TRUMP, ANTISEMITISMO Y SOLIDARIDAD EN LA LUCHA 12

Workers and oppressed peoples of the world unite! workers.org Vol. 58, No. 49 Dec. 15, 2016 $1 Justice for James Means 3 At Standing Rock ‘We’re not going anywhere’ By Monica Moorehead PHOTO: UNICORN RIOT Dec. 6 — In a full-blown North Dakota blizzard, thou- Majority Navajo veterans pre- sands of veterans, many of whom were stationed in Iraq pare for march to Backwater and Afghanistan, led a march Dec. 5 to Highway 1806 Bridge, Dec. 5. Backwater Bridge in solidarity with the Lakota, Dakota and Nakota Nations of Standing Rock. The bridge is the site where police viciously used concussion grenades, tear gas, water cannons and more against unarmed wa- ter protectors on Nov. 20. The veterans mobilized delegations of thousands to come to Standing Rock the first weekend in December to act as human shields to protest the ongoing illegal construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline on Sioux land, a $3.7 billion pipeline that will span four states. The ranks of those standing with Standing Rock swelled to an estimated 20,000 people. The federal government’s Army Corp of Engineers (ACoE), which controls some of the land and permits for where the pipeline is being built, had issued a Dec. 5 “eviction notice” to water protectors to leave their en- campments. As the veterans — many of them Indigenous, along with hundreds of non-Native vets — descended upon Standing Rock, the ACoE suddenly issued a statement on Dec. 4 saying that they would not grant an easement for the pipeline to be drilled under the Missouri River at Lake Oahe, which is part of Standing Rock’s unceded treaty land. The Obama administration, largely silent Cuban masses salute Fidel on the crisis at Standing Rock for months, announced it was sending a federal mediator to monitor potential “vi- By Cheryl LaBash olence” — having failed since August to take any action Cuba’s nine-day, islandwide farewell to Fidel Castro at all to stop the violence that was suffered repeatedly by ended Dec. 4 in Santiago de Cuba on the island’s south- water protectors. west tip. The ashes of the undefeated historic leader of Many in the water protector movement were joyous the Cuban Revolution were placed into a large granite upon hearing this news from the ACoE, but their cele- boulder by Cuban President Raúl Castro. A simple black bration was short-lived. Energy Transfer Partners and marker with gold letters FIDEL sealed the enclosure. Sunoco Logistics Partners (SXL), Wall Street corpora- Fidel’s death on Nov. 25 coincided with the 60th an- tions backing the pipeline, announced several hours lat- niversary of when 82 revolutionary fighters led by Fidel er that they were not beholden to the ACoE statement sailed in the yacht The Granma from Mexico to launch and that they planned to drill under Lake Oahe regard- an armed struggle that liberated Cuba from the U.S.- less of whether an easement had been granted. backed Batista dictatorship. The memorial activities ETP and SXL had filed an action in federal court on Nov. 14 and issued a press release Dec. 4, stating, “The Continued on page 6 White House’s directive today to the Corps for further delay is just the latest in a series of overt and transpar- ent political actions by an administration which has Cuba: 6-7 abandoned the rule of law in favor of currying favor with Mumia Abu-Jamal: Viva Fidel! a narrow and extreme political constituency. “As stated all along, ETP and SXL are fully commit- Remembering Fidel ted to ensuring that this vital project is brought to com- pletion and fully expect to complete construction of the Fidel and Billy Dean Smith pipeline without any additional rerouting in and around BLM: ‘The lessons we take from Fidel’ Lake Oahe. Nothing this Administration has done today changes that in any way.”

Indigenous Nations inspire broad solidarity Since last April, members of the Standing Rock Sioux Nation have been in the forefront of uniting hundreds of 2 other Indigenous Nations throughout the Americas to • Revolution: theory and practice Continued on page 8 • Charlotte Uprising 3

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Putting revolutionary theory into practice  In the U.S. At Standing Rock: ‘We’re not going anywhere’ ...... 1 she has lived it. Berta can tell you all about the struggle in Update from the frontlines in Charlotte, N.C...... 3 LAMONT LILLY Puerto Rico and Venezuela because she has lived it. Sara Fred Hampton, ¡presente! ...... 3 At Workers World Party National Flounders can tell you all about the struggle in the Middle West Virginia: Racist murder of Black teen ...... 3 Conference Nov. 11-13 East because she has lived it. And our dear comrade, Broth- WW PHOTO: BRENDA RYAN er Abayomi Azikiwe is a world-renowned Pan-Africanist Rev. Pinkney moved, again ...... 3 Below is a slightly modified talk that Lamont Lilly scholar. There’s living struggle and revolutionary practice ‘$15 AND A UNION’ ...... 4 gave at the Nov. 11-13, 2016 Workers World Party Na- right here in this room. We just have to share it now. North Carolina backs down the KKK ...... 5 tional Conference at the Shabazz Center in Harlem, N.Y. I must thank my comrades Imani, Loan, Garrett, Mat- Harvard blockade bans neo-Nazi Bannon ...... 5 I speak you to all today as an ancestral descendant ty and Andre for teaching me so much about the LGBTQ People’s Power Assembly shows anti-Klan solidarity . . .5 of the Black Liberation movement, as a member of the struggle. They’ve taught me so much and have really made Buffalo kicks off month of ‘RESIST!’ ...... 5 working class, as a Black man from the U.S. South and as me a better revolutionary. But I had to listen. And not just an organizer of the Black Lives Matter movement. listen, but I had to want to listen. And I had to want to learn. Fidel and Billy Dean Smith ...... 6 The Black Lives Matter movement is still fairly new, It’s the process of constantly learning that makes us A communist in the U.S. remembers Fidel ...... 7 still growing, still learning, still building, still fairly better revolutionaries. Personally, I always want to relate Mumia Abu-Jamal: Viva Fidel! ...... 7 young in its theoretical and ideological formation. This to as many struggles as possible. Not just through a politi- Black Lives Matter: Lessons from Fidel ...... 7 movement of the vanguard and most oppressed, not only cal context, but in a very sincere, deep-rooted, human way. Peltier’s message on Day of Mourning ...... 8 needs our support, it needs our wisdom and experience. What we want is “revolution.” The only way to do that Philly blocks bank pipeline to DAPL ...... 8 It needs our revolutionary solidarity in a very sincere and is by becoming better organizers. The only way to do that tangible way. Thankfully, there are a lot of people who is getting out and meeting the people where they are. The Virginia for Standing Rock ...... 8 are beginning to wake up now and hit the streets. only way to do that is to challenge our individual and or- Hands Off Syria kicks off speaking tour ...... 9 But what we have to do now is connect our struggles. ganizational comfort level. Dec. 9 in Philly: Stop hep C, fight for Mumia! ...... 10 As revolutionaries and members of Workers World Party, The union halls are great, but we have to get out to Palestinian boycott defeats giant G4S ...... 11 we have to connect the Palestinian movement with the the hood. We have to make [Vladimir] Lenin relevant movement for Black lives. We have to connect the energy to the ghettos and barrios. And what that means is that  Around the world of Standing Rock and the Indigenous movement for sov- we may have to give people the Black Panther Party first Cuban masses mourn Fidel ...... 1 ereignty, with the Latinx and immigrant movement. We before we give them Marx and Engels, particularly in Syria and the Trump administration ...... 9 have to connect the energy of the LGBTQ movement with Black and Brown communities. Most of all, we have to S. Korea swept by massive protests ...... 11 the environmental movement. be open-minded. We have to listen to new ideas and new In many circles, these movements still see themselves perspectives. We have to be able to evolve without sacri-  Editorial as separate struggles of separate oppressed groups. Com- ficing our principles. Carrier ‘deal’: Liars, damned liars and politicians ...... 10 rade Larry Holmes said how there are no working-class Just to share a brief example, while Monica and I were ‘Mad Dog’ at the Pentagon ...... 10 borders anymore. So what we need now is a formal and on the campaign trail, at one of our branch stops we met material shift of not only domestic solidarity, but also a young sister who had expressed her interest in “decol-  WWP National Conference international solidarity: a revolutionary movement of onizing the mind.” Though she did describe herself as an Lamont Lilly: Putting revolutionary theory into practice . .2 multinational, multigendered freedom fighters. Workers anti-racist and anti-capitalist, she wasn’t interested in  Noticias en Español World Party can be the bridge for that solidarity. Marx and Engels. And I can totally understand why. Trump, antisemitismo y la solidaridad ...... 12 When we talk about “The Living Struggle: Revolution- For most Black people, that’s all we’ve taught: the work ary Practice Based in Revolutionary Theory,” we have that of old white men. Just because she was resistant to Karl right here in this room, comrades. What I mean by that Marx, doesn’t mean that she’s off target. “Decolonizing the Workers World is for, example, Johnnie Stevens can tell you all about the mind” is one of the very first steps to liberation, especial- 147 W. 24th St., 2nd Fl. struggle in South Africa because he has lived it. Cheryl La- ly for Black folk. She was speaking on many of the same New York, N.Y. 10011 Bash can tell you all about the struggle in Cuba because Continued on page 4 Phone: 212.627.2994 E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.workers.org Vol. 58, No. 49 • Dec. 15, 2016 Closing date: Decv. 6, 2016 Editor: Deirdre Griswold Managing Editors: John Catalinotto, LeiLani Dowell, Who we are & what we’re fighting for Kris Hamel, Monica Moorehead, Minnie Bruce Pratt; Web Editor Gary Wilson Hate capitalism? Workers World Party fights for a ­degrading people because of their nationality, sexual or Production & Design Editors: Coordinator Lal Roohk; ­socialist society — where the wealth is socially owned gender identity or disabilities — all are tools the ruling Andy Katz, Cheryl LaBash and production is planned to satisfy human need. This class uses to keep us apart. They ruthlessly super-ex- Copyediting and Proofreading: Sue Davis, ploit some in order to better exploit us all. WWP builds outmoded capitalist system is dragging down workers’ Bob McCubbin living standards while throwing millions out of their unity among all workers while supporting the right jobs. If you’re young, you know they’re stealing your of self-determination. Fighting oppression is a work- Contributing Editors: Abayomi Azikiwe, future. And capitalism is threatening the entire planet ing-class issue, which is confirmed by the many labor Greg Butterfield, G. Dunkel, K. Durkin, Fred Goldstein, Martha Grevatt, Teresa Gutierrez, with its unplanned, profit-driven stranglehold over the struggles led today by people of color, immigrants and Berta Joubert-Ceci, Terri Kay, Cheryl LaBash, women. means of production. Milt Neidenberg, John Parker, Bryan G. Pfeifer, Workers built it all — it belongs to society, not to a WWP has a long history of militant opposition to im- Betsey Piette, Gloria Rubac handful of billionaires! But we need a revolution to perialist wars. The billionaire rulers are bent on turning make that change. That’s why for 57 years WWP has back the clock to the bad old days before socialist revolu- Mundo Obero: Redactora Berta Joubert-Ceci; Ramiro Fúnez, Teresa Gutierrez, Donna Lazarus, been building a revolutionary party of the working tions and national liberation struggles liberated territory Carlos Vargas class inside the belly of the beast. from their grip. We’ve been in the streets to oppose every We fight every kind of oppression. Racism, sexism, one of imperialism’s wars and aggressions. Supporter Program: Coordinator Sue Davis Copyright © 2016 Workers World. Verbatim copying Contact a Workers World Party branch near you: workers.org/wwp and distribution of articles is permitted in any medium without royalty provided this notice is preserved. National Office Boston Denver Lexington, KY Rochester, N.Y. 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Update from the frontlines in Charlotte, N.C. By Lexa Rice Protesters con- a rubber bullet, fired by police, killed Jus- Charlotte, N.C. tinued to turn up at tin, and the evidence exposed the cop lie. the CMPD, then took Many community members believe On Nov. 30, the Mecklenburg County the streets for about that a white pig, and not Brentley Vinson, District Attorney’s office announced that three hours. During who is Black, murdered Keith Lamont Brentley Vinson, the pig who murdered the direct action, Scott. However, the Mecklenburg County Keith Lamont Scott on Sept. 21, won’t be four core organizers DA’s office certainly did not make their indicted. from Charlotte Up- decision not to indict based on absolving This did not surprise anyone who has rising were targeted an individual cop, but on absolving the been organizing to end police terror, as and arrested, a clear entire police force of any blame for en- the capitalist state will never hold ac- repression tactic of forcing white supremacy. countable the same agents who enforce the CMPD. Each of As Charlotte saw last year with the its own violence. In the same fighting the four freedom mistrial of killer cop Wes Kerrick, an in- spirit as the day Keith Scott was mur- fighters was trans or dictment probably wouldn’t have led to a dered, but in smaller numbers, protest- gender nonconform- conviction. It certainly wouldn’t have ad- ers hit the streets for several hours. The PHOTO: CHARLOTTE UPRISING ing, reflecting the dressed the fundamental system of cap- action was called by Charlotte Uprising, a Charlotte Uprising in the streets, Nov. 30. fact that most of the italism that is to blame for Keith Scott’s coalition of groups fighting to end police ed them for their lies about their murder central organizers of Charlotte Uprising murder. It would have given Scott’s fami- terrorism, the same coalition that has of Justin Carr, killed while protesting the are trans/GNC. All freedom fighters were ly something to materially hold onto, but been in the streets since the Charlotte re- night after Keith Scott was killed. out of jail by the next day. once again the state refuses to give digni- bellion started. The big-business media painted this In the recent release of the autopsy ty to the people or validity to the people’s As the action began, protesters gathered confrontation as a “conversation” to try of Justin Carr, no gunpowder residue justice. on the steps of the Charlotte Metro Police to make CMPD look good. But this had was found on Justin’s skin, though the The Charlotte Uprising has been one Department headquarters, and speakers nothing to do with an exchange of infor- CMPD’s story alleged another protester spontaneous struggle, one of many, to called attention to the cops behind us, mation. Rather, community members murdered him with a handgun. The peo- show that this racist capitalist system watching us. We faced them and confront- were publicly denouncing the police. ple have been saying the whole time that must be overthrown.

