Communist History Lives in Red Flag
The article “Coal, Communists and the Arch-Betrayer John L. Lewis” in the last issue of Red Flag created a minor stir among Boeing workers and others building for May Day.
The accompanying picture of the Phoenix, AZ (USA) May Day march in 1930 caught the attention of one organizer. “Join the communist party?” he said, reading the marchers’ banner. “Wow, even back then!”
Then he read the article. “I learned something here,” he continued. “I always thought John L. Lewis was a great labor leader.” His father had told him that when he was a young man growing up in Detroit.
“We’ve been brainwashed!” he concluded, after reading how Lewis sabotaged communist efforts in the coal fields. He agreed there was an opportunity (even back then) to mobilize for communism among these miners led by black, Latino/a and immigrant workers.
“Young people aren’t even taught history today, especially labor history,” was another reaction. “They don’t even know who John L. Lewis is.” This idea is especially pushed by progressive union leaders.
If that is true, it spells trouble for the bosses and an opportunity for ICWP. We can go directly to communist history, bypassing the brainwashing.
Today, our paper and discussions can make the case for communism by analyzing communist history in the class struggle. We will organize “on-the-job” groups of party members and friends to find out which history would help overcome the political obstacles we face today.
For example, this May Day it will be useful to know how Muslims—in particular, Muslim women—became communists by the hundreds of thousands around the world.
When we take state power, the party can organize millions to learn and teach our true history. It will light a path for a successful communist society.
The organizer was not satisfied with purging himself of his previous brainwashing. He went immediately after work to arrange a meeting with a group of students (nine young women and one guy).
He wants to invite some other comrades to discuss our experience organizing for May Day over the years as well as the global history of these marches. He thinks a group might come to this year’s march. We’ll do our best to rise to the task!
—An industrial worker who’s learning from co-workers how useful communist history can be
RED FLAG comments: In the early Soviet Union, the question of Islam was closely tied to Party policy on “national minorities.” The Bolsheviks thought that “progressive nationalism” was the way to fight racism and bigotry. They didn’t see Tsarist repression of Muslims, Jews and other minorities as a class question.
Islam was not suppressed in the six majority-Muslim Soviet Republics because the Party considered it part of national culture. “Islamic socialists” were given leading positions there.
Muslim women and men got priority in opportunities for political education. Most returned to their villages, where they became communist leaders. These new communists clashed with traditional (often religious) tribal leaders, often around sexism. The contradictions in the Party line on the “national question” sharpened.
Within ten years, the Soviet government had become less tolerant of Islam. By then, many Muslims were communists.
Today we see that there is no “progressive nationalism.” We mobilize directly for communism among the masses of all places and religions. We agree with the comrade industrial worker. We need to learn more about the strengths and weaknesses of the communist movement around this issue.
Rebellion in French Guiana
On March 27 more than a week of marches, demonstrations, and partial strikes led to an indefinite general strike that has completely closed down French Guiana, a department (province) of France. Workers (plus a lot of middle class Guianans) are protesting high crime rates and racist unemployment (20%+ for adults).
Situations like this will be revolutionary opportunities once the ICWP has a branch in the province that has built a base for communism. Red Flag collectives of members and friends would bring the paper and communist solutions to the fighting masses over a number of years, building a mass party and setting the stage. Then, we could seize power and finally end unemployment, as well as the thievery by the capitalists and the individualist petty crime that characterizes the bosses’ system.
Women Garment Workers: Communist Leaders of ICWP
A communist greeting to all the women of the international working class. On March 8, when international working women’s day is commemorated, the members of the industrial club of ICWP in the maquillas took advantage of the day to meet at lunchtime.
We shared with a group of comrades from the factory, talking about the importance of the participation of women in our Party. We explained how these women workers began organizing the work of bringing communist ideas to more women and men workers in the factories about 5 years ago. This initiated building the party inside the factory.
Today we are women and men workers convinced to carry on this struggle to fight for our emancipation from the bosses’ system and to build a society free of sexism, discrimination and from wage slavery.
One of the objectives of this gathering was to keep ourselves motivated in this effort and also in preparing for May Day. We emphasized to each one of them that they should invite more workers to come on this great day.
We also savored some delicious pupusas and drinks, and we raffled a couple of gifts among the workers who attended.
LONG LIVE THE WORKING CLASS! LONG LIVE MAY DAY!
