors and
boarding up windows.35 The woman writing the letter happened to be African American which
shows the racial segregation boundary within the city. According to the woman, who remained
anonymous, The Southern Worker gave her the strength to fight back against the landlord to
keep what was rightfully hers. These workers were forced to improvise doing menial work in
order to sustain a living. Organizations such as the National Textile Workers Union and Trade
Union Unity League offered workers hope that the Communists would bring relief to the
34 “Resists and Wins Against Her Eviction” The Southern Worker Letters to the Editor (1931)
35 “Resists and Wins Against Her Eviction” The Southern Worker Letters to the Editor (1931)

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working class and unemployed around Charlotte. Through the turmoil, the African American
women wished for freedom of oppression for black and white workers.36
Another Letter to the Editor from The Southern Worker shows the living conditions in
Charlotte from a Southern Worker correspondent. The correspondent looks at life for
unemployed workers forced to farm because unemployment during the early 1930s. Many
unemployed workers such as the family described in the letter were left with rent that was
impossible to pay while being unemployed. Rent prices were not the only concern as many
families struggled to feed their children.37 While the father and sons plowed the fields, the wife
was forced to pick blackberries for the evening supper. Without work in the mills and factories
in Charlotte, life was hard for the unemployed. The family’s housing was poor as it leaked when
it rained making for below standard living conditions.38 The wife proclaimed that this was the
sorriest place she had seen in North Carolina showing the terrible living conditions in Charlotte
which many were subjected to live.39 Workers were ready for reform and sought refuge under
the banner of equality that the Communists proclaimed within Charlotte.
The Militant was a left-wing Communist paper based out New York that covered North
Carolina and the Southern United States. The paper wrote from a more radical perspective than
that of The Southern Worker but gave detailed information to the public on Communist Party
activity regionally. Charlotte was mentioned frequently in The Militant. The paper described the
moving in of the American Federation of Labor into Charlotte as a potential disaster.40 Cities
such as Charlotte and Salisbury were holding AFL meetings to promote social insurances and
36 “50 Year-Old Negro Woman Set for Fight” The Southern Worker Letters to the Editor (1931)
37 “Farmer Takes Place of Mule at Plow” The Southern Worker Letters to the Editior (1931)
40 The Militant (1932)

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organize the wage earners of the South.41 With the entrance of the AFL into Charlotte,
differences became apparent among Communists in the area. The AFL represented blue-collared
white factory workers with less attention paid to African Americans. Writers for The Militant
such as Jay Lovestone criticized the AFL saying it was a group made up of bureaucrats
employing the laws of capitalism amongst the working class.42 The Militant was critical of the
direction of the Communist Party during the 1930s and into the 1940s believing the Party was
drifting away from original ideals. With the start of WWII, unemployment declined forcing
Communists to look for other means of protest such as racial equality.
The NCCP faced considerable opposition from Anti-Communists in the form of The
Charlotte Observer. The Charlotte Observer a newspaper based in Charlotte was one of the
leaders in covering Communist Party activity in the Carolinas. The newspaper focused on the
trails such as the Loray Mill Strike trial of 1929 and General Textile strike trial of 1934 dealing
with Communist Party members. Textile mill strikes and labor union organizing were also
covered extensively within the city.43 The Observer stayed on top of Communist activity that
was going on throughout the area amplifying Communists as enemies of the state. The paper
was the main source of information within the Charlotte region and the Observer takes a strong
conservative stance. The Communist Party seen Republicans as “Fascist” in the words of
William Z. Foster44. Such phrases as “Commy Bastards” and “traitors” could be found in some
instances.45 The Charlotte Observer also reached out to the surrounding rural counties which
were comprised of poor, working class farmers and mill workers. With the popularity of The
Charlotte Observer, the North Carolina Communists were unable to overthrow conservative
41 “A.F.ofL. Opens up in the South” The Militant (1930)
42 “A.F.ofL. Opens up in the South” The Militant (1930)
43 “The Reds Say,” The Charlotte Observer (1931)
44 William Foster, "Party Building and Political Leadership," Workers Library Publishers (1937): 45-62,
45 “The Reds Say,” The Charlotte Observer (1931)

