y coronavirus 12 Venezuela 12

Workers and oppressed peoples of the world unite! workers.org Vol. 62, No. 7 Feb. 13, 2020 $1 Sanders campaign ref lects disgust with capitalism

By Martha Grevatt wealthy, white, cisgendered, heterosex- by slave-owning “founding fathers,” is New Hampshire is number three and ual, Christian-identified man to the White biased against big cities, and allowed Iowa number five—​and both also have Bulletin: is the winner House. Donald Trump to become the 45th presi- a low union density. Why do these two of the Feb. 11 New Hampshire primary Just to become a contender requires dent, even though he had 3 million fewer states, which in no way represent a cross with 26 percent of the vote. massive amounts of cash, most coming popular votes than his opponent. section of the voting population, go first? from wealthy donors. Then comes the The long, drawn-out procedure of The caucus system in Iowa makes it The path to becoming president of the Electoral College, which is based not choosing the Democratic Party presiden- particularly difficult for working people United States—​the so-called “democ- on the popular vote but on the num- tial candidate includes months of debates, to participate. In a primary election, vot- ractic process”—​is full of undemocratic ber of electoral votes allotted to each followed by a primary season that runs ers go into a polling place, cast their votes obstacles that nearly always send a of the 50 states. This system, created from February to June, culminating in a and leave. Caucus voters, however, need convention in July. to commit hours of their day to a com- Currently, two Black candidates and plex procedure which involves meeting, one Latinx candidate have dropped out of discussing the candidates, voting, more the race, while the Democratic National discussion and then a second vote. Committee has changed the rules to allow Where is the “democracy” if people the participation of billionaire former with jobs or other responsibilities and Mayor Mike Bloomberg in the obstacles can’t participate? Total vot- next debate. ing in the caucuses numbered around The first contest for convention dele- 175,000 this year. gates is always the Iowa caucuses. This year those took place Feb. 3, to be fol- Glitches and bias lowed by the New Hampshire primary Returns from the Iowa caucuses were Feb. 11. expected to be released Feb. 3, after Success in these two states can give the polls closed. However, a glitch in a a candidate a distinct advantage going smartphone app designed to tally votes forward. Yet combined, these two states led to major delays, with the full results have a population of only 4.5 million. By released days later. contrast, almost 33.3 million people live Shadow, the company that developed in the country’s two largest metropolitan the app, has Democratic Party ties. This areas—centered​ on Los Angeles and New has fueled suspicion that the process may Rallies for ‘democratic socialist’ Sanders draw thousands of young and oppressed workers, York City. have been tainted to weaken the only here at Queensbridge Park, , Oct. 19, 2019. Among the country’s “whitest states,” Continued on page 3

Trans rights in Florida 2 China & coronavirus 9-10 Longshore workers vs. transnational 4 Epidemic of racist U.S. propaganda Good jobs hard to find 4 Socialist base is central to containment, cure A prisoner’s hunger strike 5

Chinese workers had the 1,600‑bed Sanctions Kill protests 10 Leishenshan (Thunder God Mountain) Hospital ready to accept patients three days after completing the 1,000-bed Editorial Huoshenshan (Fire God Mountain) Venezuela, Trump & the Democrats 10 Hospital, built in ten days.

Black History Month 3, 6-8 Subscribe to Workers World Chuck Africa: Home at last ☐ 4 weeks trial FREE ☐ 1 year subscription $36 Black labor: ☐ Sign me up for the WWP Supporter Program: workers.org/donate Chattel to wage slavery Name ______Reparations & Black Liberation Email ______Phone ______John Brown, abolitionist Street ______

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Pensacola Movement fights flood this week of anti-LGBTQ2+ bills ◆ In the U.S. Sanders campaign ref lects disgust with capitalism . . 1 By Devin C. Pensacola, Fla. Pensacola: Movement fights anti-LGBTQ2+ bills . . .2 Home at last: Move 9 member Chuck Africa freed! . .3 Over 65 people gathered Feb. 2 at historic Portland longshore workers resist union busting . . .4 Seville Square in downtown Pensacola to kick A good job is hard to find these days ...... 4 off the fightback against 10 anti-LGBTQ2+ bills introduced into the Florida Legislature A prisoner speaks: Anatomy of a hunger strike, Part 1 . 5 in the last two months. The rally, organized Black labor: From chattel slavery to wage slavery . . .6 primarily by Strive (Socialist Trans Initiative), Anti-apartheid 1976: Youth Against War and Fascism .6 made Pensacola the first Florida city to come Reparations & Black Liberation ...... 7 out so quickly against the right-wing bills. Most pressing is HB1365/SB1864, which WW PHOTO: DEVIN C. The legacy of John Brown ...... 8 The famous graffiti bridge in Pensacola calls for trans rights as part of would make it a second degree felony, punish- An epidemic of U.S. racist propaganda ...... 9 campaign to stop Florida anti-LGBTQ2+ bills. able by up to 15 years in prison, for a doctor to prescribe hormone replacement therapy ◆ Around the world or puberty blockers to transgender youth. Lack of access thoroughly researched statistics on the amount of bully- How socialist base helps China fight coronavirus . 9 would force transgender youth to either delay or stop their ing, harassment, and suicidal thoughts and attempts that Sanctions Kill protests ...... 10 transitioning process. The many trans youth already on transgender youth go through. With HRT and blockers, blockers or HRT would be forced to stop. The rally focused these rates decrease significantly. Additionally, she could Report from Puerto Rico, Part 1 ...... 11 on transgender youth because of this heavy impact. face prison time and the loss of her medical license if this ◆ Editorial A 16-year-old transgender man and high school student bill passes, and she continues to help any trans youth fur- spoke to the crowd with a sense of urgency and fear: “If I ther their transition. Venezuela, Trump and the Democrats ...... 10 didn’t have HRT, I wouldn’t have the confidence to walk up In addition to the bill directly affecting trans youth, the here and speak.” During the rally, five right-wing evangel- other Florida bills (HB305/SB1126, HB3/SB1336, HB537/ ◆ Noticias en Español icals attempted to disrupt, but after being called out pub- SB778 and HB1059/SB1634) are beginning to gain trac- China lucha unida, pueblo y gobierno, licly by speakers, all eyes were on them. After sizing the tion as multiple House and Senate committee hearings are contra coronavirus ...... 12 crowd up, the cowards realized they were outnumbered held one after the other by right-wing Republican extrem- Venezuela: Cinco apuntes urgentes sobre and fled as quickly as they could. ists. This is a tactic to get fascistic legislation passed by el ataque imperialista ...... 12 Rally speakers emphasized throughout that the reac- exhausting and wearing down LGBTQ2+ organizers. tionary legislative bills are a matter of life and death for But the Pensacola rally was just the beginning of what trans youth. is now a statewide movement. Multiple organizations, A doctor who runs Pensacola’s only informed-consent including Strive and Students for a Democratic Society, clinic on gender issues spoke of the dangers of the bill. have merged to form the Florida Coalition for Transgender She said not only would she be forced to stop treating a lot Liberation, dedicated solely to defeating the bills. of her transgender clients who are youth, this would lead The fight is on! Queer/trans Southerners are shouting, to dangerous turmoil in the lives of trans youth. She cited “No more LGBTQ dead! Kill the fxxking bills instead!” ☐

Workers World Join us in the fight 147 W. 24th St., 2nd Fl. New York, NY 10011 for ! Phone: 212.627.2994 E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.workers.org Workers World Party is a Marxist-Leninist people are gunned down by cops and bigots on a regular party inside the belly of the imperialist beast. We are a basis. Vol. 62, No. 7 • Feb. 13, 2020 multinational, multigenerational and multigendered orga- The ruthless ruling class today seeks to wipe out Closing date: Feb. 12, 2020 nization that not only aims to abolish capitalism, but to decades of gains and benefits won by hard-fought strug- Editor: build a socialist society because it’s the only way forward! gles by people’s movements. The super-rich and their Managing Editors: John Catalinotto, Martha Grevatt, Capitalism and imperialism threaten the peoples of the political representatives have intensified their attacks on , Betsey Piette, Minnie Bruce Pratt world and the planet itself in the neverending quest for the multinational, multigender and multigenerational ever-greater profits. . It is time to point the blame at—and chal- Web Editors: ABear, Harvey Markowitz, Janet Mayes Capitalism means war and austerity, and lenge—the capitalist system. Production & Design Editors: Gery Armsby, Sasha repression, attacks on im/migrants, misogyny, LGBTQ2+ WWP fights for socialism because the working class Mazumder, Scott Williams and mistreatment of people with disabilities. produces all wealth in society, and this wealth should Copyediting and Proofreading: Paddy Colligan, It means joblessness, increasing homelessness and impov- remain in their hands, not be stolen in the form of capi- Sue Davis, S. Hedgecoke erishment and lack of hope for the future. No social prob- talist profits. The wealth workers create should be socially lems can be solved under capitalism. owned and its distribution planned to satisfy and guaran- Contributing Editors: LeiLani Dowell, G. Dunkel, The U.S. is the richest country in the world, yet no one tee basic human needs. K. Durkin, Teresa Gutierrez, Gloria Rubac has a guaranteed right to shelter, food, water, health care, Since 1959, Workers World Party has been out in the Mundo Obero: Alberto García, Teresa Gutierrez, education or anything else—unless they can pay for it. streets defending the workers and oppressed here and Carlos Vargas Wages are lower than ever, and youth are saddled with worldwide. If you’re interested in , socialism Supporter Program: Coordinator Sue Davis seemingly insurmountable student debt, if they even make and fighting for a socialist future, please contact a WWP it to college. Black, Brown and Indigenous youth and trans branch near you. ☐ Copyright © 2020 Workers World. Verbatim copying and distribution of articles is permitted in any medium If you are interested in joining Workers World Party contact: 212.627.2994 without royalty provided this notice is preserved. Workers World (ISSN-1070-4205) is published weekly National Office Bay Area Durham, N.C. Philadelphia except the last week of December by WW Publishers, 147 W. 24th St., 2nd floor P.O. Box 22947 804 Old Fayetteville St. P.O. Box 34249 New York, NY 10011 Oakland, CA 94609 Durham, NC 27701 Philadelphia, PA 19101 147 W. 24th St. 2nd Fl., New York, NY 10011. Phone: 212.627.2994 510.394.2207 919.322.9 970 610.931.2615 212.627.2994. Subscriptions: One year: $36; institu- [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] tions: $50. Letters to the editor may be condensed and Atlanta Buffalo, N.Y. Houston Salt Lake City edited. Articles can be freely reprinted, with credit to PO Box 18123 335 Richmond Ave. P.O. Box 3454 801.750.0248 Workers World, 147 W. 24th St. 2nd Fl., New York, NY Atlanta, GA 30316 Buffalo, NY 14222 Houston, TX 77253-3454 [email protected] 10011. Back issues and individual articles are available 404.627.0185 716.883.2534 713.503.2633 San Antonio on microfilm and/or photocopy from NA Publishing, [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Inc, P.O. Box 998, Ann Arbor, MI 48106-0998. A searchable archive is available on the Web at Austin Charlotte Knoxville, Tenn. San Diego [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] www.workers.org. Boston Cleveland Minneapolis Tucson, Ariz. A headline digest is available via e-mail subscription. 284 Amory St. 216.738.0320 [email protected] [email protected] Subscription information is at workers.org. Boston, MA 02130 [email protected] Pensacola, Fla. Washington, D.C. Periodicals postage paid at New York, N.Y. 617.522.6626 Dallas [email protected] [email protected] POSTMASTER: Send address changes to [email protected] [email protected] Portland, Ore. West Virginia Workers World, 147 W. 24th St. 2nd Fl. [email protected] [email protected] New York, N.Y. 10011. workers.org Feb. 13, 2020 Page 3 Released at last Welcome home, Move 9 member Chuck Africa!

