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August-Odober 1992 Volume 13, Number 4 ($1.00 outside U.S.) 75f/. The fire this time L.A. rebellion unveils the shape of tomorrow dards in free fall, while the most op­ and 4,273 others. few was not lifted until after Sunday "Riot is the pressed workers are living in hell. One­ Though the media portrayed L.A. as night. Schools were closed for three third of the half-million people in South­ out of control for days on end, almost days. The city shut down the South­ language of Central L.A. officially live in poverty. all the looting and burning was already Central post offices, held repair crews the unheard. " The uprising was a violent rebuke to over before troops appeared on the back, stopped bus service, blockaded a violent ruling structure, an outcry streets on Friday afternoon. freeway access, and closed the beaches. -Dr. M.L. King, Jr. loud enough for the whole world to Nevertheless, the dusk-to-dawn cur- Seventeen thousand people were ar­ hear. It was a defining moment in U.S. rested; 4,000 were arrested during Watts. history. Forty-five percent of those arrested were BY MONICA Hill And it is far from over. It was still Latinos, several hundred of whom were "Hen no! w-e won't take itl" echoing in July, when then illegally deported by the Immigra­ Wednesday, April 29, 1992. Follow­ Heights in City went up in tion and NaturalizatIOn Service. ing the acquittal of four cop-terrorists flames for two days after a white cop who bludgeoned Rodney King senseless shot and killed 23-year-old Jose Garcia, Two nations, rich and poor. This last year, enraged youth from the ghet­ a Dominican-American. Neighborhood was no race riot. Blacks, Latinos, whites, toes, barrios, and housing projects of residents, who are mostly Latino im­ men, women, kids and parents - all Los Angeles ignited the biggest and most migrants, said, "iBasta! - Enough!" in joined in. multi-racial riot/revolt in the U.S. in the language of arson and guns. Many of the torched or raided this century. , shops were owned by Korean Ameri­ It was violent and compassionate, No peace possible without \ cans. Undoubtedly, anger over in­ chaotic and orderly, surprising and pre­ justice. Forty-five people died sensitive or racist treatment by some dictable. It exposed the powers-that-be during the three days of rioting merchants contributed to this de­ and intimated the power that could be. in Los Angeles, 11 more than struction. But mainly, the busi­ It was a rebellion against police were killed when Watts blew nesses that were hit were hit sim­ brutality - and much more. It was a up for six days in August ply because they were there. "It shout of fury against the economics and 1965. At least 11 were slain was a riot of have-nots venting politics that have impoverished, by the incredible array of their frustration," said one Ko- drugged, brutalized, exploited and police and troops called rean grocer. marginalized Blacks - and in addition out - a total of 20,238, The Kerner Commission, to Blacks, all people of color, women, including 5,000 L.A. which studied the riots of the and gays. It was an explosion against a cops; 9,975 National '60s, reached the famous conclu­ system in which previously comfort­ Guard; 3,313 federal sion that the U.S. was split into able workers are afflicted with debt, troops; "two societies, one black, one anxiety, and living stan- white." The L.A. riots of 1992 roiled from and reveal an even more fundamental division: two sodeties, one have-nots, one haves.

Not just an L.A. thing. The protest spread overnight to dties across the country and even around the world: Toronto, Berlin, . • In San Francisco, Mayor FrankJor­ dan responded to outpourings of dis­ gust at the verdict with a state of emer­ gency, a curfew, and full-throttle re­ pression of the right to assemble. (Please see Merle Woo's account on page seven.) to poge 4

New Freeway Hall 5018 Rainier Ave. S. BULK RATE U.s. POSTAGE , WA 98118 PAID SEATTLE. WA ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED PERMIT NO. 1003 2 Freedom Socialist August-October 1992

