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Joseph Gelders
Joseph Gelders
Joseph Gelders
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Joseph Sidney Gelders (November 20, 1898 – March 1, 1950) was an American physicist who later became an antiracist, civil rights activist, labor organizer, and communist. In the mid-1930s, he served as the secretary and southern-U.S. representative of the National Committee for the Defense of Political Prisoners. In September 1936, Gelders was kidnapped, beaten, and nearly killed by members of the Ku Klux Klan for his civil rights and labor organizing activities. After his recovery, Gelders continued his activism and cofounded the Southern Conference for Human Welfare and the National Committee to Abolish the Poll Tax. He collaborated closely with other activists including Lucy Randolph Mason and Virginia Foster Durr. Internal injuries sustained during his kidnapping and assault led to Gelders' death on March 1, 1950.

Key Information

Early life and education

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Gelders was born November 20, 1898, in Birmingham, Alabama, to a family of German-Jewish descent.[1][2][3] He was the son of Blanche Loeb, of Mississippi, and Louis Gelders, a restaurateur and real estate businessperson.[4] His elder sister was author Emma Gelders Sterne, and his brother, Louis Gelders Jr., was a New York architect.[5][6] Gelders attended the University of Alabama for a year and a half before attending the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for a year. Gelders went back to Birmingham and joined the American Legion. He worked at several jobs including "third helper in an open-hearth furnace of the Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company."[7] Gelders tried to operate an automobile dealership without success. In 1929, he returned to the University of Alabama and completed a bachelor's and master's degree. After graduating in 1930, Gelders worked at the university as an assistant professor of physics for five years and was also head of the physics laboratory.[7]

Activism

[edit]
Gelders (fourth from left) with Communist Party functionary Earl Browder (fifth from left) and the Scottsboro Boys, 1931

While working at the University of Alabama, Gelders became more aware of oppressive anti-labor actions.[7] Interested in labor organizing, he joined the Communist Party during the Great Depression.[8] The catalyst for his civil rights activism and labor organizing efforts was a 1934 ore-miner strike which led to the death of several black miners. Gelders and his wife Esther started hosting a weekly discussion group for students. In 1935, he assisted students in drafting a petition against a state anti-sedition bill. In May 1935, Gelders attended a southern conference on civil liberties hosted by left-wing groups in Monteagle, Tennessee. He was moved by the stories of communists, including Blaine Owen, about beatings and illegal raids. In August 1935, he joined the National Committee for the Defense of Political Prisoners (NCDPP). In fall 1935, Gelders resigned from the University of Alabama to pursue civil liberties advocacy fulltime. He moved to New York City to serve as secretary of the NCDPP. He established an Alabama committee to work on the Scottsboro Boys case. Gelders also investigated civil liberties denial at the RCA Corporation in New Jersey.[7] In the summer of 1936, Gelders worked for the release of Communist Party organizer Jack Barton, who had been sentenced to 180 days in jail for being in possession of "communistic literature."[9] In August 1936, he became the southern representative for the CDPP.[7][10]

Kidnapping and assault

[edit]
Gelders recovering in a Clayton, Alabama, hospital[11]

At 11:30 pm on September 23, 1936, Gelders was on his way home from an International Labor Defense (ILD) meeting when he was kidnapped on a Birmingham street and flogged with a leather strap. The abductors read and mocked Gelders's Scottsboro Boys–related documents, calling him a "dammed red" and "nigger lover."[7][11] After a national outcry, Alabama Governor Bibb Graves, who had connections with the Ku Klux Klan, ordered a state police investigation and authorized a $200 reward (equivalent to US$4,532 in 2024).[7] Police found four suspects, three of whom Gelders positively identified.[9] One was an employee of the Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company. Some accounts state that they were members of the Ku Klux Klan.[1] Despite an additional investigation by the La Follette Committee, no indictments were filed. In a private letter to the governor, the chief detective, G. C. Giles, remarked that the economic considerations would prevent convictions.[9]

Continued activism

[edit]