By Betsey Piette When Mumia Abu-Jamal joined the Black Panther Philadelphia Party at age 16, he became a target of Cointelpro. Now a world-renowned journalist and political prisoner, Abu- Imprisoned since he was only 18, Charles Sims Africa Jamal defended MOVE against Rizzo’s attacks. In 1982 was finally released from Pennsylvania’s SCI Fayette on he was unjustly accused of and imprisoned for the mur- Feb. 7. The youngest and the last of the MOVE 9 to be der of a Philadelphia police officer. paroled, Chuck, now 59 and recovering from cancer, As police commissioner, Rizzo launched widely pub- was first eligible for parole in 2008—​after 30 years of licized raids on three headquarters incarceration. in August 1970, just before the Panthers planned the Like all MOVE 9 members, he was repeatedly denied Revolutionary People’s Constitutional Convention in parole because he refused to renounce his political beliefs this city. Heavily armed police attacked the BPP offices, or admit guilt for a crime which he, and the others in the arresting men and women, forcing them to strip naked, MOVE 9, did not commit. The nine had all been sen- then handcuffing and photographing them at gunpoint. tenced to 30-100 years for the murder of a Philadelphia MOVE members have suffered decades of imprison- police officer in 1978, despite overwhelming evidence of ment and the loss of loved ones. Following Abu-Jamal’s their innocence. imprisonment, and still determined to wipe out MOVE, Chuck was brought home by a nephew, Mike Africa the state launched an attack on the group’s home on Jr., whose parents, Debbie Sims Africa and Mike Africa Twitter photo of Chuck Africa, posted by his lawyer, Brad May 13, 1985, dropping a C-4, military-grade bomb on Sr., were released in 2018. It was Chuck’s first reunion Thomson, on Jan. 7. the compound. The resulting explosion and purposely with his family in 42 years. Current parole restrictions uncontrolled fire murdered 11 men, women and children prohibit him from greeting other MOVE 9 members now the womb of one MOVE member and murdered Janine and destroyed 62 homes in the Black neighborhood. living in Philadelphia. Africa’s baby, Life Africa. Two who died in this horrific inferno were children of For Mike Africa Jr., born in a prison cell shortly after “We made up what people thought were weapons so imprisoned MOVE members Janet Africa, Janine Africa the Aug. 8, 1978, police siege of the family’s Philadelphia we could make an impression on city officials who saw and Phil Africa as well as Chuck Africa’s cousin Frank home, his uncle’s release marks the end of a long and try- a bunch of primarily Black people rescuing animals and Africa. May 13 marks the 35th anniversary of this trag- ing campaign: “It’s been 41 years, and now we will never growing our own food in an area of Philadelphia where edy. For the first time the surviving MOVE 9 members have to shout ‘Free the MOVE 9!’ ever again.” the University of Pennsylvania and Drexel wanted to will be able to join in the commemoration. MOVE 9 members Janet Africa, Janine Africa and expand. Many view Chuck’s release as the end of the strug- Eddie Africa were released last year. Delbert Africa was “Rizzo went nuts and started a blockade—​not so gle, but Pam Africa, Minister of Confrontation for the released on Jan. 18. Merle Africa and Phil Africa myste- much to keep us in but to keep community supporters MOVE organization, told WW: “MOVE will continue to riously died in prison. out. But the neighborhood responded and brought us fight. When people say the war is over, we say no, no, Nearly 42 years behind bars have taken a severe toll food. The city tried to evict us; they got warrants naming no! There are a whole lot of people left behind in the on Chuck’s health. He is recovering from cancer. Private, people who never lived in the house. But just because it’s prisons, and not just political prisoners. A lot of people for-profit health care in the prisons too often turns legal, don’t make it right. Slavery was also ‘legal.’ are suffering under the stranglehold of this government. delayed and denied paroles into death sentences. “On Aug. 8, 1978, neighbors warned us that police “To have Chuck pulled out of there is a victory. Now “I’m appreciative of all the support from everyone. I’m were surrounding the house. We got the children and our concentration is to bring Mumia home!” ☐ recovering from another round of chemotherapy and everyone into the basement. They emptied trying to spend time with my family right now,” Chuck water cannons into the basement. At a press told WW. His release marks the end of an historic strug- conference after the attack, police bragged gle to free the MOVE 9, but it is by no means the end of about emptying rounds of machine-gun fire into their struggle to expose the racist, unjust system. the house.” Delbert Africa, who spent time in prison with 1978: ‘Rizzo went nuts’ Chuck, told WW: “It is with the strongest grati- On Aug. 8, 1978, hundreds of Philadelphia police offi- tude that I thank all for their support in getting cers—with​ machine guns, tear gas, bulldozers and water the last of the MOVE 9 off this ‘prison activity’ cannons—surrounded​ the MOVE home. The siege fol- we had to do on this revolutionary road. Now it’s lowed a prolonged blockade and occupation of the neigh- on to getting Mumia Abu-Jamal out!” borhood, beginning in May 1977. At a press conference this January, Delbert Africa We will never forget described the confrontation brought on by Philadelphia The struggle to free the MOVE 9 has played a Police Commissioner Frank Rizzo: “MOVE was peace- key role in the last five decades of Philadelphia’s ful, but we were suffering brutality at the hands of the political movement, going back to the state’s MOVE members in front of their house in 1977. The MOVE 9 were police, so brutal that they physically kicked a baby out of attacks on the Black Panther Party. arrested following a massive police siege of their home. Sanders campaign ref lects disgust with capitalism Continued from page 1 such significant support. However, much Warren. misogyny and anti-LGBTQ2+ bigotry. of that support is tied to his so-called Rank-and-file unionists are gravitat- These forces want to build a base of sup- candidate who identifies as a socialist—​ “electability,” i.e., his moderate approach ing to Labor for Bernie. These workers port among backward white workers as Bernie Sanders. That is speculation, but that does not even mildly challenge capi- know they have nothing to fear from a well as the middle class. when only 62 percent of the returns were talist profit-taking. program tagged “socialist.” Relatively While Trump calls them socialists, in, the media immediately portrayed Pete speaking, this represents a move to the most Democratic elected officials are Buttigieg as the clear leader. Who’s in Sanders’ base? left in mass consciousness, which should going out on a limb to show they are noth- Only later was it announced that Young people—including​ many youth be welcomed. ing of the kind. Taking a cue from House Buttigieg and Sanders were nearly equal of color—​have jumped into a mass In response, Biden socialist-baited Speaker Nancy Pelosi, they jumped to in pledged delegates, with Sanders hold- movement trying to make the senator Sanders in the Feb. 5 New Hampshire their feet and applauded when Trump, ing a clear lead in popular votes. Reports from the Democratic nominee debates, saying, “Every Democrat will during his State of the Union campaign from the urban areas, where Sanders had for president. Many are also flocking to have to carry the label Senator Sanders speech, attacked Venezuela as “socialist” the most support, came in last. the Democratic Socialists of America, has chosen for himself. He calls himself—​ and recognized Juan Guaidó, an insignif- Sanders’ version of “socialism” is really which has grown exponentially since the and I don’t criticize him—he​ calls himself icant politician inside his own country, as a program to reform capitalism. But the Sanders campaign of 2016. a democratic socialist.” (cnbc.com, Feb. 6) “president” of Venezuela. capitalist class is in no mood for reforms Another constituency that Sanders is Trump, meanwhile, used his State of Even Sanders called the real president, like free college tuition, Medicare for making a strong pitch to, and making the Union address to attack the whole Nicolás Maduro, a “dictator” during one All or rolling back the anti-union Taft- headway in, is organized labor. Most Democratic Party for being socialist. of the presidential debates. Hartley Act. Many among the wealthy unions have not yet made an endorse- That’s the epithet 45 uses to attack the While reform-oriented social demo- could live with a moderate Democrat like ment in the Democratic race. Many will Affordable Care Act, food stamps and crats are growing their base in tandem or Pete Buttigieg, but want to wait to see who the party nominates other human needs programs, many of with the Sanders movement, this may be make sure that Sanders is not the nomi- at its convention. Nevertheless, four which were won during the class battles a transitional phenomenon. nee in July. national unions and a number of state, of the 1930s—which​ were led by social- Interest in real, revolutionary With Biden trailing Sanders, Buttigieg regional and local labor bodies—​includ- ists and communists. socialism—​the overthrow of the cap- and Elizabeth Warren in the Iowa contest, ing Service Employees Local 1984, with The ultraright, under Trump’s leader- italist class, what Marx called “expropri- corporate dollars are starting to flow to 30,000 members in New Hampshire—​ ship, has added socialist-hating to its arse- ating the expropriators”—​is also on the the safest of the three: Buttigieg. Yes, it is have already endorsed Sanders. Other nal of reactionary ideological tools, which upswing. ☐ progressive to see an out gay man getting unions have endorsed either Biden or include white supremacy, xenophobia, Page 4 Feb. 13, 2020 workers.org Portland longshore workers resist union busting