In This Issue Letters

Freeway Hall Case victory 8 Women leaders, viewpoints." They straightforwardly need lots of help. A volunteer One more Reagan-era Lenin and Trotsky fought and shot people who acted attorney and other legal workers • nightmare is over. The against the revolution. They were are what we need most. I think there is sound reason battling to defend rule by the major­ This suit promises to be a vital, malicious charges by to believe Lenin and Trotsky ity - workers and peasants. Stalin, ground-breaking fight for all Richard Snedigar against turned their backs on democratic by contrast, murdered millions to workers' rights off the job. In his radical ex-cohorts have in the early period - ensure the survival of the privileged 1990, Sandy, an award-winning been thrown out. The they had to survive first. Shoot­ ruling-caste minority. -Ed. journalist and organizer for defendants are free at last! ing the number of people they Tacoma , was shot can't be blamed on Stalin, transferred from reporter to copy and if [FSP] thinks democracy is Human race, editing because of her political marked by the execution of op­ activities. For two years, she, her posing viewpoints then our defi­ racism, and class defense committee and thou­ nitions deeply vary. I work on our prison newspa­ sands of petition-signers nation­ Bay Area arrests To write that [the Russian per as a staff writer. I'm begin­ wide have been agitating to get Merle Woo, one of hundreds Revolution] was led by women is ning to awaken to the fact that Sandy reinstated, but her boss arrested in San Francisco demos a re-writing of history to fit the for the human race to continue won't budge. current feminist viewpOint. Yes, in harmony, we must have an Through this lawsuit, we plan after the King beating case ver­ women in breadlines revolted - alternative to our curren t system. to get Sandy back in the news­ dict, reports on fruitless ef­ but so did troops at the front. The I hope to be able to convince my room. Journalists must be free to forts by cops and politicians leaderShip both of Kerensky's brothers and sisters in the Afro­ be involved in their communi­ to make the city a protest­ movement and "Lenin and American community of the need ties. Fair and balanced news de­ free zone. Trotsky" was hardly marked by for socialistic cooperation in or­ pends on reporters who are po­ leading roles for women. der to re-vitalize the urban ghetto. litically knowledgeable and in­ Of course, we agree on Stalin There's more to the struggle than vested in the world around them. - but it is the continuing unwill­ black and white issues. Racial ten­ If you would like to volunteer The Fire This Time Civil Liberties ingness to examine problems in­ sions in the world are due to the to help us win this important l.A. rebellion 1 Oregon SLAPP suit 2 volved with basic Leninist theory imposed class structure of the First Amendment case, call Sandy Weed and Seed 1 Freeway Hall win 8 and Trotskyisttheory -as if only plutocracy. Nelson at (206) 752-3678. Race liberation 4 with Stalin did things go wrong Paul X Lee Linthicum Sheba Haven 5 Left - that divides us so deeply. Kincheloe, Chair, Sandy Nelson Oddly, some of those leaving the Nazis in Simi Valley 5 FSP dropouts 6 Defense Committee are better able Tacoma, lVashington Merle Woo 7 to see the flaws in Lenin than the Fed-up Features Trotskyists. International Editorials David McReynolds Matriarchist Readers are encouraged to submit Dateline 3 Free trade 6 War Resisters League I am a sort of post anti-Viet­ letters, news stories, commentary, New York City nam-War, pro-McGovern politi­ cartoons, graphics, photographs, and Racism in 6 cal burnout case and am sick and pertinent resource information on Elections 7 tired of the ONE PARTY world and national affairs. Candidate ratings 3 Voices of Color 7 Women did initiate the insur­ (Democans and Republicrats) sys­ rection that resulted in the tsar's tem. I am also a Matriarchist. overthrow. While all the opposition Please send me your magazine or Announcement parties were telling the workers that anything. they would lose a confrontation, the Radical Women delegates In Next Issue Mike Kulik will embark on a tour of East­ women textile workers disagreed. Plattsburgh, New York • War in Eastern Europe: An exploration of the Their International Women's Day ern Europe and the republics ethnic strife tearing apart Yugoslavia, Russia, and many of demonstration sparked the revolu­ ofthe former USSR in fall 1992. the new Eastern European republics. tion - and changed world history If you live there and would Sandy Nelson like to make contact, or you utterly. Leadership is not exclusive The anniversary of case update know of groups or individuals • American quincentennial: - both women and soldiers can RW should meet with, please Columbus' arrival in the Americas is sparking both jingois­ lead! Trotsky tells the inspiring story Sandy Nelson and her defense write to the Radical Women tic celebrations and renewed resistance to exploitation and in his History ofthe Russian Revo­ committee are gearing up to take genOcide. Alaskan native Debra O'Gara will report. National Office, 523-A Valen­ lution. the Tacoma Morning News Tri­ cia St., San Francisco, CA Lenin and Trotsky did not en­ buneto court. To get the case filed 94100. gage in the "execution of opposing by late summer, we're going to On the cover: The drawing used to illustrate our front page, "Invitation to the Dance: Central District 1973," is by interna­ tionally respected Seattle artist Selma Waldman. Staff Intimidation lawsuit launched Managing Editor Editorial Assistant Design & Andrea Bauer Janet Sutherland Production against gay rights organizers Meeghan Truelove Production Consulting Editors Jon Walwick BY MATT NAGLE fraud, and intimidation against lies as "lacking values"; the U.S. Manager Yolanda Alaniz Marcel Hatch OCA petitioners at a Fred Meyer military still gives lesbian and Kathleen Merrigan Doug Barnes Ryan Braun he Oregon Citizens Alli­ store. Those charged include Port­ gay soldiers the boot. Asst. Production Clara Fraser ance (OCA), a Portland­ land Radical Women and its or­ Disastrously, while the right Manager Guerry Hoddersen based group of funda­ ganizer, Adrienne Weller; Queer wing is trying to drive us back to Steve Hoffman Henry Noble Camera mentalist Christians with Nation; Campaign for a Hate Free segregation, closets, and the & Printing T a Wide-ranging fascist program, Oregon; the Fred Meyer Corpora­ kitchen, many lesbian and gay Business Manager Business Assistant