This definitive biography of the prominent labor leader Maida Springer focuses on her public life, especially her role in the formation of the AFL-CIO's African policy during the Cold War and African independence movements. But it also reveals the difficulties faced by a woman of color who found herself promoting the ideals of American democracy to African leaders, even as she was excluded from fully enjoying the fruits of those ideals in her own country. This captivating work offers unique insights into the tensions between race, labor, and gender in the middle of the twentieth century.