WORKERS WORLD PARTY CONFERENCE
Activists, youths pledge fight to revive socialism
By Gery
Armsby
New York
Activists representing many struggles, from Seattle and
Huntsville, Texas, to Buffalo, N.Y., and San Diego, Calif.,
gathered in New York Dec. 2-3 for the annual Workers World
Party conference, entitled "The Socialist Answer to
Capitalism." There they had an opportunity to deliberate about
their recent efforts in the class struggle and to review WWP's
contributions.
Much of that discussion centered on the need to revive the
fight for socialism in the United States.
Many young activists and revolutionaries who attended
learned about WWP in the fight against racist police brutality,
the death penalty and the criminal injustice system. They were
drawn to the conference by a desire to learn how to step up the
fight against racism and capitalist exploitation by applying a
revolutionary Marxist perspective.
Larry Holmes, a member of WWP's Secretariat, opened the
conference by appraising last year's "Battle of Seattle," the
Million Family March and Redeem the Dream mobilizations, and
the upsurge in the labor movement as harbingers that "something
is coming--something big."
While he warned against "crying wolf" at the recent downward
economic trend, Holmes also pointed out that the "lesson of the
cry-wolf fable is that the wolf finally showed up."
He said preparations must be made now for an inevitable
capitalist crisis. This means helping to lead people to break
away from the Democratic Party, which Holmes described as the
"box that our movement is locked away in." He called for
"making the fight for socialism a living force in the
struggle."
Gloria La Riva, WWP's 2000 vice presidential candidate,
echoed Holmes' sentiments about the need to revive the
revolutionary socialist current. Secretariat member Fred
Goldstein said that in the election morass the party's task is
to "show that in spite of the fact that the Republicans have a
different social base and are more to the right, both parties
are deadly enemies of the workers and the oppressed."
Microphones were then opened up for discussion. Many
comments from the floor came from relative newcomers with
stories to tell about why they were drawn to the struggle for
socialism.
Youthful crowd discusses socialism
A lunchtime discussion brought together a predominantly
youthful crowd to discuss what socialism is. Over sandwiches
and soda participants shared their experiences in WWP.
Derrick Duncan talked about what it was like for him, a
young Jamaican immigrant living in Brooklyn, when he met an
organizer from WWP who gave him a copy of Workers World
newspaper. "It took me awhile to come to a meeting," he said,
"but I soon found out these people were for real, like family
in the struggle."
Magda Miller from Los Angeles gave a moving account of how
working mothers like herself are constantly prevented from
making strides under capitalism, no matter how hard they try to
advance themselves through education.
A second series of plenary talks followed, focussing on the
class struggle within the United States. WWP Secretariat member
and presidential candidate Monica Moorehead set the tone by
examining the Marxist view on fighting racist repression. There
were also reports from various union struggles and the recent
election campaign. Many comments from the floor reflected the
deep commitment of those present to fight against every feature
of class oppression.
Julius Sykes from Buffalo said, "Racial profiling and police
brutality is such an epidemic, we really should call it what it
is--and that's racist profiling." Several speakers
reaffirmed the demand for reparations to the African American
community.
Naomi Cohen from New York drew a thoughtful comparison that
"the oppression of women in capitalist society today is so
wide, so deep, so broad, and so old that it's like the air. We
breathe it in every second of every day, and yet we don't see
it."
Kaz Suzat, assistant chapel chair of a union local at one of
the striking Seattle newspapers, said that as "an out trans
person on the job, it's amazing to experience what a strike can
do for building solidarity and unity. People who never talked
to me now come up to me, pat me on the back and call me
brother."
Chants of 'Down with Plan
Colombia!'
Saturday's final plenary session gave conference attendees a
chance to discuss, learn about and express their solidarity
with people's movements around the world in struggle against
imperialism. Representatives from the Korea Truth Commission
and the Al-Awda Palestine Right of Return Coalition, as well as
a former political prisoner from Turkey, were present in the
hall and received thunderous standing ovations.
Secretariat member Teresa Gutierrez presented the first of
three plenary talks on the international situation. She focused
on the armed struggle in Colombia, where she recently visited
representatives of the FARC--the Revolutionary Armed Forces of
Colombia--part of an International Action Center
delegation.
She explained that "we cannot leave this meeting without a
resounding condemnation of Plan Colombia." Plan Colombia is the
multi-billion-dollar Pentagon plot to destroy the FARC-led
guerrilla movement in that country.
