¡Liberar a Desalojo de Mumia Palestina! 12 los pobres 12 Abu-Jamal 12

Workers and oppressed peoples of the world unite! workers.org Vol. 63, No. 21 May 27, 2021 $1

A Pride call to action: June 14-21 DEFEND TRANS YOUTH! By Martha Grevatt face many obstacles in sports—​none of which have to do with the participation June 1 marks the start of Pride of trans athletes, and all of which stem month. Ex-President Donald Trump from patriarchal discrimination. has been out of office over 130 days. But Twenty states have bills to deny the relentless attacks on the trans com- lifesaving therapy, including trans-af- munity, especially on trans youth and firming counseling and hormone trans women of color, show no signs of replacement therapy, to trans ado- letting up. lescents. Arkansas’ misnamed “Save In 33 state legislatures, 117 bills that Adolescents From Experimentation Act deny basic civil rights to trans people (SAFE)” became law after the legislature have been passed or introduced. This overrode Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s veto. makes 2021 a record-breaking year Other bills would block trans-posi- for such bigoted legislation, according tive school curriculum, prohibit school- to the Human Rights Campaign. Most teachers from referring to students by of these bills target trans youth, who their gender identity and prevent state already have a disproportionately high ID cards, such as driver’s licenses, from rate of suicide. reflecting a person’s gender identity. List your local actions at www.tinyurl.com/DefendTransYouth All but two of the 33 states have bills These legislative assaults come on the to bar trans athletes from participation heels of previously passed “bathroom in sports not consistent with their sex bills” that have kept half of all trans assigned at birth—​especially girls and youth from using a bathroom corre- women’s sports. The bills perpetuate the sponding to their gender identity. Cops and colonizers myth that trans women pose a danger All this is going on in spite of Biden’s to other women and girls—​that they March 8 executive order stating “all are really men who dress as women students should be guaranteed an edu- because they are sexual predators seek- cational environment free from discrim- out of LGBTQ+ Pride! ing access—​or that they have some ination on the basis of sex, including Statement of LGBTQ+ Caucus While the COVID pandemic confined us sort of unfair competitive advantage. discrimination in the form of sexual Workers World Party in our homes this past year, it did not stop Governors in three states have signed harassment, which encompasses sexual the police terror or victimization of Black, such bills, with innocuous-sounding violence, and including discrimination As we head into Pride month 2021—​ Brown and Indigenous people in the U.S. names like “Fairness in Women’s Sports on the basis of sexual orientation or after more than a year of being locked We witnessed the Louisville, Ky., police Act,” into law. gender identity.” down due to the COVID-19 pandemic—​ murder of Breonna Taylor, a Black woman Neither science nor statistics support These harmful bills must be we are still plagued by twin epidemics of who was an emergency medical technician these backward stereotypes. “I think stopped—​but only mass struggle can that these exclusionary responses are stop them. rampant racist police terror against the at the beginning of the pandemic. And a solution in search of a problem,” said Black and Brown communities and U.S.- this week, we commemorate the one-year Melanie Willingham-Jaggers, interim Black and Brown trans lives matter! armed Israeli bombings and murder of anniversary of the assassination of George director of GLSEN, an LGBTQ+ youth Not even halfway into the year, 2021 Palestinian people in the West Bank and Floyd, a Black man, by Minneapolis police. advocacy organization. “There is no cate- has seen at least 26 violent murders of Gaza. Tony McDade, a transgender Black man, gorical dominance by trans athletes, but trans people, a large majority of them As the LGBTQ+ Caucus of Workers was killed by the Tallahassee, Fla., police we do understand the categorical bene- Black, Indigenous and Latinx trans World Party, we call upon all of our sib- shortly after Floyd was killed. The police fits for young people who play sports.” women. If the trend continues, 2021 will lings in this movement to demand “Cops terror against Black and Brown people (CNN, April 15) Girls and women do be the most violent year for trans people and Colonizers Out of LGBTQ+ Pride!” Continued on page 8 Continued on page 8

Editorial 50 years later 10 Electoral defeat for police 3 McDonald’s strike 3

Mumia’s On the picket line 8 message 10 1619 Project attacked 11

SPECIAL PRIDE CENTERFOLD Texas racist death penalty Trans liberation and socialism 2, 4 Leslie Feinberg on self-defense Free Palestinian students! Intoxication culture Decriminalize methadone Madeline Davis