In the spring of 1938, Gelders went to Hyde Park, New York, to discuss his idea for the Southern Conference for Human Welfare (SCHW) with U.S. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt.[12] With their support, the conference was open to people of all races and covered topics including social justice, electoral reforms, and improving race relations. Lobbyist Lucy Randolph Mason cofounded the SCHW and played a large role in its development. Gelders also obtained the support of William Mitch, the President of District 20 of the United Mine Workers, and the Alabama Director of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO).[12] Eleanor Roosevelt attended the first SCHW on November 20, 1938.[13] A continuing organization was established as an outcome of this conference, and Gelders was designated executive secretary of the Civil Rights Committee. In this role, he targeted poll taxes in the United States.[12]

Gelders and civil rights activist Virginia Foster Durr were prominent figures in the women's poll tax repeal movement, which brought widespread attention to the voter suppression caused by poll taxes.[12] In 1941, Gelders and Durr led the creation of the National Committee to Abolish the Poll Tax (NCAPT). Durr and Gelders's diverse backgrounds proved effective. Gelders's experience in union organizing in the steel industry complemented Durr's network. She was a model of southern femininity and a member of a prominent family. Durr, Gelders, and their circle of southerners who supported New Deal liberalism believed that abolition of the poll tax was a necessary step in reshaping the Democratic Party in the South and defeating the conservative oligarchy of large planters and industrialists that kept most southern citizens disenfranchised and impoverished.[14]

Military career

[edit]

On July 2, 1918, Gelders enlisted in the U.S. Army during World War I at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia. He served in Coast Artillery Corps, First Company, in Mobile, Alabama, until transferring on October 1, 1918, to Fort Monroe for school. Gelders was promoted to corporal in September 1918. He was honorably discharged on November 25, 1918.[15] Gelders never saw action, as the war had ended.[7] During World War II, Gelders reenlisted on March 30, 1942, as a technical sergeant in the Western Signal Corps, at Camp Kohler. He was honorably discharged on July 24, 1944.[2]

Personal life

[edit]
Esther Josephine (née Frank) Gelders and daughters c. 1936

Gelders married Esther Josephine Frank on November 19, 1919, at the Standard Club in Montgomery, Alabama.[16] She worked as an official for the National Youth Administration.[17] They had two daughters. Their older daughter, Marge Frantz, was an activist, feminist, and among the first generation of academics who taught women's studies courses in the United States.[18][19] Gelders's younger daughter, Blanche Hartman, was a Sōtō teacher.[20][21] The internal injuries that Gelders sustained from his kidnapping and beating in 1936 eventually led to his death on March 1, 1950, in San Francisco.[1][12][22] He was interred on March 7, 1950, at the Golden Gate National Cemetery.[1]

See also

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References

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Further reading

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Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Joseph Gelders

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from Grokipedia
Joseph Sidney Gelders (November 20, 1898 – March 1, 1950) was an American physicist turned communist activist, civil rights advocate, and labor organizer based in Birmingham, Alabama. Initially employed as an assistant professor of physics at the University of Alabama, Gelders resigned in 1935 amid political pressures stemming from his growing involvement in leftist causes. He joined the Communist Party USA's National Committee for the Defense of Political Prisoners, focusing on aiding jailed labor leaders and union organizers in the South. In October 1936, Gelders was kidnapped and severely beaten by unidentified vigilantes in Birmingham, an assault linked to his defense of communist prisoners like Haywood Patterson of the Scottsboro Boys case, though local authorities declined to prosecute his attackers. Gelders co-founded the Southern Conference for Human Welfare (SCHW) in 1938, an interracial organization aimed at combating poverty, poll taxes, and segregation through alliances of liberals, socialists, and communists, which drew federal scrutiny as a potential communist front organization during the late 1940s. His activism emphasized first-hand organizing against systemic racial and economic exploitation, reflecting a commitment to radical structural change over incremental reforms.