Advertising Services Jackie Nghiem VALCO Graphics has launched a new effort to tion; the Portland police chief; bureaucrats are more concerned Wendy McPherson destroy the lesbian/gay and anti­ and the entire city government. with keeping the revolutionary Staff Writer Illustrator Nazi movements. It has brought How absurd! This sinister ha­ "riff-raff" out of "their" bailiwicks. Matt Nagle Su Docekal a $14 million SLAPP suit against rassment suit is pure fabrication In this vein, RW Organizer Weller Portlanders combating the OCA's intended to intimidate, bind, and was thrown off an anti-OCA steer­ drive to outlaw at gag the OCA's activist enemies. ing committee just weeks before The Freedom Socialist (ISSN 0272-4367) is published quarterly by the Freedom Socialist Party, New Freeway Hall, 5018 Rainier Avenue South, the ballot box. (SLAPP stands for Already deParrie has filed de­ deParrie lodged his suit. Seattle, WA 98118. Phone: 206-722-2453. Subscriptions: I-year $5.00 Strategic Lawsuit Against Public mands in court for his opponents' Movement misleaders are (institutions $10.00), 2-year Supporting Sub $25.00, 3-year Sustaining Sub Participation.) meeting minutes, tax records, breaking apart the bonds of soli­ $50.00, 5-year Sponsoring Sub $100.00. Add $5.00 for overseas airmail. Their statewide initiative, internal correspondence, and lists darity just at the time that the Back copies $.75 each. Checks or money orders to Freedom Socialist at the Measure Nine, will be up for a of contributors. rightwing xenophobes are break­ address above. In Australia: I-year $6.00 AUD, airmail. Mail payment to vote in November. Today, the U.S. Supreme Court ing down the doors of groups P.O. Box 266, West Brunswick, VIC. 3055. Phone: 30-386-5065. In The lawsuit, filed by anti-abor­ has abortion rights hanging by a resisting the bigots. The office of Canada: I-year $6.00CAD, airmail. Mail payment to 103-1055 E. Cordova, tion vigilante Paul deParrie, ac­ thread and has ruled that ban­ Campaign for a Hate Free Oregon Vancouver, BC V6A 1M8. Phone: 604-254-9440. Current subscribers: Appearing on your mailing label is a number which indicates how many cuses 21 organizations and indi­ ning crossburning is unconstitu­ was raided and ransacked in]une. more issues you are due to receive. "0" means this is your last issue. viduals of plotting to incite a riot tional; the Bush brigade slams Enough is enough! We can't and commit burglary, assault, single mothers and Black fami- obliterate fascists "the nice way." Organizing behind closed doors spells failure. We need a united SUBSCRIBE TO THE FREEDOM SOCIALIST - TODAY! front which welcomes the lead­ Enclosed is: ...... ership ofradicals, people of color, 0$100 ...... ub (20 issues) and a free copy" 80DItiIIIt : The First Decade, 1966-1976 by Gloria Martin. women, , lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, and transgenderals. subscription, 12 issues. 0 r supporting subscription, 8 issues. 0 $5 for a 1-year.ascrlpti!Jll,4 o $5f"'~slistalnlftg $2ifli.at.... A multi-frontal political attack o $4JID.,lus $2.50 for postage, for the nine iostaUme .... ",.. /JIIfcano Strullflle: A RaCial or llatlonalllo"ement? in the streets, in the press, in the courts, and at the ballot box will Name~~~~~~ __~~~it~~~~~-p~~~rl~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ __ ~.~~~••... ~~~~~~. beat these guys if we mobilize together. To help in the anti-OCA work, call Radical Women at (503) 289- 7082 or write to 7038 N. Fairport Place, Portland, OR 97217. [] August-October 1992 Freedom Socialist 3

How the alternative candidates stack up Looking for a reason to vote in the A former Rainbow Coalition director, a candidate's job to get out there and lead. The almost-candidacy of capitalist ti­ presidential election? Well, here's the Free­ Daniels decided that working within the Where Daniels isn't on the ballot, we tan Ross Perot, notwithstanding all its dom Socialist Party ratings of the third Democratic Party is a dead end. His right­ recommend a vote for the Socialist Work­ racism, sexism, etc., had its vital, optimis­ party/independent candidates who are on-the-mark solution? Form an indepen­ ers Party. tic side. It showed how completely eager running in many or all states. dent, workingclass party integrating all Looking past the immediate candidates, voters are to pitch out the Democrats and We support Black organizer Ron the movements. a positive development this year is the Republicans. Daniels, but with one major criticism: We But why stop there? Many of Daniels' mounting interest in an independent party We look forward to seeing this demand think he should deliver the explicit anti­ constituents are already calling their en­ among activists of color, feminists, and for choice focus on anti-capitalist candi­ capitalist critique his platform implies. emy by its name - capitalism - and it's progressives in the labor movement. dates and develop into something big!

PartyICandldates Feminism Sexual Minorities Miscellany

Ron Daniels, Stand for total equality Strong, vocal support Running a serious President for women, especially for lesbian and gay grassroots effort. A+ on Aslba Tupahache on the job, and repro­ rights. environmental issues. Vice President ductive rights. Socialist Workers Their program for Gay liberation? What's Only revolutionary so­ Party women is limited to that? cialists in the arena. De­ James Warren, President abortion rights and af­ spite inadequacies, still Estelle DeBates, firmative action. worth voting for. Vice President Socialist Party Support women's most See comments to left. Campaign strikes no J. Quinn Brlsben, President basic rights, nothing sparks. Zzzzz. William D. Edwards, that NOW and the Vice President Democrats don't do. Pro-choice. Period. Now claim to be for gay NAP is poison. Good rap Lenora Fulanl, President rights, but in the 70s hides complete vicious­ tried to convert gays to ness towards the Left, hetero through therapy. other movements. Libertarian Party Only campaign-lit men­ Side-step the subject. Running in all 50 states. Andre Marrou, President tion of women tells us Characterize pollution Nancy Lord, Marrou's wife is "still in as a violation of private Vice President awe of him." property rights. Populist Party Call feminists "far-Ieft Believe gays are scum; a "Rambo" Gritz is court­ Bo Gritz, President zealotfeministas." Urge nasty case of projection. ing fed up white work­ (y Mlnnet, Vice President women to return to the ers with tales of his home; dream on, fellas. Vietnam War exploits.