By Patrick Cate and Lyn Neeley Under the Taft-Hartley Act, secondary the jurors “labor and employ- Portland, Ore. strikes and boycotts are prohibited, along ment practices were driving with solidarity or sympathy strikes. In a dis- slowdowns.” (tinyurl.com/ In November a federal jury in Portland, pute with a direct employer, any strike against uxq2rz7) Ore., fined the Longshore and Warehouse another employer is illegal. ICTSI’s argument Nearly all of ICTSI’s busi- Union (ILWU) $9.6 million. The jury sided is complicated and open to interpretation. ness is with countries with with the Philippines-based International extreme exploitation of work- Container Terminal Services (ICTSI), a Militant ILWU tradition of ers. These countries include labor-rights abuser worth $1.36 billion fighting for workers Honduras, Mexico, the that sued both the national ILWU and The verdict was a blow to the ILWU, one Democratic Republic of Congo, Portland’s Local 8. of the most militant unions in U.S. history. Madagascar, Indonesia and The Port of Portland leased Terminal Founded in the 1930s by labor leader Harry Pakistan. ICTSI aggressively 6, Oregon’s only shipping container port, Bridges, the union is powerful because of its drives down wages, imposes to ICTSI in 2010. According to dockwork- activism, strikes and work stoppages to pro- horrible working conditions, ers, ICTSI developed a hostile, unsafe work tect members’ benefits and jobs. The ILWU refuses to pay overtime and environment and intimidated them. In has always demonstrated against war and outsources work—​even 2014, the federal Occupational Safety and racism and has a long history of giving solid against a government’s orders. PHOTO: OREGON HISTORY PROJECT Health Administration inspected the port support to other workers and unions. Paddy Crumlin, president The West Coast Longshore strike in 1934 shut down and fined ICTSI $18,360 for over a dozen ILWU President William Adams said, of the Transport Workers docks from California to Washington state. Here, police safety violations at Terminal 6. “The ILWU attempted to settle the case, Federation (ITF), said ICTSI’s help strikebreakers cross that picket line in Portland, Ore. In 2012, Local 8 began a series of work but ICTSI’s goal appeared to be union bust- labor record was like a cancer slowdowns because jobs involving refrig- ing on a global scale.” He said the court spreading around the world. erated containers and electrical equip- compensated ICTSI for a loss of profits and “ICTSI has built its business by exploiting evidence. That amount could bankrupt the ment, previously held by ILWU members, additional costs, but the amount was exces- workers in port after port, reinforcing a union. The judge has agreed to delay the were given to members of the Electrical sive, and much of ICTSI’s failure to make business model of deliberately prioritizing decision until the court hears more from Workers (IBEW). The ILWU stated those a profit was due to their own mismanage- countries where human and labor rights ILWU lawyers. If the courts don’t recon- jobs had been part of their collective bar- ment. (tinyurl.com/qwo6w3j) are most vulnerable and by partnering with sider, the union may have to seek fed- gaining agreement. Susan Harriman, the union’s lawyer, some of the worst anti-democratic regimes eral bankruptcy protection to recover its In the lawsuit, ICTSI claimed that the said the ILWU wanted its workers “to suc- implicated in crimes against humanity.” finances as soon as possible. years of slowdowns prevented them from ceed, but they were treated like donkeys and (tinyurl.com/vs6vtrm) In 2017, ICTSI ended its contract with making profits. They argued that the ILWU belittled and fired without cause.” She said The ILWU has filed a motion to postpone the Port of Portland early. Currently, ILWU actions were an illegal secondary boycott, ILWU members “helped build Terminal 6, a final judgment. They want to appeal the members are working directly for the Port because the Port of Portland was responsi- and they literally broke their backs trying verdict because the $9.6 million they are of Portland, which is operating Terminal 6, ble for assigning the jobs to IBEW. to make Terminal 6 a success.’’ She told being sued for is not consistent with the and bringing in new business. ☐ A good job is hard to find these days By G. Dunkel still live below the federal poverty thresh- same 38.26 hours weekly as high- old in the U.S. As per the U.S. Census wage workers, this would translate The constitutionally mandated State of Bureau, that was $25,465 for a family of into 12.6 million more jobs at 38.26 the Union address opened Feb. 4 with the four people in 2018. hours weekly. (Pamphlet available first of many boasts: “Jobs are booming, Researchers associated with Cornell at www.jobqualityindex.com.) incomes are soaring, poverty is plummet- Law School, together with some liberal The official unemployment rate ing.” Trump went on with the lie, “The think tanks, have established an index hides these 12.6 million missing average unemployment rate under my that associates a weekly wage above jobs that would exist if the capitalist administration is lower than any admin- the median with high-quality jobs and economy was really thriving. This istration in the history of our country.” a weekly wage below the median with analysis explains why so-called “full Actually, the current unemployment low-quality jobs. They compute the employment” has actually meant rate is 3.5 percent, greater than the 2.5 weekly wage as the hourly wage times the weak wage growth. There is a lot of percent in 1953 under President Dwight number of hours worked. slack in the job market; 12.6 million Eisenhower, when the U.S. war on Korea Using government data and studying full-time jobs are needed to absorb PHOTO: TERAN POWELL A Milwaukee, Wis., job fair in November 2019 stimulated the capitalist economy. But production and nonsupervisory jobs, the “reserve army of labor” stuck in verifies the fact that unemployment is high in that’s not the worst distortion the presi- researchers have determined that high- part-time work. Black communities in cities. dent made. The real question is the abil- wage jobs provide an average workweek Moreover, workers who are in ity of the new jobs to provide an adequate of 38.26 hours and low-wage jobs pro- unstable or precarious jobs—many income. vide an average workweek of 29.98 hours. of whom are Black and Latinx workers week to the next what their hours will be. While the unemployment rate has Note that the law protecting benefits, and women workers—​are in a difficult The Fight for $15 per hour, which gradually declined over the last 10 such as health insurance and retirement position to demand more pay. Difficulties unions have been waging, has led a num- years, the number of high-wage jobs has income, applies only to those who work in union organizing of precarious workers ber of states and cities to increase their declined and the number of low-wage 30 hours or more. have kept wages down. And the gig econ- local minimum wage. These increases jobs has increased. Pay for high-wage These researchers say the lower aver- omy includes more than 57 million U.S. have boosted the national income figures jobs is defined as above the median wage age workweek in low-wage jobs reveals workers, or 36 percent of the total work- for low-wage workers, which Trump’s of around $15 an hour; low-wage jobs pay an enormous “slack” in the total number force, which plays a big role in keeping boasting ignores. The federal minimum below that median. of jobs seen as available—​and that’s a wages low. (Forbes, Aug. 31, 2018) wage has been $7.25 an hour since 2007. While Trump’s tax cut gave a tremen- weakness in the economy. They calculate What is even more shocking is that 40 To no one’s surprise, Trump’s State of dous trillion-dollar boost to the incomes that if these 60 million low-wage workers, percent of all young workers—between the the Union speech made no mention of the wealthy, some 38.1 million people who are now underutilized, worked the ages of 26 and 32—do not know from one of raising it. ☐ Honor Black History Month—Support WW

Workers World makes a big deal about continuing coverage of the struggle for was established 43 years ago so read- Know that we are grateful for your help Black History Month because racism political prisoners, like Mumia Abu- ers could help WW publish anti-racist, in building Workers World! ☐ pervades every aspect of life under cap- Jamal and Chuck Africa, the last of the working-class truth and build campaigns italism. Everything—​from fighting for MOVE 9 who was just released after needed to fight for revolutionary change living-wage jobs to ending police ter- 40-plus years of criminal incarceration. leading to socialism. ror, for affordable housing and com- WW bases our weekly coverage of the For a donation of at least $75 a year—​ munity-control schools—​is rooted in Black struggle here and in the African $100 or $300 or more if you’re able—​ the centuries-long struggle to end this diaspora on breaking imperialist chains members receive a subscription to WW, country’s vicious history of racism, and the principle of self-determination. a monthly letter about timely issues, five rooted in the worst, violence-driven, Oppressed people have the right to fight free subscriptions to give to friends—​ superexploitation—​slavery. to end all forms of inequality and injus- and a book for donations over $75. Write That’s why every month, not just tice—​by any means necessary. checks (either monthly or once a year) to February, the newspaper chronicles the If you appreciate our coverage, it’s time Workers World and mail them, with your struggles of peoples of African descent to join the Workers World Supporter name and address, to 147 W. 24th St., 2nd to eradicate institutionalized, systemic Program or renew your membership Floor, New York, NY 10011. Or sign up to white supremacy. Case in point is our promptly. WW Supporter Program donate online at workers.org/donate/. workers.org Feb. 13, 2020 Page 5 A prisoner speaks out on why Anatomy of a hunger strike Part 1 supposed to benefit prisoners. false/fabricated misconduct SCI Albion has over 545 correctional ‘I went on a reports filed against them, Many protests against mass incar- employees, but only 51 are African- being subjected to excessive ceration have taken place on the streets American, 10 Hispanic, two Asian and hunger strike or unnecessary force and of U.S. cities over the last decade. Many two Indigenous. There are no African being celled with mentally ill resistance struggles have also been Americans on the administrative or psy- prisoners who are not com- waged by individuals or groups of pris- chologist staff for over 1,000 African- because of the patible. This has resulted in oners inside the prison walls, often with- American inmates. prisoners being assaulted out any support from or knowledge of by Ever since the PA DOC [Pennsylvania unconstitutional, and even killed. people or press on the outside. Department of Corrections] authorized One of the many methods of resistance correctional officers to use chemical inhumane Complaints bring retaliation used by prisoners worldwide has been agents to suppress disturbances, they’ve WW: What did you do to the hunger strike. Prisoners from Ireland been misusing them, especially on men- and repressive solve these problems, before to Palestine, California to Pennsylvania tally ill prisoners. deciding on a hunger strike? have refused to eat for weeks or even In addition, there is incompetent med- Dee Jay: Prior to going months, hoping to win prison reforms ical service by staff. Solitary confinement conditions.’ on the hunger strike, I spoke or political demands, and sometimes is a fire hazard due to padlocks on doors. with and/or wrote prison attracting publicity in the mass media Administrators allow subordinates to documenting how the prisoner got their officials about my complaints a number of in the process. place false entries in prisoners’ institu- injuries. times. I eventually had to file grievances Demetrius “Dee Jay” Grant (FY6063), tional records. Prisoners are being denied adequate and still nothing was done to correct an African-American prisoner in Prisoners are receiving only one and a medical care and/or treatment. They are the problems—​except I was retaliated Pennsylvania, conducted a months-long half to two and a half hours of law library enduring pain and suffering needlessly against. hunger strike in 2019 over prison con- time per week. Other DOC facilities pro- and in some cases are suffering perma- I filed a grievance about the kitchen ditions at State Correctional Institution vide prisoners a minimum of two and nent injuries, even death. Example: A food trays not being properly washed, Albion. Grant is known as the “Pro Se a half hours per session, three times a good friend of mine has multiple sclero- sanitized and dried, which is causing Litigator,” the person who exposed the week. If you can show a current court sis and must receive blood tests, but med- mold to build up on the trays, caus- mistreatment of mentally ill prisoners deadline, you can request two additional ical has failed to provide these tests on a ing prisoners’ health issues. The DOC by former Correctional Officer Charles law library slots over a 30-day period. regular basis. Medical staff have even lied has an established policy each facility Graner at SCI Greene before Graner If you miss your law library slot for any to his family and attorney, saying they is supposed to follow. SCI Albion is not became infamous for mistreating Iraqi reason—​a visit, a legal call, etc.—​your gave him the blood test when they know following its policy, nor is the PA DOC detainees. Here is Workers World’s inter- name is removed from the law library list they did not. And now he must file griev- reprimanding Albion for not functioning view with Grant about his experiences. and you have to reapply, which takes time ances just to get the medical treatment pursuant to the policy. to get back on. Other DOC facilities allow he should be receiving. An investigation I filed another grievance about the Workers World: How long have you two unexcused absences. into SCI Albion’s medical department is cable TV constantly going out for days been imprisoned? The kitchen is dirty and unsafe to the absolutely necessary to stop and expose and weeks at a time and us still being Dee Jay: I have been in prison for 26 point that prisoners are getting seri- these abuses. charged for it, despite the cable contract and a half years, since May 3, 1993, for ously injured all the time. The food is Recently, SCI Albion, via the PA DOC, stating prisoners are to be prorated for three counts of aggravated assault and unhealthy, and the portions are small so has instituted a violence prevention pol- any time the cable was out due to equip- one count of robbery. During that period the PA DOC can save money. icy which, among other things, forces ment problems. After filing a grievance, I successfully escaped from prison three Prisoners with mental illnesses are prisoners to snitch on one another in my cable was arbitrarily turned off for 26 times. I have been at SCI Albion since being allowed to work in the kitchen order to avoid being arbitrarily locked hours in retaliation and my grievance was June 19, 2018. I have been at 10 other despite their inability to keep up with the up for long periods or losing privileges ignored. Also, my account was not pro- prisons in my 26 years. I was put out of work demands of the kitchen. and/or their parole. The state-sponsored rated for all the times the channels were each one due to protesting and litigating snitching was created to divide and con- out. I have since canceled my cable and against prison officials. Physical abuse, denial of medical care trol prisoners, which results in prisoners will never have it connected again. The guards are all the time physi- being labeled a snitch and placed in jeop- Outside of filing multiple lawsuits, WW: What conditions caused you to cally and verbally abusing these prison- ardy of being seriously hurt. which I cannot afford, I was forced to go on strike? ers during mental episodes. This is due Additionally, SCI Albion has cre- go on a hunger strike in order to get Dee Jay: I went on a hunger strike in large part because the guards are not ated an environment wherein they con- prison officials to do what they are legally because of the unconstitutional, inhu- being trained to respond properly, result- done and/or encourage the guards and required to do already, but are refusing to. mane and repressive conditions being ing in excessive and unnecessary force staff to be hostile and aggressive toward created by SCI Albion officials. They have (pepper spray and tasers), causing seri- prisoners, resulting in prisoners being Joe Piette edited this talk in communi- little to no regard for prisoners’ constitu- ous injuries. When this happens, medical assaulted, verbally abused, having their cation with Grant. Next: Part 2: Dee Jay tional rights or their own policies that are will cover for the guards by not accurately properties lost and/or stolen, having Grant begins his hunger strike.