Early Life and Education

Family Background and Childhood

Joseph Sidney Gelders was born on November 20, 1898, in Birmingham, Alabama, to Louis Gelders and Blanche Loeb. His father, an immigrant from Germany, owned Gelders' Restaurant in Birmingham and held a partial ownership stake in the Parisian department store. Gelders had at least one sibling, an older sister named Emma, who later married into the Sterne family. The family resided in Birmingham, where Gelders spent his childhood. He attended Phillips High School in the city, completing his there before pursuing higher studies. Details of his early years reflect a stable upbringing tied to his father's local business interests, though specific personal anecdotes from this period remain limited in historical records.

Academic Training and Early Influences

Gelders completed his at Phillips High School in , serving as of the school The Mirror in 1915. Upon graduation that year, he enrolled at the in Tuscaloosa before transferring to the in . His early collegiate studies focused on scientific subjects, reflecting an initial pursuit of technical expertise amid Birmingham's industrial landscape of steel production and engineering demands. These pursuits were halted by the United States' entry into ; Gelders enlisted in the U.S. Army on July 2, 1918, and received an honorable discharge on November 25, 1918, following the . Post-discharge, he spent roughly a decade in practical employment and business ventures, including labor at the Tennessee Coal, Iron, and Railroad Company's Ensley Works, alongside participation in the , which exposed him to veterans' issues and community organization. This interval of hands-on experience in industrial settings likely reinforced his inclination toward physics as a tool for understanding mechanical and societal systems, prompting a deliberate return to formal study. In 1929, Gelders reentered the , earning both a and a in physics by 1930. His accelerated completion of these degrees demonstrated self-motivated academic rigor, shaped by prior informal exposure rather than direct , as no specific faculty influences are documented in contemporary accounts. This training equipped him with foundational knowledge in , bridging theoretical principles with real-world applications observed during his interwar employment.

Scientific Career

Physics Research and Teaching

Gelders earned both a and a in physics from the , completing his studies in 1930. Following graduation, he joined the faculty at the same institution as an of physics, a position he held from 1930 until 1935. In addition to his teaching duties, Gelders served as head of the physics laboratory at the during this five-year tenure. His responsibilities included overseeing laboratory operations and instructing students in physics courses, though specific pedagogical innovations or curricula developments are not detailed in available records. No peer-reviewed publications or notable research outputs in physics are attributed to him from this period. Gelders' academic career in physics concluded in 1935, reportedly due to pressures arising from his emerging political engagements, after which he transitioned away from university teaching.

Professional Challenges

Gelders' academic tenure at the , where he served as assistant professor of physics and head of the physics laboratory from 1930 to 1935, was marked by growing tensions between his scholarly duties and his advocacy for workers' rights during the . His public support for labor unions and drew scrutiny in the conservative Southern academic environment, limiting opportunities for sustained research or advancement. In August 1935, Gelders his position to accept a role as southern representative for the National Committee for the Defense of Political Prisoners, shifting permanently from scientific pursuits to full-time organizing. This decision, while self-initiated in formal terms, reflected broader pressures on radical academics in the Jim Crow South, where political dissent often precluded professional stability in universities. Local histories indicate the may have been effectively compelled by institutional opposition to his pro-union stance. Thereafter, Gelders did not return to physics teaching or research, facing barriers to re-entry amid his deepening activism.

Political Activism and Ideology

Initial Involvement in Labor and Civil Rights

Gelders' initial foray into activism stemmed from the 1934 strike by ore miners in , where state forces killed several black strikers, an event that profoundly disturbed him and shifted his focus from academia toward labor issues. In May 1935, he attended a meeting in Birmingham, marking an early public engagement with rights advocacy. That same year, Gelders assisted University of students in drafting a opposing a proposed state anti-sedition law aimed at suppressing dissent. By August 1935, Gelders resigned his position as assistant physics professor at the to dedicate himself full-time to organizing, joining the International Labor Defense (ILD) as its Southern secretary. Through the ILD, a organization supporting workers and political prisoners, he focused on defending labor activists and challenging racial barriers in Southern workplaces, including cases tied to interracial union efforts. His activities in Birmingham emphasized unionization drives for steel and coal workers amid the , promoting solidarity across racial lines despite Jim Crow segregation. Gelders organized meetings and campaigns to highlight labor abuses and poll taxes' role in disenfranchising poor voters, particularly , laying groundwork for broader anti-segregation work. These efforts exposed him to vigilante threats, culminating in his 1936 kidnapping, but underscored his commitment to empirical labor reforms over ideological posturing. Sources on this period, often from labor histories, consistently note Gelders' emphasis on concrete organizing rather than abstract theory, though some leftist accounts may overstate ILD's nonpartisan nature given its affiliations.

