Reception
"We Charge Genocide" was mostly ignored by the mainstream American press, except for the Chicago Tribune, which called it "shameful lies" (and evidence against the value of the Genocide Convention itself). I. F. Stone was one of the only white American journalists to write favorably of the document. The CRC had communist affiliations, and the document attracted international attention fueled by the worldwide communist movement. Raphael Lemkin, who invented the term "genocide" and advocated for the Genocide Convention, disagreed with the petition because the African American population was increasing—and accused its authors of wishing to distract attention from genocide in the Soviet Union because of their communist sympathies. Lemkin accused Patterson and Robeson of serving foreign powers, and published an op-ed in the New York Times arguing that Blacks did not experience "destruction, death, annihilation" that would qualify as genocide.
The petition was particularly well-received in Europe, where it received abundant press coverage. Indeed, "We Charge Genocide" was popular almost everywhere in the world except in America—one American writer traveling India in 1952 found that many people had become familiar with the cases of the Martinsville Seven and Willie McGee through the document.
The American delegation heavily criticized the document. Eleanor Roosevelt called it "ridiculous". Black delegates Edith Sampson and Channing Tobias spoke to European audiences about how the situation of African Americans was improving.
The NAACP, at the request of the State Department, drafted a press release repudiating "We Charge Genocide", calling it "a gross and subversive conspiracy". However, upon hearing initial press reports of the petition, and the expected NAACP response, the group decided to hold back, ultimately deciding that the petition did, indeed, reflect many of its views. "How can we 'blast' a book that uses our records as source material?", asked Roy Wilkins.
The CRC's power was already declining due to accusations of Communism during the Red Scare, and it disbanded in 1956.
The United Nations did not acknowledge receiving the petition. Nor was it expected to, given the strength of US influence.
Read more about this topic: We Charge Genocide
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