etween the
Germans and the Jews, it was clear that the Negro race was, if anything,
consigned to an even lower level of importance than the Jews. In the
survival of the fittest, Negroes were also destined for extermination in
the name of human progress.

Afro-American suspicions about the nature of Mussolini's imperialism
proved to be justified when Italy invaded Ethiopia. Mussolini's dream of
reviving Roman glory included rebuilding a powerful empire. However,
underdeveloped countries which were not already dominated by European
nations and which could easily be colonized, were few in number. When
Italy invaded Ethiopia, Afro-Americans saw it as another white nation
subjugating another black nation. At the very time when Africans and
Afro-Americans were looking forward to the liberation of Africa from
European domination, Italy was extending imperialism even further and
conquering the last remaining independent supposedly black nation in
Africa. Afro-Americans were outraged. They looked to the League of
Nations hoping that it would take decisive action against the Italian
aggression. Their hopes were in vain.

The war that began in 1939 came to be expressed in terms which were even
more ideological than had been true of the First World War. The Allies
depicted themselves as being the champions of freedom and humanity while
they portrayed their enemies as tyrants and barbarians. Afro-Americans
were painfully aware of some of the imperfections in this simple
dichotomy. While aghast at the racist teachings propagated by Germany,
they could not forget the racism which confronted them daily within the
United States.

They were also aware of the imperialism which was practiced by both the
British and the French who dominated and exploited Africa almost at will.
Nevertheless, Hitler's form of brazen racism did give a note of validity
to this ideological formulation. Afro-Americans viewed the war both with
more enthusiasm and with more pessimism than they had felt at the
outbreak of the First World War. On the one hand, they could eagerly
support a war to defeat Hitler's racist doctrines. On the other hand,
they did not believe that any display of patriotism on their part would
significantly diminish racism at home. During the First World War they
had thought that a demonstration of patriotism would help to knock down
the walls of antagonism. Instead, they found that manliness on the part
of Afro-Americans, even in the na