presidium. Under the alias Wal. Daniels, he began publishing articles in the Negro Worker, the Conference's journal devoted to creating solidarity among black workers around the world. The journal advocated workers to take a proactive approach in addressing their work-related problems, instead of waiting for their employers or governments to address the issues. The publication's platform greatly influenced Wallace-Johnson's later union-related activities in Sierra Leone and the Gold Coast. Colonial governments perceived the Negro Worker to be a threat to peace and stability in the regions and quickly banned the distribution of the publication. In 1933, he became a member of the editorial board of the Negro Worker. Afterward, he met many prominent black Communists and attended the International Labor and Defence Conference in Moscow, where he remained for almost 18 months. He claimed that he pursued studies at the People's University of the East in Marxist-Leninist theory, political activism, and trade union organisation and roomed with Jomo Kenyatta, the future first President of Kenya. It was here that he became influenced by the pan-Africanist George Padmore, who was the Comintern-appointed coordinator of Communist activities among blacks. He returned to Lagos, Nigeria in 1933, but was deported by authorities months later for his trade union activities. Gold Coast politics On the invitation of R.B. Wuta-Ofei, editor of the Gold Coast Spectator, Wallace-Johnson settled in the Gold Coast, where he would gain his first experience in mass politics. At the time, there had already been some anticolonial activity in the Gold Coast. A number of Gold Coasters published articles in the Negro Worker and others had attended the First International Conference of Negro Workers. Many individuals voiced their anticolonial sentiments in privately operated newspapers. One noteworthy group of men who had strong anticolonial sentiments met at the house of Joseph Ocquaye, the founder of a private school in Nsawam and manager of the Vox Populi newspaper. These men, all respected in their communities, belonged to the Aborigines Rights Protection Society, a once popular political force. They intended to either revive the political influence the society carried or to create a new organisation altogether. The group, which became the predecessor to the Gold Coast chapter of the West African Youth League, found a fresh dynamic leader in Wallace-Johnson. Wallace-Johnson did not immediately involve himself in Gold Coast politics. He surveyed the political atmosphere and reestablished connections he had made in his trips