Ties to Communist and Left-Wing Organizations

Gelders became involved with the (CPUSA) during the , radicalized by events such as the violent suppression of labor strikes, including the 1931 murder of Black workers in . By August 1932, he had joined the CPUSA's National Committee for the Defense of Political Prisoners, an affiliate focused on for radicals and labor activists. His activities included organizing unemployed workers' councils in Birmingham and promoting Marxist economic principles through speeches and publications aligned with party directives. As an organizer for the CPUSA's International Labor Defense (ILD), a legal defense arm established to support party members and sympathizers facing prosecution, Gelders coordinated efforts to defend workers and in the . On September 23, 1936, he was abducted and severely beaten following an ILD meeting in Birmingham, an attack attributed to anti-communist vigilantes opposed to his labor organizing and perceived communist agitation. This incident highlighted the risks of his affiliations, as the ILD was widely recognized as a CPUSA front for mobilizing support against perceived class enemies. In November 1938, Gelders co-founded the Southern Conference for Human Welfare (SCHW) alongside figures like Lucy Randolph Mason, aiming to unite Southern liberals, labor leaders, and racial justice advocates against segregation and . The organization advocated unsegregated seating at its founding in Birmingham's Municipal Auditorium, drawing national attention. However, a 1947 U.S. House committee report designated the SCHW as a communist front, citing its leadership's ties to CPUSA members and patterns of affiliation with party-inspired groups, though some liberals participated without direct party membership. Gelders' role in the SCHW exemplified his strategy of embedding communist objectives within broader left-wing coalitions for civil rights and anti-poll tax campaigns. Gelders also co-initiated the National Committee to Abolish the in 1941, targeting disenfranchisement mechanisms in Southern states that disproportionately affected poor and voters. While the committee achieved legislative successes, such as federal bans in 1942 soldier-vote bills, its origins under Gelders' communist leadership invited scrutiny from anti-communist investigators, who viewed it as part of a pattern of CPUSA influence in progressive reforms. Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, his commitments to these organizations reflected a consistent alignment with CPUSA goals of class struggle and interracial organizing in the Jim Crow South, despite denials from some affiliates amid red-baiting.

Key Campaigns Against Poll Tax and Segregation

Gelders served as executive of the for Human Welfare's (SCHW) Civil Rights , formed shortly after the organization's founding in November 1938, where he directed initial efforts to highlight the 's role in disenfranchising voters, particularly poor whites and in the . The drafted an anti- bill, which Representative Dewey Short Geyer (R-KS) introduced in the U.S. on , 1939, aiming to prohibit states from imposing es as a prerequisite for voting in federal elections; Gelders acted as of the bill's strategy , coordinating lobbying among labor unions, civil rights groups, and supporters. Building a coalition that included the , Southern Negro Youth Congress, (CIO), and local community organizations, Gelders organized region-wide voter registration drives and public campaigns to pressure , framing the as an archaic barrier to democratic participation amid reforms and anti-fascist mobilization. In 1941, Gelders co-founded the National Committee to Abolish the with , an outgrowth of SCHW efforts, which intensified advocacy through petitions, congressional testimony, and media outreach to build national support for repeal; the committee's work contributed to state-level abolitions in (1940, upheld 1945) and (1940, though later contested), though federal success eluded until the 24th Amendment in 1964. These campaigns emphasized empirical data on disenfranchisement, such as Alabama's $1.50 excluding over 400,000 potential voters annually, mostly low-income and citizens, to underscore causal links between the tax and suppressed turnout without relying on partisan narratives. Gelders' anti-segregation activism intertwined with SCHW's structure, as the organization's inaugural Birmingham conference on November 20, 1938, explicitly violated local ordinances by allowing interracial seating and participation, setting a for integrated Southern political gatherings attended by over 1,200 delegates including labor leaders, academics, and civil rights advocates. Through the Civil Rights Committee, he pushed resolutions condemning segregation in public facilities, , and employment, advocating for federal intervention to dismantle Jim Crow practices; these efforts included dramatizing discriminatory enforcement via reports and alliances with unions to integrate workplaces, though they faced violent backlash and limited immediate legislative gains due to Southern congressional resistance. Gelders coordinated with groups like the CIO to promote non-segregated organizing in industries such as and , where Black workers comprised up to 20% of the workforce in by 1940, aiming to leverage economic pressures for desegregation rather than symbolic gestures.

