Day 24 of the 28 Days of Black Liberation 2024 series
Mae Mallory, born 1927 in Georgia, was one of the thousands of African Americans who moved North in hopes of finding jobs as well as evading racism and segregation that was so prevalent in the south – yet Mae experienced racism in both regions, particularly in the school system. She recalls racist teachers while going to elementary school, and she always showed defiance and resistance to any comments made in her direction. When she graduated high school and had children, Mae became a factory worker, as she did not want to perform domestic work.
In 1950s Harlem, Mae was exposed to many black radical organizations and later joined many black nationalist groups. She founded the group called “the Harlem 9,” and served as its spokesperson, protesting against segregation in schools, including the second class education that black and brown students received even if segregation was not instated in certain schools. The Harlem 9 filed lawsuits against the city and the state, and even led boycotts which included 10,000 parents and lasted 162 days.
In the 1960s, Mae worked alongside Robert F. Williams, a fellow black nationalist, to host a group of Freedom Riders: a group of interracial nonviolent protestors who rode the bus system in protest of segregation.
After the Freedom Riders were attacked by white mobs while protesting at the Court House in Monroe, the attacks then turned towards black neighborhoods. Robert and Mae provided sanctuary to black residents at Robert’s home, when a white couple came through and stayed at the home as well. After the crowds dispersed, the white couple told the police that they were kidnapped – prompting both Robert and Mae to flee in fear of retaliation from the Klu Klux Klan. The police found Mae in Cleveland where they arrested and imprisoned her.
While imprisoned, Mae made her case public and used this warranted attention to publish writings on black nationalism and liberation, socialism, and the need for self defense. She also highlighted the struggles that black working class women particularly faced at the hands of not only white Americans, but from men as well, and she was a critic of the male leadership of many black nationalist organizations.
In 1964, an all-white jury convicted her to 16-20 years in prison, but was exonerated in 1965 after a judge deemed it unlawful that the jury consisted of no black peers. Mae fought for black liberation and for the right to self-defense until her death in 2007.
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In the United States, the Black liberation struggle is the vanguard of the revolutionary class struggle. Black resistance to white supremacy has been the catalyst for nearly all critical social ruptures throughout american history. White workers choosing an alliance with the bosses instead of siding with the rest of the working class is the primary roadblock to revolutionary anti-capitalism in the US.
The GDC celebrates the Black liberation struggle and draws inspiration and lessons from its proud history in our struggle for the new world we are fighting for. In February we celebrate Black revolutionary culture, political prisoners, international figures and struggles, and moments in direct action that guide us in our continued, collective fight for liberation!