Dateline Australia Enemies of Equal Opportunity adopt Ilreverse discrimination" tactics BY ALISON THORNE Turning our weapon against us. Equal Opportunity has been only halfway ism. But that doesn't mean we give up on This trend was graphically expressed after legislated and halfway implemented. The working for reforms. 've got mixed feelings about Equal my local Brunswick City Council decided rules of evidence make it incredibly diffi­ In this case, Equal Opportunity must Opportunity legislation in the state to introduce two weekly women-only ses­ cult to prove discrimination. Add to this be preserved and extended by incorpo­ of Victoria. Seven years ago I had the sions at the area swimming pool. an enormous number of bodies exempted rating the concept of affirmative action Ithrill of winning a case before the EO A council study had shown that the from the Act and it is easy to see why within it. We need to demand laws that Board. I won acknowledgement of my lion's share of local recreational funding discrimination has not decreased. explicitly state that there can be no equality right to be a teacher and a radical. But went to provide facilities for men. It found And now we are at the point where the for historically oppressed groups without despite this success, I have to recognize that the pool is under-utilised by women very programs feminists are organizing for special efforts - special services, training, that the current law is increasingly being because macho attitudes and sexual ha­ are rendered unlawful by the legislation education, and hiring concessions. used by reactionary misogynists to attack rassment by some male patrons create a we won in the '70s. Real equality on this planet will only be the feminist movement. hostile atmosphere. It's time for a new strategy. No piece of achieved when social and economic power In addition, Brunswick is a multi­ legislation can possibly redress the sicken­ rests equally in the hands of all who create From reform to... what? The Equal cultural workingclass suburb with a large ing inequities that are central to the wealth. But the reforms we achieve Opportunity Act, introduced in 1977 as a Muslim population. Since Islamic law for­ capital- now will help us bring that day forward. D consequence of the women's liberation bids women to swim in men's presence, movement, outlawed discrimination on an entire section of the population was L the grounds of sex and marital status. denied access to the pool. os Angeles: 1918 W 7t In 1984, the Act was expanded to out­ So the proposal for two weekly two­ Los Angeles CA . h St., #204 San FranCisco 'Say ~~~5:. 21~-413-1350. law discrimination on the basis of race, hour sessions for women was a laudable 523-A ValenCia St sa. NatlOn.alOffice, ethnicity, disability, and political beliefs attempt at affirmative action. 94110. 415-864-1278~n FrancIsco, CA and activities. A report by the Law Reform But the plan was stopped by the EO Commission, which the government re­ Board on the grounds that it would dis­ New York City' YORK Radical 32NG~ fuses to implement, recommends further criminate against men! New York, NY 100~gn Square East, Rm. 907 amendments to add coverage for lesbians Bizarre and tragic? Yes. An isolated in­ . 212-677-7002 ' OR . and gay men and ex-prisoners and to cident? Unfortunately, no. Portland: 7038 N Fair EGON outlaw age discrimination. Earlier this year, Dr. Alex Proudfoot, a 97217. 503-28'9_70C~rt PI., Portland, OR The Freedom Socialist Party and Radi­ senior officer with the Department of AnWomen international cal Women have been part of the political Health, complained to the Federal Human P WASHINGTON ort Angeles: 512 E 7 organising in Melbourne to force the Rights and Equal Opportunity Commis­ 98362. 206-452-i53~' Port Angeles, WA socialist feminist government to enact the proposed sion that the Canberra Women's Health Seattle: New Freewa H' organization in the changes. But it is time to do more. Service is unfair to men because its pur­ South, Seattle wI. 98~'" 5018 Rainier Ave Equal Opportunity laws were designed pose is to deal with women's health needs. FAX 206-723-7691 18. 206-722-6057.. fro~t lines of the fight to help level the playing field for long­ Proudfoot was defeated, but the reverse SPOkane: W. 3005 Bo~ discriminated-against groups. For cen­ discrimination cases mount. Moongala, 509-327-9196 ne, Spokane, WA 99201 agal.nst racism, sexism, turies, women, indigenous peoples, people a Melbourne women's education coop­ Tacoma: P.O. Bo~ 5847 . 206-752-3678. ' Tacoma, WA 98405. faSCism, anti-gay with dark skin, sexual minorities, and erative, is being taken before the EO others have faced abuse and super­ Board because it won't let men join the • • • bigotry, and exploitation in every area - economic, collective, although they may use many Melbourne' PO :USTRAlIA labor eXploitation. social, political, legal, cultural, domestic. of the services. 3055. 03-386_5g~:66, West BrunSWiCk, VIC Now people who would like to see Equal Opportunity destroyed are using Equal Opportunity requires af- Vancouver: GaYIynCneANNoAoDA the letter of the Act against the spirit of the J. I firmative action. The outlook for A nan 115 w Act. Anti-feminists have begun to use it Gin u Equal Opportunity, particularly I __.v.e •. , against women. It is in danger of being now, was far from rosy before. diin~ .v..an.c.o~uv~e~r'~B;C;;,;;V:5Y;;;'1T~'6~.!6~04-::~~~~~~9:~~t~~0~. -~~~!!!J~!S!~!~_J turned on its head altogether. Like most reforms under capitalism, 4 August-October 1992

put this broken Humpty Dumpty back together again . ... rebellion In our hands is placed the power. Race liberation d The job of cleaning up and creating some­ thing new is in the hands of the people from page I who have long suffered with things as they • In Portland, Oregon, a crowd of 2,000 are. Los Angelenos showed this under­ protested the verdict at a rally originally standing as they worked together across revolutionary in initiated to show outrage over the beating color boundaries to douse fires, get care for of a Black man by Nazi skinheads, an as­ the injured, stretch electrical cords across How can racism be ended? What role does race availability for exploitation sault that the police refuse to prosecute as streets to keep neighbors' refrigerators go­ liberation play in the fight for the liberation ofall? working class." a hate crime. ing, and share food and shelter. Below are excerpts from Freedom Socialist and _" American Ghetto 19 • Two nights of riots and a week of rallies The looters and the people who swept Radical Women documents addressing these ensued in Seattle. Students shut down free­ up - and they were sometimes the same questions, plus a set of demands for action. For "The used ways. The Freedom Socialist Party and Radi­ people - show two sides of the same ordering information, write to the FS Business 0(­ cans, Blacks, Asians, Mexican cal Women were two resolve: The ex­ fice, 5018 Rainier A ve. South, Seattle, W A 98118. catapult from the status of sponsors of a broad­ The war in the Persian ploited and op­ dominating imperialist power based press confer­ pressed see the ne­ Racism: a key- dass question overemphasized that first ence that called for Gulf has evolved into the cessity to take mat­ • tion, and today racial dropping . felony ters into their own "Race exploitation .. .is arbitrary and perverted ... It has of U.S. capitalism. And charges against all domestic war in U.S. inner hands. caused all of American sOciety to become organized around way short of socialist those arrested. The most impas­ race relations, and, therefore, around prejudice. "The paramount .. .form of • In New York cities, where poverty, sioned and explicit "Segregation is absolutely reqUired for the perpetuation Chicano subjugation, has al City, five demonstra­ racism and sexism demands for radical of racial exploitation, and because of this ... the [Black] regation and discrimination tions materialized in change come from movement for nearly two centuries has directed its main and apart by force, but cultural two days. Police combine to create more women of color, en­ line of struggle against segregation ... Separatism, by its very easier for the capitalists: completely cordoned casualties daily. raged at the system­ nature, cannot participate in this real struggle. ruling class by urging war off an interracial rally atic, callous brutality " ... The [Black] question is the key question for the segregate themselves. called by the Coali- against themselves proletariat. Independent labor political action can be ac­ "We emphasize ... that the tion Against Anti-Asian Violence. At a May and their sons and daughters. complished only through class consciousness, which, in problem. It is not Chicano Day coffeehouse hosted by FSP and RW, a What's needed are more leaders bold turn, can only be realized through the destruction of race­ racism that holds back the discussion of the institutionalized violence enough to say, Let's stop messing around. conscious white supremacy." -The Chicano "".,.. n'[J"ulp: of the system versus the individual vio­ Let's tell the truth. Let's forget about trying -Revolutionary Integration: The Dialectics of Movement?, Part II, by lence of looters took center stage. to save ourselves by backing Democrats or Black Liberation, by Richard Kirk and Clara Kaye Cornish, 1984 building up Black capitalism with no capi­ [Fraser], 1963 "Law and order" no solution. As tal. Let's get rid of the profit system and go "If the general radical upheavals broke out all over, politicians of for socialism. "Revolutionary Integration ... demonstrates that the ship it needs in this epoch, all colors began backing up President And these leaders will come forward, paramount historic direction of the Black movement has fulfilled by Third World George Bush's law-and-order line - ignor­ because the situation demands it. One step always been toward integration. This primary thrust for "Since [women of color] ing the fact that troops didn't stop the L.A. taken: the Crips and Bloods, L.A.'s two integration has been connected to the quest for revolution, due to their triple , rioters; they stopped themselves. major gangs, are observing a truce. They and not for assimilation into white bourgeois, racist, capi­ 'multi-issue' in their political A martial crackdown will do no more to have come up with a program for recon­ talist, and imperialist America. ethnic group brothers. They solve the problem now than it did in 1965 struction called "Give Us the Hammer and "A people living for victory through struggle must of movement is necessarily or 1967. The cities are in flames because the Nails, We Will Rebuild the City." develop the highest political awareness ... Separatist theo­ stand how the various aspects people are poor; they have no jobs, no The vision exists. The vehicle for mak­ retical and tactical errors will pit Black against Brown nected. This total rather than health care, no way up or out; they are ing that vision come to life could be a against Yellow against Red, destroy critical political alli­ social evil leads them into a constantly discriminated against, harassed, massive new multi-racial, feminist, anti­ ances, and allow sexism, homophobia, and a wholly anti­ know the face of capitalism and insulted; and they are fed up with police capitalist party. workingclass ideology to sneak in the back door." -Race and Sex, 1972: brutality. Let's organize a real challenge to this -Revolutionary Integration: Yesterday and by Dorothy Mejia Chambl Capitalism is out of time, and all the damned government; let's turn riot into Today, by Tom Boot, 1982 king's horses and all the king's men can't revolution. 0 "We only have to look at the "The political economy of racism lies in its profitability, ties in this country to see how t in the demand of the capitalist class for vast reservoirs of to incinerate our hopes, turning readily available labor whose depressed status insures low drugs, gangs, crime and suicide wages. Poverty is the buttress of the capitalist system, and "But that is only half the sto racism is a handy tool for assigning chronic poverty and communities which refuse to SUIT