Ga. ICE center shut down WW PHOTO: LIZA GREEN Leslie Feinberg 6-7

Palestine 5, 9 Delegation in Syria 9 Colombia 11 Page 2 May 27, 2021 workers.org Victory in closure of Georgia detention center this week ◆ In the U.S. By Dianne Mathiowetz Atlanta Defend trans youth! ...... 1 Cops and colonizers out of LGBTQ+ Pride! . . . 1 On May 20, Department of Homeland Security Alejandro Victory in closure of Georgia detention center . .2 Mayorkas released a statement that Georgia immigrant rights advocates, current and former immigrant detain- Black Lives Matter sparks FOP defeat at polls . .3 ees were overjoyed to hear—​the Irwin County Detention McDonald’s workers go on strike ...... 3 Center in Ocilla, Ga., would close “as soon as possible.” Texas execution exposes death penalty racism . .4 Operated by for-profit corporation LaSalle Corrections, Methadone: Harm or help? ...... 4 which runs detention facilities elsewhere including in Louisiana and Texas, Irwin’s ill treatment of detainees has Trans liberation and socialism ...... 6 produced multiple lawsuits claiming injuries and deaths. CeCe McDonald: the right to self-defense . . . .6 Georgia Detention Watch, a coalition of legal, community Intoxication culture and the working class . . . 7 and immigrant activists, had exposed numerous violations A salute to Madeline Davis ...... 7 of detainees’ human rights in the facility for several years, Dawn Wooten, left, at a news conference in Atlanta Sept. 15, with no apparent federal response. On the picket line ...... 8 2020. Located in southern Georgia, about 200 miles from The state of Mumia ...... 10 Atlanta, the 1,200-bed-capacity center held both men and Educators oppose reactionary legislation . . . 11 women immigrants. Serious issues of medical neglect, Federal Congressional hearings took place, and a dele- unsanitary living conditions, inedible food, overcrowding, gation of elected representatives met with detainees. Early ◆ Around the world punitive use of solitary confinement and indifferent, if not in 2021, women started being transferred from Irwin to callous and racist, treatment by Irwin personnel led to pro- Stewart Detention Center, an all-male facility, in Lumpkin, Solidarity to free Palestinian students . . . . . 4 test actions inside and outside the facility. Ga., operated by CoreCivic. Stewart has its own long, egre- Palestinians, allies fight Israeli apartheid . . . .5 In September 2020, nurse Dawn Wooten bravely took gious history of violations, including detainee deaths from Gaza resists, hits Israel hard ...... 9 action and blew the whistle on Irwin management, pub- COVID and other forms of medical neglect. Observers of Syrian elections in Damascus . . .10 licly calling them out for failure to heed COVID protocols When President Joe Biden came to Atlanta April 29 for including providing PPE, such as masks, and testing for a rally marking 100 days in office, he was interrupted by a Colombian general strike ...... 11 detainees as well as staff. At a press conference in front of group of former detainees from Irwin and immigrant advo- ICE headquarters in Atlanta, hosted by Georgia Detention cates, chanting and carrying a banner demanding “End ◆ Editorial Watch Sept. 15, Wooten spoke of the gynecological pro- Detention Now!” Biden was forced to repeat his campaign ‘What's Going On?’ 50 years later ...... 10 cedures performed on women without informed consent. promise of shutting down private detention centers and These involved unnecessary or unwanted hysterectomies. asked for “five more days.” Security then removed demon- ◆ Noticias en Español This bombshell news was followed by over 40 women strators from the rally. ¡Liberar a Palestina! ...... 12 filing a federal lawsuit, not only claiming medical abuse by Mayorkas’ statement declares that “detention facilities Dr. Mahendra Amin, but retaliation by LaSalle employees and the treatment of individuals in those facilities will be Desalojo de los pobres ...... 12 at Irwin against those who told their stories. Some women held to our health and safety standards,” indicating that Mumia Abu-Jamal ...... 12 were quickly deported, while others were moved to deten- those who fail those standards will see similar action. tion facilities in other states. More demonstrations took Detainees know if that were true, they would have all place in Atlanta and Ocilla, declaring “Believe the Women” been closed May 20. ☐ and “Shut Irwin Down!”