West Virginia Fred Hampton, Racist murder of Black teen ¡presente! By John Ross Charleston, W.Va. Dec. 4 marked the 47th anniversary of the cowardly assassination of Fred James Means — a 15-year-old un- Hampton, the state chairperson of the armed Black youth — was killed by Wil- Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Par- liam Ronald Pulliam, a 62-year-old white ty in Chicago. The dynamic, 21-year-old man, on Nov. 22 in Charleston, W.Va. leader was shot multiple times — as he That this attack was motivated by racism lay sleeping in his bed — by the Chicago Hampton was not only highly respect- is evident from Pulliam’s unapologetic PHOTO: METRO NEWS police at the behest of the Federal Bureau ed by BPP members around the country statement after the shooting: “The way I James Means, of Investigation’s counterintelligence but also admired by the movement, as he look at it, that’s another piece of trash off 15 years old. program. Cointelpro, founded by the no- promoted a broad united front of orga- the street.” torious FBI director, J. Edgar Hoover, nizations in the struggle against racism, Means belonged to a program called news stories of unarmed people of color targeted the BPP for extermination using capitalism and imperialism. His death Dream Chasers, helping “at-risk” chil- being murdered by police, police-wan- various tactics of infiltration, jailings and brought tens of thousands into the streets dren develop career goals. He hoped to nabes and civilian racists. Racism is an assassinations. Mark Clark, another BPP carrying banners like that of the then become a car mechanic. inherent component of life in Appalachia member, was also murdered in that po- mass organization of Workers World Par- Pulliam claims that Means pulled a gun and, broadly, the United States. lice attack. ty, Youth Against War and Fascism, say- on him. But even the police say that was The murder of James Means, a teenag- Hampton’s partner, Deborah Johnson, ing “Avenge the death of Chairman Fred!” not the case. Means had no gun. Pulliam er, by a man nearly five decades his elder, aka Akua Njeri, who survived the attack, It was Hampton who declared, “You can himself was barred from owning a fire- must be seen in the context of the ongo- was eight months pregnant at the time. kill a revolutionary but you can’t kill a arm due to a prior domestic violence con- ing wave of violence against oppressed Their son, Fred Hampton Jr., is a promi- revolution.” viction. Pulliam felt the need to punish peoples that has followed the election of nent leader in Chicago’s Black community. — Monica Moorehead Means for being “guilty” of being Black. President-elect Donald Trump. He won According to Teonno White, a friend of West Virginia with a nearly 70 percent Means, Pulliam had a record of racism. share of the votes cast. A vigil at the shooting site was held There is a racist war raging against Nov. 23 to honor Means’ life. Family, Black and Brown people, North to South, friends and classmates were present. Lo- East to West, both domestically and Rev. Pinkney moved, again cal authorities are charging Pulliam with abroad. Until we can establish revolu- murder, and have asked the FBI to deter- tionary socialism across the globe, we By David Sole ry showed “animosity” to the mayor and mine if the murder was a “hate crime.” cannot expect to see an end to racist kill- was enough to uphold the conviction. Obviously this was a crime of bigot- ers, employed by both the state and vigi- Michigan political prison- Rev. Pinkney turned 68 on Oct. 27 ry and racism. Again and again we hear lantes, who plague our society. er Rev. Edward Pinkney has and received over 250 birthday cards once again been transferred from supporters. He recently related to another facility. Only two that Minister Louis Farrakhan instruct- MARXISM, REPARATIONS & and a half months after be- ed Nation of Islam supporters in prison ing sent from Marquette Branch Prison with Rev. Pinkney to do all they could the Black Freedom Struggle in far northern Michigan to West Shore- to protect him. The Nation’s newspaper An anthology of writings from Workers World newspaper. line Correctional Facility in Muskegon The Final Call has had articles support- Edited by Monica Moorehead. Heights, Rev. Pinkney was moved to the ing Rev. Pinkney. On Nov. 12 hundreds of Racism, National Oppression & Self-Determination adjacent Brooks/Fremont Correctional members of Workers World Party heard a Larry Holmes Facility on Nov. 22 with no prior notice. message from Rev. Pinkney to the WWP Black Labor from Chattel Slavery to Wage Slavery Sam Marcy Rev. Pinkney, an African-American national conference in New York City. In Black Youth: Repression & Resistance LeiLani Dowell community leader from Benton Harbor, it he thanked Workers World newspaper The Struggle for Socialism Is Key Monica Moorehead Mich., has spent almost two years behind for its support and praised the WWP Domestic Workers United Demand Passage of a Bill of bars. He was convicted and sentenced to election campaign. Rights Imani Henry two to 10 years in prison on Dec. 15, 2014, A national call has been issued for Black & Brown Unity: A Pillar of Struggle for Human Rights & Global Justice! Saladin Muhammad for allegedly altering dates on a recall peti- supporters to send Rev. Pinkney holiday Harriet Tubman, Woman Warrior Mumia Abu-Jamal tion against Benton Harbor’s then mayor. greeting cards starting Dec. 1 in order to COVER GRAPHIC: SAHU BARRON Racism & Poverty in the Delta Larry Hales With absolutely no evidence against him, both boost his spirits and show the prison Haiti Needs Reparations, Not Sanctions Pat Chin the all-white jury followed the judge and administration that people are watching Alabama’s Black Belt: Legacy of Slavery, Sharecropping & Segregation Consuela Lee prosecutor’s advice that “you don’t need how he is treated. Mail cards to Rev. Ed- Are Conditions Ripe Again Today? Anniversary of the 1965 Watts Rebellion John Parker evidence to convict Pinkney.” The Mich- ward Pinkney #294671, Brooks/Fremont igan Court of Appeals agreed on July 26, Correctional Facility, 2500 S. Sheridan Available at all major online booksellers. finding that Rev. Pinkney’s activist histo- Drive, Muskegon Heights, MI 49444. Page 4 Dec. 15, 2016 workers.org SAN DIEGO

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WW PHOTO: MIKE SHANE Thousands across U.S. demand ‘$15 AND A UNION’

