Voting Rights struggle generates optimism
Published Aug 20, 2005 8:21 AM
I went to Atlanta on Aug. 6, to participate in the march and rally
celebrating the 40th anniversary of the passage of the Voter Rights Act and
agitating for extending the law beyond 2007. I had been asked to represent my
union, Local 375 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal
Employees, one of the larger public-sector unions in New York City’s
District Council 37.
I estimate the march at between 15,000 and
20,000—at least 90 percent African American. Giving out fliers and
marching with the AFSCME contingent, one of the lar gest, I got a good view of
the other contingents and the spirit of fight-back. The NAACP was the largest,
with delegations from all across the South—from Missi ssippi, Louisiana
and Arkansas to North Carolina. The members of the Arkansas NAACP con tingent
wore AFSCME union shirts and hats, a dramatic illustration of the civil-rights
movement’s close connection to the union movement.
Right behind the
NAACP were the “Change to Win” unions that recently split from the
AFL-CIO. In the lead were a large number from the Service Employees
International Union, followed by a substantial contingent from UNITE HERE, and
a group from United Food and Com mercial Workers. The Team sters leadership was
noticeable by its absence.
The largest union marching was the AFSCME
contingent. Within the AFL-CIO they are the most hostile sector to the recent
split. But the factionalist rhetoric of both factions at the recent AFL-CIO
convention in Chicago was completely absent due to the overwhelming feeling of
camaraderie among the thousands of participants, overwhelmingly African
American.
Copies of a statement from the Million Worker March Movement,
written by MWMM leaders Clarence Thomas and Saladin Mohammad, were distributed
to hundreds of rank-and-file members of both factions. The leaflets, headlined,
“Racism & sexism: major pillars of the crisis in the U.S. trade union
movement,” went so quickly that I saw only a blur of hands reaching
out.
There was genuine unity and a militant resolve to defend the Voting
Rights Act against the racist, right-wing Bush administration strategy to scrap
the law. Also significant, the marchers were determined to expand the Act and
extend voting rights to immigrants and the undocumented. There was a sense of
the need for unity to resist the Bush administration’s wars and
occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the war at home against the entire
working class, organized and unorganized.
This was a bold challenge to
their leaders, to Democratic politicians, and labor officials. Civil rights and
civil liberties, and fighting racism, as well as strong opposition to the war,
were at the top of their agenda—the motor force that brought them to
Atlanta.
When I arrived at the stadium—site of the rally—I was
pleasantly surprised that the first speaker, just before the main rally, was
Louis Farrakhan of the Nation of Islam. Right next to the AFSCME tent on the
stadium infield (the largest), was the tent staffed by the Nation of Islam,
advertising the Millions More March on Oct. 14.
The International Action
Center had a banner, and IAC activists distributed thou sands of fliers for the
pro-Palestinian, anti-imperialist section of the Sept. 24 anti-war demonstration
in Washington, D.C.
Many civil-rights organizations were there, along with
the two rival sections of the labor movement. There were some small peace groups
and an anarchist group, as well as a banner from Planned Parenthood.
Most
of the talks from the dais, particularly the white Democratic Party speakers
such as House Min ority Leader Nancy Pelosi, were very forgettable, in contrast
to those from Jesse Jackson and a few members of the Black Congressional
Caucus.
AFL-CIO President John Swee ney, introduced by Jesse Jackson, was
the first speaker. He gave a tepid talk on the Voting Rights Act and raised no
other issues. Andy Stern of “Change to Win,” in my opinion, also
missed the boat. His energetic repetition of the “Change to Win”
slogan didn’t appear to resonate with the anti-war sentiment of the crowd.
It was clear that Andy Stern, president of SEIU, and John Sweeney were
insensitive to the crowd’s mood of fight-back. Both Sweeney and Stern
appeared to be more concerned with avoiding offending the pro-imperialist
Democratic Party politicians on the stage than with making a timely appeal to a
sympathetic anti-Bush, anti-war audience.
The composition of the march
and rally lifted the spirits of this movement veteran. I came away physically
tired but politically refreshed. The incredible “unity in diversity”
was the very picture of what we are striving for. It reminded me that all
social, economic and political change starts from below. The march and rally
contained a seed of future unity that is essential to defeat this imperialist
system. A lot more needs to be done, but the future could be clearly seen by
those who chose to look.
—Mike Gimbel,
Executive Board member,
Local 375, AFSCME
Articles copyright 1995-2012 Workers World.
Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire article is permitted in any medium without royalty provided this notice is preserved.
Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011
Email:
[email protected]
Subscribe
[email protected]
Support independent news
DONATE