Letters of June 5

Workers’ Songs Spur Solidarity with Bangladesh Victims
I attend my union retiree chapter meetings. During the “Good and Welfare” section at the end of the meeting, I usually raise some point about the need for the working class to struggle and then sing a labor song for the attendees.  At the April meeting, after inviting
everyone to the PLP May Day celebration, I sang, “May Day is a Workers’ Day.” A few months ago, I handed everyone a New York Times article on the terrible garment factory fire in Bangladesh that killed so many workers, and called on the union to communicate with a Bangladeshi union to find ways to support the workers.  There was a lot of agreement among the retirees. The union told me they couldn’t do it, but that I should do it.
At this month’s meeting, I talked about the thousand people dead from the factory collapse in Bangladesh and the factory explosion in Texas that killed people in the town. I then said, “Because the boss is so helpful to all of us, I have a working-class song to sing to you.”  Then I sang the song with the chorus, “Put it on the ground, spread it all around, dig it with a hoe, it will make your flowers grow.”
As I sang the first stanza, people around the hall started to join in.  When I got to the chorus, many more people joined in. There were about 200 retirees in the room. It sounded pretty good. When I came to the end of the last chorus, people were applauding loudly. The chairman of the meeting said, “ I want to tell you that last night the union’s executive board agreed to do something about the Bangladeshi death toll.”
There are many roads we can walk on the way to revolution. Respect for the values of the working class is still alive and well. I usually get out between 60 and 100 Challenges before the meeting begins.
A Red Worker

Debate Black Nationalism vs. Multi-Racial Unity
The following five letters are from PL’ers and new friends in a conference of Students Against Mass Incarceration (SAMI). See CHALLENGE, 5/22 for full article.
Today, our PL club took part in a conference of Students Against Mass Incarceration. The politics of the event were very interesting. We witnessed a lot of radical, leftist thought going around. We also witnessed a lot of young, enthusiastic and intelligent youth engaging questions of racism, sexism and imperialism up front. The setback was that the conference discussions were framed around the ideas of black nationalism.
As Marxists, we realize that any form of nationalism, even nationalism of the oppressed, is at best false consciousness, and at worst, simply racist. Even though the nationalism present was seemingly progressive, and supposedly had the answers to the special oppression of black youth, we were able to realize the flaws of such a movement.
These flaws were made evident in the discussions: many problems were analyzed and elaborated on, but when it came to creating solutions, nationalist ideology fell flat. There was the contradiction of confronting racism, without the economic theory to tackle capitalism, its root cause. There was the contradiction of having to build multi-racial “alliances” to deal with Imperialism, while also having to maintain black leadership and black ideology in their organization. These problems were impossible to deal with under the framework of black nationalism. Only by understanding how capitalism uses racism to divide the working class, and how it uses Imperialism to dominate the world, can we apply theory to practice and effectively organize to fight back.
With that said, I was really inspired by the attendants at the events. To see so many dedicated young people addressing the problems of our society made me hopeful for the future. It was clear to me that if we introduced our Marxist ideas into the discourse, we could provide the answer they were looking for. Many of these young people were receptive to CHALLENGE, and were eager to discuss and consider the ideas present in the paper. We should continue to engage these students on a political level. The conference was very well-organized, and a pleasant reminder for why we fight for communism.
Enthusiastic Red
************
In the first workshop Consciousness, Vision, and Strategy, the discussion emphasized the necessity for an approach to creating unity and power within the black community.  “I think it’s beautiful that we have black people from all over the country coming together…and I despise the fact that we are spending most of our time talking about how to organize with white people…” 
The majority of the SAMI members made it clear that co-opting white leadership is a clear regression in their movement. While whites are their clear enemy, this discourse carries a strong sentiment that ostracizes
anyone who isn’t black.
As an undocumented person of color, I am a direct target of the same prison/detention industrial complex (and natural ally). But, I could not find common ground, probably because SAMI’s racial discourse is a reflection of the same paradigm that oppresses us all. In terms of organizing for a cause that affects all people of color, SAMI can bring short-term victories, but it is not strategizing around the root cause: capitalism.
However, part of me understands the necessity for a national race-based identity for black people in America. Currently, the black identity is understood and propagated in the context of historical tragedy.  The building of a national identity is part of a healing process, I think. It provides a sense of belonging, but more than that, a very necessary form of agency.
Felix
************
The general mood of the convention was a strong sense of nationalism rather than a well-rounded view of multiracial unity.
In one of the breakout sessions or workshops, it was quite evident that members of SAMI could not stress anymore the constant hatred for white supremacy. They provided ideas on ways to effectively unite the black people along with the support from other “racial” groups to fight capitalism and injustices of incarceration caused mainly by the whites as claimed.
There exist obvious parallels and common views shared by both the PLP and SAMI. However the key underlying difference is SAMI lacks the consciousness to realize that the fight against capitalism is not just inclusive to one group of people but rather the whole greater group in society, the working-class. SAMI has substance to facilitate strong movement but is clouded by the necessity to self-identify themselves with the black identity.  Furthermore, at the convention, members especially the youth, do not have the proper understanding of how to bring about change by practical means.
A Friend
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Going to conventions with people like Students Against Mass Incarceration (SAMI) was a great experience in many ways. These SAMI people see many of the struggles that the working class goes through, but they have a mindset that they are the only “race” that struggles. This is very dangerous in many ways. For example, all of their efforts and ideas go to waste because they do not have a real solution. The most they are able to do is reform and in many levels those reforms are not real because they do not help all aspects of the working class.
Even though, there are many problems with their organization, they also have many qualities that are very important for change. The fact that they are able to organize and bring people together from many parts of the States is a huge skill to have. Another point in their favor is that they are very passionate about what they do and they believe in change and want to see the world transformed. However, the most important quality that they posses, whether they acknowledge it or not, is being part of the working-class struggles.
I learned many things today. One is that racism is universal and that getting over those prejudices are the key to making any change.  SAMI has the wrong enemy and the wrong fight. Even though, we are not going to convince everyone in these types of events to automatically have communist points of view, it is very important to continue to attend,  unite as a working class, and continue fighting for a revolution that we would all benefit from.
Red Student
************
It was inspiring to see so many black students serious about radical change. The U.S. has a history of militant fightbacks and culture from black workers. We need to build ties with these students. We met many interested in our communist ideas. Some NY students exchanged contact information with us.
Our friends, new to the Party, saw our political line in practice. It is one thing to talk about multiracial unity in a study group. It is another to see what the lack of multi-racial unity looks like. Our friends understood that we don’t need black capitalism. They then came to May Day and had a lot of good questions.
This conference demonstrated why we need a mass Party. We believe everyone can be an anti-racist communist fighter, not just black workers. We also can’t have a successful revolution without a Party. The working class needs to be united as one, under one organization, in order to defeat our enemy. We cannot afford any more divisions.
PLP college students need to adopt a more aggressive attitude in organizing. When we hear of such conferences or of the bombing in Boston, or of racist war criminal Patraeus coming to our campus in the fall semester, or the reintroduction of the military in our schools — we must be more proactive in talking to our friends about it, organizing for the event or a fight-back. We must do these things without being told. We need an attitude of initiative if we are serious about revolution.
Lali