By Kris Hamel an income jumped last year by the high- est percentage since the 1960s.” Workers held a National Day of Disrup- This workers’ battle is likely to become tion for $15 and a Union across the Unit- much fiercer when the anti-worker, an- ed States on Nov. 29, marking the fourth ti-poor policies of the Trump administra- anniversary of the continuing Fight for tion, which are surely coming, take effect. WW PHOTO: JOE PIETTE $15 movement. The most exploited and the store and eventually arrested 13 ac- lowest-paid workers launched this battle From sunup to sundown survive off of it. They can’t afford to pay tivists for “refusing to disperse.” in 2012 when some 200 workers boldly The FF15 demonstrations began Nov. their phone bills, their rent, their lights, their gas. That’s bad that they need three walked out at several fast food restau- 29 before the sun came up, starting in the Super-exploited workers speak out rants in New York City. East and moving westward as fast food or four jobs in order to survive.” In Rockville, Md., the seat of Montgom­ The movement has gained momentum outlets and other workplaces began open- ery County and part of the Baltimore- ‘Justice can’t wait!’ ever since, as millions of workers strug- ing for the day. Organizers say walkouts Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, gle to survive on a federal minimum wage and protests occurred in over 340 cit- San Diego showed powerful commu- political activists and religious people of $7.25 an hour and on low wages in al- ies. Disruptions and protests, including nity solidarity on Nov. 29. More than joined unionists to rededicate themselves most every sector of the workforce. Fight strikes, took place at 20 major airports, 1,000 people rallied downtown outside to the fight for $15 and a union. They for $15 and a Union now involves workers including Chicago O’Hare and Boston the Federal Building and then marched gathered outside the Montgomery Coun- far outside the fast food industry, includ- Logan international airports, with hun- through the streets of the Gaslamp Quar- ty Council offices despite rain and fog. ing health care, child care and home care dreds of workers being arrested through- ter, a tourist district. The message was Unions with members present were workers, airport baggage handlers, other out the day. These mass arrests included “Justice can’t wait! We won’t back down!” UFCW locals 1994 and 400 and SEIU lo- airport workers, Uber drivers, university 100 people in Kansas City, Mo., 40 in Los Many people, representing a variety cals 500 and BJ32. Carlos Jimenez, the adjuncts, education workers, bank tellers Angeles, more than 50 in Durham, N.C., of organizations, spoke at the beginning new president of the D.C. Metro AFL-CIO and numerous others. Many are workers and 34 people in Cambridge, Mass. rally. “An injury to one is an injury to us Council, spoke briefly. who used to have a decent job, but who Following are reports from several cit- all” was a major theme. Speakers noted, The most poignant remarks were made are now getting lower wages, reduced ies where Workers World writers and ac- “If one of us is homeless, it is an injustice by several Latinx and super-exploited benefits, fewer hours or have no job at all. tivists took part. to all. If one person is killed by police, it’s workers organizing on their jobs. A young The Service Employees Union, rep- In Philadelphia, more than 100 work- an injustice to us all.” Many issues were Safeway grocery clerk in Local 400 de- resenting many low-wage workers, has ers and supporters came out in driving raised in this manner. scribed how poor people shop for food. At backed the movement and poured re- rain to demonstrate. Participants includ- Indigenous people brought partici- the checkout she sees the way they have sources into the national campaign. SEIU ed members of the United Home Care pants up to date on the thousands resist- to put things aside or back on the shelf members are seen at most demonstra- Workers of Pennsylvania, Fight for 15 ing at Standing Rock in North Dakota. and the pain on their faces as they see the tions, along with members of many other Pennsylvania, Working Educators Cau- There was a die-in where people lay on price has gone up on what they used to be unions. Fight for $15 workers have had cus of the Philadelphia Federation of the ground while Chris Wilson from Alli- able to buy. strong connections that overlap with Black Teachers, National Association of Letter ance San Diego recited words from Maya A Latina brought the crowd to tears Lives Matter and immigrant rights orga- Carriers and Coalition of Labor Union Angelou’s poem, “Still I Rise.” It was a and to raise angry fists. Her landlord nizations. Locally and nationally FF15 has Women. Low-wage workers, other union profound, dramatic expression of how raised her rent $100 a month. She and broad support from community groups, members and supporters joined in. They human lives matter little in a society that her spouse don’t believe they can make clergy and faith-based organizations, pro- marched and chanted from a McDonald’s places profits over people. the rent increase, despite working three gressive activists and a few politicians. restaurant in North Philly to Thomas As the marchers surged through the jobs. Eight dollars an hour is the “best” A Fight for $15 press release states Paine Plaza across from City Hall. streets, mini-rallies were conducted at of their jobs. Now even the small com- what the struggle has won: “All told, the After several workers and organizers several major intersections, halting traf- forts and joys in their life have to go, like Fight for $15 has led to wage hikes for spoke about their struggle, the crowd fic and alerting hundreds of bystanders to the birthday party for their third-grader 22 million underpaid working families, walked to a nearby McDonald’s store. the marchers’ concerns. Drummers, led by which they had to cancel. including more than 10 million who are They carried placards with slogans and Ground Zero Players and Indigenous drum circles, drew more people into the streets. on their way to $15/hour, by convincing demands like “We won’t back down” and Marchers order ‘Number 15 combo’ everyone from voters to politicians to “Stop structural racism and police kill- The march concluded in the middle Low-wage workers in the metro ­Detroit corporations to raise pay. The movement ings of Black people.” of Park Boulevard, with San Diego City area staged several militant actions. Be- was credited as one of the reasons medi- Police blocked off the street in front of College on one curb and a McDonald’s fore sunrise, an estimated 1,000 workers restaurant on the other. The huge throng gathered in front of a fast food restaurant was slow in dispersing, with spontaneous Lamont Lilly on the city’s west side, blocking a major speakouts addressing political questions street and sustaining 39 arrests. and plans for future actions. Putting revolutionary theory into practice Around noon, in an action organized The National Action Network, Fight for by SEIU Local 1, more than 300 workers $15, Black Lives Matter, the Alfred Olan- picketed at Detroit Metropolitan Airport go family, Alliance San Diego, San Diego Continued from page 2 This process of giving and receiving, in support of low-wage airport workers, 350, the San Diego Light Brigade, Work- ­political points that a revolutionary com- of meeting people right where they are demanding $15 hour. ers World Party, the Committee Against munist would speak on, just in a slightly is one of the most important ways that Later in the day, more than 600 work- Police Brutality, Unión del Barrio, UHU- different way. It was a teachable moment we can put our theory into a living rev- ers gathered at another fast food eatery. RU, several labor unions and many for me, and I think for the party as a whole. olutionary practice. It is one of the most They marched past the drive-through churches were some of the organizations When it comes to building solidarity, important lessons I’ve learned this year: window, ordering the “Number 15 com- and groups represented. People Over we have to welcome these differences. patience, listening, understanding. bo” as they shouted for $15 an hour. Profits was one of the sponsoring groups. We have to respect people’s cultural dif- Donald Trump may be in the White Pastor W.J. Rideout III, spokesperson Joe Piette, Kermit Leibensperger ferences, and really listen to them, espe- House now, but what we have is much bet- for D15 as the local Fight for $15 affiliate (a steward in Food and Commercial cially when it comes to young people and ter than the White House. We’ve got “the is known, promised more actions in the Workers Local 1994 in Maryland), helping them to find a place within the revolution” right here in this room. Let’s coming year. He summed up: “The min- Mike Shane and Gloria Verdieu con­ movement. keep building. Let’s keep organizing. imum wage is not enough. People can’t tributed to this article. workers.org Dec. 15, 2016 Page 5 North Carolina backs down the KKK

By Dante Strobino People’s Assembly drew hundreds of new Raleigh, N.C. people eager to get involved in the mili- tant social movement. There was once a time when the Klu The rally came a few days after the Klux Klan could march in the thousands Charlotte District Attorney decided not with impunity in state capitols across the to indict Brentley Vinson, the white cop U.S. South. But today mass movements who killed Keith Lamont Scott. It came across the country have pushed them only a day after a South Carolina jury was back, despite the electoral win of bigoted deadlocked and failed to convict Michael Donald Trump. Millions of people in the Slager, a white former North Charleston streets, marching against Trump and all policeman who killed unarmed Walter he stands for, have emboldened the social Scott. A mistrial was declared Dec. 5. movement. As for the KKK, they did finally con- Over 2,000 people rallied in down- firm late Friday night that they would be town Raleigh at Moore Square Park on in Pelham. A group of about 150 folks, Dec. 3 to protest the KKK and Trump — RALEIGH organized through the Triangle Indus- to forge ahead with struggles for people’s WW PHOTO: DANTE STROBINO trial Workers of the World, traveled there power and against racism, wars and all Raleigh and Charlotte rallies, truly ex- Trump. Our movement for not one more to directly confront the KKK, but they forms of oppression. pressing a statewide day of action. deportation will keep fighting ahead!“ had moved their event. Chasing them to The Loyal White Knights of the KKK, Desmera Gatewood, emcee of the ral- Gatewood continued, “We stand Danville, Va., the IWW took the streets a small group in Pelham, N.C., had an- ly, stated the purpose of the rallies: “We against hate crimes and racist violence and marched carrying a banner, read- nounced they would be holding a Dec. 3 refuse to back down against the endless against our friends who are labeled ter- ing, “John Brown Lives, Smash White “victory kavalcade” at an unannounced police murders of Black people. We stand rorists by the state and Trump by virtue Supremacy.” The reference is to the white location somewhere in North Carolina. in solidarity with the Black community of being Muslim. We are also workers freedom fighter who organized an armed To oppose them, there were coordinat- in Charlotte as they protest against the fighting for $15 per hour and for collec- 19th-century uprising against slavery. ed big rallies in Raleigh, Charlotte and non-indictment of cop Brentley Vinson tive bargaining rights for public workers! The KKK never publicly displayed them- Greensboro. People also rallied in Salis- who killed Keith Lamont Scott. We stand We oppose any new wars that Trump selves in Danville. They later appeared bury and Mebane. People from countless in solidarity with our immigrant friends threatens to create. We move forward to briefly in Roxboro, N.C., with a small cara- other cities across the state came to the who now fear threats of deportation by advance our struggle for quality public van of about 20 cars that rode through the schools and to defend all public services town, flying U.S. flags, Confederate flags that Trump has threatened to shut down. and KKK flags, for about five minutes with We won’t let him shut anything down!” support from the local police. Harvard blockade bans The Triangle Unity May Day Coalition, The unified movement had forced the representing a broad range of freedom KKK to scuttle and run. As Manzoor neo-Nazi Bannon fighters and organizations, including Cheema, of Muslims for Social Justice, WW PHOTO: STEVE KIRSCHBAUM Black, Latinx, LGBTQ, Muslim, immi- said at the Raleigh rally, “The gathering at the anti-KKK rally should not be the By Steve Gillis grant, women, workers and people with only time when people come together to Boston disabilities, called the rally to assert that #ThisIsOurNC — that the state belongs challenge racism and oppression. People to the people, not to the forces of Wall need to become part of a long-term move- Hundreds of students, university Street or the wealthy, not to white su- ment to challenge all forms of oppression. workers, social justice activists and premacists and the police. Triangle People’s Assembly is building contingents of antifa and other anti- The day after the rally, the Triangle such a grass-roots movement that centers fascist activists from greater Boston (Durham, Chapel Hill and Raleigh) area power to the most marginalized.” blockaded the doors of the Kennedy School of Government in a cold, dark rain on Nov. 30, outraged that “liberal” Harvard had invited Stephen Bannon, People’s Power Assembly former head of the white-suprem­acist Chief Steward Ed Childs and neo-Nazi Breitbart News, and oth- and Sarah Cleary of Harvard dining service workers, UNITE HERE Local 26. er Trump “advisers” to a conference. shows anti-Klan solidarity Protesters viewed the “War Stories: Fascism can only be defeated by shutting Inside Campaign 2016” discussion as a it down!” Scores of activists from NYC declaration of war on campus. They came Many #JewishResistance and LGBTQ New York City’s People’s ready to fight. Without a permit and in activists took the mic to denounce the Power Assembly gathered the face of police, the crowd packed the Trump cabal’s Islamophobia, pledging in freezing weather at Co- Kennedy School entrance, chanting, “No to put their bodies on the line to defend lumbus Circle on Dec. 3 to Trump, No KKK, No fascist USA!” Muslim and migrant sisters and brothers show solidarity with an- Cheers erupted when Tom Arabia and under attack. ti-Klan initiatives across Zachary Lown, two organizers who put Young attorney Jasmine Gomez, a the U.S. by loudly indict- the demonstration together in 48 hours, protest organizer, announced the day’s ing police for the mur- announced that Bannon, a cowardly big- demands to rousing cheers and fists: “1. der of Korryn Gaines in ot, backed out last minute in the face of No normalization of bigotry, no plat- ­Randallstown, Md. –Story and photo mass opposition. forms for hate! 2. Fire Bannon! 3. No by Taryn Fivek They called on demonstrators to keep to the Trump agenda of racial profiling, the pressure on Kellyanne Conway, Corey “law and order” policing, and legalizing Lewandowski and other Trumpsters in- anti-women and anti-LGBTQ discrim- side and to counter the Kennedy School’s ination! 4. Make Harvard a sanctuary Buffalo kicks off month dangerous attempt to give legitimacy to school! 5. Build our movement by stand- racists with continued #HarvardSoFas- ing together against hate!” cist actions. Steve Kirschbaum, vice president of of ‘RESIST!’ NAACP Boston Executive Director Nia United Steelworkers Local 8751 (Boston Evans applauded the mostly young, white school bus drivers) and a Workers World crowd for coming out in such large num- Party leader, related Boston’s experi- bers to fight racial hatred. Evans told the ence in fighting an earlier generation of many new activists to “prepare to be in white supremacists: “We’re a union that the streets every day to defend civil and was born in the crucible of fighting fas- human rights.” cism and racism. In 1974, we saw the ugly Ed Childs, cook at Harvard for 42 years stench of neofascism. and leader of Local 26’s recently victorious “They called it ‘Restore Our Alienated 22-day dining service strike, said, “The Rights’ then. That’s bulls--t, as much as Harvard Corporation needs to immedi- calling it ‘alt-right’ now is bullshit. These ately rescind their invitation to the bigots are Nazis and Klan, and you don’t debate and warmongers. This campus belongs to them, you don’t give them a chance, you the students, to the faculty, to the workers, shut them down!” and we didn’t invite these fascists here. The new generation of anti-fascists To kick off a month of resistance to the es — including raised fists and “thank They need to get off our property, now!” then streamed onto John F. Kennedy whole Trump agenda, Buffalo activists yous” from a school bus full of ­African- Nino Brown, of the Answer coalition, Street and into Memorial Drive, blasting, turned out with signs on Dec. 1 at a bus American ‘tweens! reminded people, “At no time in history “Hey Trump, get out the way! Get out the transfer point downtown during the busy — Ellie Dorritie has fascism ever been defeated by love. way, Trump, get out the way!” rush hour. They got enthusiastic respons- WW PHOTO: IVY YAPELLI Page 6 Dec. 15, 2016 workers.org Fidel’s enduring lesson: Yeses,, revolutionrevolution isis possiblepossible