Kidnapping, Assault, and Aftermath

On September 23, 1936, Joseph Gelders was abducted in , by four men shortly after attending a meeting of the International Labor Defense, where he had been organizing in defense of political prisoners such as Jack Barton. The kidnappers forced him into a car, drove approximately eighty miles from the city, stripped him of his outer clothing, and subjected him to a severe flogging with a strap, alongside beatings that included strikes to the head with a and stomping on his face, chest, and . They mocked him by reading aloud from radical literature found in his possession before abandoning him unconscious in a remote field. Gelders was discovered and hospitalized with critical injuries, including deep lacerations, broken ribs, and internal damage that required months of recovery and left lasting health complications. The attack was attributed to vigilante groups, including suspected elements, targeting his labor organizing, anti-poll tax campaigns, and associations with left-wing causes deemed subversive in the Jim Crow South. Governor offered a $200 reward for the perpetrators' capture, supplemented by $500 from the , prompting investigations by local and federal authorities, including the La Follette Senate Civil Liberties Committee. In the ensuing months, Gelders identified three of his four assailants, including a National Guardsman, during police lineups and testified before the La Follette Committee, providing detailed accounts and linking the violence to broader patterns of anti-radical repression in Birmingham. Despite eyewitness corroboration and his identifications, no assailants were prosecuted, reflecting institutional reluctance to pursue vigilante actions against perceived radicals. The incident galvanized national attention to Southern labor violence but did not deter Gelders, who persisted in activism, co-founding the Southern Conference for Human Welfare; however, the internal injuries sustained ultimately contributed to his death on March 1, 1950.

Military Service

World War I Enlistment and Duties

Gelders enlisted in the United States Army in 1918 during the final months of World War I. His service occurred after the entry of the American Expeditionary Forces into major combat, limiting his involvement to domestic postings. Assigned to a coast artillery unit, his duties centered on training and defensive preparations rather than overseas deployment, as the Armistice of November 11, 1918, concluded hostilities shortly following his induction. He received an honorable discharge soon after the war's end, with no record of active combat participation.

World War II Service

Gelders reenlisted in the U.S. Army on March 30, 1942, at the age of 43, amid the national mobilization following the . He served as a in the Western Signal Corps, stationed at Camp Kohler near , where his background in physics likely contributed to instructional or technical duties related to communications and . His service interrupted his civilian activism, contributing to the temporary decline of organizations like the for Human Welfare in , where he had been a key leader. Gelders received an honorable discharge on July 24, 1944, after approximately two years of duty, prior to the war's conclusion in and the Pacific. The early separation may have been influenced by lingering health effects from a 1936 that caused internal injuries, though official records do not specify the cause.

Later Years and Personal Life

Post-War Activities

After his honorable discharge from the U.S. Army on July 24, 1944, Gelders relocated to , , marking a shift from his earlier public . Chronic internal injuries from the 1936 kidnapping and assault by vigilantes progressively impaired his health, curtailing any sustained involvement in labor or civil rights organizing during this period. He resided in until his death on March 1, 1950, with the long-term effects of those injuries cited as a contributing factor.

