China in African American cosmopolitanism, 1919–29.

This article examines African American cosmopolitanism in the 1920s through their engagement with China's anti-imperialist struggle following the Paris Conference of 1919. It highlights how African Americans empathized with China's resistance to white imperialism, viewing it as a co-fighter against racial oppression and a source of inspiration for their own fight against white supremacy. The article discusses African American calls for racial self-examination, unity, militancy, and spiritual autonomy, drawing parallels with Chinese efforts to assert national sovereignty and religious independence from white-dominated Christianity. It also explores African American initiatives to support China by opposing U.S. imperialism there, reflecting a vision of mutual usefulness rooted in shared experiences of racial marginalization. The study relies primarily on major Black newspapers from 1919 to 1929 and emphasizes the evolving and contingent nature of Black cosmopolitanism before the 1930s.