Continued from page 1 reviewed the history of the Cuban Revo- lution, which is synonymous with Fidel himself. Although Fidel was 90, and had noted at the 7th Congress of the Communist BUTTERFIELD GREG PHOTO: WW Party in April that it was likely the last time he would address them, his death evoked tears, tributes, pledges and the cry, “Yo soy Fidel” (I am Fidel). As the depth of support for the Cuban Revolu- tion became clear in the outpouring for Fidel, the vicious pronouncements par- Workers World Party delegation and Cuban Ambassador to the United Nations, Rainbow placard honors Fidel at the roted by capitalist media at the initial an- Silvia Rodriguez Abascal, second from left, Dec. 2. Cuban Mission in New York in Dec. 4. Rally. nouncement of his death became muted. There would be no counterrevolutionary President Evo Morales Ayma of Bolivia; ­Fidel’s caravan, keeping an all-night vigil. of the Young Communist League — spoke uprising. President Enrique Peña Nieto of Mexico; right before Cuban President Raúl Castro. Cubans streamed to the Jose Martí President Daniel Ortega Saavedra of Nic- Santiago says goodbye Granma.cu quoted Bello: “Cuba is ours to Memor­ial in Havana to express their aragua; and President Nicolás Maduro Fidel’s ashes were put to rest in Santi- take care of and defend. Each university condolences and pledged to support the Moros of Venezuela. ago. During an evening public gathering, classroom will be our Moncada.” revolution. Delegations from 60 countries confirm­ Ulises Guilarte de Nacimiento, secretary Then Raúl Castro closed the last pub- On the evening of Nov. 29, world leaders ed representatives to the tribute, includ- general of the Cuban Workers’ Federa- lic event. In a speech on “Fidel’s enduring gathered with the Cuban people filling Ha- ing presidents from Namibia, Zimbabwe tion, pointed out that with the triumph lesson is that, yes, it is possible,” he re- vana’s Revolution Square. Just weeks after and Cape Verde. World Federation of of Jan. 1, 1959, the working class had be- viewed many accomplishments of the Cu- the second anniversary of the announce- Trade Unions General Secretary George come essential to the construction of the ban Revolution that would have seemed ment that the U.S. and Cuba intended to Mavrikos, Interreligious Foundation for new social project. impossible, including defeating apartheid resume diplomatic relations, the Barack Community Organization Executive Direc- “Fidel always encouraged consultation in Southern Africa. He then summarized: Obama administration did not send an of- tor Gail Walker and progressive actor Dan- with the labor movement regarding the “Fidel’s enduring lesson is that, yes, it ficial delegation to the memorial. ny Glover were among the invited guests. most important tasks of the Revolution,” is possible, that humans are able to over- Speakers at the public memorial in Ha- From Havana to Santiago, a Freedom he added, concluding that, thanks to Fi- come the harshest conditions as long as vana showed Cuba what Fidel Castro’s Caravan retraced in reverse Fidel’s victory del, Cuba is a dignified, independent, an- their willingness to triumph does not fal- leadership had meant, especially for Af- caravan after the Jan. 1, 1959, revolution ti-imperialist country that practices soli- ter, they accurately assess every situation, rica, the Caribbean and Latin America. ousted the brutal U.S.-backed Batista dic- darity. Fidel would live on in the hearts of and do not renounce their just and noble Amid remembrances and history, speaker tatorship. As in 1959, the caravan demon- all Cuban workers. principles.” after speaker condemned the continuing strated the revolution’s close ties with the The presidents of the Association of He added that Fidel, “following the first U.S. blockade of Fidel’s homeland. masses of Cuba. Everywhere the streets Small Farmers and the Association of disastrous battle at Alegría de Pío — which Granma.cu reported on who spoke: were lined with people of all ages paying Combatants of the Cuban Revolution the day after tomorrow will celebrate its Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa Del- their last respects, recording the passage of were followed by a member of the Cuban 60th anniversary — never lost faith in vic- gado; President Jacob Zuma of South Af- the caravan on cellphones, crying, chant- Communist Party Central Committee tory, and 13 days later, already in the moun- rica; Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit of ing, waving Cuban flags. The world saw and the National Coordinator of the Com- tains of the Sierra Maestra ... with just sev- Dominica, also President Pro Tempore of the faces of a determined and revolution- mittees for the Defense of the Revolution. en rifles and a fistful of combatants, stated: the Caribbean Community (CARICOM); ary Cuba, nurtured, educated and healthy The National Secretary of the Federation ‘Now we have won the war!’ [Applause and President Salvador Sánchez Cerén of El because of their socialist revolution. of Cuban Women, Teresa Amarelle, stat- shouts of “Fidel, ­Fidel! That’s Fidel!”] Salvador; Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras Fidel’s ashes rested overnight in Santa ed, “We Cuban women are the Revolution. “This is the undefeated Fidel that of Greece; President Abdelkader Ben- Clara’s Che Guevara Memorial with the Raúl, you can count on Cuban women.” brings us together through his example salah of Algeria; Vice President Li Yuan- remains of Che and his internationalist Miguel Barnet, president of the Nation- and demonstrates that, yes, it was possi- chao of the People’s Republic of China; comrades. In the last days of December al Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba, ble, yes, it is possible, and, yes, it will be Majid Ansari, vice president for Legal 1958, Che’s Rebel Army column had bro- noted, “Fidel articulated in a harmonious possible! [Applause and shouts of “Yes, we Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran; ken the back of the dictatorship’s resis- way the thinking of Bolívar, Martí and can!”] Yes, it will be possible to overcome Vyacheslav Volodin, speaker of the Rus- tance by derailing a train full of arms and Marx, which made the Cuban Revolution any obstacle, threat or disturbance in our sian State Duma; Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, reinforcements in Santa Clara. Batista unique in the world.” resolute effort to build socialism in Cuba, chairwoman of the National Assembly of then fled to the Dominican Republic. Two young women — Jennifer Bello, or in other words guarantee the indepen- the Socialist Republic of Vietnam; Sheik Now, thousands of people waving Cu- president of the Federation of University dence and sovereignty of the homeland!” Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani of Qatar; ban and July 26 Movement flags waited for Students, and Sucelys Morfa, secretary Fidel’s final resting place is in Santiago de Cuba’s Santa Ifigenia Cemetery. Mari- ana Grajales is buried there. She and her family served in the Cuban wars of inde- Fidel and Billy Dean Smith pendence and against slavery in the late 1800s. Her son, Antonio Maceo, known By John Catalinotto meant it. Davis wrote in her autobiogra- in Cuba as the Bronze Titan, was killed phy that posters showed up all over Hava- in battle Dec. 7, 1896. A 52-foot-tall stat- It was Sept. 28, 1972. Angela Da- na in the following days calling for free- ue of him on a rearing horse dominates vis and Fidel Castro were speaking dom for Smith. the Santiago plaza where the final public at a mass meeting in Havana. Davis, As a Marxist-Leninist, Fidel under- event was held. recently freed from U.S. prisons by stood the class struggle also existed with- Nearby are the Mausoleum of National worldwide support, had brought up in the U.S. Armed Forces. He understood Hero José Martí and Fidel’s compañeros the case of Pvt. Billy Dean Smith. that the consciousness of the U.S. troops in the struggle at Moncada, the Granma, Smith, openly anti-war while sta- changed day by day. Encouraging this the Rebel Army and from clandestine tioned in Vietnam, stood accused of growing resistance could aid the Vietnam- campaigns and internationalist missions. lobbing a fragmentation grenade on ese liberation struggle. And much more. It was through the socialist Cuban March 15, 1971, that killed two of- At the time, Workers World Party and Revolution, led by Fidel Castro, that the ficers and wounded one at the U.S. those of us who were organizing the Amer- struggle for liberation, independence and Army base near Bien Hoa, South ican Servicemen’s Union also supported sovereignty, begun more than a century Vietnam. Smith, 24, a Black enlisted union member Billy Dean Smith. The ASU ago, was finally achieved. man from the Watts section of Los would back any rank-and-file troop who Angeles, was singled out by his racist resisted the war — by whatever means “superiors” to die for the fragging. were available. When Fidel spoke, he said, “A man Smith won his court-martial. Accord- became a criminal. A man who re- ing to ASU chairperson Andy Stapp, Fi- fused to destroy schools and hospitals national solidarity,” said Fidel, compar- del presented Smith “with one of those and dikes, who devoted himself to refus- ing Smith’s case with that of Lt. William old 1959 Marine Corps caps that were ing to kill Vietnamese people, who re- Calley, who massacred hundreds of Viet- worn by guerrillas fighting the dictator fused to kill women and children, to burn namese in My Lai. Fidel called for raising Fulgencio Batista in the Sierra Maestra homes, to torture and commit all acts of banners supporting Smith, just as the mountains.” (transcript of January 2013 this type. They are demanding his head world’s people had done for Angela Davis. speech) and therefore there is now a new symbol: (tinyurl.com/zxqf6cq) Catalinotto discusses the ASU in Billy Dean Smith. Eleven years earlier, Fidel declared he his forthcoming book, “Turn the Guns “Here is a new cause for the progres- was a Marxist-Leninist. His immediate Around: Mutinies, Soldier Revolts and sive movement and a new cause for inter- support for Billy Dean Smith showed he Revolutions.” workers.org Dec. 15, 2016 Page 7

Nov. 29, 2016 aerial Havana Fidel’s enduring lesson: Yeses,, revolutionrevolution isis possiblepossible

A communist in the U.S. Para Fidel: remembers FIDEL CASTRO-RUZ FIDEL (1926-2016):

By Monica Moorehead VIVA FIDEL!

