Unveiling a Debunked Quote: Racial Tensions and Historical Misrepresentations

This is part eight of our ongoing series "That Was A Long Time Ago'. We are examining the impact of the legal system has shaped the present

The Origins of a Dubious Quotation

In the exploration of historical conspiracies, one encounters the curious case of a spurious comment attributed to an individual named Israel Cohen, allegedly made in 1912. According to the claim, Cohen was a British Jewish author, Zionist, and purported member of the Communist Party. The quotation in question supposedly originates from a non-existent book titled A Racial Program for the Twentieth Century:

“We must realize that our party's most powerful weapon is racial tensions. By propounding into the consciousness of the dark races that for centuries they have been oppressed by whites, we can mold them to the program of the Communist Party. In America we will aim for subtle victory. While inflaming the Negro minority against the whites, we will endeavor to instill in the whites a guilt complex for their exploitation of the Negros. We will aid the Negroes to rise in prominence in every walk of life, in the professions and in the world of sports and entertainment. With this prestige, the Negro will be able to intermarry with the whites and begin a process which will deliver America to our cause.”

Dissecting the Myths: Why the Quote is Debunked

The assertion surrounding this quote has been largely debunked due to various factors:

1. Temporal Inaccuracy: The term “Communist Party” did not exist until 1917, when it was established by Lenin. Thus, any reference to it in 1912 is historically improbable.
2. Absence of Evidence: There is no record of A Racial Program for the Twentieth Century in both the British Museum Catalogue of Printed Books and the Library of Congress, two authoritative sources for historical literature.
3. Misidentification of Israel Cohen: While a British Jewish author named Israel Cohen did exist, he was a Zionist and not affiliated with the Communist Party. His known works and political affiliations do not align with the quote’s ideology. Despite the clear debunking of this quotation, it continues to circulate and influence discussions about race and political agendas.

The Persistence of the Myth: Reflecting Current Issues

So why does this debunked quote still make its rounds in modern discourse? The answer may lie in its uncanny reflection of ongoing societal tensions. Whether attributed to 1912 by an Israel Cohen, or imaginary speeches by Lenin in 1919 or Stalin in the 1930s, the sentiment within the quote seems to resonate with the philosophy attributed to the Communist Party USA (CPUSA) by its critics. It serves as a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy that appears to manifest the fears and beliefs some people hold about racial dynamics and political manipulation.

The mention of this spurious quote is often accompanied by critiques of the Civil Rights Act, suggesting an ulterior motive. The CRA was never about Black empowerment; it was about Black inclusion into a society undergoing social reengineering. This reengineering, led to the dismantling of the Black community.