How to donate a Workers World subscription to a prisoner

“Inmates need Workers World papers. World is a person who is currently behind When you’re locked up, you need an bars—in​ hundreds of prisons across doz- intellectual light to shine through the ens of states. darkness of state oppression. If you’re WE NEED YOUR HELP to provide a free person reading this, and you care even more prisoners with FREE subscrip- about the struggle against mass incar- tions to Workers World! ceration, please take out a subscription We receive hundreds of phone calls, for an incarcerated person. It means letters and subscription requests from more than you could possibly imagine.” prisoners. In addition to the work we —Makasi Motema do fighting racism, imperialism, gender oppression and labor exploitation every You can donate a subscription to day, we need the resources to keep oper- Workers World Patreon to go to an ating the only revolutionary communist inmate today at patreon.com/wwp/ . printed weekly in this country. Workers World is an independent, rev- These resources also allow us to con- olutionary communist newspaper that tinue our daily work of organizing defense began publication in 1959, and has grown committees, coordinating prison visits, to be published weekly in print and daily planning demonstrations and mass mobi- on the web. We are committed to building lizations for prisoners, and shedding light solidarity among workers and oppressed on prison conditions. peoples around the globe. For that rea- Donating now is an immediate way you son Workers World has always provided can help fight this racist, capitalist system FREE subscriptions and other radical and empower our readers to tear down printed materials to prisoners in the the walls once and for all. U.S. One in three subscribers to Workers Donate today at patreon.com/wwp Page 6 Feb. 13, 2020 workers.org Black labor: From chattel slavery to wage slavery Part 1 The compass and the slave trade

By navigation. It is not a capitalist invention. Modern transnational monopolies dif- It is said to have been discovered as early fer fundamentally in their economic con- The following is excerpted from as the year [200 B.C.] in China, and may tent from those days, but they still show Chapter 2 of Marcy’s “High Tech, Low have also been discovered independently the same greed and avarice, the utterly Pay: A Marxist analysis of the chang- in Europe somewhat later; it was used by unprecedented cruelty and barbarous ing character of the working class,” Arab sailors in the early 13th century. treatment which characterized the slave first published in 1986. Marcy is the late Its development and perfection over trade. This is what lay behind the flour- chairperson of Workers World Party. the years became indispensable to world ishing of world commerce, and laid the “High Tech, Low Pay” is available as a trade. While not invented in a period of development for what Marx later called free download at workers.org/marcy. capitalist development, the compass and the primitive accumulation of capital. other navigational instrumentation were The word “primitive” was not a charac- The scientific-technological revolution appropriated from earlier modes of pro- terization of the many millions of people has affected and will continue to affect duction by capitalist shipping companies captured as slaves. The term primitive Black workers much more significantly at the very crest of the period of coloni- was applied to the fiendish method by than is commonly acknowledged by the zation—what is called the “age of dis- which the early capitalists accumulated capitalist press. Automation takes even covery.” It gave a tremendous impulse to the primary, original capital that was so Dutch broke into this very lucrative form more than its usual toll when oppressed world trade and commerce. indispensable for the development of their of trade around 1640, and Spain, France people are concerned. It intensifies racist But what was the content of this trade? system of oppression and exploitation. Not and Britain followed soon after. oppression and increases unemployment Why is it important in relation to our only Spain, Portugal, England, France and The war for the Asiento continued until among Black people even when a capital- study here? Because as trade became a Holland, but also Denmark, Sweden and the Treaty of Utrecht (1713) when the ist economic recovery is said to be sharply world phenomenon, it was essentially an Prussia participated, garnering fabulous English triumphed over their competi- on the rise, as in 1983-84. international trade of slaves. profits as a result of the slave trade. tors. The English bourgeoisie from then But the impact of the scientific-techno- Millions upon millions of Black people The compass was one of the things on maintained control of the slave trade logical revolution on Black people is not were kidnapped, tortured and brought that made the slave trade possible, but through the Royal African Company. This only a recent phenomenon. It has histor- on slave ships to the vast new continents it alone can’t be held responsible for slave trade covered not only the English, ical roots that go back to the beginnings of the Western Hemisphere. The slave the transportation of this vast number French and Dutch colonies in America of the slave trade. trade began in the mid-15th century of human beings from one continent to and the West Indies but also the vast land when Spain and Portugal began import- another thousands of miles away—away of Brazil. It was in this way that such a The compass and the slave trade ing a significant number of Black slaves from their homeland and loved ones to a vast portion of the African people were The speed and momentum with which to their plantations on the Canary and strange new country where the whip and uprooted and thrown into the vortex of the scientific-technological revolution Madeira islands. Most of the very same the gun held them at bay. capitalist slavery. has taken off in recent years have tended leading imperialist powers that are today Scandinavian people had made a In connection with Holland, it should be to shrink into insignificance inventions concerned with maintaining the South transoceanic voyage earlier, in the [10th noted that earlier, in the years 1636-37, the which exercised a profound influence on African regime in the face of the revolu- century]. They too may have had a com- Dutch had engaged in a flourishing trade developing social relations in the early tionary mass movement there earlier par- pass of a sort, for it is well known that and development of tulips, for which they stages of the capitalist system. Take ticipated in, promoted and in fact fought the Vikings undertook long voyages are still world famous today. But that trade the compass, which is regarded today ferociously to maintain the slave trade and established settlements in Iceland, attained extraordinary speculative propor- as a basic direction-finding device in and obtain a monopoly over it. Greenland and even Labrador.1 But these tions so that at one period just one tulip voyages differed fundamentally in that was valued at thousands of dollars. they were oriented toward settlements Eventually the market broke and the Anti-apartheid 1976: in the northern part of the world in har- Dutch bourgeoisie turned from trafficking mony with the climatic conditions of the in “a thing of matchless beauty” to the slave Youth Against War and Fascism Scandinavian countries. trade, one of the most odious, foul and cer- Until the development and perfection tainly most inhuman forms of commerce of navigational instrumentation such ever seen in history. This illustrates with as the compass, the Western world was what ease and facility the capitalists can mainly confined to the Mediterranean plunge from one area to another in their and the coastal areas of the Atlantic so far insatiable appetite for profits, without any as maritime commerce was concerned. regard for human values whatever. The lat- The new era of discovery and coloniza- ter are totally irrelevant in the process of tion opened up the Atlantic for the first capitalist production. Capital simply flows time. This could not have been done with- to wherever profits are highest. … out the necessary technological improve- The observations made over a century ments in navigational instrumentation as ago by a certain T.J. Dunning, and quoted well as in the making of ships. by Marx in Capital, ring all too familiar By 1745 the English inventor Gowin today: “With adequate profit, capital is Knight had perfected a method of effi- very bold. A certain 10 percent will ensure ciently magnetizing needles of harder steel. its employment anywhere; 20 percent He designed a compass with a single bar certain will produce eagerness; 50 per- needle large enough for a cap resting on cent, positive audacity; 100 percent will the pivot to be screwed into its center. He make it ready to trample all human laws; thus greatly improved the compass.2 This 300 percent, and there is not a crime at significantly shortened the time of voyages, which it will scruple, nor a risk it will increased the safety of the ships and—what not run, even to the chance of its owner is of greater social and political signifi- being hanged. If turbulence and strife cance—increased the volume of slavery. will bring a profit, it will freely encourage As Marx was to write, “It is slavery that both. Smuggling and the slave-trade have gave the colonies their value; it is the col- amply proved all that is here stated.” 5 onies that have created world trade, and YAWF was the acronym for Youth This action was in solidarity with the it is world trade that is the precondition Next: Part 2: Marcy on “The invention Against War and Fascism, the youth June 16, 1976, uprising of youths and of large-scale industry. Thus slavery is of the cotton gin” and “Insurrections.” organization associated with Workers students in Soweto, South Africa, and an economic category of the greatest 3 World Party. Founded in 1962, YAWF the rise of the Black Consciousness importance.” References carried its orange banners in the many Movement in that country, led by Steve The contract for supplying slaves 1. Hogben, Lancelot. Science for the confrontational actions of the 1960s Biko, who was assassinated by five to the Spanish colonies was called the Citizen (George Allen & Unwin, 1956), and 1970s opposing the war in Vietnam, police officers in 1977. Asiento. While British slave traders pro- p. 620. in solidarity with the Black Liberation Until 1990, when the worldwide vided the necessary laborers for their 2. Encyclopedia Britannica, 1982 ed., Movement in the U.S., and in solidar- anti-apartheid movement succeeded own plantations, Spain contracted with Vol. 4, p. 1040. ity with all the movements around the in freeing South African leader Nelson the slave traders of other nations to 3. Marx, Karl, “The Poverty of world fighting for self-determination Mandela from decades of imprison- supply its needs. The first Asiento was Philosophy,” Marx and Engels Collected and liberation from imperialism. ment on Robben Island, the African granted in 1518 to a Flemish company, Works, (International Publishers, 1976), YAWF’s December 1976 action and National Congress and its armed wing, and it specified that a certain number of Vol. 6, p. 167. the flier were examples of the group’s Umkhonto we Sizwe (Spear of the tons(!) of slaves be delivered to the 4. Ki-Zerbo, Joseph, Histoire d 4 anti-imperialist stance and a challenge Nation), were listed as international Spanish colonies. l’Afrique Noire, D’Hier a Demain, to Washington’s characterization of the terrorist organizations by the CIA and The Portuguese were the first traders to (Librairie A. Hatier, 1978) p. 211. liberation movement in South Africa. the U.S. State Department. ☐ hold the Asiento, but the other rising cap- 5. Marx, Capital, p. 712fn. italist powers were not to be outdone. The workers.org Feb. 13, 2020 Page 7 Reparations & Black Liberation By Monica Moorehead Aug. 17, 2002—the​ 115th anniversary of Black nationalist leader Marcus Garvey’s Workers World first published this birth. The National Coalition of Blacks for article on June 6, 2002. Reparations in America is also building the demonstration. Lawsuits have been filed in New York and New Jersey targeting corporations Gov’t fears exposure of slavery’s legacy that profited from the slave trade. These The U.S. government has a despicable class-action lawsuits name three compa- history of downplaying and outright dis- nies: Fleet Boston Financial, Aetna and missing the issue of reparations. To grant CSX. compensation to millions of descen- Fleet Boston grew out of a bank estab- dants of African slaves would expose lished by a merchant whose ships trans- the institutionalized racism that African ported African slaves. Americans and other people of color still Aetna is an insurance company that suffer today. encouraged slave owners to insure human The disproportionate number of property—not​ to protect their slaves, but African Americans populating U.S. pris- to protect their investment in case of the ons is just one glaring example of the leg- slaves’ deaths. acy of slavery. CSX emerged from another company Back in 1989, Congressional Black that used slave labor to build railroad Caucus member John Conyers from lines. introduced bill HR 40, the The lawsuit estimates that the wealth “Commission to Study Reparation WW PHOTO in the United States created by the unpaid Proposals for African Americans Act.” March for Reparations, Newark, N.J., 2017. wages of slave labor is today worth $1.5 Conyers said: “African slaves were not trillion. compensated for their labor. More abandoned the freed slaves, who had leader of the traditional Civil Rights Deadria Farmer-Paellman is the lead unclear, however, is what the effects and tried to bring about real social equality in Movement, made a plea for reparations plaintiff and initiator of this suit. Ata remnants of this relationship have had on the South by establishing their own insti- in his 1964 book, “Why We Can’t Wait.” recent press conference, she stated, “My African Americans and our nation from tutions for political empowerment and He wrote, “No amount of gold could pro- grandfather always talked about the 40 the time of emancipation through today. elevation of their living and educational vide an adequate compensation for the acres and a mule we were never given. I chose the number of the bill, 40, as a standards. For 10 years, the Union Army exploitation and humiliation of the Negro These companies benefited from working, symbol of the 40 acres and a mule that had played the role of a buffer between in America (or the Caribbean or Brazil) stealing and breeding our ancestors, and the United States initially promised freed this progressive, democratic process down through the centuries. Not all the they should not be able to benefit from slaves.” and the former Confederate forces, who wealth of this affluent [U.S.] society could these horrendous acts.” Conyers cited a number of objectives regrouped during Reconstruction. meet the bill. Yet a price can be placed Political activist and attorney Roger of the bill—​including setting up a com- The counterrevolution then evolved upon unpaid wages. The ancient common Wareham filed this lawsuit on behalf mission that “would then make recom- into a bloody terrorist campaign that law has always provided a remedy for the of all African Americans. According mendations to Congress on appropriate drove the freed slaves to accept semi-slav- appropriation of one human being by to Wareham, the lawsuit is not about remedies to redress the harm inflicted on ery conditions. Under sharecropping, another. The law should be made to apply demanding monetary compensation living African Americans.” which still exists today, the former slaves for American (Caribbean and Brazilian) for the descendants of African slaves in Malcolm X also raised the question of went back to tilling the land of their for- Negroes. the U.S. Any money won from the law- reparations in a speech on Nov. 23, 1964, mer owners. They weren’t owned outright “The payment should be in the form suit would go to a collective fund to help in Paris. “If you are the son of a man who anymore, but had to work on the planta- of a massive program by the govern- improve the housing, health care and had a wealthy estate and you inherit your tions for slave wages. ment of special, compensatory measures, education of African Americans. father’s estate,” he said, “you have to pay In 1896, the U.S. Supreme Court legally which could be regarded as a settlement Wareham, in an interview on the off the debts that your father incurred sanctioned segregation as “separate but in accordance with the accepted prac- Black-oriented WABC-TV show “Like It before he died. The only reason that the equal.” tice of common law. Such measures Is,” told host Gil Noble, “Our strength is present generation of white Americans would certainly be less expensive than that the reparations lawsuit is part of a are in a position of economic strength Reparations struggle has any computation based on two centu- movement. The stronger the movement, … is because their fathers worked our taken many forms ries of unpaid wages and accumulated the greater the possibility of the success fathers for over 400 years with no pay.” In his 1903 masterpiece, “The Souls of interest. I am proposing, therefore, that of the suit. The most important thing is The reparations struggle intensified Black Folks,” W.E.B. Du Bois wrote, “The just as we granted a G.I. Bill of Rights to the success of the movement. The suit is with the military defeat of the Confederacy problem of the 20th century is the color war veterans, [the U.S.] launch a broad- just another part of that river of struggle at the hands of the Union Army at the end line.” Many Black activists and writers based and gigantic Bill of Rights for the that we are involved in.” of the Civil War. The victorious Northern have looked to Du Bois’ words for inspi- Disadvantaged, our veterans of the long The December 12th Movement and the government promised the newly freed ration in the continuing fight for Black siege of denial.” National Black United Front have called a slaves in the South “40 acres and a mule,” liberation. Reparations became a very The struggle for reparations received “Millions for Reparations” national rally in effect acknowledging that brutal slave important focus in the Black struggle for a tremendous boost at the World to take place in Washington, D.C., on labor had not only greatly enriched the right to self-determination. Conference Against Racism in Durban, the coffers of the former The Back to Africa mass movement South Africa [in 2001]. The call for rep- slave masters but also the in the 1920s and 1930s, led by the char- arations, along with equating Zionism emerging U.S. capitalist ismatic Marcus Garvey, was in its own with racism, compelled the U.S. and economy. way a demand for reparations. When the Israeli governments to withdraw their This just compensation Black Panther Party created free break- high-level delegations from the confer- for the freed people never fast programs and free access to clinics ence. The Durban conference helped to came to fruition due to in the inner cities during the 1960s, this provide worldwide exposure about the the counterrevolution that was another unique call for reparations. long-term, devastating impact of Western destroyed Reconstruction. programs are also a imperialism and colonialism on nation- In the “Compromise of form of reparations. ally oppressed people everywhere. ☐ 1877,” the Union Army The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Marxism, Reparations and the Black Freedom Struggle An anthology of writings from Workers World newspaper. Edited by Monica Moorehead. Racism, National Oppression & Self-Determination • Black Labor from Chattel Slavery to Wage Slavery • Black Youth: Repression & Resistance • The Struggle for Socialism Is Key • Domestic Workers United Demand Passage of a Bill of Rights • Black & Brown Unity • Harriet Tubman, Woman Warrior • Racism & Poverty in the Delta • Haiti Needs Reparations, Not Sanctions • Alabama’s Black Belt: Legacy of Slavery, Sharecropping & Segregation • Are Conditions Ripe Again Today? Anniversary of the 1965 Watts Rebellion Download it for free from workers.org/books. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. Page 8 Feb. 13, 2020 workers.org

