Henry Winston
Henry Winston | |
|---|---|
Winston speaks in East-Berlin, 1963 | |
| Chairman of the National Committee of the Communist Party USA | |
| In office 1966 – December 13, 1986 | |
| Preceded by | Elizabeth Gurley Flynn |
| Personal details | |
| Born | April 2, 1911 Hattiesburg, Mississippi, United States |
| Died | December 13, 1986 (aged 75) Soviet Union |
Henry M. Winston (April 2, 1911 – December 13, 1986) was an African-American political leader and Marxist civil rights activist.
Winston, committed to equal rights and communism, was an advocate of civil rights for African Americans decades before the idea of racial equality emerged as a mainstream current of American political thought. Winston was left permanently blind as a result of being denied medical treatment by the US Government while he was imprisoned for his communist beliefs.
An early member of the Communist Party USA (CPUSA), Winston was elected to the party's National Board in 1936, serving as Chairman of the CPUSA from 1966 to 1986.