Which deals, among other things, with the relation of anti-racist defense
to overall work among Boston transit workers, and the relationship of
united front work with party work
Speech at the Third National Conference
of the Marxist-Leninist Party, USA -- Fall 1986
(From The Workers' Advocate Supplement , vol. 3, #2, Feb. 15, 1987)
Excerpts:
Many comrades have probably followed reports in the Workers' Advocate of the work with the John Smith Defense Committee. (2) The agitation in defense of John has been an important part of our anti-racist agitation among the workers in Boston. The fact that over 200 workers participated in the May fundraiser is an indication that this agitation has struck a responsive chord among the workers. While hundreds of workers participated in May, it should be remembered that a fund-raising dance is a very low form of struggle. Nevertheless, given the generally low level of the movement and the weak sense of organization among the workers at this time, it is an important development.
The successes in the John Smith campaign are not the result of some magical non-party form of organization. Rather, they are the fruit of years of agitation and of concentration of the Party's work in the work places. As well, the successes arise because, at this moment, there is a political vacuum in the leadership of the anti-racist movement in Boston due to the bankruptcy of the black bourgeoisie in the face of the longstanding ferment among the masses against racist attacks.
There has been a long history of racist attacks by fascist gangs on black masses in Boston. This has especially been the case since the days of the fascist anti-busing movement. The bourgeoisie used the anti-busing movement to organize numerous extremely vicious, racist gangs. And these gangs have continued to operate with the full cooperation of the police and authorities. In the past ten years over a dozen black workers and youth have been murdered by these gangs. And it is hard to find a black person in Boston who has not been physically attacked or threatened by these cowardly racists. . . .
Since the mid-seventies our Branch has maintained a very vigorous program of agitation on the anti-racist front in Boston. It has participated in and promoted the major battles against the racist offensive. This included such struggles as the fight to integrate Carson Beach, the trouncing of some South Boston Marshals when they attacked our meeting for the Montreal internationalist rally in 1978, and the routing of the KKK in 1982. This work has won the Party a lot of respect among the workers. And it has played an important role in the development of our work and contacts in the work places. . . .
Equally important to the building of defense for John was our extensive ties with workers from the MBTA (Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority).
In 1980 the Boston Branch took a decision to develop work among the public sector and service workers. These workers form the largest section of the class in the city of Boston. As well, there are almost no factories of significant size inside Boston. So the public and service sector workers are especially important. . . .
We paid particular attention to the transit workers. The T is important not only because it holds significance for the economic struggle, but also because it is one of the places where the anti-racist struggle is sharpest in the city. At the same time, both the management and the union on the T are closely tied the Democratic Party machine and are extremely racist. In addition, about eighty percent of all racist attacks in Boston are carried out on T property. Numerous black workers have been physically attacked on the job. Nearly all workers have witnessed or broken up racist attacks.
Our work among the transit workers went fairly well from the beginning even though our distribution of literature was limited by the physical dispersion of the transit workers. Our agitation for the economic struggle -- developed against the complete and open sellout by the union officials --was quite popular. Even more popular was our anti-racist agitation. By maintaining a vigorous and timely program of leaflet agitation on economic and political issues, and by carefully guiding the day-to-day struggle among the transit workers, we were able to develop ties with a number of militant transit workers fairly rapidly.
Subheads:
- Ten Years of Racist Attacks in Boston
- Black Bourgeoisie Stonewalls Every Attempt to Organize Mass Resistance
- And the Reformists?
- The Black Workers Had a Different View
- Years of Party Agitation Against Racist Attacks
- Building the Party's Ties Among Transit Workers
- Ties with the Militants
- T Workers Come to the Party to Expose the Racist Cover-up
- The Party Carries the Ball in Defense of John
- The Possibility Opened Up for a Defense Benefit
- Organizing the Fundraiser in Defense of John
- Combining Direct Party Work with the Action of the Defense Committee
- A Speech in the Name of the Party?
- Avoiding Hybrid Organization
- Fighting the Racists to Organize the Benefit
- Dealing with the Lawyers
- Fall Actions to Protest the Railroad of John
- Party Building and Communist Agitation Are at the Center of United Front Tactics