Part 1 Over 160 years since ‘Bloody Kansas’ The legacy of John Brown By Shelley Ettinger several of the worst of the toward the Northeast. first ever where Border Ruffians who were There he would spend the next three Black and white May 9 marks the 220th terrorizing the territory. years raising funds, recruiting troops, families lived anniversary of this great When Brown and com- writing, speaking and planning. His goal and worked as abolitionist’s birth. This arti- pany rode off, they left the was nothing less than to launch a guerrilla equals. cle was originally published dead bodies of five racist war, whose leadership would be taken up Along with in Workers World on Sept. thugs. The criminals Brown by African Americans, to end slavery and farming and 14, 2006. and his band killed had establish full freedom and equality for all. guiding escaped been responsible for many slaves along an Underground Railroad Many historians agree that John Brown. assaults and murders; they On to Harpers Ferry route across the border to Canada, Brown the Civil War really started were also known for captur- Before, during and after his time in would spend those three years preparing on a flat patch of land known as “Bloody ing Native women and forcing them into Kansas, John Brown was keen to learn for the action he was determined would Kansas” 150 years ago, in the spring, prostitution and sexually assaulting Free how to wage the kind of guerrilla war- give rise to a generalized mass uprising summer and on into the autumn of 1856. State women. fare he believed would be necessary to by enslaved Black people. He would write This area of land covering some 82,000 Until Brown acted, the slaveocracy destroy slavery. To whom did he look as a new constitution for the United States square miles now sits at the geographic had been waging an undeclared war with his teachers? which first and foremost proclaimed race center of the continental United States. It what seemed like impunity. And not just To Nat Turner, Denmark Vesey and and sex equality. rarely gets national attention these days, in the fields and towns of Kansas. On other enslaved African American lead- He would travel to Canada and recruit and when it does it’s usually for reaction- May 22, two days before Brown rode to ers of U.S. slave revolts; to the Seminole several African Americans, including ary developments, like the effort to ban Pottawatomie, Preston Brooks, a member nation that had resisted domination Osborne P. Anderson, who would fight evolution from the public schools’ science alongside Brown at Harpers Ferry, Va. curriculum. (now W.Va.), and live to write about it. Yet this was once the hub of the most He would meet often with the great orga- important political conflict of its day, nizer and orator, Frederick Douglass, indeed of all U.S. history: the struggle and the two would become close friends. over slavery. This was where diametri- Douglass had escaped from slavery as a cally opposed forces—​abolitionists and young man. pro-slavers—​clashed. He would confer with the “Moses” When 1856 began, the pro-slavery forces of the Underground Railroad, Harriet had looked to be ascendant. Congress Tubman, whom he always respectfully had passed the Kansas-Nebraska Act on referred to as “Gen. Tubman.” Some May 30, 1854. The law provided for pop- believe that Tubman helped plan the ular sovereignty—​voting by white male raid on the U.S. Army arsenal at Harpers landowners, that is—​to decide whether Ferry and would have taken part in it had Kansas and Nebraska would be free or she not fallen ill. slave states. Kansas had since been the African-American freedom fighters scene of a violent terror campaign, based Dangerfield Newby, Lewis S. Leary, John across the border in Missouri. Brown’s sons Watson and Oliver, and Death squads, known as Border six others of their number would die at A depiction of John Brown moments before execution, Dec. 2, 1859. Ruffians, aimed to kill or drive out those Harpers Ferry in October 1859. Five who opposed the spread of slavery to would escape and survive. Seven, includ- Kansas, and to flood the territory with of Congress from South Carolina, strode by colonial settlers; to the Maroons of ing John Brown, would be captured and their own numbers. Jesse and Frank onto the floor of the U.S. Senate and the South and of Jamaica and Surinam, hanged. James, glorified as “rebellious” outlaws beaten anti-slavery Sen. Charles Sumner escaped slaves who fought the settler Gen. Robert E. Lee, who scant in the movies and folklore, were the most of Massachusetts nearly to death as retal- state’s forces in daring raids from bases in months later would lead the secessionist well-known of these ruffians. iation for Sumner’s speech “The Crime the hills and mountains; and to Toussaint Confederate army, led the opposing force The Border Ruffians hunted down and against Kansas.” L’Ouverture, one of the great liberators of that captured John Brown at Harpers murdered African Americans who had After Pottawatomie, all this changed. Haiti. Ferry. John Wilkes Booth, who would escaped slavery and were heading north The slaveocracy did not surrender—​it Most well-meaning whites, includ- assassinate President Abraham Lincoln to Canada. They brazenly assassinated would take the Civil War for that. But ing abolitionists, were under the sway of in 1865, was among the troops guarding Underground Railway station operators from Pottawatomie word went out. racism to varying degrees. In contrast, the scaffolding on the day they hanged and anti-slavery newspaper editors. No longer would the racist death squads Brown not only admired but sought to John Brown. It had started to seem like a foregone have free rein in Kansas. A new force, a learn from and emulate Black and Native On that day, Dec. 2, 1859, just before conclusion that Kansas would enter the force for freedom, was fighting back. leaders. He was that free of the taint of they led him from his cell to the gallows, union as a slave state. Then John Brown For years afterward, in fact to this very racism. this great soldier for human liberation arrived. day, bourgeois historians have misrepre- In Kansas, Brown worked closely with a would write, “I, John Brown, am now With a small, brave band of stalwarts, sented what happened at Pottawatomie. Native ally, Ottawa Jones, who sheltered, quite certain that the crimes of this guilty he took on the slave owners’ death squads It has been portrayed as an insane, iso- fed and helped arm Brown’s group at sev- land will never be purged away but with in direct combat, and bested them. He lated event, as a senseless, inexplicable eral points during the months of conflict. blood.” Brown was buried in the major- revived and rallied the anti-slavery forces. act of violence—​and its perpetrator as a Although he himself was a fiercely devout ity Black cemetery in North Elba, a fitting At the Battle of Osawatomie, on Aug. wild-eyed, crazed, fanatical maniac. The Christian, Brown counted Jews and athe- tribute indeed. 30, 1856, his brilliant tactical maneuvers official bourgeois version removes the ists among his troops. In April 1861 the Civil War would led to the defeat of a pro-slavery force of Pottawatomie raid from its historic con- For three years after leaving Kansas, begin. 300 soldiers by his group of under 20—​ text—the​ bloody terrorist war the Border Brown was based in North Elba, N.Y. [in and from then on he was affectionately Ruffians were waging—​and omits the upstate New York].There he established Next: Part 2: "Spirit of Harper's Ferry known as “Old Osawatomie” by admirers fact that the men Brown’s troops killed a cooperative farming community, the Raid lives on." around the country. were racist murderers. In Lawrence, Kanasas, in the first two John Brown was no lunatic. He was a weeks of September, he led the military hero. By first frost in the fall of 1856, he defense of the state capital against a had accomplished what six months ear- A Voice From pro-slavery assault—​and ever after was lier no one thought possible. The territory respectfully called “Captain Brown” by had been secured. Kansas would enter the Harpers Ferry those who fought alongside him. union as a free state. But before Osawatomie, before The victory came at a high personal Osborne P. Anderson’s account of the raid Lawrence, John Brown had already cost for Brown. His son Frederick died at on Harper‘s Ferry appeared in pamphlet become a legend. That happened at the Battle of Osawatomie. Another son, form in 1861 right after the start of the Pottawatomie Creek. John Brown Jr., was captured by the Civil War. Now in book form, with essays by pro-slavery forces and tortured horribly A daring raid while held prisoner, which led to many Mumia Abu-Jamal, Monica Moorehead and At Pottawatomie on the night of May years of illness and anguish. Vince Copeland. 24-25, 1856, John Brown led an armed Brown himself was now a wanted band in a lightning raid against an man. A price on his head, he went under- Available as a FREE download at workers.org/books. encampment where he knew he’d find ground, leaving Kansas. He headed workers.org Feb. 13, 2020 Page 9 How socialist base helps China combat coronavirus By Sara Flounders stop desperate people from “looting” stores for needed supplies or to keep people fleeing floods and earthquakes China is showing the world what is needed—and​ pos- from moving into unoccupied hotels and resorts. But no sible—​to combat the outbreak of a new, highly conta- government measures are taken to stop businesses from gious virus. hoarding, speculation and price hikes. Even food, water, The steps China has taken around the coronavirus blankets and generators donated to charities can end up are unheard of in capitalist countries. They reaffirm the sitting in warehouses. basic socialist character of the Chinese state. In a crisis This happened when Hurricane Katrina flooded New or emergency, the welfare of the people comes before Orleans in 2005, and happened again in the U.S. colony capitalist profits. of Puerto Rico with the disastrous hurricanes of 2017 A capitalist class exists in China. There are million- and recent earthquakes, as well as the fires in California aires and even billionaires. But in a crisis, the Communist in 2018 and 2019. Millions are left on their own to sur- Party controls the state and has the leverage to make vive as best they can in armories and overcrowded stadi- PHOTO: CHINA DAILY Chinese workers built the 1,000-bed Huoshenshan hospital decisions not dictated by capitalist profits. ums. The Federal Emergency Management Agency and in the city of in 10 days. Starting three weeks ago, China imposed a limited the Cross are immediately overwhelmed. quarantine on 35 million people in Wuhan city and Those with resources can leave the area, try to rebuild province. That has now been extended far wider their lives, file insurance claims and wait years for settle- thousands of health care workers. How? Through socialist and restricts all unnecessary social interaction until ments. But orders to evacuate don’t help people without planning and the cohesive leadership of the Communist more is known about the virus. cars or with nowhere to flee. Party. Lunar New Year celebrations were canceled nation- When a contagious virus causes a health crisis, mil- Thousands of medical volunteers have responded to wide. Schools, factories and workplaces were closed an lions still go to their jobs sick because more than 40 the government’s call to assist in Wuhan. With mass additional week to control contagion. The whole popula- million workers in the U.S. lack paid sick leave. Staying transit shut down to lessen contagion, squads of free tion was asked to self-quarantine and limit social inter- home to care for sick family members means many taxis are operating for those who need health care or action. Only food deliveries and other essential services workers are at risk of losing a job. Advice on what to do shopping. Food is easily available and quickly delivered. continued nationwide. is limited to telling people to get a flu shot, along with a Fresh fruits and vegetables are being shipped in. There China has made an all-out effort to learn and share series of ads for cough drops and fever meds. are no desperate people breaking into shops for food. with the world the genome of the virus, how contagious Spending government funds in preparation for an As of Feb. 10, ’s vast subway system is operat- it is, its symptoms, what organs it attacks, the mortality impending health crisis or natural disaster is just not on ing again. Subway stations and train compartments are rate, and what treatments or combinations of treatments the U.S. agenda. disinfected every hour. are most successful. So far this season the flu virus has sickened 22 mil- China Global Television Network, CCTV English, lion people in the U.S., with 210,000 hospitalizations Peoples Daily and Global Times provide up-to-date Why China is so concerned and 12,000 deaths, according to the Centers for Disease information. Coverage focuses on the role of science, Worldwide, influenza causes up to 5 million cases Control and Prevention. But no special provisions are technology and a broad-based people’s campaign to of severe illness annually, killing up to 650,000 peo- being made, even though the death toll here already far adhere to the quarantine and observe strict health mea- ple, according to the World Health Organization. Some exceeds the 1,000 coronavirus deaths in China. sures. The shortages, price spirals and mass chaos pre- viruses are new and more dangerous than others because Hospital emergency rooms across the U.S. are already dicted by the U.S. media are not happening. humans are not yet immune to them and vaccines have overwhelmed, according to the Feb. 8 New York Times. not been developed to control their spread. Vital medical supplies, including medications, ventila- Why capitalism can’t do this The H1N1 swine flu virus, which began in the U.S. in tors and respirator masks, are in critically short sup- When the Chinese government imposed a partial 2009 and spread worldwide, infected more than 1.63 ply. To maximize profits and cut costs, large for-profit quarantine on the 35 million workers in Hubei prov- million people and caused 284,500 deaths, with a fatal- medical conglomerates with hundreds of hospitals keep ince, it also declared that rent and payments on loans ity rate of 17.4 percent. No efforts were made by the U.S. inventories of even basic items like masks, gowns and and credit cards were frozen. government to slow the spread of that particularly dan- gloves in short supply. Could a capitalist government do that? Would capi- gerous flu, which especially targeted young people. The CDC says that 20 percent of people in the U.S. talist banks tolerate freezing credit card debt, car pay- China’s massive efforts around the current outbreak come down with the flu each winter. In a bad season, ments, insurance premiums and mortgages? of the coronavirus, however, have restricted the fatality like the one in 2017-18, the flu killed more than 60,000. Would the mega sports entertainment industry toler- rate so far to around 2.1 percent—lower​ than usual for But the idea of shutting down factories, schools, shop- ate canceling the Super Bowl or other professional sports a new disease. By Feb. 1, the number of people cured in ping malls, movie theaters, restaurants and sports are- events that generate billions in advertising revenue? China exceeded the deaths, indicating that the epidemic nas to save thousands of lives is inconceivable. Would landlords, large or small, tolerate freezing rent is controllable. But it is not yet controlled, and deter- payments? mined work is continuing, including building solidarity China shows the way Would corporate giants allow major factories to tem- with Wuhan. China just built two major hospitals in 10 days, with porarily close when profitable orders were waiting to be Each day new medical teams go to Wuhan and Hubei a combined capacity of 2,600 beds. It has mobilized filled? Every week that Chinese factories are closed cuts from other parts of China. More than 6,000 medical $26 billion in world trade. (New York Times, Feb. 8) staff arrived on Feb. 9, following a national call for “pair- Would the pharmaceutical industry allow essential ing-up support for Hubei.” One-on-one support systems medicines to be distributed at cost or free? This industry have been established in 16 provinces and municipalities is the most profitable sector of the U.S. economy, with to help cities in Hubei battle the epidemic. the highest prescription drug costs in the world. Millions Faster diagnosis and treatment plans are being aggres- of adults in the U.S. skip their medications due to high sively tested and immediately disseminated worldwide. prices, according to Harvard Health Reports. But rather than spend billions to improve health care U.S. has no policy or basic infrastructure, Washington lavishes money on What China is doing stands in sharp relief to cur- military bases to surround China and new weapons to rent U.S. policies. In an emergency or crisis in the U.S., threaten the world. maintaining property relations is the first and strongest Chinese medical workers in Wuhan, Hubei Province, use Workers here need to know the truth about China consideration. antivirals developed by the Cuban biotech industry to treat and demand the levels of health care, monitoring and Time and again, National Guard units are mobilized to patients diagnosed with the coronavirus. national planning that everyone has a right to expect. ☐ An epidemic of racist U.S. propaganda