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views with their propaganda. The Charlotte Observer mentioned the Communists gaining
momentum in Charlotte. 46 The Charlotte Observer exaggerated the ability of the Communists
in Charlotte and writes on the idea of the hostile takeover of the nation by radical Communists.
With the paper being the main source of news for the people of Mecklenburg County and the
surrounding counties, the paper’s stories were generally believed to be true by much of the
population. The coming of the Cold War in the late 1940s only amplified the paper and its
thoughts.
Communism appealed to many African Americans in North Carolina from the 1930s
into the late 1940s. James W. Ford was a leading American Communist Party member, and the
first African American to ever appear on the presidential ticket running alongside William Foster
for Vice President in 1932, 1936, and 1940. Ford was influential in helping to recruit African
Americans into the CPUSA from the North and South. In his pamphlet, Developing Negro
Community Leaders, Ford talks about how Communist ideology has helped lift African
Americans from the depths of oppression. Ford urged the CPUSA to assimilate African
American women into leadership positions within the party and solve the problem of “the negro
question.”47 The question pertains to addressing African Americans and their role within the
Communist Party. This question dealt especially with Southern states such as North Carolina
where black and white integration was essential to the Communists success. In Charlotte,
integration was key with workers to gain support for labor unions. With the National Textile
Workers Union and American Federation of Labor both pushing for more workers, it was
paramount for the Communist to integrate within the city to gain more popular support for the
party.
46 “Cops Must Admit Reds Growing in Charlotte Area,” The Charlotte Observer (1931)
47 Ford, James. Developing the Negro Communist Leader. (1937)

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Ford believed that women were essential in providing new recruiting outlets within
communities. He cites the successes of women organizers in healthcare and education. Women
were widely used as organizers for the Party in Charlotte.48 Moranda Smith and Velma Barfield
were two women who were active in the recruiting of women and minorities in the Charlotte
area. Both of these women campaigned strongly against inequality and male chauvinism.49
Ford states that the problem of the African American people is the lack of knowledge. He states
that vocational training schools should be constructed in order for African Americans to better
understand the roots of Communism. Ford was a well known figure in North Carolina. During
his running on the ticket as vice president through 1936-1944, Ford made stops in North Carolina
including in Charlotte. Ford aimed to better integrate the minority into the party within North
Carolina and Charlotte. Ford was unable to fully conquer the obstacle of male chauvinism in the
Charlotte and North Carolina. This predicates the future decline of Communism in Charlotte in
the late 1940s and into the 1950s.
Junius Scales was a regional party organizer in the Charlotte Metro and Triad areas of
North Carolina. Scales was one of the key figures promoting Communism within Charlotte.
The interviews give insight onto what was going on into Communist Party around the major
metropolitan cities in North Carolina. Scales looks at the North Carolina Communist Party and
its activities that were going on in cities such as Winston-Salem, Charlotte, Greensboro, and
Asheville after WWII and into the late 1940s before the beginnings of the Cold War conflict. In
an interview conducted by Robert Korstad, Scales breaks down the Party into specific
committees located in different regions. Within the committees, Scales describes the role of
May 2, 1987:3
May 2, 1987:pgs3-5

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trade union workers and minorities working together.50 Committees were broken down into
eight to ten members and had diversity among its members. Scales says that in Charlotte, there
were over 200 official members that gathered together.51 Women were very influential within
the Charlotte region, as they helped to gain support for the minorities and related with the masses
of the working class oppressed. Moranda Smith and Velma Barfield were two major organizers
for the Communist Party in Charlotte. Women were politically active within the area and were
used for organizing movements and recruiting.52 While there was activity going on within
Charlotte, there was more activity going on in Winston-Salem with unionizing the R.J. Reynolds
workers.
In another interview conducted by Robert Korstad, three Communist Party members from
the Charlotte area are interviewed in Bernard Friedland, Junius Scales, and Karl Korstad. The
interview gives insight into Communist Party activity within the Charlotte area during the 1940s.
Friedland and Korstad were both organizers and associates of Scales, who was a head organizer
within the Charlotte region. Scales speaks about his involvement in WWII and how Bart Logan
took over as the district organizer during the war.53 Communist volunteers in WWII were
common because of the involvement of Fascist nations such as Germany and Italy which
American Communists deemed as enemies to Communist ideals. The involvement of the Soviet
Union on the side of the Allies made Communists such as Scales from the Charlotte area
volunteer to support their comrades. Communists who stayed out of service were in charge of
May 2, 1987:1-7
May 2, 1987:1-7
May 2, 1987:1-7
53 “Interview with Bernard Friedland, Junius Scales, and Karl Korstad” by Robert Korstad. Southern Oral History
Collection, Record, April 14, 1986: pg 2