Workers World 147 W. 24th St., 2nd Fl. New York, NY 10011 Join us in the fight Phone: 212.627.2994 E-mail: [email protected] for socialism! Web: www.workers.org Workers World Party is a revolutionary Marxist-Leninist and trans people are gunned down by cops and bigots on Vol. 63, No. 21 • May 27, 2021 party inside the belly of the imperialist beast. We are a mul- a regular basis. Closing date: May 26, 2021 tinational, multigenerational and multigendered organiza- The ruthless ruling class today seeks to wipe out Editors: John Catalinotto, Martha Grevatt, Deirdre tion that not only aims to abolish capitalism, but to build a decades of gains and benefits won by hard-fought strug- Griswold, Monica Moorehead, Betsey Piette, Minnie socialist society because it’s the only way forward! gles by people’s movements. The super-rich and their Bruce Pratt Capitalism and imperialism threaten the peoples of the political representatives have intensified their attacks on Web Editors: ABear, Harvey Markowitz, Janet Mayes world and the planet itself in the neverending quest for the multinational, multigender and multigenerational ever-greater profits. working class. It is time to point the blame at—​and chal- Prisoners Page Editors: Mirinda Crissman, Ted Kelly Capitalism means war and austerity, racism and repres- lenge—the​ capitalist system. Production & Design Editors: Gery Armsby, Mirinda sion, attacks on im/migrants, misogyny, LGBTQ2S+ WWP fights for socialism because the working class Crissman, Ted Kelly, Sasha Mazumder, Scott Williams oppression and mistreatment of people with disabili- produces all wealth in society, and this wealth should Copyediting and Proofreading: Paddy Colligan, ties. It means joblessness, increasing homelessness and remain in their hands, not be stolen in the form of capi- S. Hedgecoke impoverishment and lack of hope for the future. No social talist profits. The wealth workers create should be socially problems can be solved under capitalism. owned and its distribution planned to satisfy and guaran- Contributing Editors: LeiLani Dowell, G. Dunkel, The U.S. is the richest country in the world, yet no one tee basic human needs. K. Durkin, Sara Flounders, Teresa Gutierrez, Joshua has a guaranteed right to shelter, food, water, health care, Since 1959, Workers World Party has been out in the Hanks, Makasi Motema, Gloria Rubac education or anything else—​unless they can pay for it. streets defending the workers and oppressed here and Mundo Obero: Teresa Gutierrez, Carlos Vargas Wages are lower than ever, and youth are saddled with worldwide. If you’re interested in Marxism, socialism Copyright © 2021 Workers World. Verbatim copying seemingly insurmountable student debt, if they even and fighting for a socialist future, please contact a WWP and distribution of articles is permitted in any medium make it to college. Black, Brown and Indigenous youth branch near you. ☐ without royalty provided this notice is preserved. Workers World (ISSN-1070-4205) is published If you are interested in joining Workers World Party contact: 212.627.2994 monthly by WW Publishers, 147 W. 24th St. 2nd Fl., New York, NY 10011. Phone: 212.627.2994. Subscrip- National Office Bay Area Central Gulf Coast Philadelphia tions: One year: $36; institutions: $50. Letters to the 147 W. 24th St., 2nd floor P.O. Box 22947 (Alabama, Florida, Mississippi) P.O. Box 34249 editor may be condensed and edited. Articles can be New York, NY 10011 Oakland, CA 94609 [email protected] Philadelphia, PA 19101 freely reprinted, with credit to Workers World, 147 212.627.2994 510.394.2207 610.931.2615 W. 24th St. 2nd Fl., New York, NY 10011. Back issues Cleveland [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] and individual articles are available on microfilm and/ [email protected] or photocopy from NA Publishing, Inc, P.O. Box 998, Atlanta Boston Portland, Ore. Durham, N.C. Ann Arbor, MI 48106-0998. PO Box 18123 284 Amory St. [email protected] 804 Old Fayetteville St. Atlanta, GA 30316 Boston, MA 02130 A searchable archive is available on the Web at Durham, NC 27701 Salt Lake City 404.627.0185 617.522.6626 www.workers.org. 919.322.9 970 801.750.0248 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] A headline digest is available via e-mail subscription. Austin Buffalo, N.Y. Subscription information is at workers.org. Houston San Antonio [email protected] 335 Richmond Ave. P.O. Box 3454 [email protected] Periodicals postage paid at New York, N.Y. Buffalo, NY 14222 Houston, TX 77253-3454 POSTMASTER: Send address changes to 716.883.2534 West Virginia 713.503.2633 Workers World, 147 W. 24th St. 2nd Fl. [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] New York, N.Y. 10011. workers.org May 27, 2021 Page 3 Black Lives Matter sparks FOP defeat at polls By Betsey Piette unions and conservative politicians.” (The Philadelphia Intercept, May 18)

