Harry Haywood
Harry Haywood (4 February 1885 – 9 September 1960) was a Continental politician, Marxist theorist, military strategist, and revolutionary who was a founder of the Continental Republic of Okaloosa, a constituent republic within the United Commonwealth of Continentalist States. He led the republic from its formal establishment in 1921 until his death in 1960, as both the General Secretary of the Okaloosan Continentalist Party and as the President of the Okaloosan Continentalist State from 1924 to 1952. His theories, military strategies, and policies collectively are known as Haywoodism.
Harry Haywood | |
|---|---|
 Harry Haywood in 1960 | |
| General Secretary of the Okaloosan Continentalist Party | |
|
In office 19 June 1912 – 9 September 1960 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Samson Jackson |
| President of the Okaloosan Continentalist State | |
|
In office 20 November 1924 – 8 November 1952 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Marcus G. Zuma |
| Chairman of the Black Guard Central Defense Commission | |
|
In office 9 August 1915 – 9 September 1960 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Samson Jackson |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
4 February 1885 Greensboro, Alabama,United Commonwealth |
| Died |
9 September 1960 (aged 75) Atlanta, Georgia,Okaloosa, United Commonwealth |
| Resting place | Field of the Heroes, Altanta |
| Nationality | Continental |
| Political party |
Unionist (1903–1906) Socialist (1906–1911) Black Socialist (1911–1921) Continentalist (1921–) |
| Spouse(s) |
(1) Mary L. Allen (1903–1914) (2) Erika Taylor (1917–1929) (2) Zina Farrakhan (1930–) |
| Children | 8 |
| Religion | Irreligious |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |
 United Commonwealth |
| Branch/service |
United Commonwealth Army Black Guard, Continental Revolutionary Army |
| Years of service | 1903–1905, 1911–1960 |
| Battles/wars |
Cuban Occupation Continental Revolution Southern Insurrection |
|
| |
Haywood was born in Hale County, Alabama, the youngest of three children to former slaves turned sharecroppers Harriet and Haywood Hall. When Haywood was a teenager he spent some time in Emporia, Tournesol, where Hall supported the family as a craftsman and Baptist lay speaker. In 1897 Hall died in a streetcar accident, which the family alleged was in actuality murder by racist members of the town. Relocating to Birmingham, Haywood became an avid reader and self educated in politics and history, with incidents such as the Charleston insurrection of 1898 helping to push the youth toward radical politics. In 1899, with the financial aid of some family friends, Haywood was enrolled in the recently created Calhoun Colored School, a boarding school established in Lowndes County meant to provide education for rural black students. Although an exceptional student, Haywood was chastised for his rebellious nature and interest in prohibited texts. During this time Haywood accepted the ideals of the Atlanta Compromise as articulated by Booker T. Washington, believing that by uplifting himself he could positively represent the black popularion. As a result, upon graduating Haywood joined the United Commonwealth Army and was deployed for a time in Cuba. However, witnessing the brutality of the regime on the island, the racial discrimination in the army, and the army's dishonorable discharge and execution of a number of black soldiers after the Beauregard affair disillusioned Haywood from his stance of accommodationism. Moving to Atlanta in 1906, Haywood followed the teachings of W. E. B. Du Bois and Marcus Garvey, the latter developing a theory of black separatism which began to appeal to Haywood more than the former. Initially operating an illegal press promoting ideals of republicanism, anti-Federalism, and black nationalism, Haywood became introduced to socialism and called for black voters to rally behind the Socialist Party of America. Believing that a lack of education and the suppression of the black population in the countryside was hindering socialist development, Haywood led an outreach program primarily of students to rural areas throughout the South, and was hounded by organizations like the Ku Klux Klan.
As a young activist working in the South, Haywood took influence from the Populist Party and concepts of mutual aid as espoused by Peter Kropotkin, as well as the feminist movement in challenging arranged marriages and Southern traditionalism, believing that farmers needed to be educated and organized to overcome a perceived "backwardness" in the South. His work organizing unions, night schools, and occasional strikes became noticed by authorities, leading to several arrests and the suppression of Haywood's student movement, as well as harassment from white supremacist groups and a number of assassination attempts against Haywood. At the same time he fought against segregationists within the socialist movement, supporting the newfound African Blood Brotherhood of Cyril Briggs in 1910, which advocated a socialist and separatist orientation. During the Federalist wars of the 1910s, Haywood became an outspoken opponent of support for the military, at a time when many black activists espoused the principle of "first your country, then your rights", Haywood decried fighting for a country who did not fight for its black population. Reading the works of Karl Marx and Isaiah Landon, Haywood adopted a more militant stance to the question of black liberation, considering it crucial that the black population arm itself and fight oppression in self defense, in contrast to many proponents of nonviolence. A surge of race riots and state-sanctioned lynchings in the 1910s grew Haywood's support base. Forced out of Atlanta, Haywood took up arms in the countryside, leading raids against Federalist installations and infrastructure. Based on the work of Aeneas Warren on national self-determination, Haywood argued that the black population of the United Commonwealth constituted an oppressed nation.
