ows - Blogs - TheBlackList Pub2024-03-29T15:53:42Zhttps://www.theblacklist.net/profiles/blogs/feed/tag/owsBlack Left still fighting for recognition and White guys cause racial divide at OWShttps://www.theblacklist.net/profiles/blogs/black-left-still-fighting-for-recognition-and-white-guys-cause2012-04-02T13:30:00.000Z2012-04-02T13:30:00.000ZTBL_Promoterhttps://www.theblacklist.net/members/TBLPromoter<div><p>By <a href="http://aol.com" target="_blank">Saeed Shabazz</a> ~<br /> <span class="font-size-1"> Freelance Journalist</span></p><p><font size="4"> The Left Forum convened its annual three-day confab at Pace Univ. from March 16 to18, which boasts of being the largest gathering in North America of the United States and international Left. The ‘Black Left’ was well represented; a ‘who’s-who’ in the Black Radical/Black Liberation movement in North America.</font></p><p><font size="4">Names such as Dr. Maulana Karenga, Dr. Roderick Bush, Amiri Baraka, Sam Anderson, Dr. Johanna Fernandez, Dr. Michael Dawson, Dr. Komozi Woodard, Bill Fletcher, Jr., Rose Brewer, Monica Moorehead, Prof. Horace Campbell and Ajamu Baraka.</font></p><p><font size="4">What was most interesting were the titles of some of the workshops that were directed towards the Black Left experience such as “Occupy Wall Street and Rebuilding the Black Liberation Movement Roundtable”, “Black Radicalism: Strategies and Solidarity”. “Is There a Crisis of the Black Left” and “Black America and the Left: Where do we go from here? What is to be done?” There were over 300 workshops during the three-day conference.</font></p><p><font size="4">Probably the most important question was asked of this reporter by MOVE’s Pam Africa who is also the international chair of the ‘Free Mumia Abu Jamal’ movement: “Has the Black Left unified enough?” No, Pam Africa is not a Leftist.</font></p><p><font size="4">There is an important position paper written recently by Saladin Muhammad of the Black Left Unity Network. Muhammad is also a member of the North Carolina-based Black Workers for Justice and The Freedom Road Socialist Org.</font></p><p>“<font size="4">The fragmentation of the Black Left and the Black Liberation movement has prevented us from working together to build this revolutionary infrastructure and the mass political work to raise sharper Black national and working class consciousness.” Muhammad’s thoughts on this issue may be found under the title “Uniting the Black Left Everywhere” at <a href="http://www.blackleftunity.org">www.blackleftunity.org</a>.</font></p><p><font size="4">Muhammad was scheduled to participate in the “Occupy Wall St. & Rebuilding the Black Liberation Movement Roundtable” workshop, which was chaired by Brooklyn’s own Sam Anderson, who is also a member of the Black Left Unity Network. Muhammad didn’t make it to New York, but we had a long phone conversation the Monday after the conference.</font></p><p>“<font size="4">The fragmentation of the Black Left is not just ideological; but reflects the damage to the movement coming out of COINTELPRO,” Muhammad insists. In reading into his meaning, obviously the U.S. government’s intelligence program to break up the ‘Black Liberation’ movement meant there were people put into place to cause deliberate dissension in the ranks.</font></p><p><font size="4">Muhammad also alluded to the fact that the so-called ‘White Left’ did not “understand that the Black Liberation struggle was much broader than the narrow struggle against capitalism.”</font></p><p>“<font size="4">The White Left viewed the problem of capitalism historically as a class problem – not a racial problem,” Dr. Bush said during our talk also the day after the conference. “I think there is a long and complicated history; the Black radical movement has always been to the left of the white Left,” he stressed.</font></p><p>“<font size="4">Our struggle has to be grassroots – dealing with the issues of police brutality, a living wage and health care ; and we cannot afford to get back into the ideological struggles of the past,” according to Newark’s Jose Velasquez, a former youth member of the NYC Black Panther Party, and also active in the Puerto Rican Freedom movement.