For decades, the endorsement of the Abu-Jamal case exposes powerful Philadelphia Fraternal Order of Krasner’s weakness vs FOP Police was sought by almost every can- While applauding the FOP’s electoral didate running for office in the city and defeat, many progressive activists con- throughout Pennsylvania. Through the tinue to criticize Krasner for refusing to power of its purse strings, the FOP has stand up to police in the appellant case of been able to fill the courts with judges who political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal. favor capital punishment, high bail and In February 2021, Krasner filed briefs long sentences, even for minor crimes. with the Pennsylvania Superior Court It could count on politicians to pass “get arguing against Abu-Jamal’s current tough on crime legislation” and to look the appeals. He upheld decisions made in the other way when victims of police brutality mid-1990s by “Hanging Judge” Albert demanded justice. Sabo, a virulent racist. In his appeals in the late 1990s before In an interview with The Jamal Journal the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, Mumia May 21, Abu-Jamal’s spiritual adviser, Abu-Jamal requested that Justice Ronald Mark Lewis Taylor, founder of Educators Castille recuse himself from the case. for Mumia Abu-Jamal, criticized Krasner Mumia charged bias, because Castille had for rubber-stamping every decision Sabo a role in his case as a former Philadelphia made at Abu-Jamal’s 1982 trial and his Protesters call on Krasner to “Free Mumia” in Philadelphia, March 12. WW PHOTO: JOE PIETTE district attorney, and he received FOP subsequent Post Conviction Relief Appeal backing. Castille responded that while hearings. the unfairly raised bar against Mumia. To dent in the criminal injustice system. Both he took FOP money, so had all the other Taylor told the Journal: “All of Sabo’s perpetuate the state’s performance of that Krasner’s initial win and his successful bid judges on the state’s highest court. courtrooms show at least a potential for exception is to fail to be a prosecutor ‘for for re-election resulted from a broad, mul- The protests held in 2020, led by Black racial bias, as well as many comments that the people’ of Philadelphia.” tinational and diverse movement which Lives Matter and other racial justice advo- offer clear evidence of racial bias. Krasner While even limited judicial reforms are has mobilized against racial injustice and cates following the police killings of George also knows that the bar for tolerating racial welcome, there is little ground for hoping police brutality. It is this movement, not Floyd and Breonna Taylor, exposed the role bias in courtrooms is set exceedingly low. … that the election of “progressive” prose- Krasner, that holds the greatest potential of police “unions” in blocking reforms. And [yet] Krasner shows no interest in lowering cutors will make any serious long-term for bringing about systemic change. ☐ they created a climate in which FOP back- ing has become detrimental for a candidate. In the May 18 Democratic primary elec- tion for Philadelphia district attorney, incumbent Larry Krasner overwhelm- McDonald’s workers go on strike ingly defeated his FOP-backed challenger, Carlos Vega, by getting 65% of the vote. to demand a livable wage! This was despite Philadelphia FOP Lodge 5 spending $140,000 to oust Krasner. By Devin Cole minimum wage obsolete, it would be a For one thing, ordering kiosks are This amount is more than the FOP spent major step-up from the measly $8.65 in already present in McDonald’s in states in the city’s last seven electoral cycles. The writer worked at McDonald’s Florida, or the abysmal $7.25 in Texas where the minimum wage is nowhere The 14,000-member cop lodge donated from 2011-2012 and 2014. and many other states. near livable. This writer lives in Florida, over $113,000 to the Protect Our Police There is no point even asking: “Can where the minimum wage is $8.65, and Political Action Committee, which was Workers at McDonald’s in 15 cities McDonald’s afford a $15 minimum the computers to order food from are in launched by a group of retired police in across the country went on a coordinated wage?” Chris Kempczinski, the CEO of the lobby of the McDonald’s down the 2020 to push Krasner out of office. That strike May 19 to demand a livable wage. McDonald’s, made $10.8 million last street from where they live. PAC spent $134,000 on TV ads attacking They struck in Los Angeles, Oakland year, despite his taking a measly pay cut Workers World Party Founder and late Krasner. When it sent out a fundraising and Sacramento, Calif.; Miami, Tampa in salary, from $1.25 million to $963,500, Chairperson Sam Marcy accurately wrote email blaming George Floyd for his own and Orlando, Fla.; Chicago; Detroit and due to declining sales in the wake of 40 years ago in “High Tech, Low Pay”: “In death, Vega renounced the group. But the Flint, Mich.; Kansas City and St. Louis, COVID‑19. (cnb.cx/2T5Ltbv) almost all of the service industries … there damage to his election bid had already Mo.; Houston; Milwaukee; Raleigh, N.C.; is a growing preponderance of new, low- Over 200,000 workers exploited been done. and Charleston, S.C., a day ahead of a paid workers,” while at the same time, Exit interviews with voters found the McDonald’s shareholders meeting. McDonald’s, with its cheap hiring gim- “the individual capitalists are driven to primary election was seen as a choice Thousands of McDonald’s workers in micks promoting a “bright future” and substitute laborsaving machinery for between Krasner and the FOP. Vega’s these 15 cities left their job sites, gath- attempting to co-opt the Black Lives workers because it gives them a compet- loss may be the last stand for the FOP, ered in front of their restaurants and held Matter movement with its “promise” to itive advantage.” This is more true now which had backed other losing candidates signs demanding better wages and work- fund Black futures, has a long history of than when it was written, which can be in races for eight Philadelphia Common ing conditions. One location had someone exploitation of the 200,000+ workers said of predictions of many Marxist think- Pleas Court judge positions. dressed up as Ronald McDonald on the it employs worldwide. Though it claims ers and revolutionaries. picket line with the workers. to offer excellent career opportunities, As to the argument that inflation is Pittsburgh: Police brutality a key issue In California, multiple actions, includ- McDonald’s workers are overworked, the result of wages going up, this writer Police brutality impacted the primary ing a march and caravan through Los underpaid and neglected while on the job. first worked at a McDonald’s in Alabama in Pittsburgh, where “underdog” Ed Angeles, were led by workers carrying During the height of the COVID-19 pan- where the minimum wage was then $7.25. Gainey defeated incumbent Bill Peduto signs in Spanish and English demanding a demic, workers at an Illinois McDonald’s In 2011, the price of a large Big Mac Meal in the mayoral race. Poised to become $15 wage. These workers demand the pas- had to go on strike just to get masks. in Alabama was roughly $6.50. In 2021, Pittsburgh’s first Black mayor, Gainey is sage of AB257, a California bill that will (abcn.ws/3bBXs6V) Shifts are long with the price of a large Big Mac Meal in favored to win the fall election in a pre- create a Fast Food Sector Council to better few to no breaks; and on top of that, when Alabama is $11.00. The minimum wage dominantly Democratic city. Pittsburgh shape workplace standards of fast-food you do go on break, you have to pay to eat is still $7.2! So with no minimum wage is, however, ranked as one of the worst workers and give them more of a voice. the food that you assemble and serve. increase whatsoever, the price of a Big places for Black people to live in the U.S. Striking workers led a march down Workers suffer injuries on the floor, Mac meal has jumped nearly $5. The Abolitionist Law Center found that the streets of St. Louis, demanding $15 and sometimes first aid is not available. McDonald’s sales increased by almost Black people, while only 23% of the city’s an hour wages and a union. Joining the They are expected to come in sick, and 5% in the third quarter of 2020, during the population, account for 70% of arrests. 