Invisible Man

3. Ellison's account of the "Brotherhood" is athinly disguised depiction of the American Communist Party during the Stalin era. Ellison was himself involved with the Party, as were many other black intellectuals during the Thirties. Research Stalinist ideology and Communist activity during the Thristies. Why did black Americans identify themseleves with the Communist Cause? Why did Party officals see the black community as a natural ally? Were their aims essentially allied or opposed? Blacks indentified themselves with the Communist Cause because they clearly understood that the struggle for African American equality and working class solidarity in general are connected; we cannot have one without the other.The Communist Party has deeply influenced the thinking of hundreds of thousands of white Americans, especially in the ranks of organized labor. It has won increasing numbers of allies for the Negro people.