City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works All Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects 9-2018 African American Performers in Stalin’s Soviet Union: Between Political Promise and Racial Propaganda Christopher E. Silsby The Graduate Center, City University of New York How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! More information about this work at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/2812 Discover additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu This work is made publicly available by the City University of New York (CUNY). Contact:
[email protected] AFRICAN AMERICAN PERFORMERS IN STALIN’S SOVIET UNION: BETWEEN POLITICAL PROMISE AND RACIAL PROPAGANDA by CHRISTOPHER SILSBY A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty in Theatre in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, The City University of New York 2018 © 2018 CHRISTOPHER SILSBY All Rights Reserved ii African American Performers in Stalin’s Soviet Union: Between Political Promise and Racial Propaganda by Christopher Silsby This manuscript has been read and accepted for the Graduate Faculty in Theatre in satisfaction of the dissertation requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. May 11, 2018 Date Marvin Carlson Chair of Examining Committee May 11, 2018 Date Peter Eckersall Executive Officer Supervisory Committee: Marvin Carlson David Savran James Wilson THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK iii African American Performers in Stalin’s Soviet Union: Between Political Promise and Racial Propaganda by Christopher Silsby Advisor: Marvin Carlson In the first half of the twentieth century, a significant number of African Americans left the United States for the promise of racial and economic equality in the supposedly class-less society of a post-Revolution Soviet Union.