—Comrades of the Maquillas
Never Forget!
It is a holiday today, 21st March, We commemorate the Sharpsville massacre, where apartheid government police opened fire and killed 69 unarmed defenseless people in 1960, in Sharpsville.
We thought that this horrible dastardly act of cowardice would never happen again.
But no, it happened again in Uitenhage on March 21, 1985: the Uitenhage massacre. The police opened fire on a funeral procession, killing at least 20 people.
The commissions were set up and found that the police acted in “self defense.”
Again in 2012 under the African National Congress government, the police opened fire in Marikana and killed 34 striking mineworkers.
We will never forget these incidents. Nothing short of communist revolution will avenge the death and senseless killing of the workers and poor.
—A Comrade in South Africa
Transit Workers Are Important for Communist Revolution
“Why do you come here?” asked a regular Red Flag reader at a Los Angeles transit division. “Do you go to all of the divisions?”
“We go to quite a few,” a comrade responded. “And we hand out the paper at garment factories, hospitals, and schools too.”
“But why us?” he asked.
“Industrial workers, including transportation, are key to revolution,” she explained. “MTA has one of the most diverse groups of industrial workers in the city.
“Think about it: There are calls for a general strike on May Day. Imagine if all the bus operators stopped their buses, even for just a few minutes.”
“The city would shut down,” the worker said. His face brightened. “I would like to go on strike.”
“If there is a strike, we think it should be for a whole different society, a communist society, instead of for reforms,” said the comrade.
“That’s something to think about,” said the worker, tapping his copy of Red Flag as he headed in to work.
The comrade should have said something about how industrial workers will be key to helping to build a communist society. We see these workers every few weeks. Maybe next time.
—LA comrade
My New Friends Are My Collective
A month ago I moved to another area. I now affirm that the conditions of our working class here and in the rest of the world are more similar than different.
There is poverty, insecurity, degradation of the environment, abuse of power, smuggling of people who travel to other countries in search of the “American dream,” etc. Capitalism destroys the life of our planet and human dignity in order to generate profits.
I mention that in the context of International Women’s Day. At work a case was presented of five women who were imprisoned (prostitution, poverty, drugs, abortion, etc.). The people in attendance were outraged and this situation scared them. In a personal talk, I commented to them that I didn’t feel anything, and its not that I was not outraged; it’s that even worse things are happening around the world. I told them that what caused me to be terrified is the historical debt that we must leave to the future generations if we don’t contribute to change. I did not say that I am a communist, but I mentioned that change requires other types of actions and it is not a local change, but an international one.
In my work place, there are revisionist ideas and progressive ideas, with which we struggle within the system to assert the knowledge of “indigenous” peoples and to rescue the environment. They are “good people.” However, good “sentiments” are not enough. We need another way of organizing ourselves, of struggling. We need communism, but not the communism of the past. We need to learn from the past, to learn from history. Listening to people is not enough; we need to sharpen contradictions.
I have had discussions of this type with the people closest to me. I don’t want to distance them from me. I need to form a collective that will help me here. The ideological struggle is very sharp. The co-workers, friends, even though they are not communists, in an indirect way they are my collective.
Several ask me if I don’t miss my house. I answer that my house is where my working class is and I do not have to feel alone. They are my collective, which, with political discussions, we will advance to favor class consciousness and in the future openly talk about our communist political line.
I still keep up the discussions with the soldier friend. We have sharpened the discussions and are looking for a better way to communicate. He sends fraternal greetings.
—Young Comrade in Mexico
LOS ANGELES, March 23—Over 1000 people, mostly health care workers, marched today against the repeal of the ACA. About 300 workers gladly took copies of Red Flag. Many agreed that capitalism’s profits and money stand in the way of the health care that the masses need. When we talked about a communist world without money or profits, where masses mobilize to guarantee everyone’s health, many were interested. Some agreed that Obamacare does not solve the problem.
Our sign calling for communism to meet workers needs instead of profits or money resonated with the marchers and in a banner saying that healthcare should not be “4 sale.” Healthcare is a need for all, that only communism can meet.
“Mass action works,” said a church member later that week, applauding the defeat of Trump’s healthcare plan. These mass actions in the long run change little or nothing because capitalism remains intact. The mass action we need is to fight for a communist world where the masses produce everything we need, especially health care, without profit or money.