</font></p><p><font size="4">Velasquez had just attended the “Black America and the Left” workshop, and stopped for a quick chat in the hallway. “Rebuilding the Black Left around what?” he asked rhetorically. We have to have a working class network to be successful, he argued.</font></p><p><font size="4">Dr. Karenga stated, “We have a right to define and defend our role as radical intellectuals; it’s a conceptualization problem.” Did we not say in the 1960s that capitalism is wrong, Karenga stressed. But, Karenga also called the Black Left a “conflicted” assembly of people. “Can we re-conceive ourselves?” he asked.</font></p><p><font size="4">Dr. Fernandez argues that there is a “need to launch an ideological campaign that is going to expose racism in the post-civil rights era that must be driven by the working class.”</font></p><p><font size="4">Moving outside of the box, a call was placed to Junious Stanton, The Black Communicator out of Philadelphia, Pa. whose radio program “From the Ramparts” may be heard on Harambee Radio, insists that the White Left won’t tolerate any such discussion. “The White Left treats the Black Left like step-children ; the Black Left cannot talk about the system of capitalism, raising the question of its impact as a racial dynamic,” he said.</font></p><p><font size="4">Seth Adler is the coordinator of the Left Forum; and if I must point it out -- a White male. “The Left Forum is very fragile – many ways to morally challenge it – challenges around diversity and inclusion,” he said. Adler, who is the founder of the National Jobs with Peace Campaign and a college professor, added that the discussions that took place at this year’s Left Forum bode well “that there is hope for future generations.”</font></p><p><font size="4">But he warns against the “audacity of anybody to say we are bringing the Left together.”</font></p><p>“<font size="4">The other side of the equation is what we are going to do!” argues Dr. Woodard.</font></p><p><font size="4">Bill Fletcher, Jr.: “One of the larger challenges facing Black radicals – can they speak the language of the Black working class.” Note that he said “larger challenges”, because Fletcher also said the “Black Left remains fragmented.”</font></p><p><font size="4">Dr. Tony Monteiro, professor of African American Studies at Temple Univ. writes: “The Black Left cannot be rebuilt on the delusion of some ‘lesser of two evils’ – we have to fight to rebuild the historical political consensus – and a Black left that is based on principle. We have to call for a boycott of the presidential election.” Prof. Monteiro may be found at the Institute for the Study of Race and Social Thought.</font></p><p><font size="4">Maybe that is why Amiri Baraka said: “The whole question of post-racial politics has been cooled out!”</font></p><p><font size="4">Well, if not being accepted by the White left isn’t enough to keep Black radicals busy; there is an ongoing issue with the White males that control Occupy Wall St. in New York City.</font></p><p><font size="4">According to a group of young folks, who call themselves the ‘People of Color Caucus’, there were a plethora of “racists incidents” at Zuccotti Park, where the Occupy movement got its start some six months ago. They claim that they had to organize against the pitting of people of color against each other.</font></p><p>“<font size="4">We had to fight against the young White middle-class foundation of OWS,” the young people said during their workshop on March 18.</font></p><p><font size="4">Malik Raashan is the backbone of the ‘Occupy the Hood’ movement in NYC. “Race issues!” he exclaimed. “There are still some in OWS that deny there is a racial divide.” However, he said, the conversation is changing.</font></p><p></p><p></p><div style="text-align:center;"><div><strong><span><span><a title="TheBlackList.NETwork" href="http://www.uy08esj4d8a2dk.ReadNotify.com/tg/uy08esj4d8a2dlhttp/theblacklistpub.ning.com" target="_blank"><span>TheBlackList.NETwork</span></a></span></span></strong><br /> <span><em><span><span><span>Help Me Promote You.