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handling the domestic affairs of the Party. Friedland and Korstad in working with Logan raised
support for the Party in the form of women and students.54 The war sent many working class
men into the armed service, leaving the local Communists with little to recruit from. Friedland
talked about the issues with the trade unions and organizing within the region. Because the war
had brought employment to the Charlotte areas textile mills and factories, unions struggled to
organize workers. With Logan enlisting in the army in 1943, Alice Burke was named the
organizer in the district.55 Burke was from Virginia and had little experience in North Carolina
and was unfamiliar with labor organizing within the Charlotte region. Many outsiders began
coming to Charlotte from states such as Virginia and New York to organize and maintain
Communist Party stability. With organizers such as Alice Burke and Gene Morse being
involved in their own state affairs, the Charlotte region was left without a district organizer for
several months until Scales arrival back from WWII in 1946.56 Scales notes the issue of
comrades such as Chick showing male chauvinism toward women such as Burke for holding
important local party positions within the Charlotte region. Anne Matthews who was a secretary
for the Party turned in over 100 Communist Party names to the FBI within the region.57
Matthews outlined the structure of the Communist Party and how it was broken down from the
National Party down to regional and district organizing in areas such as Charlotte. This
foreshadowed the events that would come with Operation SOLO put into action by the FBI.
Collection, Record, April 14, 1986: pgs. 2-3
Collection, Record, April 14, 1986: pgs 6-7

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The end of the Communist era was brought about by Operation SOLO. Operation SOLO
was initiated by the FBI in order to infiltrate the American Communist Party and tracked its
relationship with other Communist nations; primarily the Soviet Union. Specific documents
show the relationship between the CPUSA and the CPSU. The CPUSA had been infiltrated by
the FBI and the American was made aware of meetings in Moscow as well as China.58
Prominent Communist Party members such as William Foster and Eugene Dennis were carefully
observed by the government.59 The main goal of the FBI in the SOLO operation was to
determine what the Soviet Union was advising the CPUSA to do. It had become apparent that
the CPUSA did as they were authorized by the Soviet Union.60 Letters and documents were
intercepted by informants and given to the FBI. This operation succeeded in infiltrating the once
obscure American Communist Party and learning of its whereabouts. It confirmed suspicion that
the CPUSA was acting under the supervision of the Soviet Union. Paul Crouch, who was one of
the founding members of the North Carolina Communist Party, was an informant for the FBI.61
He gave the whereabouts of Communist leaders and meetings that were held in North Carolina.
Not only was the FBI able to infiltrate the national party, but also the party on a regional level.
This brought the question of trust of many of the comrades within NC.62 Communism within NC
was all but shut down.
58 Operation SOLO Files, FBI Vault Records, http://us.archives.org/5items/FbiSoloFiles-Mar1958ToAug1960

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In conclusion to primary and secondary research of Communism in Charlotte, it is
apparent that Communism was on the rise early into the 1920-1930. The failure of Capitalism to
bring relief to the working class was an issue Communists were able to take advantage of in the
Charlotte area. The wide surplus of textile mills with the accessibility to large populations made
trade unions and labor organizing possible. Communists in Charlotte during the 1930s were able
to hold meetings and address the issues of unemployment, racial integration, and elections for
office within the region. This allowed the party to gain momentum in Charlotte. Police were
unable to suppress workers rallied by members for striking purposes. Evidence shows that the
Communist Party was at its peak in Charlotte during the 1930s. With the coming of the 1940s
and after WWII, the party began to lose steam in Charlotte. A profound stance in Conservative
Anti-Communist policies in Charlotte led to the lack of support for Communism. With the lack
of popular support brought disagreements to the surface within the Party especially between
national leaders and regional leaders in Charlotte. The evidence of white male chauvinism rears
its head, further dividing and segregating the party into the late 1940s. The Cold War further
divided the Party; and a decline in popular support within the region became apparent. This led
to eventual defection and infiltration into the once secretive Communist Circle within Charlotte
as the case of Paul Crouch. Communism was unable to keep any influence in the Charlotte area
once these disagreements tore the Communist Party apart.

20
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21
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22
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Mar1958ToAug1960

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