Who are some of the people who have been members of the CPUSA?
W. E. B. DuBois, the most prominent African American scholar, founder of the NAACP and long-time editor of its paper, The Crisis. Gus Hall, one of the founders of the Steelworkers Union and long-time General Secretary and then Chair of the Party. Claudia Jones, from the West Indies, head of work among women, deported during the McCarthy period. John Reed, journalist and author of Ten Days That Shook The World. The movie Reds is about his life. William Z. Foster, organizer of the 1919 Steel Strike. Benjamin Davis and Pete Caccionne, both elected to the NY Board of Aldermen in the 40s. Henry Winston, Chair of the Party from mid-60s to early 80s. William Patterson, civil rights lawyer and head of the Civil Rights Congress. Elizabeth Gurley Flynn (Joe Hill s “Rebel Girl”) was an IWW and free speech activist. She was also a founder and leader of the ACLU. She was kicked out in 1940. Flynn was also chair of the Party during the early 60s. Paul Robeson, athlete, scholar, actor, singer, activi