In the third week of June By Mumia Abu-Jamal that Batista’s regime was not a regime 2000, I traveled to Havana, that was impossible to topple, so the peo- Cuba, as part of a U.S. delega- Fidel Castro, father of the 1959 Cuban ple began to feel their strength.” tion to participate in a roundta- Revolution, has died, after 90 years of a Fidel was a friend of Malcolm X, and a ble discussion on the prison-in- life of rebellion and resistance. That this lifelong friend of Africa. The racist regime dustrial complex in the U.S. bold revolutionary figure lived as long as of apartheid South Africa got whipped in Some of the delegates included he did is itself a victory, for he outlived at Angola, with tens of thousands of Cuban Pam Africa from the Interna- least 11 assassination attempts launched troops in the field. The notorious battle tional Concerned Family and by the CIA — 11 times that the U.S. gov- of Cuito Cuanavale, Angola, was where Friends of Mumia-Abu-Jamal; ernment has admitted to! South Africa saw the bloody handwriting Gloria Rubac, a leader of the As a young man, he earned a law de- on the wall. anti-death penalty movement in Pam Africa and Monica Moorehead with Fidel as he signs gree, but he never practiced; he took the Castro once said: “African blood flows Texas; Rosemari Mealy, a for- books for Mumia, June 19, 2000. revolutionary path — and began a strug- in our veins. Many of our ancestors came mer member of the Black Pan- gle against the U.S.-supported Cuban as slaves from Africa to this land. As ther Party with Mumia in Philadelphia; Venceremos Brigade in the late 1980s dictator, Fulgencio Batista. That struggle, slaves they struggled quite a great deal. attorney/activist Lennox Hinds; the late and the World Youth Festival in 1997, which led to the fall of Batista, inspired They fought as members of the liberating movement lawyer Leonard Weinglass; where I first met Black freedom fighter people all around the world. army of Cuba. We’re brothers and sisters Gloria LaRiva ; and myself, representing Assata Shakur. But the meeting with One of those inspired was the late of the people of Africa and we are ready Workers World Party. Fidel will always hold a special place in Huey P. Newton, co-founder of the Black to fight in their behalf.” Many Cubans were interested in the my heart and mind. Panther Party, who, in a 1967 jail inter- Fidel Castro and the Cuban Revolution struggle to free political prisoners, es- Upon hearing of his death on Nov. view, noted: “When Fidel Castro started never bowed to the U.S. empire — not pecially the cases of Mumia Abu-Jamal 25, all of those memories of being in his the Revolution, along with Che Guevara, once in over half a century. and Shaka Sankofa, who was eventually almost overpowering presence brought with 12 of them altogether, they realized The Cuban Revolution produced the executed in Texas just weeks after our both an appreciative smile and tears. that they wouldn’t be able to topple the finest educational system in the Caribbe- visit. One of those interested Cubans was There will never, ever be another Fidel, oppressive regime in Cuba. What they an and much of the world. They have sent Comandante President Fidel Castro. We and the best way to honor his legacy is to were essentially was an educational body. their doctors all around the Earth. had the honor of meeting Fidel on June aspire to live like him — a revolutionary They engaged with the Army, they fought The world mourns the passing of a 19 after we filmed the roundtable discus- socialist dedicated to liberate all human- with the Army, and they showed the giant. sion seen by millions of Cubans on the kind from all the evils of imperialism. people that the army was not bulletproof, Fidel Castro-Ruz, Comandante de la island. As we sat around a table in the Fidel presente! that the police were not bulletproof. And Revolución. ¡Presente! office at his residence, he asked us many questions about Mumia and Shaka’s cas- es, along with the state of the prisoner solidarity movement inside the U.S. We BLACK LIVES MATTER then took photos with him, along with an Lessons from Fidel official group photo, as he signed books Statement from Black Lives Matter, Nov. 26. for Mumia and Shaka. of meager resources, like in Sierra Maes- cal will and they are requirements of any The next day during our tour of Old Ha- We are feeling many things as we awak- tra in 1956 or St. Elmo Village in 2013. humane society. vana, we were suddenly told by our guide en to a world without Fidel Castro. There Revolution is continuous and is won Revolution requires that the determi- that we had a “visitor” waiting for us, so is an overwhelming sense of loss, com- first in the hearts and minds of the people nation to create and preserve these things we would have to cut our tour short. That plicated by fear and anxiety. Although and is continually shaped and reshaped for our people takes precedence over indi- “visitor” happened to be Fidel, waiting for no leader is without their flaws, we must by the collective. No single revolution- vidual drives for power, recognition and us at our guest housing, quite an unex- push back against the rhetoric of the right ary ever wins or even begins the revolu- enrichment. pected and indescribable surprise for us. and come to the defense of El Comandan- tion. The revolution begins only when the A final lesson is that to be a revolution- As we walked into the room, he pointed to te. And there are lessons that we must re- whole is fully bought in and committed to ary, you must strive to live in integrity. his watch and stated in Spanish and with visit and heed as we pick up the mantle in it. And it is never over. As a Black network committed to trans- a laugh that we kept him waiting, which changing our world, as we aspire to build Revolution transcends borders; the formation, we are particularly grateful put us all at ease. We then sat togeth- a world rooted in a vision of freedom and freedom of oppressed people and people to Fidel for holding Mama Assata Shak- er with Fidel to watch our roundtable the peace that only comes with justice. It of color is all bound up together wherever ur, who continues to inspire us. We are discussion as he discussed each of our is the lessons that we take from Fidel. we are. In Cuba, South Africa, Palestine, thankful that he provided a home for comments in a very serious manner. From Fidel, we know that revolution is Angola, Tanzania, Mozambique, Grena- Brother Michael Finney, Ralph Goodwin, Thinking back to that moment, I sparked by an idea, by radical imaginings, da, Venezuela, Haiti, African America and Charles Hill, asylum to Brother Huey reflect on how few leaders of a country which sometimes take root first among and North Dakota. We must not only root P. Newton, and sanctuary for so many would take time out of their overwhelm- just a few dozen people coming together in for each other but invest in each other’s other Black revolutionaries who were be- ingly busy schedule to visit, not once the mountains. It can be a tattered group struggles, lending our voices, bodies and ing persecuted by the American govern- but twice, individuals who are neither resources to liberation efforts which may ment during the Black Power era. We are diplomats nor have any kind of official seem distant from the immediacy of our indebted to Fidel for sending resources to title. But how many leaders are like daily existence. Haiti following the 2010 earthquake and Fidel? A leader who was always about Revolution is rooted in the recogni- attempting to support Black people in New showing solidarity with the struggles of tion that there are certain fundamentals Orleans after Hurricane Katrina when oppressed peoples, be it in Africa, Latin to which every being has a right, just by our government left us to die on rooftops America or the U.S. virtue of one’s birth: healthy food, clean and in floodwaters. We are thankful that I have been very lucky to have visited water, decent housing, safe communi- he provided a space where the tradition- Cuba four times, including as part of the ties, quality healthcare, mental health al spiritual work of African people could services, free and flourish, regardless of his belief system. quality education, With Fidel’s passing there is one more Raúl Castro closed community spaces, the last public lesson that stands paramount: when we event. In a speech, art, democratic en- are rooted in collective vision, when we “Fidel’s enduring gagement, regular bind ourselves together around quests for lesson is that, yes, vacations, sports infinite freedom of the body and the soul, it is possible,” he and places for spir- we will be victorious. As Fidel ascends to reviewed many itual expression the realm of the ancestors, we summon ­accomplishments are not questions his guidance, strength, and power as we of the Cuban of resources, but recommit ourselves to the struggle for Revolution. ­questions of politi- universal freedom. Fidel vive! Page 8 Dec. 15, 2016 workers.org At Standing Rock: ‘We’re not going anywhere’

Continued from page 1 against the highly militarized state police Los Angeles, and international support temperatures, John Bigelow, head of the and mercenaries. has been substantial. Oceti Sakowin camp’s media committee stop this pipeline that threatens the dese­ But in social media, especially Twitter and a member of the Standing Rock Sioux, cration of ancestral lands, violates the and Facebook, there were reports on ev- An apology from veterans stated, “As water protectors, we have a re- 1851 and 1868 treaties signed between ery delegation coming to Standing Rock And then there are the veterans led by sponsibility to be stewards of the water. them and the U.S. government upholding in the ones and twos, in the hundreds or Wesley Clark Jr., who traveled to Stand- We declare here today, we are not going the Sioux people’s right to land sovereign- even thousands. That resulted in any- ing Rock from many states in cars and anywhere.” (tinyurl.com/je3l4km) ty, and poses a real threat of poisoning where between 8,000 to 20,000 or more vans to oppose the DAPL. The veterans Loan Tran, a member of the Durham the water supply for at least 17 million people in the various camps, all dedicat- built barracks at the campsites to keep Branch of Workers World Party who re- people, with the potential of inevitable ed to halting the pipeline construction. out the below-zero temperatures. cently traveled to Standing Rock as part pipeline leaks. Except for that communication, this im- Before the Dec. 5 march to the Back- of a North Carolina delegation, told WW: Facing down horrific violence on the portant struggle could have succumbed water Bridge took place, the veterans par- “What we saw in Standing Rock was not part of the Morton County, N.D., Sheriff’s to isolation and alienation which always ticipated in a prayer service where Clark, just a struggle to stop a pipeline, but a con- Department, along with that of the G4S historically favor the interests of the 1%. speaking on behalf of the veterans, made tinuation of the fight for Indigenous sover- Private Security Firm (armed mercenary The steadfast resistance to the DAPL a public apology on bended knee to In- eignty that Native people have been wag- thugs), thousands of water protectors by the Sioux and other Indigenous Na- digenous elders for U.S. genocidal crimes ing for centuries. With tens of thousands have braved tear gas, hypothermia from tions fighting the powers-that-be for committed against Indigenous peoples, of people working and living in the en- freezing water shot out of water cannons their land and resources has inspired or- their land, their culture and resources. campment, the struggle at Standing Rock in below-zero temperatures, bites from ganizations and individuals to travel to A Sacred Fire ceremonial dance led by is a reminder and example to us all of the vicious attack dogs, rubber bullets and Standing Rock to show solidarity. Indigenous veterans took place at Oceti power and necessity of solidarity with na- more from the repressive state. This includes delegations represent- Sakowin Camp near the bridge. tional liberation movements everywhere.” Complicit in this violence have been ing Black Lives Matter, Palestinian soli- Indicating that this is just another phase Mahtowin Munro contributed to this the pro-establishment media like CNN, darity, labor and environmental groups, of the #NoDAPL struggle despite winter article. MSNBC, Washington Post and New York along with political figures like Cornel Times that have whitewashed any major West and Rev. Jesse Jackson; hip-hop coverage of this significant development artists; actors Shailene Woodley, Mark Bank pipeline to DAPL blocked that shines a bright light on environmen- Ruffalo, Jane Fonda and James Crom- tal racism for profit. When there was any well; and University of Wisconsin bas- coverage at all by the mainstream media, ketball player Bronson Koenig. Solidar- PHILADELPHIA their reporting was often shamefully bi- ity #NoDAPL actions all over the U.S. ased by falsely accusing unarmed wa- continue to attract thousands of activists ter protectors of perpetuating violence from Boston to New York to Detroit to Peltier’s message on Day of Mourning

Day of Mourning November 24, 2016 Greetings, my relatives, Here we are again. This time the year is 2016. It has been more than 41 years since I last walked free and was able to see the sun rise, and sit and feel the earth WW PHOTO: JOE PIETTE beneath my feet. I know there have been By Joe Piette Dec. 5, threatening to “close” all lands more changes then I can even imagine Philadelphia out there. north of the Cannonball River, where But I do know that there is a struggle Over 200 people joined a rally and Oceti Sakowin ancestral and treaty land taking place as to whether this country march in Philadelphia on Dec. 1 in soli- and the encampments are located. will move on to a more sustainable way of darity with water protectors and Indig- Demonstrators marched with signs, life. This is something we wanted to have enous warriors at Standing Rock, N.D. chants and banners from the hated Riz- happen back in the seventies. The event took place 10 days after police zo statue in Thomas Paine Plaza to the I watch the events at Standing Rock and National Guard violently attacked a TD Bank at Broad and Sansom where a with both pride and sorrow. Pride that peaceful gathering at Standing Rock with group of supporters was blocking the en- our people and their allies are standing tear gas, rubber bullets, pepper spray, trance to the bank. They then proceed- up and putting their lives on the line for concussion grenades and water cannons ed past the offices of the Army Corps of the coming generations, not because they in subfreezing conditions, injuring hun- Engineers, heavily protected by a line of want to, but because they have to. They to be able to live there again. And to die dreds of people. Supporters also came cops, to a “die-in” at the busy intersec- are right to stand up in a peaceful way. It there. out to oppose the eviction notice from tion of Market and Juniper next to City is the greatest gathering of our people in I have a different feeling this year. The the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to the Hall. The marchers ended the protest at history, and has made us more connected last time I felt this way was 16 years ago, Standing Rock Sioux Nation, effective Thomas Paine Plaza. than ever before. We need to support each when I last had a real chance for freedom. other as we make our way in these times. It is an uneasy feeling. An unsettling one. Water IS life, and we cannot leave this It is a hard thing to allow hope to creep Virginia for issue for our children and grandchildren into my heart and my spirit, here in these to deal with when things are far worse for cold buildings of stone and steel. the natural world than they are now. On one hand, to have hope is a joyful Standing Rock And Mother Earth is already in struggle. and wonderful feeling, but the downside And I feel sorrow for the water protec- of it for me can be cruel and bitter. tors at Standing Rock because these last But today I will choose hope. Dozens of community mem- few days have brought a much harsher I pray that you will all enjoy good bers from throughout the Ro- response from the law enforcement agen- health and good feelings, and I thank all anoke Valley of Virginia par- cies there, and our people are suffering. of you from the bottom of my heart for all ticipated in a Solidarity with At least they are finally getting atten- you have done and continue to do for me Standing Rock protest in Ro- tion of the national media. and for our Mother Earth. anoke Dec. 3. Gathering at the My home is in North Dakota. The Please keep me in your prayers and square at City Market, protest- Standing Rock people are my people. thoughts as these last days of 2016 slip ers held a speak-out and then Sitting Bull lies in his grave there at Fort away. marched to a nearby Wells Yates. My home at Turtle Mountain is just I send you my love and my respect for Fargo to demand the bank stop a few hours north of Standing Rock, just all of you who have gathered in the name funding the Dakota Access and south of Manitoba, Canada. of Mother Earth and our unborn genera- other pipelines. I have not seen my home since I was a tions. I stand with you there in spirit. -- Story and photo by WW Staff. boy, but I still hold out hope of returning Doksha. there for whatever time I may have left. It In the Spirit of Crazy Horse, is the land of my father and I would like Leonard Peltier workers.org Dec. 15, 2016 Page 9 Syria and the Trump administration