bring in the FBI and DEA (Drug Enforcement BI Agency) and take away basic civil rights, all de under the direction of the U.S. Department eri ... Weed&Seed of Justice: yc • Those arrested in designated areas, in- pr from page I cluding juveniles, will be immediately im- IX people of color, then to "seed" these areas prisoned and prosecuted under federal law, in with social programs. not local. The government hopes the enticing seed • First-time drug offenders will rarely get 01 will make the lethal weed palatable. But the reduced jail time, probation, or community Se planned community programs are mere service. Those with no previous criminal m bandaids for a cancer-level problem. And record convicted of selling cocaine will serve W they are to be administered by cop agencies 21-27 months. By contrast, the racist thugs H and funded in large part by reshuffling funds who murdered Chinese-American Vincent BI from the parsimonious store of already allo­ Chin in 1983 were let off with a $3,780 fine! ar cated government block grants - the only • The Immigration and Naturalization federal money that starving cities get! Service will collaborate with police to deport hi refugees and immigrants. pI A cop on every corner. Liberals and • Homes or buildings can be seized if drug er the media are downplaying the dangers of activity is suspected. ~ the operation. But when Black community • Families who don't cooperate with the al activists in Seattle did some investigating, authorities can lose social security, welfare, lli they discovered that Weed ·and Seed will and benefits. lli August-October 1992 5

United front rousts the Nazis in Simi Valley BY BOB PRICE and together prevented the Hitlerites from come in Simi Valley. So did the rest of the marching that day. They had come to country: messages of rolled in Seven white supremacists recruit; what they got was a rout! from all over the U.S. and even from from the Mississippi-based As we planned our rally, the media and Australia. Nationalist Movement re­ police focused on the potential for vio­ The bigots could not even begin their treated like school-yard bul­ lence. 'rhey peddled the line (echoed by march. We anti-Nazi demonstrators staked lies on June 16 in Simi Valley, the Anti-Defamation League) that if the our claim on the courthouse steps and California when 700 anti-Nazi demon­ supremaCists are ignored, they'll go away. held our ground. By being organized, strators showed up to protest their pro­ But experience has shown that only large, standing shoulder to shoulder, linking police rally. The Nazis gathered outside loud, disciplined counter-demonstrations arms, and chanting, we proved once again the courthouse where Rodney King's Los of our strength will prevent the Nazis that with commitment and strong, prin­ Angeles Police Department attackers were from growing. When left unopposed, the cipled leadership on our side, the white­ acquitted to show their support for the fascists flourish first in the shadows - power aspirants can be intimidated and verdict. and then in the light of day. demoralized. The Ad Hoc Coalition Against White The Simi Valley police chief used scare By building a nationwide movement Supremacists joined together individuals, tactics in an effort to scuttle the rally, around this strategy, we can squash white families, and organizations like Mothers issuing a press statement advising all supremacy from L.A. to the White House Against SupremaCists, Black Employees' residents to stay home. But what the cops and take our cities and government back Association, Radical Women, and the didn't count on was that residents were from racist hooligans! 0 Freedom Socialist Party in a militant, outraged by the media's portrayal of their multi-racial inclusive of all comm unity as a haven for bigotry and by Bob Price has been active in the ages, sexualities, and physical abilities. the audacity of the supremacists to plan a movements to promote Left unity We built interracial solidarity against march there. The townspeople wanted to and to oppose fascism. He is a college ----.-..ds on white supremacy and racist police terror show the Nazis that they were not wel- teacher in San Francisco. gration ive sections of the who strike, protest, organize, petition, hold on and resist ... "What goes around ,comes around. The establishment has created an implacable enemy of those it treats worst: Underlv; h women of color. And we are not just vying for ourselves; · l' ng t ereVolt against Native Ameri­ our fight indicates the way forward for all those who'd like and Mexico to to see a world where working people are more important IS a to~~~~.s. econom "1J~IlC'>'>cu colony to the than corporate profits ... " world. It cannot be -Women of Color: Front-Runners for Freedom, HAVEN an African-American . and then race segrega­ by Nancy Reiko Kato, 1990 !Y are intrinsic features ~ho was fatally beat~~s~ran~e executive be expunged in any If the col­ y~ars ago. Wh Y MIami police Action needed now! lective reality acqUItted the fou en an all-White ·u for his death M. r C?ps brOught to tJ .ryl oppression ... and of • Fund the cities by dismantling the war machine and ~alled ad· ,lamI bu rIa been segregation ... Seg­ taxing the rich - not the poor! America" ~ flIghts. TOday few rned three days w MCDuffi people even know workers isolated were a real wo­ ~ ~rthur gaflIZIng which ;;as. The basic Or- m makes it even • Stop government aggression against people of color! man she COuld COUl~ be said to b - prevented th ave later _ aids and abets the End police brutality! In every city, create independent, color to voluntarily elected civilian review boards to prevent police abuse. Keep sUff~ring fror: ~~~ in the stre:t~r~~l~~a~~n of ROd~~; an Incurable one. e COUrts was federal troops, the FBI and the INS out of our communities. Andth bmhl!'m is totally a white all . .,chronic auto' - en as now th people have Opted 0 ' e masses of poor nationalism but white E erglC) disease know ImmUne (self- • End race and class bias in the courts. Represent rythematosis. This d· n as Systemic Lupus electoral pOlitics. ut of participating in people of color, the poor, and women on all juries. Pay Young women Isease strikes mai People felt "Wh union wages and provide child care to people on jury duty! monia, heart ~?d causes arthritis pn~ly didates have b' y shOUld I?" Few of een hone t can- host of dysfunct~~ease, dementia,' and ~­ h working and POor s repreSentatives • Provide guaranteed annual incomes for the poor. separately e:ch symptom is w om We Wish We people. Even those Supply government-funded jobs and training for the un­ :~eated ~~ ~a CEcumbs to a painfUl d Iethnt most often from because of theirCO~ld expect better employed. Reinstitute affirmative action in education, vents fOllowi ea. up danCing to the Co or or gender end training, hiring, promotion, and seniority systems. Levy verdict are sym t~g th~ ROdney King case tunes. same old D who discriminate emocrat financial penalties against employers the majority of X m.atIc of the "aller " But tOday We hav • ,"'''''''- on three planes, and allow bigotry to flourish at the workplace . ~o their current ~eflkkk~'s citizens h~e le~rn from the mista~ the oPPortunity to to be far more ISm, seXism c~nomlC system R eXIst veterans ofth es of the past. The than their class or • Establish free, quality, multi-lingual, multi-cultural homelessness 'ar~g:Ism and ram·pa~c; stro e struggl h re see where each type child care, education and social services. Expand library ng and new peo e w 0 are still disease, of the potential to bec pIe bursting With th t, they also under­ services and develop neighborhood youth centers for ~ausal capi!~l?mptoms they ome sharp e ystem of intern. sm. The corru d c~me together the ~rganizers. If ion are intercon­ arts/crafts, sports, recreation, and education. ynamIc leadersh· y WIll become approach to namic h Ip able to a ~~h~~~~~~P ~au:~~Ot~~ f1~~i~~ ;~~! ~t: c allenge at the b create a dy- awareness, for they • Stop crime at its source by attacking poverty! Ihzed tax breals of Two things the f< allot box. t f~~t~he Incre~se specia~: have none of it." Legalize drugs under community control - take the ose same every flch {ear above all others?rces of oppreSSion or Comradeship?, profits out of dope and treat the abusers! away Us .corpOrationswhichh-andfor .. Jobs thro h aVe taken n electoral politi . mass participation speedup, and usi Ug runaway sho coalitions. The two cs hand broad-based • Renovate abandoned buildings to house the workers The w: ng technology to repl ps, are the 1 go andi h e d·· a~s~db· ~e th on y forces wh· h n and and homeless; expand low-income housing. . rs eclme at a ac enefIts of work system contin ues Gi~ de.cadence of Ameri~k/an overcome Increase in the g e only equaled by th - WIth an arsenal a, theMaterial many young people to • Nationalize health care and rush emergency If ROdney h ;y packages of CEO e Even the ti ·d . a way o1,lt. funding into AIDS prevention, research and treat­ Wearing a three_ a. been. driVing a B~W ~ven the bOlde~lm can re~ister and Vote .. The other half is of ment. Institute nationwide programs to reverse the ?r ~de enOugh t~Iefe SUIt, and tall enou h jury. order ,of everyday people horrifying death rate of infants of color! 0 It IS unlikely h p ayprofessionalsporf ;~~~a Exercis:;~~~~~~~rin t~ in the structure on power, target of Such have been ~~o:er t~:cal ~o~~~ld th~ ballot l"k r s of oW.run, and tOday those African_~IIty. . In Amerikkka 1 e a gun." 0 'Ield Your partake of corpOrate me~Ican males who en~e t!Ie ViOlent da _prOfIt rarely experi_ Sheballa n women hold feds at bay. A and crime the only means of sur­ maJoflty of their b!et~O-day reality of the Illelllber O;e , a forlller of purported war against drugs and vival for the most desperate. Let's But some h reno Panther. ..-art"n the . Black - really a war against unemployed weed out capitalism and plant the aVe. Arthur McDuff. In the hI' IS active Ie was • Ollleless of color and the rest of the poor - has seeds of socialism! That's the only real IIIent In Oakl Illove_ not victory, but a record prison solution! 0 and, Calif. on. Proportionally, more Blacks are 'or"",""'" in the U.S. than in South Africa. as is typical in wars, misery has sprung I------~ Pandora's box against the system. In I $13,000 still to raise - help us go over the top! I for example, a broad, grassroots led by Black women like Harriet I Enclosed is my donation to Name I of Mothers Against Police I the Freedom Socialist: (please print) I "",'lit-II' has forced Mayor Norm Rice, a to postpone acceptance of Weed I 0$1,000 0$750 0$500 Address ~ I message is clear: This racist drug war I 0$150 0$75 0$50 City ______State ____ Zip ____ to go. The honest answers to the in our cities are jobs, education, an I 0 Other $___ _ economic redlining, civilian review I Country Phone ______to stop police brutality, legalization I 0 I pledge $ per Send checks to Freedom Socialist, 5018 Rainier Ave. South, I community control of drugs, and free, L _month for =- monthS.:..... ____Seattle, WA 9811 ~USA~06)722-2453. ___ --1 1t1I.IUl,111I1.U\.. drug abuse treatment. We an end to the system that makes drugs 6 Freedom Socialist August-October 1992

