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Via Workers World News Service
Reprinted from the Dec. 21, 2000
issue of Workers World newspaper
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WWP conference

New activists crave Marxist learning

By Gery Armsby

New York

The annual conference of Workers World Party, held in New York on Dec. 2-3, brought together many new and long-time activists to deliberate on how revolutionary Marxism can be applied in the struggles against the racist repression and war-mongering of U.S. imperialism.

Those who attended came away with a firm resolve to build the fight for socialism. Through presentations, workshops and informal discussions on topics ranging from the fight to win freedom for Black journalist Mumia Abu-Jamal to the new Intifada in Palestine to the struggle against Plan Colombia, the conference was for some a first chance to learn about what socialism really is, uncorrupted by media lies and distortions.

These participants expressed a strong desire to study socialism beyond what they could learn in a two-day conference. Many said they want to gain a deeper understanding of Marxism by taking part in interactive classes, reading books, participating in online forums, watching video presentations and by other educational methods.

Leslie, a worker from New York, wanted to learn more about Marxism's solution to homelessness and poverty. Mary Lou from San Diego has worked with the International Action Center in the struggle against police brutality and to end the death penalty. She expressed a strong interest in learning more about WWP.

Carla from Houston encouraged WWP to "expand educational efforts about socialism" and expressed enthusiasm for "hearing positive things about what socialism is, as opposed to the negatives you always seem to get."

Elijah, an organizer in New York, told Workers World that the WWP conference workshops were "an especially dynamic part of the conference" as compared with other educational experiences and teach-ins at recent activist "convergences."

This youth said: "WWP offers a space to learn about how to carry out the struggle--a place where die-hard militancy against the capitalist system is a welcome thing. That's an attitude that is missing elsewhere in the movement these days."

Cullen, a student from Milwaukee, wants to study the positions WWP has taken on controversial events, such as supporting the Chinese government during the Tienanmen Square demonstrations in Beijing in 1989. He expressed a desire to "hear a different version of those events--not just the one manufactured by U.S. big media."

Greg, a WWP member who staffed the literature table during the conference, reported that many conference-goers purchased books and pamphlets. Among the top sellers were such classics as Marx and Engels' "The Communist Manifesto," Lenin's "State and Revolution" and "Problems of Everyday Life" by Leon Trotsky.

Books about Black liberation struggles, including "A Voice from Harper's Ferry," the autobiography "Assata," Abu-Jamal's "All Things Censored," the collection "The Black Panthers Speak," "Negroes with Guns " by Robert F. Williams and pamphlets by Malcolm X, were big sellers.

Other popular titles included books by WWP founding members Sam Marcy, Dorothy Ballan and Vince Copeland, such as "The Klan & the Government," "High Tech, Low Pay," "Feminism and Marxism" and "Market Elections."

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