Max Yergan | |
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| Born | (1892-07-19)July 19, 1892 |
| Died | April 11, 1975(1975-04-11) (aged 82) |
| Occupations | activist, missionary |
| Relatives | Laura Holloway Yergan (sister-in-law) |
Max Yergan (July 19, 1892 – April 11, 1975)[1] was an American activist notable for being aBaptist missionary for theYMCA, then aCommunist working withPaul Robeson, and finally a staunchanti-Communist who complimented the government ofapartheid-era South Africa and colonial dominion over Africa, particularly in the case ofPortuguese Angola. He was a mentor ofGovan Mbeki, who later achieved distinction in theAfrican National Congress. He served as the second president of theNational Negro Congress, a coalition of hundreds of African-American organizations created in 1935 by religious, labor, civic and fraternal leaders to fight racial discrimination, establish relations with black organizations throughout the world, and oppose the deportation of black immigrants. Along withPaul Robeson, he co-founded the International Committee on African Affairs in 1937, later theCouncil on African Affairs.
Max Yergan was born on July 19, 1892, inRaleigh, North Carolina in his grandfather's house to mother Lizzie Yeargan, daughter of Frederick Yeargan. Fred was the source of inspiration for much of Max Yergan's life, as a board member atShaw Institute and a member of the Baptist church in Raleigh, as well as a man deeply interested in his African heritage.[2] Yergan attended St. Ambrose Episcopal Parish School as a child, and then moved on to attend Shaw University in both the preparatory and college branches. It was there at Shaw that Yergan discovered the YMCA, and in 1916, he joined a missionary trip to India, a trip that would greatly affect the rest of his adult life.[2]
Yergan came toSouth Africa in 1920 as a missionary for the YMCA. He was the first African-American to do YMCA work in South Africa. As a YMCA activist he was interested in improvingsocial work in the nation and this influenced the founding of theJan H. Hofmeyr School of Social Work. As a whole his experiences in South Africa radicalised him to the point he came to desire a more radical direction for the YMCA than it was willing to accept. He failed to radicalise the YMCA and resigned from the organisation in 1936. Two years earlier, in 1934, he had "allegedly [become] aMarxist after making a trip to theSoviet Union."[3]
On his return to theUnited States, Yergan became the first African-American faculty member ever hired at one of New York City's public colleges,City College of New York, teaching the course "Negro History and Culture" in the fall of 1937. It was the first time this course was offered within the City Colleges of New York. During theRapp-Coudert hearings, informers reported that his class was "liberal andprogressive." Yergan was denied re-appointment and dismissed for his politics.[4][5]
TheCold War led him to become disillusioned withCommunism and ultimately to become strongly hostile to Communism. In 1948, Yergan was ousted as the director of Council on African Affairs following disputes with other members, causing his turn to the right. In 1952, he spoke against Communism on a visit to South Africa at the Bantu Men's Social Center in Johannesburg, noting the links between the main anti-apartheid group, theAfrican National Congress, and the South African Communist Party. In 1955, Yergan again visited South Africa where he praisedapartheid and denied that South African blacks were suffering fromapartheid.[6] The same year, he also visited thePortuguese colony ofAngola, where he praised Portuguese rule as "just and efficient".[6]
In 1961, Yergan became president of the American Committee for Aid to Katanga Freedom Fighters (ACAKFF), a conservative group that lobbied the United States to recogniseKatanga.[7] Yergan was recruited by a conservative activistMarvin Liebman who founded the ACAKFF and wanted a black man as its president to offset charges of racism given accusations by liberals and communists that Katanga was a "sham".[6] Yergan claimed that the Congolese government had been taken over by Communists, and praised the Katangan men for wanting to "defend themselves, their wives, their children and places of work".[6] Although a significant contingent of non-African mercenaries were deployed by Katanga, the vast majority of theGendarmerie Katangaise were indigenous Katangese.[8] The mercenaries were known to the Congolese as "les affreux" ("the frightful ones") on account of their brutality to blacks.[6]
In 1962, Yergan wrote a letter to the Secretary of State,Dean Rusk, expressing his fury that the United States had deniedMoïse Tshombe a visa to visit the United States while the Kennedy administration had "ceremoniously welcomed...Nikita Khrushchev, Fidel Castro, the late Patrice Lumumba, and Holden Roberto".[9] In 1964, Yergan praised aspects[which?] of the South African governments "separate development" plan.[citation needed] In 1966, he became co-chairman together withWilliam Rusher of the conservative American-African Affairs Association, which lobbied the United States to recognize the white minority government of Rhodesia.[10] The driving force and dominant personality behind the American Committee for Aid to Katanga Freedom Fighters and the American-African Affairs Association was Liebman, and notably both groups had virtually identical letter-heads, the same mailing lists, the same boards, and the same address in New York, 79 Madison Avenue, which was also the headquarters of Marvin Liebman Associates.[10] The public relations firm of Liebman Associates had been hired by the Rhodesian government to improve its image in the United States.[10] In 1966, Yergan together withGeorge Schuyler went on a trek across Rhodesia organized by Liebman and reported he had seen no evidence of any racism by the Rhodesian government towards the black majority.[6]
Yergan died on April 11, 1975, inMount Kisco, New York, at age 82.[2] Due to his changing ideals throughout his life, he lacked all but a few close friends at the time of his death.
In 1933, he was awarded theSpingarn Medal from theNAACP.[11]
His papers are held atHoward University.[12]
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