Editorials International solidarity key to fight against U.S.-Mexico "free trade" THE DEBILITATED AND disaster-plagued condition of the world economy is sending multinational corporations scrambling for ways to squeeze more from workers' labor globally. "Free trade" is one. Having signed a free-trade agreement with Canada in 1988, the Bush administration is now negotiating a deal with Mexico that would open up Mexico's state-owned oil resources and 28 million low-paid workers to almost unre­ stricted Yankee exploitation. Both countries would remove trade barriers, allowing companies to turn Third World workers into slave labor and make big profits selling cheaply produced goods to U.S. consumers.

IN THE NAME OF healthy competition, this accord would privatize and deregulate the Mexican banking, insur­ ance, transportation, and communication industries. Large companies would swallow small ones, resulting in worsening service, working conditions, and wages. The spewing of pollution and toxic chemicals from FSP dropout clique excuses maquiladora assembly lines would be accepted practice, ruin­ ing Mexico's land and water and contaminating food: envi­ ronmental genocide. self-exile with anti-party hysteria The threat of jobs moving out of the country would in­ tensify pressure on U.S. workers to accept takebacks and pay BY GUERRY HODDERSEN Hindin and Boot were her house­ Seattle attended by national cuts. mates. Without discussing their branch representatives. All workers on both sides of the border, from to his political season, noth­ plans with me, the National Sec­ But Scott, Hindin, and Boot the Yucatan, would lose. ing will get you into more retary of the party, the three used (two white women and a Black trouble than being a the money to buy a house and man) saw the incidents as an DECENT WAGES, WORKING CONDITIONS, and en­ T Leninist - an advocate relocate from San FranciSCO to excuse to keep bashing the N.O. vironmental standards will only be achieved when workers not only of overthrowing capi­ Berkeley. When Bay Area members Kato, control what we as workers produce. To win that control, we talism and replacing it with so­ In doing this, they broke with Wong, Moises Montoya, and need a working class unified across borders. We need to abol­ cialism, but of the necessity for a two long-standing party tradi­ Merle Woo told them to knock it ish the border patrol and open the borders so that those who theoretically advanced and tions. First, FSP members, espe­ off, the trio labeled their local labor can travel where they please and where they need to in highly disciplined leadership or­ cially leaders, who receive finan­ comrades as all dupes of whip­ order to survive - capitalists already do! ganization to help push the pri­ cial windfalls usually donate a crackers at the N.O.: the coordi­ Because migrant workers come from Mexico and Latin vate property system into the third or more to party or RW nator of the National Comrades America to the U.s. to find jobs, they lead the way in forging permanent past tense. funds to help alleviate the always of Color Caucus, Yolanda Alaniz; international allegiances. This is especially true of Chicanas In this day of Soviet Disunion, acute money crunch. Second, lo­ the party's founder and National and Mexicanas, like those in Watsonville, California who are most of the Left seems to have cal leaders consult with me and Chairperson, Clara Fraser; and organizing a boycott of Green Giant/Grand Metropolitan to concluded, wrongly, that Lenin­ their branch members before me. publicize the abuses experienced by toilers on both sides of ism equals Stalinism and leads moving to a new city. We evalu­ the Mexican/U.S. border. inevitably to purges, the crush­ ate the impact such a move would Unity and discipline or Latinas who fight racism, sexism, and economic exploita­ ing of democracy, leadership have on the party's political work federation and free-for­ tion, all at once and wherever they occur, demonstrate the cults, and rule by heavy-handed and reach a joint decision. This all? The concept of being a loyal kind of workingclass solidarity necessary to invigorate the la­ bureaucrats. Conventional wis­ never happened in San Francisco. minority was absolutely foreign bor movement worldwide and defeat "free trade." Cl dom says that to be pro-democ­ When confronted by the N.O. to these increasingly self-cen­ racy, you must be anti-Leninist. on these breaches of FSP practice, tered narcissists. If they were in a During the Freeway Hall Case, they launched a diversionary at­ minority, then democracy had which we just won, the Freedom tack on my organizational style. to have been extinguished Socialist Party heard a lot of this Soon after, they acknowledged throughout the organization! State-approved racism sort of redbaiting. Our biggest that they had broken with our When they found almost no crime, according to ex-member way of operating. Scott summed support for the war they had Richard Snedigar, is operating it up in a memo as "challenges to created with the N.O., they left in Canada must stop through democratic centralism. national control of the Party by the organization as fast as they IN MONTREAL, RODNEY KING'S NAME is Marcellus Those holding minority opinions factionalizing for local control." could, rejecting the N.O.'s invi­ Fran~ois, a 24-year-old Haitian immigrant shot to death by police. are expected to abide by majority They agreed that they had been tation to conduct an open de­ In Winnipeg, it's J.J. Harp.er, a Native leader killed by police. deciSions, arrived at through full functioning as a petty-bourgeois bate within the party on dis­ In Vancouver, it's Zhang Feng Hua, a Chinese immigrant whose and open discussion. This, Snedi­ clique - an unprincipled alli­ puted questions. (They did, how­ ruthless beating by cops was caught on home videotape. gar said, proves that FSP is a cult. ance based on personal ties and ever, mail a several-pound anti­ In Toronto, it's Raymond Lawrence, a 22-year-old from Jamaica (Please see page eight.) party diatribe to every FSP and murdered by an undercover cop just three days after the verdict Snedigar's discredited malign­ What they really RW member five months after acquitting King's attackers. Lawrence's death sparked a demonstra­ ing of the party has now been they made good their escape.) tion of almost 3,000 people on May 4 and a rally of more than picked up by three of its former mlnted was a party A few hangers-on in San Fran­ 2,000 three days later. leaders - Tom Boot, Roanne cisco went with them, citing rea­ These men are just four of the many Black, Latino, ASian, and Hindin, and Constance Scott, all in which they, sons such as, "I've had misgiv­ Aboriginal victims of the racist cop assaults sweeping Canada. National Committee members ings about living as a revolution­ The germ of this epidemic is nurtured in Canada's shattered from the San Francisco Bay Area. as leaders, ary for some time." economy. Prime Minister Brian Mulroney's Tory regime is re­ The three resigned from FSP in were free to behave Racism also speeded their exit. sponding to recession and this year's 31.4-billion-dollar budget October 1991, alleging that the The white women simply could shortfall with social and political violence - layoffs, skyrocketing organization functioned like a according to different not stand criticism or taking lead­ taxes, scapegoating of immigrants, and repression. gulag controlled by the National ership from people of color. To inoculate themselves against Mulroney's plague, those most Office (N.O.) in Seattle. As they standards. When Bay Area branch mem­ vulnerable to it must address both the economic and the political; tell it, life in the FSP was akin to bers, who are mostly people of cause and effects; disease and symptoms. working in a wild mix of the New organizational gripes. They agreed color, disagreed with their Olym­ Opposing police brutality is one part of the prescription. The Alliance Party, one of Ross Perot's to begin working more pian dictates and demanded a"C­ other is demanding jobs, pay equity, affirmative action, repeal of fascis tically run corporations, and collaborativelywith both the N.O. count ability, Scott and Hindin the free-trade pact with the U.S., and equal rights in every sphere a Stalinist prison camp. and local members. split, taking with them a politi­ for racial minorities, immigrants, women, and lesbians and gays. However, when they left, they But before a year was up, they cally dependent man of color, A national, anti-capitalist coalition dedicated to these goals claimed they had no differences had re-cast the conflict as one Boot, and thousands of dollars of would go a long way toward curing Canada of its ills. with the party majority over our featuring Brave, Independent­ RW and FSP funds. On their way basic program. They said they Minded San Francisco Branch out, they engaged in an orgy of • • • just wanted "the right to dissent, Leaders vs. National Party Hacks. adolescent tantrum-throwing THE CANADIAN GOVERNMENT paid Mary Pitawanakwat criticize, question." and door-slamming. to fight racism - but she took her mandate more seriously than But they always had that right. Alienation blooms into The Freedom Socialist Party they intended. An Ojibway Native, she was fired in 1986 from her What they really wanted was a antagonism. They discovered does not expel people over dif­ job as a social development officer with the Department of Secre­ different kind of party, decen­ this new depiction of events rather ferences of opinion, but we do tary of State in Regina, Saskatchewan, in retaliation for her pro­ tralized and non-democratic, suddenly between June and Oc­ expect our members, and partic­ tests against racist and sexual harassment she experienced there. where they - as leaders - were tober 1991, when they found ularly our leaders, to be respon­ Mulroney's administration has obstructed redress for Pita­ free to behave and to run the Bay themselves in a minority about Sible, even when they have a wanakwat since she first lodged complaints in 1984. She deserves Area branch by different stan­ the way to deal with instances of minority point of view. We be­ reinstatement, payment of lost wages and benefits, and compensa­ dards than those set and adhered racist insensitivity by a few mem­ lieve in the necessity for a highly tion for suffering. to by the party as a whole. bers toward Asian-American com­ motivated, loyal, and commit­ A Human Rights Tribunal will rule on Pitawanakwat's case in rades Nancy Reiko Kato and Nellie ted cadre of revolutionaries to October. Supporters of Pitawanakwat worldwide have let the tribu­ Lure of upward mobility. Wong. Kato and Wong believed help bring to birth the new world nal know that they expect justice. If you would like to add your In 1990, Scott, who was the Na­ an educational and corrective from the ashes of the old. voice to this chorus, write to the Mary Pitawanakwat Defense tional Organizer for FSP's sister approach was warranted; they That's and Trotsky­ Committee, P.O. Box 33042, Regina, Sask., Canada S4T 7X2. Cl organization, Radical Women, developed and led a highly suc­ ism, and we are proud to be a came into a large inheritance. cessful race-relations seminar in continuation of this tradition. Cl