15-city strike announced in advance, then there is the verbal and sometimes height of the pandemic, while McDonald’s Vega, a former homicide prosecutor, Fayetteville, N.C., workers went out and physical abuse hurled at workers by arro- earned $5 billion in profit last year. So was one of 31 staffers fired when Krasner held a march, chanting for $15 wages for gant, angry customers. These conditions they would not be hampered from mak- took office in January 2018. Vega’s all workers, not just the 5% who work in take a physical and mental toll on workers ing profits by increasing their starting campaign repeated the FOP’s line that corporate-owned stores. In a public rela- at any fast-food restaurant or restaurant wage to $15 or even $25, which is becom- Krasner was “soft on crime” and some- tions stunt, McDonald’s recently raised of any kind. All this for $7.25 or $8.65 an ing more and more a reasonable wage as how “responsible for a rise in homicides the pay for only that small percentage of hour? It is nonsense. Criminal even. the cost of living increases everywhere. and violent crimes,” which have wracked its workers not employed by restaurant It’s time to put the anti-living wage But capitalists want to maximize prof- Philadelphia over the past year. franchisees. arguments to bed, once and for all. its by keeping wages as low as possible. Scott Roberts, who is with the racial jus- The strikes were largely led by Black Anti-living wage advocates bellow on (on.wsj.com/3wgTNmP) tice group Color of Change, stated: “People and Brown workers, who face not only and on about how if McDonald’s is forced McDonald’s has much to answer for in want to see these prosecutors’ offices being low wages, but racism on the job. The to pay a living wage, then prices will go the mistreatment, neglect and exploita- focused on bringing down incarceration Fight for $15 struggle has been waged by up; profits will fall, and eventually the tion of their workers. This 15-city strike, rates and holding police accountable. And McDonald’s workers since 2012, when company will just phase out workers for mobilized by incredible workers, adds they’re actually looking for other solutions $15 was more of a livable wage in some robots or computers. another question the company must for violence; they’re not willing to buy into areas. Although inflation and the rise None of these arguments are even answer: “Can you afford to lose us?” ☐ the narrative that they hear from police of profits since then have made a $15 remotely accurate. Page 4 May 27, 2021 workers.org Texas execution exposes death penalty racism By Gloria Rubac for Mr. Jones, who is Black—​presents a died. TDCJ denied it,” said reporter Keri there really isn’t anything else in the pro- legally cognizable claim that Mr. Jones’ Blakinger with The Marshall Project. cess—short​ of executing the wrong per- Texas has shown the world that this race played an impermissible role in the Anti-death penalty activist Sister son—that​ it can’t get wrong. racist state should not be in the busi- Board’s denial of his application for clem- Helen Prejean tweeted: “Due to the lack “Over and over again, state and federal ness of killing. Quintin Jones, an African ency,” the filing said. of media witnesses, we have no idea what officials have offered sanitized descrip- American man, was denied clemency by Texas has carried out 571 executions happened during the execution, no idea tions of problematic executions that are the Texas Board of Pardons and Gov. since reinstating the death penalty in if anything went wrong and no idea if plainly inconsistent with what media Greg Abbott and was legally lynched at 1976. Since its first execution in 1982, protocols were followed. If a mistake this witnesses have observed and reported 6:40 p.m., May 19. Texas has held more executions in this basic can so easily occur, then what kinds to the public. With a policy so saturated Jones’ clemency appeal was quite so-called modern era than any other of other serious mistakes are happening by secrecy and official misinformation, similar to that of a white man, Thomas jurisdiction in the Western Hemisphere. every time Texas chooses to kill? ‘Trust me, I’m the government’ is no lon- Whitaker, who was granted clemency “This is why we can never trust the ger an acceptable option.” after planning to murder family members Media witnesses excluded government with the power to kill. All for insurance money. His father survived The media has been present and wit- of this is especially disturbing in light of ‘Plate of food for the soul’ the shootings, forgave him and success- nessed every one of these executions repeated botched executions around the As he lay on the execution gurney, fully fought to stop his execution. except Jones’. For some Jones thanked all those who had sup- Jones also killed a family member and inexplicable reason, the ported him over the years, including his had family members forgive him and prison administration Aunt Maddie, his twin brother and his support his clemency appeal. But Jones’ and the execution team friend Angie Agapetus, who visited him family was not from a wealthy suburb; “forgot” to let the media several times a month for over 11 years. they weren’t college-educated, and they know that they could Jones said: “I was so glad to leave this weren’t white. proceed to the execution world a better, more positive place. It’s Just hours after Abbott gave an emo- chamber. not an easy life with all the negativities. tional speech about the sanctity of life and Texas procedures Love all my friends and all the friendships signed a bill outlawing abortion after six allow five media report- that I have made. They are like the sky. weeks, he placed no value on Jones’ life ers into the witness It is all part of life, like a big full plate of and allowed the execution to happen. room for each execu- food for the soul. I hope I left everyone a Michael Mowla, Jones’ attorney, filed tion. Two of the five plate of food full of happy memories, hap- an appeal in federal court accusing the seats are reserved for the piness and no sadness.” Board of Pardons of inconsistent rulings. Associated Press and the Quintin Jones What activists must fight for is no exe- In 2018, the board had unanimously local Huntsville Item. cutions, no death rows, no racist cops ruled in favor of clemency for Whitaker, “In case you’re wondering why wit- United States. Media witnesses give an and no racist courts. The whole system but last week ruled unanimously to deny nesses matter, know that on a regular unbiased perspective on what happened.” must be overturned and replaced with a clemency for Jones. basis TDCJ does not fully report what the In a May 20 press release, Robert just system that truly values all life. Being “The lack of consistency in the appli- condemned says. Most of the executions Dunham, director of the Death Penalty pro-life means an end to killer cops, an cation of grounds for clemency—​where I witnessed, the prisoners have said, ‘it Information Center, wrote: “Letting end to prisons as we know them and an clemency was recommended and granted burned.’ TDCJ never reports that. One media witnesses in to see an execution end to injustice to our class. We deserve for Whitaker, who is white, and rejected shook from Parkinson’s tremors as he isn’t hard. If a state can’t get that right, no less. ☐