Excerpted from a talk by Sara Flounders, co-coordinator of cline. It is decaying and desperate to hold alism is that, even after almost six years the Hands Off Syria Coalition, to a Dec. 2 coalition meeting in New York. its global position and profits. It has an of unrelenting war, a majority of Syrians enormous military machine. support President Bashar al-Assad. Oth- The Hands Off Syria Coalition is part tional sovereignty and self-determina- The U.S. policy of regime change has erwise, the government would have col- of a continuing effort to develop basic tion … include the right of the Syrian gov- been an all-out effort to inflame sec- lapsed. political unity on the massively destruc- ernment to request and accept military tarian, cultural and religious divisions, I’ve traveled to Syria twice during these tive war in Syria and the way forward. assistance from other countries.” arouse fanatical groups and the hatred of years of war. What made the greatest per- The coalition’s “Urgent Message for peace one group against another. It has meant sonal impact was seeing the enormous New administration, same system on the eve of wider war” has now gained arming and unleashing mercenaries and determination of the people to resist the thousands of signers. Hundreds of peace Big political changes can catch some extremists whose only goal is to pull Syr- efforts to pull Syria apart. More than a and social justice organizations have en- of us off guard. Hope can lull people into ia apart and bring down this progressive, third of the population is displaced. They dorsed its Points of Unity. the illusion that a new U.S. administra- secular Arab state. flee en masse toward the government and The statement focuses on the U.S. role: tion has a secret plan for peace. While opposing the war criminal Clin- away from the areas under the control of “We raise our voices against the violence One month ago, the media were unan- ton, we need to remember that for 18 marauding mercenaries. of war and the enormous pressure of war imous: Clinton’s electoral victory was a months, Trump rallies focused on using Trump has tweeted about improved propaganda, lies and hidden agendas that sure thing. All who know Clinton’s crim- racism; attacks on immigrants, LGBTQ relations with Russia. He has also spo- are used to justify this war and every past inal role in Syria, Libya and in NATO’s people and Muslims; and the most offen- ken of secret plans to end the war in Syr- U.S. war. ... We commit to working to- expansion had every reason to be con- sive conduct toward women. ia and of putting boots on the ground to gether to help achieve four very basic de- cerned. Donald Trump’s electoral victory defeat ISIS in Syria and Iraq. mands: “An immediate end to the U.S. came as a big surprise. Trump’s appointees For over two years the U.S., France, policy of forced regime change in Syria Now, all the same media pundits, Re- Much publicity was given to Trump’s Britain, Saudi Arabia and Turkey have ... including respect for the independence publicans and Democrats, are telling us claims that he does not intend to expand bombed Syria, supposedly to attack ISIS. and territorial integrity of Syria. that we must give the racist bigot Trump the war in Syria. But we should view with They have hardly scratched ISIS but have “An immediate end to all foreign ag- a “chance.” great apprehension the naming of gen- destroyed much of Syria’s infrastruc- gression against Syria. An immediate end We cannot “give a chance” to a presi- erals, far-right extremists and known ture. Saudi Arabia’s role in arming ISIS is to all military, financial, logistical and in- dent who says: “I’m the most militaristic fascist forces, including Steve Bannon, hardly a secret. telligence support by the U.S., NATO and person there is,” “I always said, take the Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions and retired A section of the U.S. ruling class hopes their regional allies to all foreign merce- oil,” “I love war in a certain way,” “I would generals Michael Flynn and James Mat- to tempt Russia into a tactical alliance naries and extremists in the Middle East bring back a hell of a lot worse than wa- tis, to key cabinet positions. against China or a break with Iran and region. An immediate end to economic terboarding,” and “Why have nuclear We need to prepare for ramped-up war Syria. This is the basis of Trump’s thin sanctions against Syria.” weapons if we are not going to use them?” at home and abroad. promises of talks and deals with Russia. Maybe the most important point for Yet he claims to be a deal maker, will- Mattis is a warhawk on Russia, Iran We need to build a movement based on unity here in the center of imperialism ing to talk to Putin and Assad. and Syria. From 2010 to 2013 he was at the forces fighting for change right here in is that “It is not our business to support U.S. wars are not just policy mistakes. the helm of the military’s Central Com- the U.S.: Refuse to align with racists and or oppose President Assad or the Syrian A change of face does not change the cap- mand, overseeing all military activity in militarists of either party. Instead, con- government. Only the Syrian people have italist system, a system that breeds war, the Middle East. sciously align with the Black Lives Mat- the right to decide the legitimacy of their that lives off the profits of conquest and Every U.S. war is a racist war for domi- ter movement, the resistance at Standing government. The fundamental rights of global domination. nation, not for democracy or human rights. Rock, with women and LGBTQ people, the Syrian people to independence, na- The United States is an empire in de- The great frustration of U.S. imperi- with immigrants and Muslims. Hands Off Syria kicks off speaking tour

By Taryn Fivek New York

It was standing-room-only at the Man- Margaret Kimberley WW PHOTOS: G. DUNKEL Hands Off Syria on Dec 2. hattan Theatre Club. People not able to and Sara Flounders. find seats stood in the hall or in the back to hear members of the Hands Off Syr- ia Coalition report on what the next U.S. Detroit: Monday, Dec. 12. president might mean for the war in Syria. Denver: Tuesday Dec. 13. The panel discussion on Dec. 2 kicked Bahman Aziz. Several cities in California: Dec. 14-18. off a national speaking tour that will headline Eva Bartlett, an independent For detailed information about each of journalist, along with local activists in Eva Bartlett and was launched in these events, please visit the coalition’s Dr. Ghias Moussa. different cities. Also participating were 2003 by George website at HandsOffSyriaCoalition.net. Dr. Ghias Moussa of the Syrian American likely not to deviate W. Bush, a Re- forum, Margaret Kimberley of the Black too much from the publican. The Agenda Report and Sara Flounders repre- previous administra- same biparti- senting the International Action Center. tion and that, if any- san treatment The tour will also bring speakers to audi- thing, the violence has been hand- ences from Detroit to Denver and several and grief the Syrian ed out to Pal- cities in California. Bahman Aziz of the people have suffered estine, as year U.S. Peace Council chaired the event. over the last years will increase under a after year the Bartlett, who had just returned from Trump presidency if there is no resistance. U.S. government funds and arms the Is- East Aleppo, spoke about how Syrians Many attending were curious about raeli apartheid machine that dumps white were pleased to hear that there are people how the new presidency might affect the phosphorus on hospitals in Gaza. in the West who support their struggle situation in the Middle East. While Hillary The panelists indicated that we against foreign-backed fighters and can Clinton was certainly openly belligerent in shouldn’t expect much of a change be- see through the haze of corporate media her plans for Syria, some have assumed tween a Democrat like Obama and a Re- fog surrounding the war. that Trump will be less exuberant about publican like Trump when it comes to the Moussa told the audience what life in continuing the U.S. government’s decades war in Syria. All were in agreement that Syria was like before the war began to tear long brutal onslaught against the people of we need to build a strong coalition that the country apart. Bread was subsidized, the Middle East and North Africa. is ready to take militant action against education was free and sectarianism was As many of the panelists pointed out to Trump’s racism and imperialism. kept in check by the state. the audience, the U.S. history of war across More dates for the Hands Off Syria Cam- Kimberley drew connections between the world is not new, and indeed knows no paign speaking tour are: racism in the United States and the rac- party affiliation. In the Gulf War of 1990- Washington, D.C : Tuesday, Dec. 6, 6 p.m. ism inherent in the foreign policy of de- 1991, President George H.W. Bush, a Re- National Webinar: Wednesday, Dec. 7, 9 p.m. struction that has decimated Libya, Haiti publican, sent U.S. forces to Kuwait and Newark, N.J.: Thursday, Dec. 8, 7:30 p.m. and Syria. later invaded Iraq. Sanctions on Iraq were Flounders spoke of the need to resist continued under President Bill Clinton, a New Haven, Conn.: Saturday, Dec. 10, 2 p.m. Donald Trump, as his foreign policy is Democrat, and a second war against Iraq Boston: Sunday, Dec. 11, 4 p.m. Page 10 Dec. 15, 2016 workers.org

