Colored Cosmopolitanism: The Shared Struggle for Freedom in the United States and India

by Nico Slate

A hidden history connects India and the United States, the world’s two largest democracies. From the late nineteenth century through the 1960s, activists worked across borders of race and nation to push both countries toward achieving their democratic principles. At the heart of this shared struggle, African Americans and Indians forged bonds ranging from statements of sympathy to coordinated acts of solidarity. Within these two groups, certain activists developed a colored cosmopolitanism, a vision of the world that transcended traditional racial distinctions. These men and women agitated for the freedom of the “colored world,” even while challenging the meanings of both color and freedom. Colored Cosmopolitanism is the first detailed examination of both ends of this transnational encounter. Nico Slate tells the stories of neglected historical figures, like the “Eurasian” scholar Cedric Dover, and offers a stunning glimpse of people we thought we knew. Prominent figures such as Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Swami Vivekananda, Booker T. Washington, W. E. B. Du Bois, and Martin Luther King Jr. emerge as never before seen. Slate reveals the full gamut of this exchange--from selective appropriations, to blatant misunderstandings, to a profound empathy--as African Americans and South Asians sought a united front against racism, imperialism, and other forms of oppression.

Genres: Nonfiction, Race, India, History

343 pages, Hardcover

First published January 15, 2011

About the author

Nico Slate is Professor of History at Carnegie Mellon University.

Reviews

[Mukta Kantak]

incredibly nuanced and under-read book. i had never really thought about the connections between Black freedom struggles in the U.S. and anticolonial movements in India, and slate does a fantastic job showing how much these movements influenced and inspired one another. it's definitely a bit dense at times, but i came away with a completely different understanding of both histories by the end.

[Claire]

An interesting angle on the civil rights movement in America and its connections to the freedom struggle in India. Most people have heard that Gandhi inspired Martin Luther King, but I don't think most people are aware of how longstanding and deep the connections were between these two freedom movements. Fascinating.