Family and Health Issues

Joseph Gelders married Esther Josephine Frank on November 19, 1919, in . The couple had two daughters, Louise (born ) and Blanche, the latter of whom became a Soto Zen Buddhist teacher known as . The 1936 kidnapping and assault inflicted severe internal injuries on Gelders, leading to chronic health complications that persisted for over a decade. These injuries weakened his overall condition and are attributed as a primary factor in his declining health during the period. By the late , Gelders experienced significant physical limitations, culminating in his from related causes at age 51.

Death

Joseph Sidney Gelders died on March 1, 1950, in , , at the age of 51. Following his discharge from , he had resided in the city, where the internal injuries sustained from his 1936 kidnapping and beating by assailants suspected to be members ultimately contributed to his demise. No public detailing immediate circumstances or arrangements appears in available records, though his death aligned with ongoing health complications from the prior assault rather than acute illness or accident.

Legacy and Assessment

Contributions to Civil Rights and Labor Movements

Gelders transitioned from academia to labor organizing in the early , focusing on interracial worker solidarity in 's industrial and agricultural sectors. Following a 1934 strike by ore miners in , where several black workers were killed, he resigned his position as assistant professor of physics at the to advocate for miners' rights and support unionization efforts amid violent repression. He assisted in defending labor activists through the International Labor Defense, serving as its southern representative by 1936, which involved publicizing cases of political prisoners and aiding sharecroppers targeted by vigilantes. His work extended to the Share Croppers' Union, a communist-influenced group that organized black and white tenant farmers against exploitative landlords, contributing to early New Deal-era labor reforms by highlighting peonage and debt traps in the cotton economy. In civil rights, Gelders co-founded the Southern Conference for Human Welfare (SCHW) in 1938 with figures like Virginia Durr, establishing a platform for southern liberals and radicals to address , economic disparity, and voting barriers. As executive secretary of SCHW's Civil Rights Committee, he prioritized anti-poll tax campaigns, documenting how the tax—requiring payment of $1–$2 annually in southern states—disenfranchised over 4 million potential voters, disproportionately affecting poor whites and who comprised 70–80% of non-voters in states like and by 1940. The committee lobbied and publicized data showing the tax's role in perpetuating one-party rule and , influencing federal discussions on voting rights. Gelders co-established the National Committee to Abolish the (NCAPT) in 1941, targeting its elimination in federal elections through bills introduced in , such as those by Representatives Frank Hook and . NCAPT, under his leadership alongside Durr, collected affidavits from affected voters and coordinated with allies in the to challenge the tax's constitutionality, though southern Democratic opposition blocked passage until partial repeal in state elections post-World War II. These efforts laid groundwork for later voting rights advancements, emphasizing empirical disenfranchisement over ideological appeals, despite Gelders' associations with communist groups drawing scrutiny from anti-radical factions.

Criticisms and Historical Reappraisals

Gelders' activism drew sharp criticisms for his documented ties to the Communist Party USA (CPUSA), including his 1936 appointment as southern representative for the CPUSA-affiliated National Committee for the Defense of Political Prisoners, through which he organized on behalf of imprisoned communists like Jack Barton. These affiliations extended to his pivotal role in cofounding the Southern Conference for Human Welfare (SCHW) in 1938, which the House Committee on Un-American Activities labeled a "Communist front" in 1947, alleging Soviet domination evidenced by consistent adherence to CPUSA policy lines and the involvement of figures like Gelders in its leadership and nominating processes. Critics, including Southern politicians and anti-communist investigators, argued that such organizations masked ideological subversion under the guise of civil rights and labor advocacy, contributing to the SCHW's rapid decline as members withdrew amid public perceptions of communist infiltration. Further scrutiny arose from Gelders' efforts to embed communist organizing in Alabama's labor and racial justice movements during the , as detailed in historical analyses of the state's CPUSA branch, where he collaborated with party leaders to promote interracial unionism and anti-lynching campaigns that aligned with Moscow-directed tactics. Detractors contended that these activities prioritized ideological recruitment over pragmatic reform, exacerbating divisions within the Southern labor movement and inviting backlash from both industrialists and conservative Democrats wary of foreign-influenced radicalism. Historical reappraisals have variably contextualized Gelders' communism as a response to entrenched Southern inequalities, crediting him with advancing early interracial coalitions in civil rights and labor spheres that prefigured later movements, though often downplaying the extent of his CPUSA loyalty in favor of portraying him as a principled antifascist. Academic works on Southern radicalism, such as those examining Alabama's communist history, affirm his status as a "longtime communist and party member" who bridged physics academia with grassroots agitation, yet note that his unyielding ideological commitments alienated potential allies and fueled valid contemporary fears of subversive intent amid rising global tensions. These reassessments, frequently from labor history perspectives, highlight empirical successes like poll tax abolition advocacy but underscore how communist entanglements—substantiated by party records and congressional probes—undermined broader acceptance, reflecting causal links between radical tactics and organizational fragility rather than mere McCarthy-era hysteria.

