Note: many of the quotes presented in this post are from the 1950s, and make use of an obsolete term for African-Americans. I'm not an advocate for rewriting history, so I have presented the quotes as they originally appeared.I've discussed before how the proceeds from the sale of the 1951-1954 George Washington Carver ("GWC") - Booker Taliaferro Washington ("BTW") commemorative half dollars were legislated to be used to "oppose the spread of communism among Negroes" (per the coin's authorizing legislation), I thought I would return to the topic and discuss it a little further.
The initiative to devote coin sale proceeds to fight Communism among African-Americans began prior to discussions regarding the GWC-BTW coins. In 1951, as the last year of the Booker T. Washington half dollar was being readied for issue, Sidney J. Phillips - the founder and president of both the Booker T. Washington Birthplace Memorial and, later, the George Washington Carver National Monument Foundation - and the trustees of the BTW Birthplace Memorial voted to designate 50% of the proceeds from the 1951 issue's coin sales to fight Communism:. Their plan:
"An intensive educational campaign will be carried on to inform the Negro public of the vicious principals [sic] of Communism and the resultant evil effect that these principals will have upon our American way of life if permitted to get too strong a foothold in our country. Radio broadcasts, feature stories in the press, the millions of pieces of mail that are sent out annually by the Memorial, all of its publications, the teaching staff of its Trade School, and a number of thoroughly prepared speakers will carry to the public facts of Communistic teachings and activities as disclosed in the various hearings before the Committee on Un-American Activities...Particularly will Negroes be warned against glib-tongued, mild-mannered agents of Communism who seek to sell their un-American idea to underprivileged groups." (
Booker T. Washington National Monument: An Administrative History, National Park Service)
The anti-Communism efforts continued in the follow-up GWC-BTW half dollar program.
Senator Burnet R. Maybank (D-SC), chairman, Senate Committee on Banking and Currency was approached by representatives of the Birthplace Memorial about introducing legislation to amend the Booker T. Washington Coin Act to update its design and extend its coining authority.
Maybank's staff originally prepared a bill that did not explicitly state that its coin proceeds would be used to fight Communism, but later informed Phillips:
"However, upon further consideration of the proposal, my judgement is that such an amendment would fail of passage unless it provides the entire additional proceeds from the coins issued under the act as amended, are to be used for the one purpose of opposing the spread of communism among Negroes."And so, the Senate bill that was introduced included the specification that coin sale proceeds would be used "to oppose the spread of Communism among Negroes in the interest of national defense." A week later, a House bill seeking the same amendment was introduced by Brent Spence (D-KY) and included identical "oppose" language. (The House version of the bill was the one eventually passed into Public Law.)
Sidney J. Phillips had an ambitious plan to establish "community service clubs" across the United States for the benefit of America's African-American population. He wrote, "The organization's primary objective is to enlarge the opportunities for Negro work training so the underprivileged can improve their living standards, thereby demonstrating the sharp contrasts between America's proven advantages and Communist propaganda claims." It was through these clubs and their objectives that the "spread of communism" was to be thwarted - no details of the plan were included in the approved coin program amendment.
The plan, however, appears to have been an example of "biting off more than one can chew" as there is no documented proof that the spread of Communism among African-Americans was broadly impacted by coin proceeds. There may have been individual/limited success stories, but there are no records of widespread impact on negating Communism's potential spread within the African-American population.
At the time of the GWC-BTW release, the anti-Communism angle was pushed hard in the coin's announcements. For example, from the
The Daily News Leader (Staunton, VA) of March 13, 1952:
"There has been an insidious attempt for years to convert American Negroes to communism. It is a tribute to their intelligence and their patriotism that the attempt has met with only limited success, but it is recognized that Communist propaganda and recruiting must be combated more actively than in the past. One most effective method of doing so is to spread the teachings and ideals of Booker T. Washington, a great Negro educator and leader, and George Washington Carver, a noted Negro scientist. Public Law No. 151 of the 82d Congress authorized the coinage of the commemorative half dollars to raise money for this purpose.
"Many have wondered what individual citizens could do to combat Communism. Here is an opportunity to provide the sinews for an active campaign among a group of Americans whose sensitivities are being preyed upon in a most vicious manner by those who would betray the nation into the chains of Russia. The Augusta National Bank is a broker to the commemorative coins but other banks and some businesses are expected to obtain them for sale to the public...The commission directing the anti-communism campaign...commands complete confidence that effective work will be done if the people provide the funds."Even though the anti-Communism sentiment was running strong in the United States at the time, the coins did not drive intense sales and, overall, were a disappointment (vs. expectations).
For other of my posts about commemorative coins and medals, including many more stories about the BTW and GWC-BTW coins, see:
Commems Collection 
Posted 11/13/2025 10:03 pm
