More widely , anti-racist socialists were spurred to action by the Springfield race riot of 1908 . Socialist writer William English Walling 's reporting on the riot inspired another socialist , Mary White Ovington , among others , to work with prominent black leaders such as W. E. B. Du Bois , Ida B. Wells and Mary Church Terrell to establish the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People . Walling and Ovington both argued inside the party that it had not done enough to oppose racism and they were joined by other left-wing intellectuals who published articles in the party press about the importance of anti-racism to the socialist cause , including Hubert Harrison and I. M. Rubinow
Springfield race riot of 1908
Springfield race riot of 1908
Socialist Party of America