International Labor Defense

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The International Labor Defense (ILD) was a legal defense organization in the United States, headed by William L. Patterson and associated with the Communist Party USA. It defended Sacco and Vanzetti, was active in the civil rights and anti-lynching movements, and participated in the defense of the Scottsboro Boys. It was formed in 1925, and in 1946 merged with the National Federation for Constitutional Liberties to form the Civil Rights Congress.

[edit] External links

• International Labor Defense (1925 - 1946). Organizational history and document archive at Early American Marxist History archive. Retrieved August 25, 2006.

• Labor Defense Activities (1 January-1 July 1928). By Martin Abern. From James P. Cannon and the Early Years of American Communism. Selected Writings and Speeches, 1920-1928. Spartacist Publishing Company, 1992. ISBN 0-9633828-1-0.

• Labor Defense. Scottsboro: An American Tragedy. The American Experience, Public Broadcasting System, 1999.