editorials ‘Mad Dog’ at the Pentagon Carrier ‘deal’: “It’s fun to shoot some people,” declared cal doctors. (Huffington Post, Dec. 3) “Mad Dog” James Mattis to an audience So it’s no surprise that Mattis wants Liars, damned liars of laughing U.S. military officers in occu- to keep the U.S. concentration camp at pied Iraq in 2005. (ABC News, Dec. 1) Guantánamo open. His bigoted and hate- Donald Trump just chose this retired ful views can be seen in the book “War- and politicians Marine four-star general to be Secretary riors and Citizens: American Views of of Defense. Our Military,” which he co-edited with If anybody thought the war danger Kori N. Schake. It is not even Inauguration Day and the tax rate. The move would take them down would diminish with billionaire Trump He and Schake criticized “allowing president-elect is making speeches about from 35 percent to 15 percent. That loss of in the White House, his pick for the Pen- open homosexuals to serve and opening the jobs he claims to have saved at a Car- tax revenue will devastate already cash- tagon should be a wake-up call. combat assignments to women.” They rier plant in Indiana. Supposedly, this starved urban and rural communities. Mattis is a superhawk obsessed with also claimed that a culture of “victimiza- deal, which he says saved 1,100 jobs that Trump added that regulations that im- Iran. Mattis told an April 22 meeting at tion” was being created within the mili- the company planned to move to Mex- pinge on profit-gouging would soon be a the Center for Strategic and International tary because of attention paid to casual- ico, was negotiated after Trump made a thing of the past. In other words, no more Studies, a Washington, D.C., think tank, ties, suicides and veterans suffering from phone call to the head of parent company, fair labor standards, no more Occupa- that the three biggest threats facing the post-traumatic stress disorder. United Technologies. tional Health and Safety Administration U.S. are “Iran, Iran, Iran.” (Politico, Dec. 4) Mattis and Schake even attacked Pres- A few details were left out when this rules, no more civil rights laws, no more Mattis denied that Iran’s 80 million ident Barack Obama for being more like- Rust Belt Cinderella story hit the presses. environmental protections. He promised people belong to a country, calling Iran ly to visit the wounded at Bethesda Naval Like the fact that 300 of those jobs were tax breaks and a gutting of “nonsense” “a revolutionary cause devoted to may- Hospital than to go to a military base. clerical positions that weren’t going any- regulations. He’ll dangle carrots for the hem.” The brass hat even made the ab- They claimed too much of the war budget where. And the fact that UT is still axing rich when they threaten to leave the surd claim that Iran is in cahoots with was being spent on “pay and benefits to 1,300 jobs at this and another Indiana country. That is the essence of Trump’s the Islamic State group. the detriment of training, equipment and facility. Plus, a number of nearby plants bogus jobs program. Overthrowing Syria’s elected govern- numbers in the force.” are also about to close. The vice presi- Oh, there’s one more thing the pres- ment and confronting Russia are on the Neither his war crimes nor his reac- dent-elect, current Indiana Gov. Mike ident-elect neglected to mention. This “Mad Dog” agenda as well. tionary views have stopped newspapers Pence, isn’t lifting a finger to save those crony capitalist owns stock in Carrier’s The résumé of the future Pentagon and commentators, including those who 14,000 jobs. parent company, United Technologies, boss includes war crimes. In May 2004 opposed Trump, from hailing Mattis as a Indiana taxpayers are forking over $7 The Carrier deal exposes him — to Mattis gave the order to bomb a wed- “warrior intellectual.” million in tax breaks — which could cost paraphrase Mark Twain — as a liar, ding party in the Iraqi village of Muka- Since Mattis was in active service less more losses in public sector jobs — to damned liar and a politician. That’s be- reeb. Forty-two children and adults were than seven years ago, he will need a con- keep the Carrier factory open. sides being a fascist, racist, Islamopho- slaughtered. (London Telegraph, Dec. 2) gressional waiver to become defense sec- Now other companies will have their bic, sexist, anti-LGBTQ, xenophobic, an- A month earlier, forces under Mattis’s retary. Less than four years ago President hands out. They will be whining that ti-people-with-disabilities, union-hating command attacked the large Iraqi city of Obama fired him from the Pentagon’s “Carrier got their present, I want mine.” pig, whose only concern is his self-inter- Fallujah in retaliation for the deaths of Central Command. At a speech in the plant, the presi- est and that of his class. four Blackwater mercenaries. Of the 736 But civilian control over the military dent-elect promised not only Carrier but He is not our president! Capitalism is Iraqi people killed, at least 60 percent has become a myth, as Workers World all of the country’s bosses that under him not our system! All out for the Counter were children and women, according to Party Chairperson Sam Marcy pointed they would get close to the lowest possible Inaugural on January 20! journalist Dahr Jamail, who spoke to lo- out in “Generals over the White House.” “Wherever the military lays its hands, the more it invests its field of operations Dec. 9 in Philly with repressive, anti-democratic and to- talitarian measures,” wrote Marcy. “Noth- ing escapes their long, grasping reach.” Stop hep C, fight for Mumia! Only the people can stop the two mad dogs, Mattis and Trump. All out to J20Resist Counter-Inaugu- By Betsey Piette The rally starts at 3 p.m. at the Frank if the state keeps refusing to treat them.” ration! Philadelphia Rizzo statue at 15th Street and JFK Bou- Find out more at workers.org/j20/ A street rally and indoor panel dis- levard, chosen to express solidarity with DOC’s murderous ‘protocol’ cussions here on Dec. 9 will focus atten- the #FrankRizzoDown campaign. The In December 2015, during a court hear- tion on a major health care crisis, made REAL Justice Coalition started the cam- ing on Abu-Jamal’s behalf before Federal worse by polluted and even toxic water in paign to have this statue of notoriously Judge Robert D. Mariani, the Pennsylva- City Council Resolution state prisons. Political prisoner Mumia racist former mayor and top cop Rizzo nia DOC accidently let slip that the state’s Abu-Jamal’s supporters are raising the taken down. “protocol” withholds hep C treatment At SCI Mahanoy and SCI Frackville issue of untreated hepatitis C, which af- An indoor rally follows at 6 p.m. at the until a prisoner suffers life-threatening water is so toxic that prisoners cannot fects 7,000 prisoners in Pennsylvania. Arch Street United Methodist Church. severe sclerosis of the liver. Only 50 pris- drink it or bathe in it. This crisis and sim- Thirty-five years after being unjustly Speakers will discuss the health care cri- oners have received treatment. ilar unresolved water problems at other incarcerated and sentenced to death row sis impacting prisoners and communities While denying Abu-Jamal’s lawsuit, prisons prompted the Philadelphia City and later having his sentence converted alike. Lawyers will also give updates on Mariani declared that the state’s proto- Council to call on Gov. Tom Wolf and the to life in prison without parole, Abu-Ja- Abu-Jamal’s legal appeals. col was unconstitutional. Lawyers for Pennsylvania state Legislature to “ensure mal, who suffers from untreated hep C, Pam Africa, minister of confrontation Abu-Jamal and other prisoners have that individuals incarcerated and work- is once again threatened with a state im- for the MOVE organization, told Work- charged that even delaying treatment is ing in state prisons have access to clean posed “death sentence.” ers World, “We got Mumia off death row. “cruel and unusual punishment.” water and proper health services.” The Pennsylvania Department of Cor- Now we are demanding an immediate New antiviral medications Harvoni Dec. 9 demonstrators will march to rections has refused to provide lifesaving hep C cure for Mumia and other Penn- and Sovaldi with 95 percent cure rates Wolf’s Philadelphia office, read the City drugs that could cure him and the other sylvania hep C infected prisoners. Mumia for hep C have been available since 2013. Council resolution and deliver thousands prisoners. and many others are very sick and will die However, the pharmaceutical industry of petitions demanding hep C treatment charges around $94,000 for a 12-week for Abu-Jamal and other prisoners. course, putting it out of reach for millions ‘Let’s build movements’ th of people, including prisoners if the state On the 35 be in won’t pay. The Dec. 9 program will also give up- “There are 3.2 million people in the dates on a new lawsuit, which could re- Anniversary of Philadelphia United States living with Hepatitis C. This open all of the decisions made against is unacceptable when there is a cure for the Abu-Jamal since 1998. FriDec 9 illness,” said Prison Health News’ Teresa The program will conclude with a MUMIA 3 pm Rally & March Sullivan, who will be speaking on Dec. 9. discussion on the tasks ahead to win Mumia’s freedom. It also will respond to Frank Rizzo statue The latest guidelines from the Amer- ABU-JAMAL’s 15th St. and JFK Blvd. ican Association for the Study of Liv- Abu-Jamal’s call to build a united front er Disease and the Center for Disease to confront the incoming national racist FRAME UP, 5:30 pm Indoor event Arch Street United Methodist Church Control recommend that all chronic hep billionaire administration. ARREST & NOW Corner Arch St. and Broad St. C patients be given the antiviral drugs “As the Trump presidency takes shape Food will be available for donation without regard to severity of symptoms. … let us build movements. Let’s lift our MUMIA’S LIFE IS IN 6 pm – 9 pm Program Despite these guidelines, less than 1 per- hearts. Let us remake our history with the 215.724.1618 cent of U.S. prisoners are receiving treat- brick and mortar of struggle,” Abu-Jamal IMMEDIATE DANGER [email protected] ment for hep C. said on Prison Radio on Nov. 21. workers.org Dec. 15, 2016 Page 11

S. Korea swept by massive protests

By Deirdre Griswold PHOTO: LIM YUN SUK embezzlement, pardoned without serving Millions protest in south Korea. any time. One of the foundations alleged- Dec. 5 — The downfall of the regime in ly controlled by Choi was funded by 15 of south Korea seems imminent. south Korea with an iron hand until South Korea’s largest conglomerates. For the sixth Saturday in a row, huge his assassination in 1979. The Park “The chairmen of Samsung, SK, Han- crowds gathered on Dec. 3 in many cities dictatorship was approved by the U.S. wha, Hyundai Motor and CJ groups have and towns to demand the president’s im- government, especially after Park all been pardoned in the past decade.” peachment for a corruption scandal. The sent 320,000 troops to supplement The implications are clear: The presi- People’s Emergency Action for Bringing U.S. forces in the Vietnam War. dent and her friend have enriched them- Down the Park Geun-hye Regime esti- Since World War II, the Pentagon selves by favoring the most powerful cor- mated that 2.12 million people were in- several spots on Yeouido where the public has maintained a large military presence porations in the country. volved in candlelight rallies across south can participate. in south Korea, which was greatly ex- Adding to popular fury at the Park Korea, including 1.7 million in Seoul “One is in front of the National Assem- panded after socialist revolutions in both kleptocracy was south Korea’s worst mar- and tens of thousands in Pusan, Taegu, bly, where an investigation into the scan- the north of Korea and China and espe- itime disaster, the sinking of the Sewol Kwangju and other cities. dal is underway. The KCTU said it will cially during the 1950-53 Korean War. ferry on April 16, 2014. It was caused by Aerial photos of the downtown Seoul continue the rally until the vote is held. The current president’s troubles are vast overcrowding due to building an ad- rally showed dense crowds clogging the “The umbrella union will also hold a linked to a scandal involving funds do- ditional deck on top that allowed the ves- streets in every direction. The latest gathering in front of the Federation of nated to two foundations controlled by sel to easily capsize. The sinking resulted opinion polls put President Park’s ap- Korean Industries today, demanding that her close associate, Choi Soon-sil. in the deaths of 304 people, mostly stu- proval rating at only 4 percent. it disband for encouraging member com- Samsung and Hyundai are embroiled dents. Park did not show her face in public Daily protests are planned for the week panies to raise funds for two foundations in the scandal for allegedly having do- until seven hours after the disaster. beginning Monday, Dec. 5, building up to set up by Park’s disgraced confidante nated to the foundations after being The U.S. government is acting low-key a vote on impeachment to be held that Choi Soon-sil.” pardoned by the president for econom- about the current turmoil in south Ko- Friday in the National Assembly. ic crimes. According to the Dec. 5 Wall rea, but there can be no question that it is The Korea Times reported on Dec. Corruption and the military Street Journal, “Park has pardoned top working feverishly behind the scenes try- 5: “The Korean Confederation of Trade President Park is the daughter of Park executives convicted of crimes, for exam- ing to shore up both the military and the Unions (KCTU), one of the nation’s two Chung-hee, a general who took power in ple, Chung Mong-koo, chair of Hyundai ruling class to prevent the popular mass- umbrella unions, is organizing rallies at 1961 through a military coup and ruled Motor Group, sentenced to three years for es there from making any real gains.

