Rethinking Radicalism: African Americans and the Liberation Struggles in Somalia, Libya, and Eritrea, 1945-1949.

The article discusses the efforts made by the U.S. National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the U.S. Council on African Affairs (CAA), and African American activists such as actor and singer Paul Robeson in advancing self-determination in African countries Somalia, Libya, and Eritrea between 1945 and 1949. The author argues that the critical assessment of African American scholar W.E.B. Du Bois regarding the efforts of the NAACP overshadowed and undervalued the role the NAACP played in African self-determination. The article examines tensions between leftist and conservative African Americans. It also discusses financial aid delivered by the NAACP to organizations such as the Somali Youth League (SYL).