Following the outbreak of the Continental Revolutionary War, Haywood's faction evolved into a loosely Landonist armed group called the Black Guard, originally with the intention of protecting black farmers targeted by Federalist reprisals. The group adopted guerilla tactics and worked among the farmers of the countryside to sustain itself, gaining popular support by the land reforms, progressive policies, and defense from violence that the group initiated in the areas it occupied. Growing into a full-fledged army by 1919, the Black Guard formed an alliance with the Continentalist Party of the United Commonwealth, who by this time had largely secured the northern states. During the Southern Campaign, the Black Guard aided a Continentalist invasion which devastated the southern states, but resulted in the final retreat of the Federalists to the Antilles. Through negotiation with the Continentalist Party, Haywood declared the formation of Okaloosa, a separate republic corresponding to the black belt in the South, which by the Union Treaty joined the United Commonwealth as a constituent republic. Haywood's declaration polarized the socialist movement in the South, with many prominent voices, such as Du Bois, denouncing the creation of Okaloosa as an extreme form of separation. Following the victory of Haywood, black partisans and allies, including controversial figures such as Noble Drew Ali, were installed into most offices of state. Additionally, Haywood inherited a region devastated by war, a major famine, and an ongoing Southern Insurrection, all while an uneasy alliance transpired between himself and the national government, after 1922 led by the uncordial Seamus Callahan.
As leader, Haywood shaped his own theory of Landonism based on the rural circumstances of the South, eventually known as Haywoodism. He developed the idea of a "People's War" in rural countries shaped by feudalistic and post-slavery economies, and a strong anti-imperialist stance. Upon the conquest of the South by the Continentalists, Haywood supported a reimagining of Special Field Orders No. 15, in which land was seized across the region and given to black farmers as a form of reparations. The mass land enrichment of the population was distasteful for Callahan, who believed it was creating compromised socialist relations of production, however, Haywood defended ownership among the black population as a necessary but temporary stage in building up the republic. He led mass arrest campaigns against dissidents in the South, in a fierce iteration of the Crimson Terror which was accused of racial motivations. Haywood's dissonance from mainstream Landonist and Callahanist thought internally divided the Okaloosan government, beginning a series of power struggles between Haywood and the oftentimes non-Okaloosan party members and bureaucrats imported into the South by Callahan. The Anti-Federalist Campaign of 1928 was once such action against dissidents and rivals within party bureaucracy, in which an estimated 250,000 people were imprisoned. At the same time, Haywood launched popular campaigns against corruption and social ills. He promoted mass education, industrialization, and major infrastructural projects as part of the "Great Reconstruction", in which the state preached the completion of the post-civil war reconstruction begun 60 years prior. He also consolidated farmer holdings into the "People's Communes", as part of his grassroots socialism initiative.
During the late-Callahan era, clashes between the two figures escalated over accusations of a cult of personality surrounding Haywood, and the intentional stoking of racial division. Haywood perceived the further appointment of figures in the Okaloosan government as encroachment on the rights of the republic, but also as a threat against his personal power. In response to his perceived sidelining, Haywood launched the "Second Cultural Revolution", in which a mass mobilization of primarily students was launched against "Federalist influence" in the Continentalist Party. The Cultural Revolution, along with the death of Callahan in 1947 and the subsequent period of Decallahanization, allowed Haywood to reach new ascendency within the national government. But his actions also helped provoke the Dixiecrat Revolution of 1948, a conservative backlash against Haywood's reforms which culminated around the 1948 general election. The violent suppression of the Dixiecrats damaged Haywood's standing, and helped provoke internal discussions about Haywood's interpretation of Okaloosa as a "black republic". Public sentiment turned toward integration and reconciliation politics most especially with the advent of the Continental New Left and the presidency of Rupert Gardner, with a new generation of Okaloosan politicians, such as Martin Luther King Jr., advocating for peaceful reform. At the same time, Haywoodism reached new heights outside the country, most especially inspiring the work of Mao Zedong, the founder of the People's Republic of China, who adopted Haywood's concepts of an agrarian socialist movement and People's War for the conditions of China. Haywood maintained a strong popularity in Okaloosa and informal control, even after formally retiring from most of his government positions, until his death in 1960.
Harry Haywood remains one of the most influential figures of the 20th century, being heavily involved in the crafting of Okaloosa as well as the formation of the United Commonwealth as a whole, and for his theories of national liberation, which gave him prominent influence in the international communist movement. Although his legacy is mixed among modern scholars, he maintains a high popularity, especially in Okaloosa, where he is revered as a founding father, liberator, and national icon. His teachings served as the inspiration for several later groups, including the Black Panther Party, in both the United Commonwealth as well as other Anglo-American states such as the Kingdom of Sierra.