By Joshua Hanks have had a field day with the coronavirus, running story the epidemic, including a mass mobilization of health after story with provocative, ideologically tinged head- care workers, People’s Liberation Army soldiers and The novel coronavirus that first appeared in Wuhan, lines and content. While crises elsewhere can bring out members who are on the front lines China, had by Feb. 10 spread to 28 countries and territo- sympathy and aid donations from the world’s richest of the battle against the epidemic. ries, leading to over 40,000 confirmed cases. Spreading countries, the coronavirus has been turned into a pro- “China is doing the right things, and China is respond- faster than the virus itself, however, is widespread rac- paganda weapon to condemn the government of China ing in a massive way. We’ve seen no obvious lack of ism against all people of East Asian descent. and add fuel to anti-Chinese racism. transparency,” Dr. Michael Ryan, executive director of The virus presents much less of a threat than sea- For example, a Feb. 4 article in the New York Times the WHO Health Emergencies Program, told reporters. sonal flu, which killed over 60,000 people in the U.S. titled “Coronavirus Crisis Shows China’s Governance (Newsweek, Jan. 29) alone during the 2017-18 flu season. Yet, despite swift Failure” opined that the Chinese people “are getting a WHO Director-General told report- and effective efforts by the Chinese government to slow rare glimpse of how China’s giant, opaque bureaucratic ers at a Jan. 29 press conference in Geneva: “China the spread of the epidemic, fear and racism continue to system works—or,​ rather, how it fails to work.” has been completely committed to transparency, both metastasize throughout the world, especially in Western internally and externally, and has agreed to work with capitalist countries. Praise for China’s response other countries that need support. ... The level of com- Sensationalist tabloids like the Sun and Daily Mail Yet both the United Nations and World Health mitment of the leadership in China is incredible; I will in Britain, as well as allegedly professional “journals of Organization have commended China’s rapid response. praise China again and again, because its actions actually record” like the New York Times and Wall Street Journal, This has included over $10 billion spent on controlling Continued on page 10 Page 10 Feb. 13, 2020 workers.org Venezuela, Trump editorial and the Democrats A rare moment of public truth occurred non-leader. had backing only from outside Venezuela. States have a duty to defend the existing in Trump’s Feb. 4 vile State of the Union If any new lesson was needed to show Meanwhile the Bolivarian revolutionary Venezuelan government. speech when the two U.S. parties rep- that, yes, the Democratic Party leaders government in Caracas, led by Maduro, There is an opportunity now in the resenting the ruling class—​apparently represent vicious and oppressive U.S. had the loyalty of the Venezuelan people United States to defend Venezuela hostile to each other on many other imperialism, there was the proof. in general, even after years of the strict by defending the Venezuela Embassy issues—came​ together in unity. The irony is that, while the Venezuelan U.S. economic blockade. The government Protectors. They are political activists As the Feb. 5 New York Times reported: traitor Guaidó has the backing of the also had the loyalty of the armed forces who occupied the Venezuelan Embassy in “In one of the night’s few bipartisan White House, the State Department, and had mobilized and trained a popular Washington last spring in solidarity with moments, Republicans and Democrats the CIA—​and the Democratic Party militia. the Venezuelan people. They were able to stood to applaud Mr. [Juan] Guaidó,” leadership—​ he has virtually no sup- Guaidó’s flops lost him whatever back- delay the embassy takeover by Guaidó’s whom Trump introduced as “the presi- port in Venezuela, not even within the ing he had a year ago from the Venezuelan gang. dent of Venezuela.” Venezuelan right wing. capitalists. In a vote in the Venezuelan Four of the protectors—​Kevin Zeese, This was a night when Democrats had Guaidó was little known outside of his National Assembly this January, the Margaret Flowers, Adriene Pine and a green light from their leaders to boo local district a year ago when, with the various rightist, anti-revolutionary par- David Paul—​each face a year in prison the impeached but acquitted Trump, and encouragement of Trump, Mike Pence ties actually voted to depose Guaidó and and $100,000 fines for their courageous when “Squad” members either stayed and other U.S. imperialist gangsters, he replace him as head of the Assembly. legal actions. Their trial began Feb. 11 in away or walked out. After the State of the acquired sufficient arrogance to appoint But, useless as Guaidó might be as a Washington. Workers World encourages Union, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi even himself president of Venezuela. During political leader, he still poses a threat to all who can to go to court to support them. ripped up a printed copy of the speech in the year, with U.S. backing, he attempted Venezuelans because he has the backing For more information about how Trump’s face. to overthrow the elected Venezuelan of Washington and other reactionary cap- to help defend the protectors, see But at Trump’s introduction of Guaidó, President Nicolás Maduro no less than itals in Latin America and Europe. defendembassyprotectors.org. ☐ most Democrats stood up and applauded five times. That means anti-imperialist, anti-war for the self-appointed Venezuelan Each time Guaidó failed because he and any progressive people in the United Sanctions Kill protests