International solidarity in fight to free Palestinian students

By Mirinda Crissman direct funding to the occupying regime of isolation from other anti-racist, anti-colo- because they have seen their interests as Israel. nial struggles—​it is powerful to see grow- aligned with those of the U.S. state. Zionist Over 320 organizations have signed The solidarity movement is challenging ing international fightback. institutions have played a prominent role onto the international Palestinian programs that aim to justify or normalize Taking the lead from these coura- in supporting the U.S. government’s cam- Students Solidarity Campaign to free Israeli occupation, which essentially crim- geous Palestinian students, over 300 paigns to undermine and discredit radical Palestinian Students. Hundreds of uni- inalizes the work of student organizing. active divestment campaigns on U.S. Black, Chicano and Indigenous people’s versity and high school students are The movement is organizing direct links campuses and a growing number of com- movements.” (tinyurl.com/7y8dfswy) routinely abducted, jailed or detained of solidarity with Palestinian students munity groups and unions, including the Daring to imagine and fight for a world indefinitely on political grounds for cou- and their movement, so that they will not University of California Student Worker free from destructive colonization, apart- rageously speaking out against Israel’s be isolated from their global community Union and International Longshore and heid and occupation—​we will not stop in brutal occupation and theft of land in of support. (freepalestinianstudents.org) Warehouse Union Local 10, have shown our fight to free Palestinian students and Palestine. Whether it’s fighting the capitalist-im- their solidarity. International fightback is to free all political prisoners! ☐ They are held in horrid and tortur- posed isolation of prisons, jails and deten- inspired by the Palestinian student resis- ous conditions and put through courts tion centers in the U.S. or Israeli-imposed tance, and it will not stop until they are which have a 99% conviction rate against isolation of imprisonment—​international free and have the right to determine the Palestinians, who fight for their self deter- solidarity is the best remedy to break down conditions of their own lives. mination and right to live. those barriers. As people are increasingly Israel detains these colonized students The organizations in support of these coming to criticize brutal settler-colonial with aid from countries like the U.S., with political-prisoner students are specifically regimes like Israel and their settler-colo- its own long history of repression against calling for the boycott of, divestment from nial allies like the U.S. and Canada, they anti-racist and anti-colonial movements. and sanctions against Israel, including are coming to understand how our enemies The International Jewish Anti-Zionist Israeli academic institutions. They call for use similar tactics against us. Network states: “Since the late 1960s, the end of all military and economic aid, Whether those oppressive tactics include U.S.-based Zionist institutions have collab- military transactions, joint projects and criminalizing criticism, surveillance or orated in attacks on movements for justice, Methadone: Harm or help? By Princess Harmony effectively treat it and get patients to a you don’t receive enough, then you go into in addiction treatment. place that they consider recovery. withdrawal; and if you receive too much, Methadone is a medication necessary Methadone. The medicine stirs up con- We must look at how methadone works you go into overdose. It requires trained in every health care system because of troversy just by being brought up. Does in the body to show how it’s so effective. and skilled doctors to help patients find its impressive record in treating drug methadone help or harm the addicted When regular opioids enter the blood- that perfect balance. addiction. The success rate of meth- person? Does it count as recovery, or is it stream and brain, they attach to mu-opioid Therefore, the use of methadone adone—​while not entirely clear—​is trading one addiction for another? These receptors (MORs) in the brain, producing reduces the risks of overdose on other somewhere between 60% and 90%. An questions—​and more—​are all very dependence and addiction, while causing opioids; if the patient is less likely to abstinence-only approach has a success important to consider. withdrawal when the use of opioids stops. inject other opioids, then their risk of rate of up to 10%. Another thing to consider is metha- Methadone acts in this same way; contracting HIV/AIDS or hepatitis C via The main problem that arises is that done’s role in society: a powerful med- it binds to the MORs and does not let drug injection is lowered. Over a million methadone is highly stigmatized. Instead icine that treats the dreaded opioid go, meaning other opioids can’t get the people suffer from opioid addiction, yet of being viewed as a tool of recovery, it is addiction. Addiction is a disease that patient high. However, finding the right relatively few of them receive methadone, seen as an addiction all on its own, which is has no known cure, but methadone can dosage of methadone might be difficult. If even though it is truly the gold standard Continued on page 10 workers.org May 27, 2021 Page 5 Palestinians, allies keep up fight against Israeli apartheid By Martha Grevatt that “it is not a ‘conflict,’ it is genocide.” The suffering of the Palestinian people has gone on Across the U.S., the Palestine solidarity movement has for generations—​being bombed, arrested, evicted from stayed in the streets—rallying,​ marching and chanting their homes and villages and without ability to move or “Free, free Palestine.” Recurring themes include the worship freely. They are in a constant state of siege, as demand to cut all U.S. aid to Israel and assertions that a Israel bombs civilians with bare seconds of warning. cease-fire is not enough, the occupation must end, and Israel controls the flow of food, electricity and water. The genocide and injustice has become apparent to young people around the world, who connect racism and murder by police of African Americans with the Palestinian plight. Without the $3.8 billion from the U.S., this war could not continue. The recent cease-fire agreement between Hamas and the Israeli Defense Forces is a welcome respite for the Palestinian people—after​ many days and sleepless nights being tortured by Israeli military technology. But it is by no means an end to the Palestinian struggle for justice. In the U.S., solidarity demonstrations continued over the weekend following the cease-fire that halted the vicious Israeli bombing of Gaza. On May 21 in Jersey City, hundreds protested in front of the office of Senator Bob Menendez. Over 2,000 people, including families with children, marched through Philadelphia’s Center City May 22. WW PHOTO: LYN NEELEY After a rally at Rittenhouse Square, participants Carlos and Sierra, Workers World Party Portland, Ore. marched in the street to City Hall, where another rally members, at demonstration for Palestine. took place. When one speaker praised Hamas as the only organization that has organized successful mili- financial district traffic for two hours. On May 22, a Jersey City, N.J., May 21. WW PHOTO: SARA FLOUNDERS tary resistance, much of the crowd applauded. Other broad coalition of organizations participated in a march speakers highlighted the growth of the movement to and rally from the Mission neighborhood to Civic Center free Palestine and the necessity to continue organiz- under the theme “Resistance Until Liberation.” ing in every way possible, including BDS (Boycott, The Arab Resource and Organizing Center, along with Divestment, and Sanctions campaign). other members of the Palestine Action Network, has Buffalo for Palestine and Al-Awda: The Palestine called an emergency action May 29, when an Israeli ship Right to Return Coalition organized a large demonstra- may be docking in the Port of Oakland. Demonstrators tion in downtown Buffalo, May 22. Hundreds gathered were asked to be on high alert for any changes in the in downtown Cleveland May 21 to hear fiery speeches boat’s schedule. In 2014, a major demonstration led by by Palestinian, Jewish and African American commu- Palestinian activists successfully turned away an Israeli nity leaders. Zim-operated ship from the Port of Oakland. On May 22, members of Workers World Party- This is a small sample of the numerous pro-Palestine Central Gulf Coast chapter and Black Voters Matter demonstrations that took place this past weekend, with held a vigil for Palestine in downtown Pensacola, which Workers World Party is in full solidarity. From Fla. They related the Palestinian struggle to the strug- coast to coast, people are determined to hold the U.S. gle that Black people still face in the U.S. today. The government accountable—​until no money is allocated event was interrupted by hostile conservatives, seeking to genocide and Palestine is free! to silence the voice of Black organizers with slurs and Philadelphia, May 22. WW PHOTO: JOE PIETTE hate speech. After fending off the aggressors, attend- Sara Flounders, Judy Greenspan, Sean Miller, Lyn ees marched to a rally held by the University of West Neeley, Joe Piette, Marcello Severo, Viviana Weinstein Florida Muslim Students Association at MLK Plaza. and Hadley Willow contributed to this article. The Denver Palestine Club has held three Saturday protests, supported by Jewish Voice for Peace, Denver Peace Council and Party for Socialism and Liberation. Between 600-1,000 people have come out each Saturday, the latest May 22. A very warm welcome has been given to Jews who came and spoke in support of Palestinian human rights. Nearly 1,000 pro-Palestinian demonstrators rallied at the Portland, Ore. state building May 22 and marched through downtown to supportive cheers and honks from passersby. The crowd chanted, “Not another nickel, not another dime! U.S. money out of Palestine.” Hundreds of people gathered in downtown San Francisco for two demonstrations expressing sup- port for the latest Intifada. On May 18, over 500 people gathered in the street in front of the Israeli Consulate. The action, held to support the general PHOTO: VIVIANA WEINSTEIN Cleveland, May 21. WW PHOTO: MARTHA GREVATT strike that day of Palestinian workers, shut down Capitol building, Denver, May 22.

