NATIONAL FIGHTBACK CONFERENCE
Workers, youths, anti-war organizers meet
By Deirdre Griswold
New York
It's one thing to meet and discuss strategies for fighting
back against political reaction when everybody is doing it.
It's quite another when a good part of the progressive movement
is still despondent after having put so much fruitless effort
into trying to defeat the Bush administration at the polls.
The hundreds of people who met at the Chelsea Auditorium
here on Nov. 13-14 in a National Fightback Conference sponsored
by Workers World Party were well aware of this prevailing mood.
The speeches, workshops and discussion groups grappled with the
internal struggles that erupted in the union movement after
electioneering diverted resources from organizing; with the
ferocious offensive just launched by the Pentagon in Falluja;
and with the right-wing's tactic of whipping up bigotry against
lesbian, gay, bi and trans rights in the election. In other
words, those who came to this conference live very much in the
real world.
But this didn't stop them from showing at every turn that
they believe the answer is struggle, not retreat. Their
enthusiasm spilled over again and again in cheers, standing
ovations and impassioned but well-reasoned presentations, based
on experience, expressing confidence in the capacity of the
working class to organize and resist the billionaires'
offensive at home and abroad. Every oppressed grouping in the
multinational, diverse U.S. working class was well represented,
both on the podium and in the audience.
The conference truly had a national reach. California sent
people from San Francisco, Berkeley, Los Angeles and San Diego.
Strong, largely youthful delegations came from Southern states,
flying from Georgia and South Carolina and driving from North
Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia. The industrial heartland
of the Midwest, where unions have been severely under attack,
sent people from Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, Pittsburgh and
Buffalo.
The bulk of the attendees came from the heavily populated
northeastern corridor that runs from Boston down through Rhode
Island and Connecticut to the New York metropolitan area, then
through New Jersey to Philadelphia, Baltimore and the area in
and around Washington, D.C. Black, white, Latin@, Native and
Arab workers and other oppressed peoples came from all these
areas.
In addition, activists seeking to network with antiwar
allies came from cities like Tucson, Ariz., and Denver, Colo.,
in the vast areas west of the Mississippi where the
military-industrial complex casts its shadow over
everything.
Larry Holmes, a member of the WWP Secretariat who worked
closely with the leaders of the Million Worker March to build
the Oct. 17 rally in Washington, D.C., opened the conference
with a rousing talk. It ranged from support for the Iraqi and
Palestinian resistance to colonialism, to an analysis of how
dependence on the Democratic Party has held back the labor
movement in the U.S., resulting in a crisis for the unions.
On the elections, Holmes said, "If all the bourgeoisie has
to offer the masses is reaction and bigotry, then it's a sign
of the decay of the system. When they go after our lesbian,
gay, bi and trans sisters and brothers, when they go after
immigrants, when they go after Black and Latin@ and Asian
peoples, it means we have to push back, we have to fight
reactionary ideas with revolutionary ideas and tactics."
Holmes' talk led into a discussion later on of how to
rebuild the antiwar movement, which has been weakened by
preoccupation with the election. Organizers from the
International Action Center and the GI-resistance support group
SNAFU joined WWP members in alerting everyone to the importance
of building Stop the War Week, Dec. 3-11, and beginning to
mobilize with other groups for the counter-inaugural in January
and a world day of antiwar actions in March on the anniversary
of the U.S. attack on Iraq.
Other Party leaders and candidates in the recent election
spoke throughout the day, including presidential candidate John
Parker, vice presidential candidate Teresa Gutierrez,
congressional candidate LeiLani Dowell and Secretariat members
Sara Flounders, Fred Goldstein, Deirdre Griswold, Gutierrez and
Monica Moorehead. Shortened versions of their talks will appear
in WW newspaper, beginning with this issue, and on the
newspaper's web site, www.workers.org.
MWM leader says 'It was just the beginning'
Members of WWP were joined at the podium by invited guests
from many struggle movements. An especially important and
well-received talk was given by Brenda Stokely, a leader of the
Million Worker March and, as president of AFSCME District
Council 1707, the elected representative of thousands of
low-wage workers in New York.
Speaking in the panel on "Building Work ing Class
Solidarity," Stokely thanked Workers World Party for "all the
material and political assistance that helped the Million
Worker March take place." She also excoriated those in the
movement who "stood on the sidelines" and said it was a waste
of time engaging in polemics with them. About the MWM, she said
it was "not just a march--this was the beginning of a very
important movement." Stokely contrasted WWP with those who
think that millionaire politicians can speak for labor. "You
respect the right of workers to stand up and say what we want,"
she said, and concluded her fiery speech with: "We continue to
build our ability to fight back ... to build the kind of
movement in this country that has to smash the ruling
class."
Another MWM organizer, Sharon Black, came straight to the
conference from a jail cell in Baltimore, where she had been
arrested along with other unionists for supporting a hotel
workers' protest.
Invited speakers from other movements described how the
misery caused by U.S. imperialism has stimulated resistance in
the countries they came from--the Philippines, Iraq, Haiti,
Korea and Vene zuela. (See accompanying article about the panel
on "Fighting Imperi alism.") The whole body stood for a moment
of silent but militant tribute to those who have put their
bodies on the line in the Middle East and Haiti, as well as
political prisoners in the U.S.--especially Mumia Abu-Jamal,
Leonard Peltier and the Cuban Five.
A high point of the weekend was the first national meeting
of FIST--Fight Imperi alism, Stand Together. This new youth
organization affiliated with WWP has already been raising hell
in struggles against the war and ROTC recruiting at campuses
and high schools. In the first plenary session of the
conference, FIST organizer Julie Fry of New York announ ced
that the youth would be meeting that night to lay out their
plans. The next day, Q Allen of North Carolina reported that
the successful FIST meeting had laid the basis for expanded
struggles in many areas of the country.
Toward the end of the conference, after those present had
had a chance to hear Workers World Party's political analysis
on a wide variety of issues and see how the Party makes it
possible for those from the most oppressed backgrounds to
realize their potential as leaders and organizers, a final
panel discussed "Why a Revol u tionary Party Is Needed in the
U.S." This led directly into a special discussion group in the
cafeteria for those interested in finding out how to join the
Party. And it was packed. For WWP members attending, it was an
emotional experience as they explained to eager questioners how
joining the Party had been the most important decision of their
lives.
Interspersed with all the talks were cultural performances
ranging from the hard-hitting poetry of hip-hop artists --
including Jaime Roundtree, Billy Martin, Kahlil Khan and Hussan
Salaam -- to ballads about freedom sung by Pam Parker.
Translation was available during the meetings in Spanish and
American Sign Language.
Reprinted from the Nov. 25, 2004, issue of
Workers World newspaper
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011
Email: ww@workers.org
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