Gutierrez urged everyone to bring the critical issue of Plan
Colombia to the counter-inaugural protest planned for Jan. 20
in Washington and left the podium with a cry for "victory to
the guerrilla movement in Colombia!" Those in the conference
hall rose to their feet and a group of militant lesbian, gay,
bi and trans youths began to chant "Abajo, abajo, abajo al Plan
Colombia!"--"Down, down, down with Plan Colombia!".
Other plenary talks, by Secretariat member Sara Flounders
and National Committee member Richard Becker, covered the
struggle in Palestine and socialist Cuba's fight against the
40-year-old U.S. blockade. A wrap-up by Secretariat member and
WW editor Deirdre Griswold discussed the counter-revolutionary
devastation faced by workers in former socialist countries of
Eastern Europe and the USSR.
Difference between Judaism and Zionism discussed
Day two of the conference opened with workshops on a range
of topics. Several attendees said they chose workshops in areas
they knew little about in order to familiarize themselves with
a new area of struggle. Others were drawn to workshops based on
excitement generated by the plenary talks.
Participants in a workshop about building solidarity with
Iraq and Palestine had a lively exchange about the new Intifada
in Palestine, clarifying the difference between the world's
Jewish people and the Israeli state. The multinational group of
activists discussed anti-Semitism as well as anti-Arab racism
in the U.S. The apartheid settler regime is built on the
political ideology of Zionism--not Judaism. Israel is a partner
of U.S. imperialism in the suppression of the Palestinians'
right to their homeland.
This workshop also discussed the upcoming fourth Iraq
Sanctions Challenge organized by the IAC for Jan. 12-19. The
trip will defy U.S./UN sanctions by delivering medical aid to
Iraq as an act of friendship and solidarity with the Iraqi
people, who suffer 250 deaths each day under sanctions.
A workshop on Puerto Rico, Cuba and Colombia included
newcomers as well as long-time supporters of the struggles in
Latin America and the Caribbean. In interviews with numerous
conference-goers Workers World learned that many were eager to
learn more about the FARC and looked to WWP as their only
source for information about the revolutionary situation in
Colombia. The WWP literature table completely sold out of
pamphlets about the FARC.
Union organizers and labor activists met and strategized in
a stimulating workshop entitled "Labor Today." Participants
represented labor struggles coast-to-coast and it was widely
observed that there is a new mood among the rank and file of
many unions. Union members are "generating enough steam" to
push a more combative agenda, some speakers noted.
At a workshop geared to help build WWP, members and
supporters dedicated themselves to the task of building a
revolutionary party. They raised suggestions and discussed
obstacles for improving the organization, including recruitment
and outreach efforts.
'All out for Jan. 20'
The workshop titled "Free Mumia--End the Racist Death
Penalty" was heavily attended and focused on efforts to build
the Jan. 20 counter-inaugural protest in Washington.
Imani Henry, a national organizer for Rainbow Flags for
Mumia, said, "It was great to see in this workshop so many of
the people I have met in the last year at demonstrations like
the Million Family March, R2K in Philly and the June 22 protest
to save Shaka Sankofa. Some of them are folks I was in jail
with--people like Rebecca Finkel, who was arrested for trying
to save the life of an innocent man. It is really good to see
someone like that here."
Workshop participants resolved that they would make it their
number-one priority to spread the call: "All out for Jan.
20!"
A final plenary summarized the workshops and included a
brief discussion led by Workers World managing editor Leslie
Feinberg on the need for a strong Party newspaper. The floor
then reopened for interventions from participants.
Mary Kay Harris, an organizer for Direct Action for Rights
and Equality in Providence, R.I., is a fighter for community
control of the police. She told how she met WWP in 1996,
shortly after her teenage son was brutally attacked by a
Providence cop.
Harris said, "I began protesting, speaking out, attending
press conferences, even marching against police brutality, the
prison-industrial complex, sexism, racism, capitalism." She
described a recent struggle in her community to win justice for
a Black off-duty police officer who was gunned down by white
cops.
Paula Randisi, who met WWP in San Diego, spoke of the
struggle against police and border-patrol brutality in that
community. Over the last 18 months San Diego cops have killed
eight unarmed people, she reported. She concluded, "I believe
racism is the root of every injustice in this world." She told
WW that the conference made her much more interested in
learning about socialism.
The conference was dedicated to the memory of WWP members
Key Martin and Ellen Andors, both long-time organizers and
media activists with the Peoples Video Network, who passed away
this year. Secretariat member Brian Becker gave a special
salute to Ted Dostal, 94, whose illness prevented him from
attending this year's conference as he has for the past 41
years.
The two-day meeting ended with a group of conference
organizers and participants leading chants in support of
political prisoners Mumia Abu-Jamal and Leonard Peltier and a
call to organize for the Jan. 20 counter-inaugural.
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
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