</span></span></span></em></span><span> </span></div><div>LIKE ME<span> <strong><span style="color:#ff0000;"><a href="http://www.uy08esj4d8a2dk.ReadNotify.com/tg/uy08esj4d8a2dlhttp/facebook.com/KwasiAkyeampong.theblacklist" target="_blank"><span style="color:#ff0000;">Facebook Page</span></a></span></strong> </span></div><div><span>FOLLOW ME<strong>:</strong></span><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;"><a href="http://www.uy08esj4d8a2dk.ReadNotify.com/tg/uy08esj4d8a2dlhttp/twitter.com/theblacklist" target="_blank"><span style="color:#ff0000;">Twitter</span></a> </span></strong></div></div><p></p></div>People's Assembly Nov 5 launched an Occupy For Jobs Networkhttps://www.theblacklist.net/profiles/blogs/people-s-assembly-nov-5-launched-an-occupy-for-jobs-network2011-11-09T02:21:48.000Z2011-11-09T02:21:48.000ZTheBlackListhttps://www.theblacklist.net/members/TheBlackList<div><p>A People’s Assembly held Nov. 5 at Hostos Community College in the South Bronx launched an exciting fightback program for jobs, against racism and for the rights of workers and poor people to unions, food, healthcare, and public education.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The People’s Assembly launched an <b>Occupy For Jobs Network</b> to coordinate a large-scale campaign for jobs. “Occupy Wall Street has opened up space for people to do other things,” said Larry Holmes, a founder of the Bail Out the People Movement. “It is vital to open up new fronts and no front is more necessary than the fight for jobs. The underlying issue is depression level unemployment.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>A multinational crowd of more than 150 activists from organizations throughout New York and several other cities participated, including members of Occupy Wall Street, Occupy the Bronx, Occupy Philadelphia, Occupy Boston and Occupy Baltimore, as well as the South Bronx Community Congress, the Freedom Party, the Million Worker March Movement, and the Bail Out the People Movement.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>An ambitious and bold series of immediate actions and long-term strategies was agreed on. <br />It shows the breathtaking escalation of the people’s movement in the current period:</p>
<ol><li><b>Wednesday, Nov. 9, join the Teamsters <sup>#</sup>814 picketline at Sothebys</b> (72<sup>nd</sup> & York)</li>
<li><b>Saturday, Nov. 12, March and rally at Woodlawn Cemetery</b>, 1pm, to “Stop Racist and Anti-Union Abuse on the Job” (To see a Public Service Video, click here: <a href="http://youtu.be/XYjzg3h3iSI" target="_blank">http://youtu.be/XYjzg3h3iSI</a>)</li>
<li><b>Tuesday, Nov. 15, Stand in solidarity with TWU <sup>#</sup>100’s fight for a decent contract:</b><br /> Oppose cuts to service and jobs! 4:30pm, Sheraton Hotel, 7<sup>th</sup> Ave & 52<sup>nd</sup> St.</li>
<li><b>Rally Nov 16 to block the sell-out of Antonetti School to make a charter school</b><br /> Stop the charterization/privatization of public schools!<br />Stop the closings of public schools!<br />Protect Special Education and services to special needs students and their families.<br />Defeat Bloomberg’s bill to cut bus service for special needs students<br /> Stop the layoffs of education workers!</li>
<li><b>Thursday, Nov 17, National “Occupy for Jobs” march and rally – <br /> in NYC “shut it down!”</b></li>
<li><b>Save the Postal Service – blast the hearings</b> on Nov 21 (West Farms & E. Tremont, Bronx), Nov 22 (Lincolnton Stn, 5<sup>th</sup> Ave & 138<sup>th</sup> St, Harlem), Dec. 12 (Botanical Gardens Stn, 204<sup>th</sup> & Mosholu Pkwy, Bronx)</li>
<li><b>CUNY students WALKOUT Nov 21</b> (starting at 1pm at CUNY) and march to Trustees Meeting at Baruch College 4pm.</li>
<li><b>Wednesday Nov. 23, protest the Congressional Super Committee’s proposals to slash $1.2 trillion+ from the federal budget.</b> <b>Mobilize to stop the closing of thousands of post offices, which would involve slashing 250,000 postal worker jobs</b><b>, as some in Congress are advocating.</b></li>
<li>Tuesday, Dec 6, Occupy for Housing (more info to come on time and place)</li>
<li>Thursday, Dec 8, Freedom & Justice Organizing School, Teamsters Local 808, 22-43 Jackson Ave, Queens, 6:30pm. (7 Train to 45<sup>th</sup> Rd & Courthouse Sq; G or E to Court Sq) (More info: <a href="http://www.millionworkermarch.org/" target="_blank">www.millionworkermarch.org</a>)</li>
<li><b>January 14-16 – Martin Luther King holiday weekend: Nationally coordinated actions to demand a massive Public Works Program</b> to provide jobs at union wages for the more than 30 unemployed and underemployed workers in the country.</li>
