Colorado meeting celebrates Malcolm X
By
Workers World Denver bureau
Published May 26, 2005 5:08 PM
Thirty people came out to
commemorate the life of Malcolm X on May 17 in the heart of Five Points, one of
the historically Black communities in Denver.
The main speaker at the
meeting was Monica Moorehead, Workers World managing editor. She stated early in
her talk that, if Malcolm X were alive today, he would most likely be on the
front lines of opposing the war in Iraq and all wars for empire. Malcolm would
be defending the right to sovereignty and self-determination of not only Iraq,
she said, but also Cuba, Venezuela, North Korea, Iran, Zimbabwe and other
countries that the United States is attempting to bully with its military and
economic aggression.
Moorehead quoted Malcolm X to illustrate his
political development, to show how he had become an internationalist: “It
is incorrect to classify the revolt of the Negroes simply as a racial conflict
of Black against white, or a purely American problem. Rather we are today seeing
a global rebellion of the oppressed against the oppressor, the exploited against
the exploiter.”
Peggy Burress from the Pastors for Peace/Caravan to
Cuba spoke about this year’s trip to Cuba. The caravan will take material
aid to the island—material that is not readily available, partly because
of the racist blockade of the island by the United States—and challenge
the travel restrictions to Cuba.
Paul Lopez from the Service Employees
union talked of the battle to win justice for janitors at AFL Maintenance Group.
The Justice for Janitors campaign is being extended to organize workers at AFL
to win improved wages, health care and better working conditions. The AFL has
retaliated against workers for trying to organize, but the union campaign is
gathering momentum.
FIST activist Melissa Kleinman, who chaired the
meeting, noted that the event was the first of its kind in Denver. Larry Hales
of FIST—Fight Imperialism Stand Together, a revolutionary youth
organization—brought up the struggle of embattled anti-racist activist
Shareef Aleem and called for solidarity with Aleem. He explained why
Aleem’s defense must be political and linked it to the struggle against
police brutality and racism.
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