Facing the Rising Sun: African Americans, Japan, and the Rise of Afro-Asian Solidarity

Placeholder author icon
By Gerald Horne ’70

Published Feb. 12, 2018

During World War II, there was significant Japanese sympathy among African Americans who thought that Japan’s superpower status undermined white supremacy. This attitude undermined the U.S. war effort, which Facing the Rising Sun (NYU Press) investigates. The book goes on to explores how solidarity between Asian and African Americans grew after the war and was the precursor of Dr. Martin Luther King’s relationship with Gandhi.

Paw in print

Image
PAW's July/August 2025 issue cover, featuring a photo of people dressed in orange and black, marching in the P-rade, and the headline: Reunions, Back in Orange & Black.
The Latest Issue

July 2025

On the cover: Wilton Virgo ’00 and his classmates celebrate during the P-rade.