By Nathaniel Chase targeted countries, with damage most Organized popular resistance has made strongly felt by the it increasingly difficult for U.S. imperial- poorest, most vulner- ism to impose its will around the world able members of soci- through military intervention. From Iran ety: women, children, to Venezuela, from People’s Korea to elders and people with Zimbabwe, working and oppressed peo- chronic illnesses or ple are fighting back. disabilities. In the face of this growing resistance, The International the U.S. is increasingly relying on weap- Campaign against Sanctions and Visit sanctionskill.org/list-action to sub- Venezuelans during 2017-18, received ons other than direct military assaults Economic War is calling for coordinated mit details. almost no coverage. to achieve its aims. Chief among these is days of action around the world March U.S.-imposed sanctions affect at least It is imperative that all anti-war, the imposition of sanctions, also known 13-15 to raise consciousness around and 39 countries, more than one-third of the anti-imperialist and progressive forces as Economic War or Unilateral Coercive fight back against sanctions imposed by world, a fact widely unknown even within organize against U.S.-imposed sanctions Measures. the U.S. and its junior partners. the anti-imperialist movement. Their and economic war. Awareness of the Imposing sanctions means using the More information about the campaign, broad scope and deadly impact receive U.S. sanctions must be increased, both enormous influence the U.S. holds over including a call to action translated into little attention in the mainstream media, within the anti-imperialist movement the global economy to block the sale 17 languages, a list of over 1,000 endors- allowing the U.S. to carry out campaigns and among the working and oppressed of basic goods to a country and to pro- ers, educational materials and resources of terror around the world with minimal masses at large. Beyond raising aware- hibit a country from accessing SWIFT, for planning an action can be found at awareness outside the targeted country. ness, we must build a movement that the worldwide payment system used sanctionskill.org. For example, a 2019 study by the Center not only educates, but has the power for international trade. These measures Can you organize a demonstration, for Economic and Policy Research, which to fight back and defeat the deadly U.S. have devastating economic impact on meeting or educational event in your city? found that U.S. sanctions killed 40,000 sanctions. ☐ An epidemic of racist U.S. propaganda

Continued from page 9 Times article stating that “at critical roughshod over its people. attack on an Asian woman was filmed at turning points, Chinese authorities put All this stands in sharp contrast to a subway station in New York, while pic- helped in reducing the spread of the novel secrecy and order ahead of openly con- the statements made by leaders of the tures from around the world show signs coronavirus to other countries. We shall fronting the growing crisis.” U.N. and WHO. China rapidly identified in restaurants and stores that refuse ser- tell the truth and that’s the truth.” But that same day Chinese scientists pub- the virus, reported it to the WHO, and vice to Chinese people. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio lished a paper in the New England Journal sequenced its genome two days later, Chinese-owned businesses outside Guterres told reporters at the African of Medicine titled, “Early Transmission publishing the data in Chinese medical China have seen noticeable reductions in Union Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Dynamics in Wuhan, China, of Novel journals as well as Western ones, includ- customers as many people avoid them due on Feb. 8: “It is clear that there is a mas- Coronavirus-Infected Pneumonia.” ing The Lancet and the New England to fears of the coronavirus. That is stoked sive effort that is made by China in order The headline of a Feb. 3 Times article Journal of Medicine. by media outlets eager for a sensationalist to contain the disease and avoid its prop- about China’s efforts to report all sus- story to generate more views and clicks. agation. I think that that effort is remark- pected cases to health authorities is titled, Whipping up xenophobia and racism Sadly, the corporate media, Western able.” Guterres’ remarks got no coverage “China, Desperate to Stop Coronavirus, The Trump administration has governments and racists are using this in the Western media. Turns Neighbor Against Neighbor.” But announced travel restrictions for those epidemic as a new way to attack China, two days later an article titled, “China who have been to China, and Trump’s just as Trump’s trade war and Obama’s U.S. media falsehoods and slanders Clamps Down on Coronavirus Coverage Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has “pivot to Asia” were designed to under- However, accusations of secrecy and as Cases Surge,” lamented that reports described the epidemic as being poten- mine China and stymie its rise to become cover-up, which are at odds with state- of cases were being suppressed by the tially good for U.S. businesses and a way a global power. ments from international agencies like government. to bring jobs back to the U.S. Now is the time for all workers and the U.N. and WHO, continue to come Yet another Times article on Feb. 6 The callous disregard for sick people oppressed peoples around the world to from outlets like the New York Times. was headlined: “Wuhan Rounds Up the shown by the ruling class trickles down stand with the people of China in their An opinion piece on Jan. 29 by Times Infected as Death Toll in China Jumps,” to other segments of society, too. time of need, to counter the fear-based columnist Nicholas Kristof put this conjuring up images of a heavy-handed In Sydney a man of Asian descent suf- propaganda against China, and to fight sentiment quite bluntly: “Coronavirus response. This dovetails perfectly with fered a heart attack in the street and died, back against the epidemic of racism tar- Spreads, and the World Pays for China’s the West’s existing narrative of China as with no one offering to help him out of geting people of East Asian descent. ☐ Dictatorship.” It was followed by a Feb. 1 an authoritarian dictatorship that runs misplaced fear of the coronavirus. An workers.org Feb. 13, 2020 Page 11 Report from Puerto Rico Part 1 Organizing against earthquakes and austerity

On Jan. 8, WW reporter Phebe I cannot testify to this because I do not volunteering. Eckfeldt interviewed Alberto Barreto have scientific evidence or information. All was organized Cardona, a leading member of Partido But other islands in the Caribbean, like by Puerto Ricans and Mundo Obrero/Workers World Party. Cuba, have experienced a major earth- without the help of the Barreto spoke about his recent travels quake. It is surprising that PR is shaking, government. Now the from Jan. 1 to 28 in his home island of Cuba is shaking, Jamaica is shaking. Is it Puerto Rican govern- Puerto Rico. nature or are other factors involved here? ment shows up for the The southern coast of Puerto Rico was pictures. To be seen in the epicenter of a 6.4 magnitude earth- WW: Are people living outside now? the newspapers. quake on Jan. 7. The same area of the But in each camp ABC: Many people are living outside island was devastated by a 5.9 quake that I went to, there was because they lost their housing due to the on Jan. 11, with a 5.0 magnitude quake an incredible sense of earthquake. Other people are living outside hitting the area on Feb. 4. According to belonging. It was pow- even though they have housing because the U.S. Geological Survey, between Dec. erful. Although it was they are so scared and panicked they do not 28 and Jan. 15, Puerto Rico suffered over a critical situation, I want to sleep in anything that is cement. WW PHOTO 1,280 earthquakes, with more than two saw the resilience of the When I was there, I felt at least seven shak- Puerto Rican activists Oscar López Rivera (left) and Alberto dozen magnitude 4.5 or greater. Puerto Rican people and ings every day. Also there is fear of a tsu- Barreto on Calle la Resistencia (Resistance Street) in old San the love everybody was nami, so everyone on the coast [where the Juan, during a Jan. 20 demonstration denouncing both the Workers World: How are people demonstrating for each colonial government’s negligence in meeting the people’s needs epicenter was] is trying to go to the hills. dealing with the earthquakes? How are other—​intervening in and the neoliberal program of the imperialist PROMESA Board. When I went to the camps, the first thing they organizing themselves? each other’s lives. There I noticed is each has a couple of people was collective cooking; there was even a been a male problem in the left, and it Alberto Barreto Cardona: It is as point persons who are very organized playground created for the children with continues to be a male problem. important to notice even before the about how food was distributed. There are toys. All produced by the people, all gen- [While I was in Puerto Rico,] there earthquake I could still see the damage portable toilets, plenty of them. erated by the people’s organizing. were major demonstrations in San that [2017 Hurricane] Maria did to the But I also saw things I did not want to Juan in front of the governor’s house Puerto Rican infrastructure and also the see. There was a 72-year-old man who’d WW: Please talk about the role of demanding the resignation of the gover- grievances of the people about the lack of had major surgery two weeks before, women in response to the earthquake. nor—​because we found products never motivation from the government to inter- because of cancer of the stomach. It was delivered to people during Maria. vene and improve the quality of life on not the best hygiene situation for some- ABC: I witnessed myself the incredible I consider the youth of Puerto Rico the island. For instance, the people have body who had an operation of that type! strength of the women organizing in both right now to be the vanguard because they discovered there are many warehouses the [camp] community and also primarily are the ones who are being more militant. all around the island with resources that ‘Our own people were taking organizing around the demonstrations in They are the ones protesting almost every were never delivered—​that could have care of our people’ San Juan against the government. It was day about the neglect of the government. alleviated people’s conditions. I traveled through the center of the so refreshing not to see men in front of I am just happy when I return to Puerto When the [first] earthquake happened, island to Ponce where all these camps were everything. In the majority of the chant- Rico. I just want to be part of this. I don’t there was already a lack of faith among established by community organizers, vol- ing, the organizing, the picket line, there want a leading position. I want to be led the people in the government to be pro- unteers and also some landowners who were powerful Puerto Rican women. by youth: “Tell me how I can be helpful.” active. The majority of those organizing allowed people to make camps on their I also saw the women being point I try to keep myself in check about not the camps for the poor—​the medical land. I visited almost six of the camps; they persons in the camps, and the linkages being paternalistic or being condescend- volunteers, the nurses, the social work- were all close together. I noticed that they that people are making about women’s ing. That is something that is a part of ers, the psychologists—​were all volun- had enough water, enough food, because oppression and colonialism, patriarchy patriarchy, and it is also part of the bad teers. Our own people were taking care of the community had intervened—​not and capitalism. There are separate orga- habits that sometimes you find in the left. our people. There was a clear movement because the government had intervened. nizations for women that are very pow- I think that is being corrected with of solidarity in all parts of Puerto Rico, The response of people from the north erful and very confrontational and very action. People have grievances, but the including the land where the camps were. and the northeast [of the island] to the political. They are not “polite!” grievances don’t stay as grievances. You people affected was incredible. But it was It gave me a lot of hope because we suf- see the changes in the picket line; you see In the aftermath of the earthquakes Puerto Rican helping Puerto Rican, and fered for so many years from the assump- the changes in the demonstrations. You I went to the camps in the south, to there was no government. When I went tion of leadership by men. [It was good] also see the creative way of doing politics. a town called Ponce, near the epicen- there, they had trucks full of water and full to see the youth and women organizing, Sometimes we need innovations to keep ter of the earthquake in Guanaco. There of food and donations. They had people to see that they are trying to resolve griev- things alive, and the youth have all kinds is doubt whether this earthquake was from the School of Psychology who volun- ances right there. Not sitting and discuss- of ideas! caused by nature. There are some people teered to do interventions with children ing—​they are resolving by doing. They who believe that there is an interest in around post-traumatic stress disorder and are resolving by taking control, rather Next: Part 2 of Alberto Barreto’s inter- exploring oil in the Caribbean, and per- trauma. After nurses finished their work than “Let’s sit and talk about it.” [Public] view: “PROMESA and the earthquakes.” haps some clandestine process may have day in the hospital, they went and volun- leadership is not something that Puerto contributed to this. teered in the camps. There were doctors Rican women have been a part of; it has Venezuela Cinco apuntes urgentes sobre el ataque imperialista Continúa de la página 12 la Liga de Corinto, se tomaron decisiones los últimos tiempos de lo que se llama Y quinta: Por tanto, debemos mul- que podríamos definir como la primera «dinero barato», representa ya el 320 tiplicar estos encuentros, estos deba- Bakunin, Dessalines, Pétion, Bolívar, estrategia contrainsurgente internacio- por ciento del PIB mundial y sólo hay dos tes, coordinarlos, avanzar en la praxis Túpac Amaru, el Negro Miguel… y a tan- nal para derrotar el aumento de las luchas formas de reducirla drásticamente hasta antiimperialista porque cada segundo tas y tantas mujeres trabajadoras invisi- sociales desde, al menos, el -371. una cuantía mínima manejable desde los que perdamos es un segundo de vida bilizadas que son el cerebro y el corazón Las transformaciones sucesivas en las intereses del imperialismo: descargán- que regalamos al imperialismo para que de la dignidad. formas de propiedad privada, que han lle- dola sobre la humanidad trabajadora, y contraataque. ☐ Tercera: Pero todo indica que la clara vado a una ultracentralización y ultracon- sobre las potencias competidoras que se tendencia represora está acelerándose centración de la gran propiedad burguesa resisten a ser peones del imperialismo. porque esta vez el mando imperialista ha en poquísimas manos en la segunda Pero no es la única amenaza existente; El capitalismo en un coordinado el sabotaje a líneas aéreas civi- década del siglo XXI, han ido acompa- hay más, siendo la más grave la que anida callejón sin salida les de un tercer país para que no puedan ñadas de correspondientes avances en la en la ley tendencial de la caída de la tasa tramitar billetes a Venezuela, es decir, un coordinación internacional de las repre- media de ganancia y en la ley general de la Fred Goldstein mando político-militar ha torpedeado a siones, unido a una mayor agudización de acumulación capitalista. Cuando los dife- utiliza las leyes de la acumulación empresas civiles extranjeras ampliando la lucha de clases y de las contradicciones rentes niveles de estas crisis se fusionan capitalista de el ataque a derechos humanos elementa- interimperialistas. Esta complejidad es la en una sola quiebra, al imperialismo no Marx, y la tasa les. Asistimos a un salto más en el reciente que ahora mismo explica el obsesivo ata- le queda más recurso que la destrucción decreciente proceso de unificación represiva entre los que al evento antiimperialista en Caracas. masiva de valor acumulado, de trabajo de ganancia, para servicios secretos y la política internacional Cuarta: En la actualidad la econo- muerto, infraestructuras y fuerzas pro- demostrar por lo que confirma la naturaleza del imperia- mía capitalista en su conjunto y el poder ductivas para intentar empezar otra fase qué el capitalismo lismo como dinámica inconciliable con la de los EEUU y de la Unión Europea, se expansiva, si es que puede. Y es por esto global ha llegado más mínima democracia. enfrentan a obstáculos cada día más dra- que no aguanta ni un segundo la mínima finalmente a un En ponencia que no pudimos exponer máticos: la gigantesca deuda global que emancipación de los pueblos: de aquí punto de inflexión. públicamente en Caracas (lahaine.org/ no para de crecer debido a la política el ataque al evento antiimperialista de LowWageCapitalism.com fQ3J), recordábamos cómo en el -338, en suicida mantenida por la gran banca en Caracas. Correspondencia sobre artículos en Workers World/Mundo Obrero pueden ser enviadas a: [email protected]

