Yunxiang Gao's book presents a significant addition to the burgeoning field of historical scholarship exploring black American connections with China during the 20th century. In five chapters, Gao meticulously examines the personal journeys and intellectual contributions of five influential figures: W. E. B. Du Bois, Paul Robeson, Liu Liangmo (刘良模), Sylvia Si-lan Chen Leyda {陈茜(锡, 西)兰}, and Langston Hughes, shedding new light on their roles in shaping Chinese relations with African Americans.
Drawing extensively on archival and published sources across multiple languages and regions, including Chinese, English, and Russian, Gao offers a nuanced portrayal of how Chinese and African Americans collaborated amid the turbulent domestic and international politics from the 1930s to the 1970s. Through the lens of African Americans’ relationships with China, with other blacks, with racism, with U.S. government persecution, and with working-class struggles for freedom, Gao shows how these individuals intersected at various junctures in support of...