http://www.socialistalternative.org/2015/09/05/socialism-struggle-racism/
Socialism and the Struggle Against Racism
Published On September 5, 2015 | By Tony Wilsdon | Fighting Racism
The past decade has seen a wide range of important struggles and
campaigns for social justice in the U.S., from the Occupy Wall Street
movement to the fight for LGBTQ equality. We are seeing the 99% starting
to find its political voice. More recently, though, the cutting edge of
struggles has been the fight against inequality spurred by fast-food
workers and the growing movement against police brutality. Since the
revolt in Ferguson after the killing of Michael Brown a year ago, Black
Lives Matter (BLM) has spread nationally and won limited, but important,
victories. For the first time in many years, police officers are facing
indictment for murdering civilians. BLM has broken open a public debate
and has had a big effect on raising consciousness. Critically, the
movement has led to the emergence of new young Black activists and leaders.
But this also raises the question of how to build a sustained movement
that can continue to win gains and also start to tackle the broader
structural issues of mass incarceration and discrimination in
employment, housing, and other institutions in society? Many of these
same issues of movement-building have important relevance for the
struggle of women and the LGBTQ community against oppression.
Socialists argue that serious reforms are won as a result of powerful
social movements. The more powerful the movement, the more that can be
won. But also, the stronger the movement, the greater is the resistance
by the ruling class. This poses the importance of developing dynamic and
successful strategies and tactics to take the movement forward. For
example, Socialist Alternative has emphasized the need to link up the
anger of oppressed communities on questions like police violence with
economic and social issues such as low pay, unemployment, gutted social
services, blighted inner cities, affordable housing, etc.
The Fight for Reforms
Clearly, the ruling elite is on the defensive on police brutality, as
vivid examples of blatant police killing and brutality have flooded the
Internet. The establishment is split on this issue. It is worth
remembering that mass incarceration on the scale we see today is a
relatively recent phenomenon. It is the result of the racist “War on
Drugs” initiated by Republicans in the 1970s under Richard Nixon and
largely supported by the Democrats.
Many in the elite now see elements of this policy as outdated. Many also
see an economic benefit from reducing the numbers in jail. This gives
the movement a unique opportunity to push hard and force the ruling
class to dismantle key parts of drug and mass incarceration policy.
Police form a line in front of a building on fire during protests of the
death of Freddie Gray in Baltimore, Maryland (Photo: EPA / Michael
Reynolds)
Police form a line in front of a building on fire during protests of the
death of Freddie Gray in Baltimore, Maryland (Photo: EPA / Michael
Reynolds)
Racism has been part of the foundations of American society from the
beginning. Slavery was abolished through a revolutionary Civil War, but
economic and social discrimination against Black people, backed by
brutal repression, remained entrenched. Racist ideology was used to
justify the status quo and to prevent the unity of oppressed people on
class lines. Despite talk of a “post-racial” society, the ruling class
will not abandon institutional racism and sexism, just as it will not
abandon economic exploitation, since it is necessary for its survival.
In fact, facing growing anger and incipient revolt by sections of the
working class and poor, it will revert to more direct repression and
racist “divide-and-rule” policies in an attempt to weaken the movement.
There has already been increased use of militarized police against
social protests in recent years.
So, does this mean that we cannot win major reforms that directly affect
the lives of black people? Socialists say that we absolutely can win
improvements. But our ability to win major reforms will depend on the
strength, scale, and resolve of our movement. It will also depend on
potential splits in the ruling class and their determination to resist
the struggle.
Historically, the capitalists have been willing, under pressure, to give
concessions – sometimes even far-reaching ones, if fundamentally
challenged – to at least maintain their control of society in the long
run. However, to maintain their ability to make a profit, they will move
to claw back any concessions they give. A socialist challenge to their
rule, linked to a mass movement of working people, not only offers a
fundamental alternative, but also, by building such a movement, we can
win the biggest concessions today.
Sections of the ruling elite are now willing to reduce the level of mass
incarceration, reform drug policies, and even grant a $15 minimum wage
in some cities – with many limitations – since they hope that these
concessions can dampen anger at inequality and can even provide an
increased market for some capitalists. Also, in the case of the minimum
wage, it is a better alternative for them than dealing with a serious
movement to unionize the workplace. But such concessions can also act as
a spur to the movement to fight for more.