References

  1. https://www.bhamwiki.com/w/Joseph_Gelders
  2. https://www.nytimes.com/1937/01/17/archives/lash-victim-wants-special-prosecutor-gelders-looks-to-naming-of-one.html
  3. https://spectatorarchive.library.columbia.edu/?a=d&d=cs19361015-01.2.4
  4. https://lawcha.org/2020/01/23/the-alabama-communists-in-days-of-yore/
  5. https://www.nytimes.com/1947/06/15/archives/house-body-calls-southern-group-communist-front-human-welfare.html
  6. https://comebacktown.com/2024/03/12/birmingham-once-a-hot-bed-of-communism/
  7. https://www.geni.com/people/Joseph-Gelders/6000000176694604839
  8. https://www.myheritage.com/names/joseph_gelders
  9. https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q102021355
  10. https://www.nytimes.com/1936/09/26/archives/two-rewards-posted-in-alabama-flogging-gov-graves-offers-200-and.html
  11. https://www.jstor.org/stable/271568
  12. https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/great-depression-in-alabama/
  13. https://ur.bc.edu/system/files/2025-04/bc-ir102270.pdf
  14. https://jacobin.com/2024/04/alabama-communist-jim-crow-south
  15. https://kids.kiddle.co/Joseph_Gelders
  16. https://www.facingsouth.org/1984/11/anti-labor-vigilantes
  17. https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/southern-conference-for-human-welfare-schw/
  18. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/00236567908584554
  19. https://aaregistry.org/story/the-southern-conference-for-human-welfare-begins/
  20. https://www.workers.org/2017/12/34806/
  21. https://www.[jstor](/page/JSTOR).org/stable/271568
  22. https://www.congress.gov/80/crecb/1947/06/16/GPO-CRECB-1947-pt6-3-2.pdf
  23. https://southernchanges.digitalscholarship.emory.edu/sc12-1_001/sc12-1_002/
  24. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GOVPUB-I29-PURL-gpo189142/pdf/GOVPUB-I29-PURL-gpo189142.pdf
  25. https://socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/issues/suffrage-south-poll-tax/
  26. https://blackpast.org/african-american-history/southern-conference-for-human-welfare-1938-1948/
  27. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2207401
  28. https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/9780822371670-023/html
  29. https://www.jewishsouth.org/sites/default/files/sjh_v._26_norman-young_117-152.pdf
  30. https://www.nytimes.com/1937/01/16/archives/guardsman-named-in-flogging-case-witness-tells-lafollette-group.html
  31. https://www.nytimes.com/1937/01/15/archives/tales-of-flogging-told-to-senators-alabama-trooper-testifies-at-la.html
  32. https://doi.org/10.5149/northcarolina/9781469625485.003.0012
  33. https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Gelders-13
  34. https://blogs.sfzc.org/blog/2016/07/06/blanches-memories-as-told-to-her-student-mary-watson/
  35. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/3578330/joseph_sidney-gelders
  36. https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/southernworker/v5n12-mar-00-1937-sw.pdf
  37. https://www.encyclopedia.com/economics/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/national-committee-abolish-poll-tax
  38. https://keywiki.org/Joe_Gelders_Frantz
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