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Voices of Color Clara Turning rage into resistance Fraser Show of solidarity challenges Beware of San Francisco cop crackdown the Arkansas Traveler BY MERLE Woo and arrested him. pletely weighed down by cops SLICK WILLIE and the Democratic Leadership Council of We were bound with cutting and black-robed judges. The stu­ plutocrats and militarists pose a more sinister threat than the Late in the after­ plastic handcuffs and crammed dents who produced it recognize punctured Perotians could ever hope to. Billy Boy and his blood­ noon on May 8, more into buses and vans. My van­ that there is no righteousness in and-Gore running mate should scare the blinders off every alleged than 1,000 people mates and I bolstered each other our social/economic system. radical who compulsively endorses the Democrazies on the gathered at Mission up by singing, "We Shall Not Be And the fundamental right to demented grounds that independent left politics are "sectarian." Dolores Park in San Moved," "Solidarity Forever," and protest - our constitutional free­ The Hollywood extravaganza that entertained us in the Madi­ Francisco for a rally the "Internationale." doms of speech and assembly - son Square Garden parody of a convention was a rude wake-up and march called by Roots Against We were deliv­ is seriously at risk. call to all populists, humanitarians, progressives, and social justice War (RAW), a youth of color or­ ered to Pier 38 and advocates, not to mention - er, ah - radicals. ganization, and other groups. The dumped into a Never since the halcyon days of Rooseveltian demagogy have event was held to support the filthy warehouse the Democrats so blatantly telegraphed their essential nature, to L.A. rebellion against the acquit­ there. Five hun­ wit: They are owned lock, stock, and howitzer by giant corpora­ tal of the cops who beat Rodney dred of us shared tions and imperial special interests. The party chauffeurs are con­ King and to protest the massive two telephones, temptuous of and insulting to the disenfranchised, the disinher­ arrests of demonstrators on the two portable toi­ ited, the disenchanted, and the validly dyspeptic challengers of same issue in S.F. on April 30 and lets, and two wa­ the world according to George and Barbara and Danny and Mari­ May l. ter dispensers. lyn and Bill and Hillary and Al and.Tipper and Ron and Nancy The cops, who consider that The group and the Kennedys and all such sainted family-values exemplars. the Simi Valley verdict gives them discovered that Oi gevalt, what a crew! carte blanche, were ready. Antici­ the cops plan­ Clinton and his handlers brassly and crassly shlepped a me­ pating a slew of new arrests, they ned to bring nagerie of bemused, confused, and euphoria-suffused delegates had even appropriated a squad of heavier char­ right over into the ideological camp of the Republican "enemy" old red and orange Muni buses ges against without so much as a perfunctory, "Sorry, kid - this hurts me and painted them black and those who more than it hurts you." white, the San Francisco Police had also been Department colors! arrested the THE CONVENTION CIRCUS was an excruciating exercise in When my colleague Moises week before. routing the radicals and liberals and making them hail their op­ Montoya and I arrived at Dolores Moisesandl pressors. One flamboyant ethnic militant of the '60s dreamily Park, we could see a line of cops told the press that everyone was happy because "victory" was in getting into place sight. along the top of the One can only gasp in disbelief. A victory for whom? hill, forming a threat­ For Jesse Jackson and his rainbow of the disaffected, who were ening silhouette that As more and more cops humiliated and rebuked by Deacon Clinton for fraternizing with blocked the setting sun. shoot' people in the ghettos a brilliant, dynamiC, honest, courageous, stunningly articulate Periodically, SFPD and barrios, crack demonstra­ and talented young Black female artist, Sister Souljah, one of the sound trucks blared the tors' heads, and raid homes, new leadership voices to emerge from the flames of Los Angeles? message that the rally cars, and work places with im­ For the feminists who were powerful enough eight years ago to had to stop and we had punity, one has to wonder­ place Geraldine Ferraro on the ticket but have now sacrificed a to begin our march. The is a police state on its way? qualitative program for women's rights to the false glamor of an cops' aim was to stop our Cops go berserk for a rea­ expanded quantity of women running for office? These congres­ ideas from getting out by son. They are used by the sional candidates are fated to turn out little better than their male disrupting the rally. We state to protect pri va te prop­ partners in legislative crime. And even the ballyhooed pro-choice ignored them. erty, prop up the status quo, plank is but another dabble in wishy-washy moderation. Most of the speakers and stifledissent. If the men A victory for the lesbian and gay politicos who had to be satis­ were angry people of color. with the piles of money are fied with a couple of impassioned pleas by people with AIDS for They brought out that feeling threatened, the enlarged research-and-treatment funding, while not one word was there have been thousands men and women in blue heard in four endless days and nights about the terror perpetrated of Rodney Kings; democ­ against sexual minorities by homophobists of both parties? racy and equality are a cruel ~!!~~•• ~ leash.will be A policeslipped state off isthe in A victory for the trade-union movement, unseen and unheard hoax. Poverty, unemploy­ place when all of society's im- at the festivities? Franklin Roosevelt at least had to "clear every­ ment, homelessness and racism MIDn,c~~ portant institutions are under the thing with Sidney" (Hillman, president of the Amalgamated must go, they said. helped lead a discussion in which control of the cops and the mili­ Clothing Workers). Clinton clears things only with the engorged A young Black woman from we collectively decided that we tary. employers and global industrialists whose ill-gotten gains boosted the East Bay Coalition for Justice would all remain until all were That day is not imminent in him to front-runner status so early in the game. called for a general strike. released. "Seconds go first!" we the U.S. We have the opportu- Would a Democratic triumph bring relief to students, seniors, I spoke, saying that we are chanted. nity now to seize the initiative, physical minorities, the homeless, Chicanos, Native Americans, seeing the start of a class war - Eventually, some second-tim- move onto the offensive, and tip Asian Americans, Jews? Or respite to the earth? Gore claims that not a race war. Together, workers ers were released, which lulled the scales with the mass of those his vaunted "salvage of the environment" is an investment that and poor people of all colors are many firsts into leaving, too. for whom justice is long overdue. will make money - which can only mean that every cleanup will the majority, and we will win Moises and I and about eight Newradicalleadership is com- generate even more exploited and injured workers. against the rich ruling class. others decided to wait and watch. ing from young people of color, Four other Asian American The seconds who were held especially the women, and lesbi­ WITH SUCH A VICTORY, who needs defeats? Friends, trust women, two of them lesbians, through the night were all out- ans and gays. In fact, the sexual­ me - this is the best time of all to desert the Democratic ship, declared that they will not be left front activists, including leaders minorities community gets the when it has a chance to win. The shelf life of the working class out of movement leadership, pa­ of RAW and ACT UP. They were credit for S.F. Police Chief Rich­ grows shorter in direct proportion to the opportunities beckoning tronized as "model minorities," cited at Pier 38, driven to the Hall ard Hongisto being fired after he for Democratic Party chicanery. or used as a wedge by whites ofjustice, and then released. The threatened martial law following A party that has drifted hook, line, and sinker into the still wa­ against Blacks. The multi-racial cops wanted to terrorize them by the first post-verdict protests. ters of suburbia has no moral or logical right to claim to represent crowd roared in approval. dividing them ------The fight is on. the dispossessed. It cannot hear, much less express, the wrench­ And we began to march, chant­ from the rest of us Moises and I are ing cries of pain from the volatile ghettoes and workplace pres­ ing "No justice, no peace!" and messing with COpS think that plaintiffs in a class- sure chambers of the inner-city tinderboxes overrun by the vio­ them like cats play- action suit over the lent, the drugged, and the hysterical human output of a society Stripped of our rights, our ing with mice. the Simi Valley arrests and are or- where the decisive input into government is reserved for merce­ solidarity grows. One block Most of the ganizing for a ci- nary monsters and their opportunist or naive hangers-on. away from our goal, DubocePark, de m 0 n s t rat 0 r s verdict gives them vilian police re- a barricade of cops in riot gear were accused only view board that is SOUTHERN-FRIED BILLY WANTS a new pact between the forced us to reverse direction. of failure to dis- carte blanche. independent, elec- Democrats and the "Uhmurican peepul." But one definition of Then a troop with their batons perse or to obey ted, and authori- "covenant" is a suit to recover damages for violation of a contract swinging rushed the crowd and traffic lights and tative. We're also - and that's the kind of covenant that workers should lodge divided us. their charges were dismissed. But in a defense committee pushing against the deceitful, duplicitous, and depraved Democrats, who Several hundred protesters some w~re booked for looting or for amnesty for all the arrestees have promised reform for 10 these 60 years but contrived instead wound up in a parking lot. The shutting down a highway, street, - no matter what the charges! to entrench a vicious private-profit system. more than SOO who were jammed or bridge, and their charges were As Bay Area activists mobilize Instead of selling its soul to the Democrat devils, the working together on the sidewalk across not dropped. against the crackdown, confi- class, which is not middle class, has to form its own massive the street, including Moises and dence is building that no cop coven - an extended Labor Party whose goal is to hurl the mon­ me, were arrested. Changing how the scales tactics can defeat a community eylenders and their bias-mongering media groupies from our seats When an impromptu open­ are weighted. A huge paint­ that asserts itself, sticks together of government and opinion molding and our job sites and our mike speak-out developed, about ing at an intersection at San Fran­ over principles, and watches out lives. A vote for the Democrats is a vote for self-extinction, and if eight cops violently seized the cisco State University shows a for its most vulnerable members. that isn't sectarian, you can have my very own recipe for choco­ man carrying the sound system scale of justice with one side com- Stop cop terror. Justice now! [] late chip cookies. 0 8 Freedom Socialist August-October 1992