Lessons From Past Struggles
The struggle to overthrow institutional racism is linked to fighting for
and winning reforms. The Civil Rights movement grew stronger out of the
successful Montgomery Bus Boycott, the fight to desegregate lunch
counters, and the march on Selma. It forced open divisions in the ruling
class and exposed the brutality of U.S. racism to a national and
international audience. But, more importantly, it raised the hopes,
expectations, and combativeness of Black workers and youth.
The movement soon had to adjust its strategy and tactics to address the
resistance of the ruling elite. Particularly instructive is the
evolution of Martin Luther King, Jr. Today, establishment figures quote
his earlier speeches, especially the “I Have A Dream” speech, to serve
their purpose. But in his last years King began to grapple with how to
fight the wider aspects of structural racism.
Leaders of March on Washington for Jobs & Freedom marching with signs
(R-L): Rabbi Joachim Prinz, [unidentified], Eugene Carson Blake, Martin
Luther King, Floyd McKissick, Matthew Ahmann & John Lewis. (Photo:
Robert W. Kelley / The LIFE Picture Collection / Getty Images)
Leaders of March on Washington for Jobs & Freedom marching with signs
(R-L): Rabbi Joachim Prinz, [unidentified], Eugene Carson Blake, Martin
Luther King, Floyd McKissick, Matthew Ahmann & John Lewis. (Photo:
Robert W. Kelley / The LIFE Picture Collection / Getty Images)
King saw the link between poor workers of all races and the issue of
class as a lever to build a more powerful movement to win major
concessions. In the last year of his life, he launched the multiracial
Poor People’s March on Washington and linked up with striking sanitation
workers in Memphis. He was assassinated before this new direction could
be implemented. While more radical forces, like the Black Panthers,
picked up where King left off, mainstream civil rights leaders rejected
King’s strategy. Instead, they signed on to the emerging strategy of the
Democratic Party leadership: give limited concessions while targeting
and repressing the most radical wing of the movement. Reliance on the
Democratic Party to deliver reforms was devastating for the Civil Rights
movement which, under the leadership of more moderate leaders, lost its
independent power and dwindled into a pressure group of the Democratic
Party. This is the same Democratic Party that linked up with Republicans
to dismantle the gains of social movements over the last 35 years.
Socialists support the basic conclusion drawn by King and other
radicals, including the Black Panthers, that to seriously challenge
institutional racism, as well as racist attitudes, will involve building
a movement that embraces all those oppressed by capitalism – and that
the Democratic Party cannot be a reliable ally.
Fighting for Reforms and Building a Mass Movement
Socialists see class exploitation as an essential unifying aspect of the
experience of the vast majority of all oppressed sections of society.
Capitalism exploits workers by paying them less than the amount of value
they create through their labor. Black people, Latinos, women,
immigrants, and LGBTQ people are disproportionately concentrated in
low-wage jobs. Their exploitation as workers is a common factor that can
unite their struggles against all forms of oppression under capitalism.
Also, as part of the broader working class, they have enormous potential
power through their ability to withdraw their labor and stop the flow of
profits to the bosses.
Occupy activists call for a general strike on May 1st, 2012 (Photo: AP /
Ben Margot)
Occupy activists call for a general strike on May 1st, 2012 (Photo: AP /
Ben Margot)
In the fight to end oppression, the role of a united working class is
essential, since it can shut down the economy through major
industry-wide strikes and general strikes. By mounting powerful
struggles, it can bring together the vast majority of the population
into a movement, not only to demand major reforms, but also to end
capitalism. But in order to do this, the working class needs to be
mobilized into fighting organizations around a program that speaks to
the needs of those facing special oppression, as well as to their needs
as workers.
This task of uniting working people is linked to the need to raise the
understanding of white workers about racism and the affects of
divide-and-rule tactics by those in power. This is a task that the labor
movement must take up.
The lack of an independent political party that represents and fights
for workers and the poor seriously weakens the fight against low wages,
oppression, and racist ideas within the working class. This has allowed
big business and the 0.1% to dominate politics. Also, the labor movement
is in a vastly weaker position compared to the past and is saddled with
a leadership that has systematically avoided social struggle and
mistakenly seen the Democrats as their friends.