Buffalo, N.Y., May 22. WW PHOTO: HADLEY WILLOW San Francisco, May 18. WW PHOTO: MARCELLO SEVERO Page 6 May 27, 2021 workers.org Trans liberation and socialism The following are selected com- ments from panelists at an April 1 ‘You can’t have socialism without webinar: “Transgender Day of Visibility: a Socialist Perspective,” trans liberation, and you can’t have sponsored by Workers World Party, trans liberation without socialism. viewable at Workers World YouTube: tinyurl.com/35944sht. WWP com- Capitalism and imperialism are rades Ezra Echo, Devin Cole and Romeo Channer were joined by Dr. designed and created to divide Susan Stryker, author of “Transgender people, including by gender—to History: The Roots of Today's Revolution”; Jupiter Peraza, an undoc- build oppression based on gender.’ umented trans woman, activist, DACA recipient and program associate for the of the chill-out zone for the whole neigh- ended, Transgender District of San Francisco; borhood. The cops would regularly we saw the rise in international attention a socialist country, that provides health and Indigo Lett, the secretary and raid the place, and one night in August to Christine Jorgensen [a former U.S. GI care for all its people. social media coordinator of the Gulf 1966—three years before the more who achieved sex affirmation surgery in Devin: You can’t have socialism Coast transgender activist organization famous Stonewall Uprising—the cops Denmark in 1951]. She’s both seen as fun, without trans liberation, and you can’t STRIVE. came in, and the queens fought back. As and her participation in the war brings a have trans liberation without socialism. the best contemporaneous description of new light and a new attention to the trans Capitalism and imperialism are designed Trans history, trans borders the event says, general havoc was raised movement. And if you fast-forward some and created to divide people, including Ezra: Can you elaborate on the history that night in the Tenderloin. decades to the AIDS epidemic, you also by gender—to build oppression based on of how the trans movement has been built I feel particularly in the 21st cen- see trans people being impacted and trans gender. in the U.S. and some of the struggles the tury, post 9/11, a lot of what trans peo- issues being brought forth in a new light. Even though there are people who movement has allied with? ple have faced in terms of violence is But historically, cisgender heteronor- believe that transgender is not that big of Susan: The trans movement actually state-based violence that has to do with mative issues are highlighted more than a deal in the fight for socialism, it’s crit- dates back in the U.S. to the 1890s. A borders—border crossing and iden- trans people. That is something that I ical! We had Comrade Leslie Feinberg, group was formed in New York City at a tity documentation and access to social believe trans people have always strug- a member of Workers World Party for place called Columbia Hall, which was a services. Trans people—we often get gled with. Everything that happens, we well over 40 years, who intricately and kind of combination bar, beer garden, per- lumped under the LGBT umbrella, but in really need to bring attention how this meticulously laid the connection out that formance venue, hookup site, sex worker some ways, I think trans issues have less impacts transgender people. For exam- gender oppression arose as part of class hangout and hotel. Then there was this to do with sexual orientation issues than ple, within the Black Lives Matter move- oppression, in hir Marxist historical group called the Cercle Hermaphroditos with questions about citizenship status, ment, with the murder of Black trans analysis “Transgender Warriors.” The in NYC that was mostly trans femme peo- who gets to be counted as a member of women, we are now experiencing the cry fight for socialism is the fight for trans ple, who called themselves androgynes, the body politic. that “Black Trans Lives Matter!” This is a liberation, and vice versa. who said that they came together to unite And so trans activism is very much perfect example of how we can highlight Susan: To actually achieve a just and for common defense against the bitter aligned with pro-migrant, pro-asylum, trans struggles in whatever is currently livable and sustainable society that treats persecutions of the world. pro-open borders kind of activism. happening right now—with police bru- everybody fairly—where everybody has Trans activism really starts to take off Jupiter: About how the history of the tality, for example. enough, nobody’s got too much—we as a minority identity activist movement trans movement has been built in the I will say I think we’re doing an incred- have to think about the U.S. in particu- in the 1950s and 1960s. A journal called U.S.—the trans movement has sort of ible job in understanding trans issues lar, the settler-colonial dimension, the the Society for Equality in Dress was made leaps as it’s attached itself to move- and strengths and in bringing attention fact the U.S. is built on stolen labor and publishing back in the 1950s. You start ments and faces in history. For example, to trans struggles to make this a better stolen land. For me, socialism is just the to see people advocating for the ability the Industrial Revolution brought peo- society for trans people. belief, the conviction, that you can, in to change names on legal documents in ple to urban centers, in this geographical fact, have a just social order. And if a sys- the early 1960s. When the social move- location where they weren’t known by Trans struggle for socialism tem of governance doesn’t address that, ments of the 1960s get started, you see anyone else. Because when you live in a Ezra: Why is it critical to fight for it’s still settler colonialism. trans people organizing in street politics small town, in a small village, everybody socialism in order to secure trans Indigo: For me, socialism is under- and being engaged in radical direct action knows you; there’s this pressure of hav- liberation? standing how bad capitalism is. For against policing and incarceration. ing to be very conservative and limited in Romeo: Perhaps a very obvious point working-class people, we need to under- I made a film “Screaming Queens: the way that you express yourself. In the is that health care is a human right—and stand the economic point, obviously, The Riot at Compton’s Cafeteria,” about Industrial Revolution people were flock- access to health care is especially neces- and the point about racism, but we also trans women in the Tenderloin [neigh- ing to cities and experimenting with their sary and urgent for trans folks. It’s one have to understand the international borhood] in San Francisco, who would expression. of the biggest battles being fought for by hang out at the all-night cafeteria, kind Another example: After World War II trans folks across the world. If you live in Continued on page 7

