Black radicals dropped armed rebellion because the European proletariat had not collapsed imperialism

Evidence

The work of the Bureau continued all through the war and in 1945 there came a sharp break with the theory… . The Bureau changed its position from the achievement of independence by armed rebellion to the achievement of independence by non-violent mass action. But to say that is one thing, to carry it out in practice is another… . To stake independence upon armed rebellion was therefore to have as a precondition the collapse or military paralysis of the metropolitan government. It was in other words to place the initiative for African struggle upon the European proletariat… . … But by the end of the war the proletariat of Britain and France had not spoken. Imperialism still held sway at home. Only a radical alteration in theory could form a basis for action. The perspective of armed rebellion was abandoned (though held in reserve) and non-violent mass action was substituted. — Cedric J. Robinson, Black Marxism_ The Making of the Black…, 1278

Categorization

• XREF: Echoes the reader’s Goon Squad-era and Parable of the Sower themes of revolutionary strategy; connects to the Panama/Armada material on when rebellion can and cannot succeed.