Yet working-class struggles are emerging around low wages and the demand
for a $15 an hour minimum wage. By uniting the struggles against low
wages with the movement against police brutality and racism, we can
bring more people into the struggle and raise consciousness on both
issues. The Fight For $15 national day of action on April 15 was the
largest and most dynamic yet, exactly because it brought together
activists from both movements.
Socialism: An Alternative to Capitalism
It should be increasingly clear that capitalism and the ruling class
cannot tolerate major reforms. In fact, compared to the 1960s, when the
U.S. economy was growing rapidly, there is a much narrower scope for
serious reform within the framework of the profit system. And even when
we won major reforms in the past, the ruling elite aggressively sought
to take them back at the earliest opportunity. The narrow desire for
profit that drives capitalism can only benefit a minority of society.
The task is to redistribute power in society away from the billionaire
class and the 200 massive banks and corporations that dominate our
society and to put power into the hands of the vast majority. This is
called socialism.
When the vast majority of society – the working class – runs society
through democratic control and management of workplaces and communities,
when they have a say on all the important decisions that affect them,
and when the control of the media and other institutions is taken out of
the hands of the owners of mega-corporations – the elite 0.01% – then
the policies of society will be made in the interests of the vast majority.
When power is taken out of the hands of the tiny minority, then there
will be no need to discriminate based on race and gender. This way, we
can create a society without oppression based on race, gender, and
sexuality, ensuring that everyone receives a living-wage job, quality
housing and health care, and the other essential needs of life while, at
the same time, tackling climate change by redirecting the economy away
from carbon-based production.
In the most militant phases of the Black freedom movement, as with the
labor movement, the vision of a socialist alternative to capitalism has
been a huge motivating force for tens of thousands of activists who
played a key role in taking the struggle forward. It raised their sights
to see that the hard struggle to win reforms is also an integral part of
a broader struggle: to create a new society that can end poverty and
discrimination.
Taking the Movement Forward Today
Socialist Alternative sees building support for a broad, fighting
program as a key ingredient in organizing powerful and successful
struggles. This program must speak to the real needs of the movement and
not be limited to what is acceptable to the Democratic Party or what is
thought possible under capitalism.
To address mass incarceration and institutionalized racism, Socialist
Alternative calls for:
•An end to the racist War on Drugs. Decriminalization and legalization
of marijuana use. Treat drug addiction through rehabilitation, not
criminalization. Release from jail and strike clean the criminal record,
including reinstatement of voting rights, for all those arrested for
minor nonviolent drug offenses
•Community control of all aspects of policing. Local policing to be
overseen by elected community oversight boards with full powers over the
police, including department policies and procedures. Independent,
anti-racist candidates from community organizations and unions should
run for these boards
But we also put forward demands that can bring wider sections of the
poor and workers into the movement. For example, we call for guaranteed
quality jobs with a $15 an hour minimum wage, as well as a massive
investment in public education, transit, health care, and other economic
services paid for by taxes on the super-rich and corporations.
Protesters take to the streets to bring attention to the push for
justice in the Trayvon Martin case as they take over Rodeo Drive on July
17, 2013 in Beverly Hills, California (Photo: Jose Lopez)
Protesters take to the streets to bring attention to the push for
justice in the Trayvon Martin case as they take over Rodeo Drive on July
17, 2013 in Beverly Hills, California (Photo: Jose Lopez)
And, in order to take the new Black freedom movement forward, we call
for coordinated national protests against racism, police violence, and
economic inequality.
The ability to unite around clear, attainable demands, which can bring
together the struggles of the 99% on all aspects of oppression, is key
to winning real gains. Our ability to fight for and win reforms is
essential, not only for the gains won, but because it gives ordinary
people a sense of their collective power and raises their sights to
fight for more. These struggles will also help to create a coherent
political organization and leadership, which will lead the decisive
struggles to come against the entire system of capitalism and the
structural racism which is built into its foundations.
$15 minimum wageBlack liberationBlack PantherscapitalismCivil Rights
MovementDemocratic PartyexploitationfeatureFight for 15labor
movementLGBTQMartin Luther Kingmass incarcerationmilitarized
policeOccupy Wall Streetoppressionpolice brutalitypolice
militarizationpolice repressionPoor People’s March on
WashingtonracismreformsocialismWar on Drugs
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