![](https://images.jacobinmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/30182352/8_of_the_boys_in_prison-420x315.jpg)
“We Were Called Comrades Without Condescension or Patronage”
In the Jim Crow South, the Alabama Communist Party distinguished itself as a champion of racial and economic justice — fighting for the rights of black defendants, helping organize hyper-exploited sharecroppers, and welcoming black workers into its ranks on completely equal terms.