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Via Workers World News Service
Reprinted from the June 26, 1997
issue of Workers World newspaper
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Clinton on racism

Big talk, little content, poor record

By Monica Moorehead

On the 30^th anniversary of the creation of the Kerner Commission, President Bill Clinton made a pretense of doing something to combat racism. Speaking at the University of California at San Diego commencement ceremony June 14, he announced a year-long "dialogue" on race and especially affirmative action.

Lyndon Johnson's administration established the Kerner Commission after the rebellions in Black urban areas against racist oppression in the mid-1960s. The commission concluded then that the United States was "moving toward two societies, one Black, one white, separate and unequal."

Clinton launched this "initiative" on race relations in the very state where the anti-affirmative-action Proposition 209 passed last year. Proposition 209 prohibits the use of racial or sexual preferences or quotas in state hiring, contracting and higher education.

Clinton said that he still believed in affirmative action. In the light of his usual behavior, this is supposed to be a bold stand on a difficult issue.

During the week before Clinton's talk some Democrats, all white, suggested in Congress that it make a formal apology to African Americans regarding slavery. This boldness too was purely verbal, since there was no mention of paying reparations to African Americans for the unpaid labor of their enslaved ancestors, which helped build the capitalist foundations of the United States.

When asked on CNN about this proposal, Clinton claimed he had never heard about the apology until the day of his speech and therefore had no comment. His opposition to racism apparently had its limits.

Clinton talked about how he grew up in the segregated South but said that his grandfather taught him that racism was wrong. He said he wants to see an "America" that will respect and celebrate differences and that he wants to see the United States "become the world's first truly multiracial democracy."

How should activists and revolutionaries view Clinton's so-called concern about race and racism?

His words may sound very sincere and prophetic-if empty of specific content. But people have to judge Clinton on his actions, which have been inadequate and even harmful.

Clinton is the political leader of the most powerful capitalist country in the world. Racism and national oppression are endemic to this system. The capitalists use racism to keep workers of different nationalities divided and fighting among themselves for crummy low-wage jobs and scarce resources instead of uniting against the small clique of rich bosses and bankers.

For those who want to eradicate racism root and branch, capitalism must be seen as the number-one enemy. This does not exempt activists and revolutionaries from combating racism whenever and wherever it raises its ugly head. On the contrary, the anti-racist struggle should be intensified along with the struggle against women's oppression and lesbian and gay oppression. Only that will forge working-class unity.

But Clinton's concern about the division of the races is hypocritical. Since his 1992 campaign, his policies and actions have done so much to create an even more poisonous, racist atmosphere.

Clinton abandoned civil-rights deputy attorney general nominee Attorney Lani Guinier when the racist right wing attacked her. He attacked rapper Sister Soulja during his 1992 presidential campaign. He fired Black Surgeon General Dr. Joycelyn Elders because rightists criticized her.

Clinton also signed the $20-billion crime law, which added 100,000 cops whose main task is to occupy the oppressed communities. And he signed the "anti-terrorism" law that increased the budgets of the repressive CIA, Immigration and Naturalization Service, and FBI.

Clinton's greatest crime

Clinton's biggest crime since taking office was signing the welfare-repeal legislation that ended federal guaranteed benefits for families, cut off benefits to hundreds of thousands of disabled children and elderly immigrants, and will plunge at least 1.1 million children into poverty, a disproportionate number of them Black and Latino.

When the Republican right wing attacked affirmative action during last year's presidential campaign, Clinton's only response was to call for a "review" of affirmative-action programs regarding contracts for more minority and women contractors. He carried out no substantial campaign to counter the right-wing lies.

In effect, Clinton is a pathetic apologist for racism. During his first administration there was an increase in the bombings of Black churches in the South and a disturbing 63-percent rise in the suicide rate of Black youths. His actions have spoken louder than words-and his actions against poor and working people have been horrific.

It takes more than a dialogue or debate to end racism. It takes a serious struggle in many forms. If Clinton were really serious about ending racism, he could promote an emergency anti-racism bill. He could fight to repeal the anti-welfare law. He could promote an emergency summer jobs bill giving a living wage to young people.

He could fight for a bill ending the railroading to prison of mostly Black and Latino youth sentenced to long terms for minor drug trafficking.

He could push for community control of the police, free recreational programs, strengthening of affirmative-action programs, an end to the racist death penalty and much more. And if Clinton were really concerned about the people, he could call for mass actions in Washington to support this kind of unprecedented legislation-and the people would respond.

But Clinton is in the racist bosses' hip pocket, and it will take a mass struggle independent of his guidance to truly fight racism.

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