DC May Day Needed More Focus on International Workers’ Solidarity
 I enjoyed reading about our May Day demonstration in D.C. in Challenge. I felt as though the spirit of the article accurately reflected the rebellious spirit of all the marchers that joined forces that day to fight against corporate greed. The only concern I have is that since Challenge is sympathetic towards the welfare of workers all over the globe, I felt as though we should have focused less on the action itself and more on the cause — solidarity with workers around the world in the fight against capitalism.
The action taken during the march is already done, so in my opinion, I don’t feel as though that should have been the main focus of the article. I say this because I feel as though we may run the risk of coming off as insensitive to those with possibly more pressing issues concerning their work in other parts of the world.
Even the headline of the article focused on our run- in with authorities, as opposed to why we actually had to face those pigs. However, I greatly appreciated the discussion about the workers in Bangladesh. It was good to let readers know that the cracks in the factory building were obvious but, unfortunately, ignored in the bosses’ rush to make profits. Nevertheless, thank you for being a voice among the madness of capitalism and keep up the good work!
DC May Day marcher

White Workers Not the Cause of Racism
We are writing another letter about the weakness of the articles dealing with anti-racist struggle, which we have noted in our paper.  One glaring example of this is a picture in one of the last issues showing a black college student holding up a sign which said “Smash White Supremacy.”
This is in fact advertising for the neo-racist concept that white people as a whole are responsible for racism, rather than the capitalist bosses of any color.  The concept that white supremacy is the essence of racism is supported by many of our old enemies, who newer Party members may not be familiar with: fake leftists such as  Bernadette Dorhn and William “Bill” Ayers of the Weathermen faction of SDS and their ally the African American neo-racist Haki Mahdibuti and his wife.  Indeed, they have written a book about this anti-white worker concept.
While the concept of white supremacy made sense during the period of apartheid-type racism in the U.S. (1896 – 1965), it has absolutely no Marxist sense at a time when fascists of color are threaded throughout the agents of the one percent.  We even have an African-American as “emperor” of the U.S. Empire.   Blaming white supremacy for racism is just another form of the neo-racist attack being launched by the bosses against the white members of the international, multiracial proletariat.
A racist capitalist system has been built on two levels of political economic control since the 1670s. This includes oppression and super-oppression, exploitation and super-exploitation, sometimes based on color, sometimes based on “race,” most of the time based on racialized ancestry. They’re designed to protect capitalism from the unity of the proletariat and to generate immense profits from both the exploited and the super-exploited.
To conclude, the workers of color will never be free from wage slavery so long as white workers, especially white members of the industrial proletariat, are somehow blamed as the causes of racism.
Fight for the kind of communism, which will end racism once and for all — in all its forms.
The Red Rabbi and the Red Preacher

Attack in Russia Shows Why Communism Is Needed
On May 10, a homosexual working-class man was brutally tortured and murdered because of his sexual orientation. The body of 23-year-old Vladislav Tornovoy was found in Volgograd [“Volgograd” is actually Stalingrad. Krushchev had it changed to try to wipe out memory of Stalin], 600 miles south of Moscow. Investigating officials told the media that Tornovoy’s head was smashed and that his body had multiple bruises and wounds. Before being killed, the victim was repeatedly brutally raped with beer bottles.
The ruling class in Russia is using the bogeyman of a shrinking population to stir up hatred based on sexual preference, and to consolidate the resurgence of the despotic Russian Orthodox Church.
Meanwhile, the liberal wing of the U.S. ruling class, is fostering anti-Russian hatred by building on the justified outrage against this crime among well-meaning workers. The rulers are also using the incident to build anti-communism and attack Stalin. Whenever the rulers can attack Stalin, they will.
PLP stands against all ruling-class ideologies that divide and oppress workers. Sexism enables males to dominate and disempower women, wrest control over their reproductive rights, steal billions of hours of unpaid domestic labor, and pay them less for other work in the pursuit of super-profits. Sexism justifies all sorts of degenerate behavior in the highly profitable industries of sexual exploitation.
PLP will negate all of the identities that capitalism needs in order to survive. We will struggle against false consciousness and any relationship based on domination and subjugation. We will build a communist world that meets all of our needs by basing our understanding of who we are on the material foundation of class, not the illusory fleeting social constructs of capitalist society.
Red Teacher