WWP ELECTION CAMPAIGN
Socialists campaign in the South
By Maggie Vascassenno
In mid-October, Workers World Party candidates John Parker,
Teresa Gutierrez and LeiLani Dowell completed a historic
five-city tour of the South. Immediately after taking part in
the Oct. 17 Million Worker March in Washington, D.C., they
spoke at meetings in Richmond, Va.; Raleigh, N.C.; Winthrop
College in Rock Hill, S.C.; Charlotte, N.C.; and Atlanta.
RICHMOND:
the spirit of Gabriel's Rebellion
Emphasizing that building an independent movement is a
requisite for the struggle for socialism, presidential
candidate John Parker, vice-presidential candidate Teresa
Gutierrez and congressional candidate LeiLani Dowell spoke in
Richmond on Oct. 18.
Meeting with supporters at the Pace Center, Parker talked
about the MWM as a continuation of the work of abolitionists
John Brown, Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman--the struggle
of workers to free themselves.
Dowell and Gutierrez contrasted the devastation of a Haiti
wracked by imperialism with the success of revolutionary
socialist Cuba, where people's needs are placed before
profits.
Audience members noted the terrible economic pressures on
workers who used to make $20 an hour and are now unable to find
work that pays more than $8. The consequence was starkly
evident in the adjoining room, where homeless people were being
dispatched to area shelters for meals and clothing.
The meeting was held in the spirit of Gabriel's Rebellion,
an 1800 Virginia slave uprising that was finally commemorated
in Richmond with a historical marker on Oct. 10. This was a
first for Richmond, the former capital of the slave-owning
Confederacy, which has many monuments to its generals and
politicians.
RALEIGH:
militant youth and students
On Oct. 20, all three candidates had a full day of meetings
in Raleigh, organized by the local chapter of FIST-Fight
Imperialism, Stand Together--a Workers-World-Party-initiated
youth and student organization.
The day began with a "meet the candidates"
question-and-answer session at an outdoor Middle Eastern lunch.
The WWP banner was boldly visible. In the afternoon, John
Parker spoke at a well-attended teach-in on the Sudan at North
Carolina State University. Organized by FIST members Dante
Strobino and Hussameldin Eltayed, the meeting was co-sponsored
by the Middle Eastern and North African Student Association and
the Student Peace Action Network.
Eltayed, who is Sudanese, opened the meeting with some
factual background on the conflict in his country. Parker, who
has visited the Sudan on a fact-finding tour, stressed that
current U.S. policy is designed to divide and conquer the Sudan
in order for U.S. financial interests to gain access to its
rich resources of uranium, magnesium, copper and oil.
Parker pointed out that according to a United Nations
report, the crisis for refugees could be averted with
relatively small amount of money. Instead, the United States is
pushing to send troops into the Sudan--not for any humanitarian
reason, but to secure the recently discovered oil reserves in
Darfur.
An evening house party, organized by local FIST member Peter
Gilbert, focused on the MWM. The event brought Parker,
Gutierrez and Dowell together with members of FIST, the Green
Party, Black Workers for Justice and student independents.
Discussion centered on strategies for organizing, and on
continuing connections among the groups. Dowell gave an
overview of FIST, and local member Q Allen added some
particularly moving remarks on the challenges of organizing as
a "radical queer Black woman" at a predominantly white
college.
FIST member Dante Strobino said of the day: "It's great to
be working with people on a range of struggles because of the
feeling of solidarity that's generated. We got incredible
enthusiasm and motivation from the candidates' visit."
Elena Everett, chair of the North Carolina Green Party and a
FIST member, reports that the struggle continues at North
Carolina State. The day after the candidates' appearance,
students sat in on campus to protest scandalously inadequate
funding for campus people of color organizations. African
American, Native, Latin@ and Southeast Asian groups have
received little or none of the $40,000 student activities
budget.
ROCK HILL: fighting the war
On Oct. 21, candidates spoke to a packed forum at Winthrop
College in Rock Hill, S.C. Pi Sigma Alpha, a non-partisan honor
society for political science students on the campus, sponsored
the event. The candidates' talks were followed by a lively
question-and-answer session.
The war on Iraq was foremost on people's minds. On Oct. 13,
soldiers from the 343rd Quartermaster Company--based in Rock
Hill--had refused orders to drive a "suicide mission" of fuel
tankers to Baghdad. Almost 90 percent of the company are
National Guard members or reservists from South Carolina,
Alabama, Kentucky, North Carolina and Missis sippi; 26 have
been killed thus far.
In response to audience concerns about the need for a
"strong" U.S. military, Parker asked for a new definition of
security. "What if the U.S. exported hospitals, technology, and
teachers? Wouldn't we be more secure than with years and years
of imperialist plunder and terror? Security is through
partnership and cooperation."
Gutierrez emphasized that the United States is the only
country that has used atomic weapons: "This is a country
founded on slavery, the robbery of half of Mexico and of Native
peoples' lands. That kind of blood and terror has made the U.S.
the superpower that it is. So of course there are going to be
people around the world that want freedom from the U.S."
Dowell pointed out after one audience member's question
about jobs and immigrant workers that "immigrants come to the
U.S. for jobs because of what the U.S. does in and to their
country."
CHARLOTTE:
if socialists were elected
Parker, Gutierrez and Dowell got to talk in detail about
their socialist vision during a vibrant evening-long house
party in Charlotte on Oct. 21.
Participants at the event, hosted by the Charlotte Action
Center for Justice and organizer David Dixon, wanted to know
just what the candidates would do about Iraq if elected. They
were vocal in their agreement when candidates promptly said,
"Get the troops out and pay reparations!"
Other local issues discussed were the huge subsidies paid to
tobacco companies while the once-stellar local school system
falls into disrepair and dysfunction. Several participants said
they wanted to continue their discussion about socialism at the
Workers World Party national conference Nov. 13-14.
ATLANTA: solidarity
The candidates' visit to Atlanta started Oct. 23 with
action: a demonstration in solidarity with Kamau Sadiki. The
former Black Panther was sentenced to life plus 10 years in
prison for a police killing 30 years ago. Sadiki refused an
offer of freedom if he could get Assata Shakur, his daughter's
mother, back to the United States from her refuge in Cuba.
Speaking at the rally, Parker denounced police brutality and
asserted the right of every Black community to self
determination and self defense. He stressed, "Black people have
the right to defend themselves against police terror, just like
the Iraqis have the right to defend themselves against the U.S.
occupation."
The candidates' afternoon forum was held at the Metro
Atlanta Task Force for the Homeless. Organizer Dianne Mathio
wetz noted, "The depth of the crisis for poor and working
people shows in the fact that the shelter houses 500 men a
night."
The meeting focused on issues of self-determination for
oppressed nationalities, especially in relation to voting
rights. Dowell pointed out that the current struggle for
lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans rights had its origin in
struggles in the streets, particularly the Stonewall
Rebellion.
Gutierrez noted that Workers World supported immigrants'
fight to have drivers' licenses for identification and exercise
the right to vote as aspects of the struggle for
self-determination.
Parker concluded: "Voting for Bush or Kerry is not what our
ancestors fought for. They fought for the right to vote for
change. And Kerry and Bush both represent the status quo."
He championed the Million Worker March as the path to
change--through an independent, fighting movement.
Reprinted from the Nov. 4, 2004, issue of
Workers World newspaper
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
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