2. Goals of This Research
Show the activity of the Communist Party within the
Charlotte Metro Area.
Show impact of Communism in Charlotte from the late
1920’s through 1960.
Communism in Charlotte reached its climax through the
1920’s-1930’s, but began to decline through the 1940’s
and beyond due to inner party disputes and Anti-
Communism influence.
3. The Beginnings of
Communism
Communism is brought to
America in 1919 after the
results of WWI. (Draper)
Paul Crouch first brought
Communism into North
Carolina in the early 1920’s.
Crouch believed that North
Carolina was the foundation
for moving Communism into
the Deep South. (Taylor)
4. Communism in Charlotte
During the 1920’s
Working in conjunction with the National
Textile Workers Union (NTWU) and other labor
union organizers. (Workers World)
The Loray Mill Strike organized by Paul Crouch
and Fred Beal. (Charlotte Observer)
The Scopes Trial and impact on Charlotte.
200 members consisting of educators, medical
professionals, and Communists gathered at
the Second Presbyterian Church in downtown
Charlotte to protest the trial and its meaning.
(Phillip Koritz Interview)
5. Communism in Charlotte
During the 1930’s
Many textile/mill workers were
losing work and struggling to
survive.
Calvine, Louise, Chadwick,
Chadbourn, and Hoskins hosiery
mills. These were located in
North Charlotte and Pineville.
(Edna Y. Hargett Interview)
Rent strikes in Charlotte.
Workers that were out of work
were forced to pay rent or be
evicted by force. (Letters to the
Southern Worker)
6. Communism in Charlotte During
the 1940’s
Conflict between William
Foster and Junius Scales.
The issue of white male
chauvinism
Communists averted their
attention to cities such as
Winston Salem,
Greensboro, and Asheville
(Junius Scales Interview)
7. Communism in Charlotte
During the 1950’s
Communism in Charlotte
began to rapidly decline
during the 1950’s.
Cold War Conflict.
Paul Crouch working with the
FBI indicting Junius Scales
and Fred Beal. (Operation
SOLO)
Hungarian Revolution of
1956. (Junius Scales
Interview)
8. The Coming of Operation SOLO and
the Eradication of Communism in
Charlotte
Operation SOLO in 1958.
Former Party members
Beal, Scales, and Crouch
were used as
informants.
Charlotte Committees
were shut down by city
police and FBI. (fbi.gov)
Threats of
unemployment and red-baiting.
9. Conclusion
Communism in Charlotte was prevalent during the late 1920’s through the early
1940’s.
Trade Unions were in effect to unionize worker and fight for social insurance,
unemployment, and other issues regarding employment.
The National Textile Workers Union was headquartered in Charlotte and worked in
conjunction with the American Federation of Labor. (Southern Worker)
Communist organizers such as Beal, Crouch, and Scales were able to successfully
organize blacks and minorities into the Party.
Before the end of WWII in the early 1940’s, Communism begins to take a decline in
Charlotte. Disagreements between regional Communist Party members in
Charlotte and the National Party.
With limited cooperation and the inability to break the integration barrier;
Charlotte began to slowly eradicate itself of Communism. Operation SOLO in 1958
brought an end to Communism in the Charlotte.
10. Bibliography
Theodore Draper, The Roots of American Communism. (New York, 1957)
Gregory S. Taylor, The History of the North Carolina Communist Party. (University of South Carolina
Press, 2009)
Jack, London. "The Iron Heel." The Daily Worker, 1934
Schappes, Morris. "The Daily worker, heir to the great tradition." The Daily Worker, 1944.
Scales Junius, interview by Robert Kortstad, "Junius Scales Interview," Southern Oral History
Collection, Record, May 2, 1987
William Foster, "Party Building and Political Leadership," Workers Library Publishers (1937)
Minor, Robert. "The Trial of William Z. Foster." The Liberator, sec. v.6 no.4, April 1923.
Operation SOLO Files, FBI Vault Records, http://us.archives.org/5items/FbiSoloFiles-
Mar1958ToAug1960
Workers Age, Vol. I. No. 5. New York, Saturday, February 1932.
The Militant, Vol. III. No. 2. New York, Saturday, January 1930.
The Southern Worker, Vol. I. No. 3. Birmingham, Alabama, September 1930.
The Southern Worker, Vol. I. No. 1. Birmingham, Alabama, August 1930.
The Southern Worker, Vol. I. No. 2. Birmingham, Alabama, August 1930
The Southern Worker, Vol. 5. No. 12. Birmingham, Alabama, March 1937
The Southern Worker, Letters to the Editor.
The Charlotte Observer, “The Reds Say.” August 1930
The Charlotte Observer, “Cops Must Admit Reds Growing In Charlotte Area.” February 1931
