Communist program fights all oppressions
Excerpts from a
talk by Imani Henry
The political interventions we have made by connecting the
fight against the prison-industrial complex, police brutality
and for the freedom for Mumia Abu-Jamal to the
anti-globalization struggle have provided leadership to this
new movement. But most important, it is our revolutionary
program that serves as an example of how to build
multinational class unity.
As Marxists we know that it's all about the program. It's
not just about the structure of an organization. If your
program is narrow then your organization will be narrow, and
if your program is broad then your organization will be
broad.
The new movement isn't homogenous. Some are anarchists
whose rallying cry is to "smash the state" and call for a
classless, stateless society. Some activists want to see an
end to monopoly capital but not capitalism itself, and want
to build a reformist alternative. But all have come together
under the banner of fighting the World Trade Organization and
the International Monetary Fund.
Recently I read a document written by students at the
University of Wisconsin at Madison entitled "Build an
Anti-Racist Student Movement." This was a call to white
student activists urging them to build alliances with
communities of color to better wage the struggle against
sweatshop labor. It talked about self-determination and
taking leadership from people of color, as well as raising
anti-racist slogans like fighting police brutality to broaden
the struggle.
This and other articles like "Where Were the People of
Color in Seattle?" have challenged this movement to take a
conscious stand against racism and national oppression. As a
result there have been forums to address insensitivity within
this movement. "White ally" working groups and listserves
have been created as a part of the structure of some
groups.
While we applaud these well-meaning attempts by the
movement to re-examine itself in the name of building unity
and solidarity with oppressed peoples, at the same time we
know it's not about simply being an ally. An all-white
listserve of people talking among themselves about how to be
in solidarity with oppressed people is not going to do the
trick.
First these activists must see themselves as part of the
working class and know that it's in the direct interest of
white workers to fight against racism. This is how the ruling
class divides us, pitting white workers against people of
color. And the best way to fight racism is in the streets, in
the struggle, shoulder to shoulder with people of many
nations.
As this movement grapples with how to be more inclusive,
it makes me proud to be in a Party where multinational unity
is already put into practice. A Party whose very foundation
is built on 41 years of struggle against racism in the United
States and imperialism around the world.
It is part of the day-to-day work of our Party to fight
for Mumia's and Leonard Peltier's freedom and stop the racist
executions on Texas' death row. Our party understands that
globalization is imperialism, and that the IMF/World Bank are
racist, neocolonial institutions that suck the life blood out
of oppressed countries around the world.
Our revolutionary program demands that we fight against
capitalism itself, and every form of exploitation and
oppression that it produces. It's not merely about the right
slogan or paying lip service to the fight against special
oppression.
There is careful thought to affirmative action within our
organization that places a priority on the development of the
leadership of oppressed people. That's why women make up the
majority of leadership in our Party. We have a large lesbian,
gay, bi and trans caucus because we believe that their
liberation is part and parcel of the class struggle.
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
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