Palestinian boycott defeats giant G4S

By Joe Catron PHOTO: SAMIDOUN: PALESTINIAN PRISONER SOLIDARITY NETWORK its transportation and deportation of de- Palestinian prisoners’ and BDS movements tainees for U.S. Immigration and Customs celebrated international victory over G4S and The Palestinian prisoners’ and Boycott, Enforcement, the operation of private po- Israeli state terror, Dec. 2 in New York City. Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) move- lice forces, like transit cops in Charlotte, ments celebrated a landmark victory on lumbia University and the University of N.C., and deployment of personnel to se- Dec. 2 as British-Danish conglomerate California and the termination of a se- cure the planned route of the Dakota Ac- G4S, the world’s biggest security compa- curity contract at Cornell University’s cess Pipeline against water protectors. ny and second-largest private employer, Johnson Museum of Art. But G4S’ forced withdrawal from nearly announced the sale of its Israeli unit. In March, G4S announced plans to sell all of its Israeli contracts is, nevertheless, “This experience with G4S proves that its main Israeli subsidiary, G4S Israel, a significant blow against the company, as international campaigns, working with gust 2015, when the Palestinian prisoners’ and end its operation of private youth well as a landmark in attempts to interna- the Palestinian prisoners’ movement, movement issued its own call for support- prisons in Britain and the United States, tionalize support for the Palestinian pris- can exert real pressure on even the larg- ers to prioritize the struggle against G4S. all of which the Financial Times called oners’ movement and isolate Israel. est multinational corporations,” Khaled In New York, Samidoun: Palestinian “reputationally damaging work.” Samidoun’s efforts against G4S and Barakat, international coordinator of the Prisoner Solidarity Network activists other companies profiting from Israel’s Campaign to Free Ahmad Sa’adat, told launched a series of weekly protests out- Victory for international solidarity detention and torture of Palestinian po- Workers World. side a local G4S office that have contin- “Ahmad Sa’adat and the Palestinian litical prisoners will continue, starting The BDS National Committee and a ued nearly every Friday for over a year. prisoners’ movement see this as a victory with its next protest at 4 p.m. Friday, coalition of other Palestinian organiza- Elsewhere, the Bill & Melinda Gates ... an example of what can be done when Dec. 9, outside G4S’ New York office at 19 tions launched a campaign of economic Foundation and the United Methodist international movements work with Pal- West 44th Street. pressure against G4S on April 17, 2012 — Church divested their shares in the com- estinian prisoners,” Barakat said. For more information and announce- Palestinian Prisoners’ Day — demanding pany. G4S also lost a security contract Even after pending regulatory approv- ments, visit Samidoun’s website at sami- that the company end its services to Isra- with Durham County, N.C., and faced al of the sale, G4S will remain implicat- doun.net and subscribe to its newsletter el’s prisons and detention centers, as well mounting defeats across Africa, Europe, ed in Israel’s crimes against Palestinians at eepurl.com/XFJr9. as its checkpoints, settlements, military Latin America and the Middle East. through its direct co-ownership of the Catron is a member of Al-Awda New and security forces, and other occupation At the same time, Black-led student Policity, a training center for Israeli se- York: The Palestine Right to Return Co- infrastructure. campaigns focusing on the company’s curity forces in occupied East Jerusalem. alition and an organizer with Samidoun: The effort gained fresh urgency in Au- private prisons forced divestment by Co- G4S also faces continued pressure over Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network. 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¡Proletarios y oprimidos de todos los paises unios! workers.org Vol. 58 Núm. 49 15 de deciembre 2016 $1 Trump, antisemitismo y la solidaridad

Por Shelley Ettinger pogromos mataron a miles de personas. revolucionarios judíos que comenzaron En las primeras dos décadas del siglo XX, con el propio Karl Marx. A finales de la campaña electoral, olas de judíos europeos huyeron a los Es- cuando Donald Trump enfatizaba sus tados Unidos. Unirnos para luchar viles ataques contra personas de color, in- Cien años más tarde, en la pequeña La mentira de la campaña de Trump migrantes, musulmanes, mujeres; mien- población judía en los Estados Unidos, de que los judíos son responsables de tras reforzaba el apoyo entre los peores ciertamente hay trabajadoras/es judíos los problemas de los trabajadores es una elementos racistas como el Ku Klux Klan, - conductores de autobuses, maestros, táctica para obstaculizar la unidad entre las milicias blancas y la llamada derecha enfermeras y vendedores al por menor, las/os trabajadores, los pueblos oprimi- alternativa, también apelaba abierta- trabajadoras/es en fábricas, oficinas y en dos y las/os progresistas en un momento mente a las fuerzas antijudías. otros trabajos. Pero otros están cómoda- en que tal unidad es vital para construir La consecuencia inmediata de la elec- mente en la clase media. Algunos forman resistencia. ción de Trump se vio cuando suprem- parte de la clase dominante burguesa. Trump mismo es un multimillonario. acistas blancos llevaron a cabo cientos Muchas/os judíos han tomado parte en Él y su clase - compuesta en su mayoría de horribles incidentes racistas en todo las luchas por el cambio social. Algunos por blancos y anglosajones de la religión el país. Estudiantes latinas/os fueron lo dieron todo, como Andrew Goodman y protestante, son responsables de la desa- FOTO: TWITTER VIA IAN GAVIGAN confrontados por condiscípulos blancos Si No Ahora, un grupo judío contra la Michael Schwerner, que fueron asesina- parición de puestos de trabajo, la caída gritando “Construyamos la pared, con- ocupación, marcha a la sede de Trump en dos junto a James Chaney por el Klan en de los salarios y de los altos costos de la struyamos la pared”. Estudiantes negras/ Washington D.C., para protestar contra el Mississippi en 1964 por inscribir a perso- vivienda, la educación y la atención de la os universitarios recibieron repugnantes antisemitismo. nas negras para votar. salud. mensajes de texto racistas. Musulmanes a los elementos más viles que habían Pero entre los judíos de los Estados Él y su clase son responsables de que fueron atacadas/os físicamente. salido a la superficie en la campaña de Unidos también han habido errores, policías asesinos racistas asesinen a Ahora nada es más urgente que der- Trump. Únase alrededor de Trump, decía ofensas y han fracasado en la solidaridad. personas negras con impunidad. Él y su rotar estos ataques racistas. Todos debe- el anuncio. Él está contigo, contra los ne- La población judía estadounidense es clase son los responsables de enviar a los mos unirnos en solidaridad con las/os gros, los latinos, los musulmanes, y para mayormente blanca y llega a la lucha de militares estadounidenses alrededor del más oprimidos – negras/os, latinas/os y que quede claro, él también está contigo las/os trabajadores y oprimidos con todo mundo para invadir, ocupar y destruir otras personas de color, musulmanes, in- contra “los judíos”. el racismo, el atraso, la ignorancia, el países. migrantes indocumentadas/os. Luego, días después de la elección, privilegio y la insensibilidad de los blan- Esta clase capitalista quieren echar- Lo que la solidaridad significa para Trump anunció que su presidente de cos en este país. Adicionalmente y trági- le la culpa a otros. Quieren dividir a la las personas blancas, incluyendo a las campaña, Steve Bannon, serviría como camente para el objetivo de solidaridad, oposición. No es de extrañar que utilicen judías, es seguir el liderazgo de las per- “estratega jefe” en la Casa Blanca. Ban- la ideología sionista ha mantenido un a esa vieja y fiel herramienta - culpar a sonas oprimidas, marchando y luchando non tiene una historia documentada de dominio por décadas sobre la conciencia “los judíos”. con ellas. Significa defensa antirracista racismo manifiesto, misoginia y antisem- de la mayoría de las/os judíos estadoun- El pueblo judío no es ahora un grupo política y físicamente en las calles, en itismo, tanto personalmente como en el idenses. oprimido en los Estados Unidos. No se escuelas y lugares de trabajo y, si necesa- ultra-reaccionario Breitbart News. La buena noticia es que esto final- enfrentan a la discriminación institucio- rio, en las carreteras y en las vías del tren Media Matters, que monitorea la desin- mente está cambiando, al menos entre la nalizada, sistémica o generalizada, la vi- para bloquear las deportaciones. formación de la derecha en el internet, lla- generación más joven. El movimiento de olencia, los sesgos y peores cosas como lo ma a Bannon “un nacionalista blanco que boicot, desinversión y sanciones, y orga- hacen las personas de color. Unidad frente a tácticas intolerantes odia a los judíos”. Se puede esperar que él nizaciones relacionadas a la solidaridad Sin embargo, el antisemitismo existe. La masiva presencia de indignación y sirva a Trump en la forma en que Joseph con Palestina, está ganando cada vez más Nunca se fue, y ahora debe ser directa- resistencia contra Trump desde la noche Goebbels, ministro de propaganda en la jóvenes judías/os. Al romper con el apoyo mente combatido. de las elecciones, demuestra que una lu- Alemania nazi, sirvió a Hitler. de sus padres al Estado racista de colo- El movimiento como un todo debe cha importante ha comenzado. nos de Israel, también se vuelven más construir la unidad. Es vital tener unidad Liderada por negras/os, latinas/os y Datos e historia abiertos a las ideas radicales en general. contra el racismo, el sexismo, la islamo- otras personas oprimidas, atraerá cada Los hechos ayudarán a armar al mov- Comienzan a comprender mejor el sig- fobia, el ataque a las/os inmigrantes, la vez más personas a la lucha. La unidad imiento con entendimiento para vencer nificado y la necesidad de la solidaridad opresión de la comunidad LGBTQ y tam- debe ser y será la característica central de los intentos de división. con los pueblos oprimidos. bién el antisemitismo. estas luchas. El pueblo judío no controla el capital Las/os jóvenes judíos que se alejan del En cuanto a la gente judía en este país, Con los actos antijudíos que también bancario y financiero mundial. Los judíos sionismo están saliendo a la calle como muchos de repente se aterrorizan, te- han tenido lugar después de las elec- no son ni siquiera cerca de la mayoría de activistas en solidaridad con las luchas miendo un regreso a los peores días del ciones, comprender la historia del an- los propietarios, accionistas o altos ejec- de las personas de color, marchando con horror del antisemitismo. Para ellas/os, tisemitismo ayudará a construir esta utivos de la mayoría de los bancos. Sí, hay el Movimiento Las Vidas Negras Impor- el camino hacia adelante es la solidari- lucha unitaria. En Filadelfia, las venta- banqueros judíos, al igual que hay gente tan contra asesinatos policiales racistas, dad con las/os más oprimidos. Defender nas de unas tiendas de propiedad judía judía en muchas otras esferas. Pero no manifestándose con inmigrantes indocu- a las/os musulmanes, tanto política como fueron destrozadas y pintaron esvásticas dirigen el juego capitalista. mentadas/os contra incursiones y deport- físicamente. Solidarizarse y marchar y sobre la estrella de David. Estudiantes No hay mucha gente judía, punto. En aciones y uniéndose a manifestantes anti- batallar hombro con hombro con el Mov- judías/os en varios colegios informaron los Estados Unidos, las/os judíos repre- apartheid para la liberación de Palestina. imiento Las Vidas Negras Importan. Or- que al despertar, encontraron esvásticas sentan entre el 2,5 y el 3 por ciento de la Algunas/os lo llevarán más lejos y se ganizar escuadrones de defensa de inmi- pintadas en las puertas de su dormitorio. población. La proporción de la gente judía unirán a la lucha por derrocar el capital- grantes. Trump dio la luz verde para tales ac- en el mundo es sólo el 0,2 por ciento. ismo, siguiendo la larga tradición de los Esa es la manera de luchar y ganar. tos en los días finales de su campaña, Para que tan pocas personas tengan el hablando sobre “la conspiración bancar- gran poder que Trump y los antisemitas ia internacional,” una frase de código an- alegan, las/os judíos tendrían que tener tisemita clásica. superpotencias. Y no la tienen. La cari- Su último anuncio televisivo fue un catura de un titiritero judío de nariz cur- descarado llamado al antisemitismo. Se vada y despectivo manipulando negocios escuchaba la voz de Trump acusando a y gobiernos, es una clásica propaganda un enemigo que “ha despojado a nuestro antisemita. país de su riqueza”. Las imágenes de pilas En realidad, durante gran parte de la de dinero fueron intercaladas con fotos historia, la mayoría del pueblo judío estu- de George Soros, Janet Yellen y Lloyd vo empobrecido, perseguido y oprimido. Blankfein. Cada uno es judío. A finales del siglo XIX y principios de Soros es un inversionista multimil- 1900, una serie de horribles pogromos lonario. Yellen es la directora del Sistema - disturbios asesinos contra las comuni- de la Reserva Federal. Blankfein es ejec- dades judías - barrieron el imperio zar- utivo de Goldman Sachs. Son efectiva- ista de Rusia, Polonia, Lituania, Ucrania mente enemigos de la clase obrera, pero y países vecinos. Patrocinados por esos como figuras burguesas, no porque sean gobiernos y la clase dominante como par- judíos. te del esfuerzo por contener el creciente El anuncio era un mensaje dirigido malestar de las masas hambrientas, los Libertad para Oscar López Rivera, ¡YA!