The Narrative of Hosea Hudson: The Life and Times of a Black Radical

by Hosea Hudson, Nell Irvin Painter (Editor)

“Among the many exemplary qualities of this narrative and its hero is their lack of sentimentality. For Hosea Hudson, there is no romance of American Communism; instead, his relationship with the Communist Party is a model of mutual exploitation. . . . [A] marvelous book. Moving, fearful, and funny, Hudson and Painter’s Narrative is as valuable an American life as has ever been wrested from anonymity.” ―Benita Eisler, The Nation Born into a Georgia sharecropper family in 1898, Hosea Hudson moved to Birmingham, Alabama, to work in the steel mills in the turbulent 1930s and 1940s and became a member of the Communist Party as well as president of a CIO union local. It was a hard, dangerous life, to be black and communist and pro-union, and Hudson talked about that life to Nell painter, who brilliantly recreates it in this collaborative oral autobiography.

Genres: History, Biography, Nonfiction, Biography Memoir, Race

432 pages, Paperback

First published October 25, 1979

Reviews

[Neal · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Narrative of Hosea Hudson is his oral history of resistance against racial and capitalist oppression in the South, and how that resistance was made possible by the Communist Party of the USA (CPUSA). His story is transcribed wonderfully by Nell Irvin Painter.

If you're one of the many, many Americans wary of communism, or of "the Left" in general, this is a book you should read. It's hard to argue after reading Hudson's story that the heart of his fight was not for justice, equality, and survival in an intensely hostile world. If you're of "the Left" already, this book is also for you. Socialism and communism have a deep history in the US, one which has subsequently been deeply suppressed, and this is a portion of that history that is rarely discussed. Hudson’s narrative is an enlightening history of some of its victories and defeats in the Deep South.

This book is a valuable read for any American.

[Joel Stenseth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this for a U.S. history course in college. Its a collection of transcribed conversations between the author and Hosea, a black communist from Birmingham, AL living through the civil rights era. Revealed to me that some sects of communism can be very democratic with the best interests of humanity in mind.

[Derek · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the most beautiful autobiographical works I’ve ever read. Hosie possesses a beautiful soul and his insights into political organizing and personal life so pertinent ...

[Faith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating oral history of the south in the 1920s, 30s.