• Gloria Martin, co-founder of Radical Women, and Guerry Hoddersen, FSP Na­ tional Secretary and anti-Nazi organizer, set the record straight about FSP's charac­ Freeway Hall defendants ter and goals. Hoddersen said she hoped the FSP would be "part of a very large movement to turn this country around and provide shelter for the homeless, rights clinch right to be radical! for workers, funds for the disabled and working mothers, civil rights and civil liberties, and all the things that people want but can't get under capitalism." • Yolanda Alaniz, a Chicana feminist and single mother who won 28,000 votes last year as an FSP candidate for Seattle City Council, discussed the limitations the harassment suit imposed on her other political work. • Clara Fraser, a lifelong Trotskyist black­ listed during the McCarthy era, explained that to meet Snedigar's demand to return the money he and other donors gave would BY DAVID JONES demands for have" destroyed the fund and telegraphed confidential that we'd been gUilty. To fold our tents n April 27.,in Seattle, the Free­ FSP records and creep silently away is not exactly what dom Socialist Party and legions helped foster a at we had in mind." of First Amendment supporters climate of resis­ • Fred Hyde, a state administrative law proved that when a movement tance to repres­ judge and delegate to the King County groupO is SLAPPed - hit with a Strategic sion, drew to­ Labor Council, showed how Snedigar's Lawsuit Against Public Participation - it gether a strong lawyers unrelentingly abused the legal can slap back and win! web of people process by trying to get the defense team In a packed King County courtroom, determined to thrown in jail, making a bid to put Judge Dale Ramerman finally called a halt protect the Carlson's solo practice into receivership, to the eight-year-long effort by ex-FSP right to chal­ and giving case documents to a reaction­ member Richard Snedigar to get back a lenge the status ary who was attempting to get Hyde fired. donation made 13 years ago. Snedigar's quo, and also and association - and can kill mi­ Judge Ramerman's decision exoner­ accusation that the party and nine indi­ achieved new nority parties, any group with vol­ ating the defendants brought the court­ vidual activists solicited the contribution constitutional untarymembership, and unions. The room joyously to its feet. However, Ramer­ through deceit or coercion was baseless, protections in high court's 1990 ruling established man ignored the massive evidence of Ramerman found. Washington new privacy guarantees for organi­ Snedigar's malicious intent and refused to The party's refusal to meet Snedigar's state. These are zations, overturned award dam­ priceless gains the default judgment, ages to the de­ at a time when more and more rightwing­ and cleared the way for trial. fendants. ers are using SLAPP suits against radicals, "The 25,000 members whistleblowers, and community organiz­ "I was a communist of the New York Hotel & Motel How this In the judge's ers. (Please see article about Oregon Citi­ dupe." On the stand, battle was zens Alliance on page two.) Snedigar attempted to sway Trades Coundl, AFL-CIO, con­ won. When • • the judge with anti-red ste­ gratulate the defendants and Snedigar and op,n,on ... Snedigar's vendetta: McCarthy reotypes. He characterized his lawyers Tile quotes below sllow tile good and would be proud. Snedigar's lawsuit the FSP as a Stalinesque cult all those who assisted... This launched their bad features of Judge Ramerman's deci­ amounted to an anti-feminist and anti­ because some members live victory reaffinns the power suit, they siO//. Oil the one /land, Ramcmlll/l recog­ socialist temper tantrum of epic propor­ together in collective hoped the de­ lIized IInequivowlly that tile defendants' tions. He set out to destroy the FSP and homes. He painted the people have when they fendants fillallcial dealings with Sncdigar were be­ with it the rights of all organizations to party's women leaders as unite... for a common cause." would be too yond reproach. meet, hold free-wheeling discussions, and mad Marxist matriarchs who cowed to fight back; they be­ But 0/1 tile a tiler, lie made ul/warranted make decisions without state or state­ lorded over all decision­ - Vito I. Pitta, President and unfair concessions to SIledigar. Tile supported interference. making and activity. lieved that the judge dismissed tile FSP's counterclaims, The story But dur- FSP, as an ignorillg Snedigar's go-f(Jr-the-throat tac­ begins in 1979 ing cross- avowedly tics mId collntless deliberate attempts to when, with examination, Snedigar ac­ revolutionary group charged with finan­ violate the First AmelUiment. help from his "I send thoughts ofioy and love knowledged that the cial malfeasance, could attract little sup­ Ramennan was also swayed to an ex­ roommates, to all ofyou. I know Leonard party is democratic and port anyway. tent by the SlIedigar team's depiction of Snedigar gave that giving the donation But each defendant was ready to go to tile party as "cult-like." The /Jigllieveis of $22,500 to a would have been so completely was his own idea. He said . jail to defend the right to organize. More­ commitment and mutual respect among fund set up af­ thrilled with your victory. " his only grievance was over, the family of Sam Deaderick, a Marx­ leaders and members that the FSP shares ter FSP received that a hall wasn't pur­ ist writer and gay rights pioneer, stead­ with well-functioning ullions, some notice of evic­ -Jean Boudin, poet and wife chased before 1985, blurt­ fastly remained a party to the suit after his ing out that the party death in 1991- c/lurches, and mallY otller groups takes 0/1 tion from its of late attorney Leonard should have bought even And leaders and rank-and-filers from ill Ramermall's findings a sliglltly sillister headquarters. Boudin, New York City cast, and Snedigar's lie about tile party's Snedigar a "tar paper shack" rather every arena rallied around strongly. La­ degree ofinvolwmellt ill members' domes­ thought that than continuing to search bor, the Left, civil libertarians, people of tic affairs is presented as fact. he could buy for something suitable. color and Jews, feminists, lesbians and It all goes to sllow tllat ill tile capitalist power. So when party members didn't let The more he talked, the more he con­ gays, Gray Panthers, kids and teenagers: courts, radicals, 110 matter Ilow liard they him determine which building to buy to tradicted himself. they all came to court, gave money, walked try, cml't quite get all even break. replace its headquarters, he was insulted. Of the eviction fund's many contribu­ picket lines, spoke at press conferences, He quit the party in 1980, refusing to give tors, Snedigar could produce only one endorsed, signed petitions, mailed news On the plus side_ .. any reasons. releases. An indefatigable defense com­ "In soliciting gifts, including For four years Snedigar pouted over mittee headed by labor activist Karrie Peter­ son organized all this commotion. plaintiff's [Snedigar'sJ, defendants pre­ personal and political grievances. Then, "The struggle for human dignity sented the facts as they understood just after party foun der and na tional chair­ Throughout, a special ally was the Na­ them. They did not misrepresent or person Clara Fraser won a marathon dis­ is only lost when you give up. tional Lawyers Guild, which provided coerce or take advantage of weakness." crimination battle against Seattle City unflagging legal and moral support. "Defendants' efforts to find a new Light, Snedigar turned to the bourgeOiS The FSP didn't give up." For every activist and unionist, the headquarters building were never aban­ courts to get revenge against his socialist - Perry Watkins, Black gay ac­ winning of the Freeway Hall Case should doned, and the funds ultimately were former colleagues. Attorneys Michelle Pail­ be a source of pride and optimism. 0 thorp and Thomas Wampold, seeing an tivist and Sergeant First Class used properly." (Retired), Tacoma, Wash. Writer David Jones ret:ently "Plaintiff was intellectuallv, emo­ opportunity to ingratiate themselves with moved to the Northwest from the tionally and finanCially independent the city fathers wounded by the Fraser East Coast, where he organized for of the party ... Defendants did not domi­ victory, filed his lawsuit in 1984. c.:auses from peat:eto women's rights. nate him." Snedigar's charge that he was duped fink, ex-member Ann Manly, who com­ "Plaintiff...did not act under undue into giving money to a trumped-Up evic­ plained of a talking to by the local orga­ influence; his judgment was not im­ tion emergency was a smoke screen. He nizer after she, in her words, "breached paired; he was not unfairly persuaded. ,. wanted to wreck the party financially, discipline" - broke with party policy over ruin the credibility of its largely female a small organizational matter. Where the judge went wrong... leadership, intimidate its members, scare "The party attempted to exercise off supporters, and thwart FSP's political Defendants clear party name. The considerable diScipline over...the liv­ work by tying it up in litigation. FSP presented its case primarily through ing arrangements of party participants." Snedigar's strategy was to insist that questioning the defendants. They were "The plai ntiff's claims were filed and the party disclose lists of members and represented by three dedicated lawyers pursued in good faith." supporters, then meeting minutes. When who have pursued the case with panache "Plaintiff...had no improper motive; the FSP adamantly refused, a judge put the and tenacity from the start: Valerie Carl­ he believed he was entitled to his monev defendants in default, where they lost the son, Fred Hyde, and Dan Smith. Some back because more than four years had case without ever going to trial. highlights of the defendants' testimony: passed and it still had not been used." FSP appealed, enlisting the aid of re­ • Eldon Durham, an anti-war pro­ "Plaintiff...did not misuse the court's nowned constitutional rights attorney Leo­ tester since World War II and retired process or seek to use litl for an end nard Boudin. Boudin and attorney/defen­ Presbyterian minister, and Doug Barnes, other than that for which it was de­ dant Valerie Carlson argued before the New Freeway Hall manager, described signed." 0 state Supreme Court that disclosure de­ the crumbling state of the old hall and mands like Snedigar's chill free expression the exhaustive search for a successor.