The Communist Party had wide appeal to the poor, the downtrodden, the lower classes of society. That was its appeal during the Russian Revolution of 1917 and that was its main draw for many countries that converted to communism after WW II. The Comintern (Communist International, the outreach arm of the communist party; the Red Peace Corps, if you will) even sought out marginalized populations within strongly democratic countries to gain converts and foment instability from within. And few democratic countries had a larger marginalized population than the United States.

On this day, March 7, in 1925, the American Negro Labor Congress is organized by the American Communist Party, with aid from Moscow, to promote civil rights and communist policies.

The FBI was rightly concerned about the inroads Communism was making among the African-American populations. When group meetings were not infiltrated by federal agents, they were constantly monitored and recorded for suspicious activity. High ranking politicians denounced the party activities, but all the same a number of influential persons, including author Richard Wright, were strongly influenced by communist ideology.