¡Proletarios y oprimidos de todos los paises unios! workers.org Vol. 62, Núm. 7 13 de febrero 2020 $1 Miembros del Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela (PSUV) en Caracas. Elogio de la OMS China lucha unida, pueblo y gobierno, contra coronavirus

Por Sergio Ortiz que tiene alguna contradicción (caso del dengue hemo- otros países”. Añadió lo evidente: “las medidas tomadas laarena.com.ar rrágico, sembrado por EE.UU. contra Cuba). no sólo son para proteger a su pueblo, sino también para Beijing no apuntó en esa dirección ni culpó a la CIA, proteger a las personas de todo el mundo”. 30 de enero − Los primeros casos de esta enfermedad aunque no habría que descartar absolutamente toda sos- Una expresión de las prioridades del gobierno socia- fueron en la ciudad de Wuhan, provincia de Hubei, cen- pecha. Se puso manos a la obra para conjurar el mal en lista es que decidió construir dos hospitales con carác- tro de China, en diciembre pasado. El contagio habría base a su propio esfuerzo, con mucho apuro. Si después ter de urgencia, uno para mil camas y otro para 1.600, comenzado en un mercado de peces y aves silvestres los servicios secretos chinos tuvieran alguna prueba, en tiempo récord. Las tareas comenzaron el 24 de donde se venden mariscos, serpientes y murciélagos. De seguro que la presentarán ante quien corresponda. enero y culminarán el 3 de febrero en el nosocomio de esos animales el virus pasó a empleados del lugar, que lo Lo segundo que se nota es el involucramiento del Huoshenshan, a 20 km de Wuhan, y dos días después se fueron contagiando a otras personas. gobierno central y las autoridades provinciales en las abrirá otro en un predio de 30.000 metros cuadrados a El nombre científico puesto al coronavirus por la tareas de salvataje. Enviaron miles de médicos a Wuhan, orillas del río Yangtsé. Organización Mundial de la Salud es 2019-nCoV, siendo reforzaron presupuestariamente la zona afectada, reu- Las obras se desarrollan durante las 24 horas del día, parecido, no igual, al Síndrome Respiratorio Agudo nieron el Buró Político del Comité Permanente del a toda velocidad, tal el empeño en que no falte aten- Grave, SARS, que en 2002-2003 en esta región dejó 750 Comité Central del Partido Comunista de China para ción médica a quienes la demanden. Cuando la epi- muertos. discutir planes al respecto, el propio primer ministro Li demia de 2003 del SARS, el gobierno hizo el Hospital Los medios de comunicación del gigante asiático Keqiang viajó a la zona más peligrosa para transmitir Xiaotangshan en una semana. Sana envidia sentimos los daban cuenta de 106 muertos por la enfermedad, con el apoyo del gobierno nacional y tomar contacto directo argentinos porque en nuestro país el sistema de salud 4.500 casos detectados y unos 7.000 más de proba- con esa realidad, etc. está muy venido a menos, no sólo en infraestructura sino bles infectados. Wuhan, puso en cuarentena a sus once también en presupuesto, número y salarios de sus profe- millones de habitantes. Sumadas las 17 ciudades de otras Un verdadero ejemplo sionales y enfermeras, etc. provincias cercanas, el número de quienes están en ais- Xi dijo que el pueblo chino ahora está sosteniendo Quien está al frente de las tareas médicas propiamente lamiento para evitar contagios supera los 50 millones. una batalla muy seria contra la epidemia y agregó que dichas es el director de la Comisión Nacional de Salud y El número de muertos fue aumentando, pero viene “la seguridad y salud de las personas siempre están pri- ministro del ramo, . En una conferencia de encontrando un cierto techo; según los médicos la mor- mero, y, por lo tanto, la prevención y control del brote prensa consignó que habían enviado a Hubei a más de talidad del 2019-nCoV no es muy alta pues ronda el 3 del nuevo coronavirus son el trabajo más importante del 900 trabajadores médicos en siete equipos, además de por ciento de los contagiados. De todos modos para el país en este momento” (cable de agencia Xinhua, 28 de un equipo médico militar de 450 miembros, con otros gobierno se convirtió en un asunto de máxima prioridad enero). mil en espera. atender las tareas médicas y de otras órbitas del Estado, Eso fue dicho en la reunión que tuvo el presidente en El gobierno central asignó 143 millones de dólares para disminuir al máximo el impacto en la población. el Gran Palacio del Pueblo de la capital, con el direc- para combatir la epidemia, envió sus reservas de sumi- Lo importante a destacar, para quien observa el fenó- tor general de la Organización Mundial de la Salud, el nistros médicos, ropa de protección, mascarillas, guan- meno desde la Argentina, son los análisis y determi- etíope Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, excanciller del tes y gafas protectoras a las áreas más afectadas, detalló naciones adoptadas por el gobierno del presidente Xi país africano. el ministro. Jinping, en varios sentidos. El visitante fue informado por Xi de las novedades de “La epidemia es un demonio. No le permitiremos Primero, el brote apareció en medio de los agudos con- la lucha contra el coronavirus, aunque tenía sus propias esconderse”, dijo el presidente Xi. A la salida de la reu- flictos generados por Estados Unidos con China, a partir fuentes de información, pues se había permitido que nión en Beijing, el director de la OMS elogió la velocidad de que Donald Trump comenzó con una serie de gravísi- expertos de la OMS fueran a Wuhan. y la escala masiva de las acciones de China rara vez vistas mas sanciones comerciales, y con denuncias a Beijing y Tedros declaró que “es admirable que el gobierno en el mundo. Tedros dijo que “esto demuestra la eficien- extorsiones a terceros países para impedir la comercia- chino haya mostrado su sólida determinación política cia de China y las ventajas del sistema de China”. lización del 5G de la cooperativa Huawei. y tomado medidas oportunas y efectivas para abordar Por un tiempo las agencias internacionales tendrán En esas condiciones apareció la enfermedad. Una la epidemia. China ha emitido información de manera que dejar de lado sus calumnias a China por los moti- mentalidad algo esquizofrénica habría desconfiado o abierta y transparente, identificado el patógeno en un nes pro-capitalistas de Hong Kong y no tendrán más sembrado sospechas del mal a esa potencia decadente, tiempo récord y compartido la secuencia genética del remedio que reflejar la digna lucha del socialismo por responsable de meter enfermedades en los países con los nuevo coronavirus de forma oportuna con la OMS y con la salud. ☐

Venezuela Cinco apuntes urgentes sobre el ataque imperialista Por Iñaki Gil de San Vicente en Lahaine.com analizar ahora, además de esto y, sobre todo, confirman guerras campesinas, en las sublevaciones andinas y la incuestionable lección histórica de que la soberanía continentales, en las primeras revoluciones burguesas, La reacción furibunda orquestada y dirigida internacio- de un pueblo depende de su capacidad de autodefensa. en los comienzos de lo movimiento obrero y popular nalmente contra el Encuentro antiimperialista por la Vida, La catástrofe de Bolivia vuelve a dar la razón a la histo- con trabas de toda índole, en los controles represivos la Paz y la Soberanía, que se celebra en Caracas los días 22 ria: el imperialismo nunca se da por vencido, siempre de 1848, en las citas de la Primera Internacional, en al 25 de enero de 2020, nos exige algunas reflexiones sobre está actualizando sus contraataques, nunca ceja en la el cerco a la Comuna de 1871, en las leyes antisocialis- todo a quienes se nos ha impedido acudir. desestabilización, en el soborno y cooptación de seres tas de finales del XIX y el cerco a la II Internacional y Primera: El boicot llevado a cabo por varias líneas despreciables, mercenarios designados para cumplir las en especial a la III Internacional, la comunista, en las aéreas para impedir la asistencia al evento confirma su órdenes de la burguesía y del imperialismo. Brigadas Internacionales y en el Socorro Rojo, la siem- idoneidad, su necesidad, el acierto del PSUV al convocarlo. Segunda: Desde hace un tiempo, personas de bien, pre fallida obsesión de amordazar y atar a Cuba y a En la actualidad hay varios frentes de batalla decisivos en revolucionarias, venían soportando en aeropuertos cre- Nuestreamérica… la guerra entre el imperialismo y la humanidad explotada: cientes restricciones y ataques a su libertad de comuni- Recordamos aquella ridícula pretensión del rey espa- Venezuela es uno de ellos, el más decisivo junto a Cuba cación, de movimientos, de asistencia a actos, debates y ñol creyendo que enmudecería a Hugo Chávez cuya voz para la doble tarea de recomponer las fuerzas emancipa- reuniones de solidaridad internacionalista en otros países. se escucha en este vital evento antiimperialista, junto a doras de Nuestramérica y tomar la ofensiva del proceso. Asistimos a un endurecimiento represivo contra la de Fidel Castro, Marulanda, Argala, Allende, Camilo Pero Venezuela—y Cuba—también son importantes estos derechos que nos recuerdan a las desesperadas Torres, Lumumba, Sankara, Amílcar Cabral, el Che, a nivel mundial porque además de fortalecer la alianza medidas de muchos Estados para impedir la solidari- Ho, Mao, Trotsky, Durruti, Nin, Mella, Mariátegui, con otras potencias que de algún modo se enfrentan al dad en las revueltas grecorromanas y medievales, en Lenin, Zapata, Rosa Luxemburg, Jenny, Marx, Martí, imperialismo por diversos intereses que no podemos la asfixiante vigilancia sobre los y las esclavas, en las Continúa en la página 11