</ol><p>Sharon Black, a member of the All People’s Congress in Baltimore, said the Occupy For Jobs Network will do whatever is necessary to expand the fight for jobs in order to be effective:</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“If they go to shutdown a workplace, what should we do? Occupy! If they try to shut down post offices what should we do? Occupy,” she declared. “If they try to do anything against workers the rest of us have got to unite and take action.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The People’s Assembly took place at Hostos College, the site of an historic occupation in 1976. Ramon Jimenez, a founder of the South Bronx Community Congress and a participant in that occupation, said students occupied the school for 20 days when the city announced it was going to close it. They won the battle to keep the school open. “It all took place because people fought back, struggled and occupied,” Jimenez said.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Recent and on-going actions emphasized the themes of the People’s Assembly:</p>
<ul><li>Aminifu Williams of People’s Organization for Progress, based in Newark, NJ, reported that POP has protested in downtown Newark for 130 days in a row calling for a national jobs program like the Work Projects Administration. Launched by the Roosevelt Administration, the WPA employed millions of people in the construction of buildings, roads, bridges, and schools, as well as in arts and literary projects.</li>
<li>The Jobless Working Group of Occupy Wall Street held a march to subway stations on Oct. 28 to demand that the Metropolitan Transit Authority provide free fares for the unemployed.</li>
<li>Occupy Latin America, which is within Occupy Wall Street en Español of OWS is holding a March on Nov. 20 focused on women’s rights.</li>
<li>The Immigrant Rights Working Group of OWS is planning a march at Zuccotti Park on immigrant rights.</li>
</ul><p>The initial signers of the call for an Occupy For Jobs Network include the Bail Out the People Movement; Frantz Mendez, president, USW Local 8751 Boston School Bus Union; Chris Silvera, Secretary-Treasurer Teamsters Local 808; Former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney; Teresa Gutierrez, co-coordinator of the May 1st Coalition for Immigrant and Workers Rights; Larry Adams, Vice President of People’s Organization for Progress and former president, National Postal Mail Handlers Local 300; and the Occupy Wall Street Jobless Working Group.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Workshops on Education Rights and Fighting Poverty and Violence resolved on the following long- and near-term goals and strategies:</p>
<ol><li>Organize at schools – get parents, HS students and all school workers & community. Build grassroots so we’re ready to occupy.</li>
<li>Teachers: bring in a union leadership that reflects the community.</li>
<li>Develop a <b>People’s Board of Education</b></li>
<li>Take-over Vacant Properties and set up committee to coordinate these actions<ul><li>Take-over St. Vincent's Hospital</li>
<li>Take-over Vacant Buildings</li>
<li>Take-over Vacant Lots</li>
</ul></li>
<li>Monitor the current Class Action re: Parkland on Randall's Island</li>
<li>Organize a Class Action Law Suit against Enslavement of Public Assistance Recipients</li>
</ol><ul><li><b>Protest Action on "New Slavery (Forced Labor) of Public Assistance Recipients</b></li>
<li><b>March & Rally at FEGS</b> (a major Public Assistance processing entity)</li>
<li>Social Work Schools</li>
<li>Business Schools</li>
</ul><ol start="7"><li>March on Graduate Schools:</li>
</ol><p>8. Educate on and Organize for a Resource-Based Economy</p>
<ul><li>Grow Food on vacant under-utilized land and establish bartering system for same</li>
</ul><p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> <object height="360" width="640" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="never" /><param name="allowNetworking" value="internal" /><embed wmode="opaque" height="360" width="640" src="https://www.youtube.com/v/XYjzg3h3iSI&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3" allowscriptaccess="never" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allownetworking="internal"></object>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p></div>