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I cannot think of a more appropriate interviewee for the first issue of the new millennium than social historian Gerald Horne. From his study of the Watts uprising and the 1960s, to his studies of W.E.B. Du Bois and Ben Davis, two prominent African American Communists, his writings have always been thoughtful, well-researched and particularly balanced. Not only has Horne written numerous articles and books on African-American history and radicalism, in 1992, he received over 300,000 votes as a Peace & Freedom Party candidate for United States Senate, and served as chair of the Party from 1992 to 1994.
Before beginning his teaching career, Horne served as Special Counsel to Local 1199 of the Health and Hospital Care Workers Union in New York City and as Executive Director of the National Conference of Black Lawyers. There he was asked by the Union of Arab Jurists to mediate the civil war in the Sudan. He was a key fund-raiser and solidarity activist for both the African National Congress (ANC) of South Africa and the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) of Namibia.
He has served on the Board of Directors of Sane/Freeze/Campaign for Global Security, the U.S. Peace Council, the W.E.B. DuBois Foundation and the Paul Robeson Center; he is co-chair of the International Committee of the National Lawyers Guild and a regular commentator on Pacifica Radio (where he formerly chaired the Board of the New York City affiliate, WBAI-FM).
His latest book, Race Woman: The Lives of Shirley Graham Du Bois (2000), has been hailed as a major study of one of the most significant lives of the twentieth-century. According to Horne, writing a book on Du Bois reflects a continuation of his other work on such individuals as Ben Davis, W.E.B. Du Bois, and William Patterson of the Civil Rights Congress, and an urge to engage more deeply into the field of feminist and women's studies.
Gerald Horne is a Professor at University of North Carolina, and is currently a Fulbright Scholar, University of Hong Kong. While in Los Angeles, Horne took some time from his busy schedule to speak with me by telephone.
Gaither: Your involvement in the struggle has been on many levels: As a legal representative, as a political candidate,...