Black Trans Lives Matter! CeCe McDonald: the right to self-defense

This is the first part of an article pub- campaign to “Free CeCe!” Trans woman Little, and Mumia Abu-Jamal. lished Dec. 7, 2012, in Workers World in McDonald was charged with murder The struggle to “Free CeCe!” is spark- the series of articles by Leslie Feinberg for defending herself and friends when ing a growing, broad united front against on the local, U.S. and international attacked by a white-supremacist mob white supremacy and anti-trans violence. in 2011 in Minneapolis. In June 2012, CeCe McDonald’s courage and conscious- Feinberg committed civil disobedience ness, and the tireless and tenacious soli- and was arrested for spray-painting darity work by supporters in Minneapolis Leslie Feinberg’s series on socialism and LGBTQ+ history, “Lavender & Red,” “Free CeCe!” on the walls and pillars of and the region—led by those who are appeared in the Workers World/Mundo the Hennepin County Courthouse, where oppressed—has widened and deepened Obrero newspaper in 2004-2008 and can McDonald was to be sentenced. Sent to the demand to “Free CeCe!” in cities be read at workers.org/books. prison, CeCe McDonald served much less across the U.S. and around the world. time because of the powerful campaign Hundreds of thousands of people in the CeCe McDonald with a weapon—​smash- for her freedom. She was finally freed U.S. and internationally now know more ing her in the face with a bar glass that Jan. 13, 2014. facts about the attack on CeCe McDonald deeply punctured her cheek. than the judge and prosecutor allowed a In the fight that ensued, one of the At certain moments in history, the jury to know during her trial. attackers died. He had a swastika tattoo. struggle of individuals to survive and CeCe McDonald and her friends were CeCe McDonald was the only per- organize against fascist attacks, police assaulted in Minneapolis on June 5, 2011, son arrested by the police that night. and prison terror sharply reveals the by a group that announced its ideology as McDonald has been punished ever since societal relationship of forces—between racist and fascist in words and action. The as the “aggressor” for defending her life oppressor and oppressed, exploiter and attackers shouted white-supremacist Klan and the lives of her friends—and surviv- exploited. These battles inspire unity language, transmisogynist epithets and a ing. Police, sheriffs, jailers, prosecutor, WW PHOTO: LESLIE FEINBERG and action that help shape and define slur against same-sex love. judge and prison administration have CeCe McDonald and Leslie Feinberg, political eras—like the demands to free CeCe replied that “her crew would not arrested her, locked her up and held her Hennepin County jail, Minneapolis, May 1, the Scottsboro Brothers, Lolita Lebron, tolerate hate speech.” in solitary confinement for long periods. 2012. Leonard Peltier, George Jackson, Joann One of the attackers then assaulted Stop the war on trans women of color! ☐ workers.org May 27, 2021 Page 7

WW Commentary Intoxication culture and the working class By Devin Cole and Princess Harmony The bourgeoisie depend on people drowning their problems capitalism perpetuates through direct attack and co-optation. Unfortunately, Intoxication culture is made up of the in substances in order to avoid reaching the conclusion that co-opting is present in Pride. social cues and forces which push work- that their problems are the result of the bourgeoisie. In the face of this ongoing conflict, ers and oppressed people into using drugs some Pride festivals have turned to sober or alcohol. Our entire society—U.S. soci- suffering from “minority stress”—the day- Addiction rates in general are alarmingly Pride. This can include not allowing or ety—has been drowned in this intoxica- to-day struggle of being discriminated high in the LGBTQ+ community, due to selling any alcohol on the premises, along tion. Whether cis or trans, straight or against and outright oppressed. the heavy weight of day-to-day oppres- with harm-reduction staff on site, who queer, everyone is impacted by the over- There is a direct correlation between sion that is suffocating all of us. Many have Narcan to treat drug overdoses and whelming forces that push us into using the stress of LGBTQ+ oppression because queer/trans people spiral into drug-in- provide resources on sobriety and safe and abusing drugs and alcohol. of outright discrimination and dehuman- duced escapism, which temporarily frees drug use. The bourgeoisie depend on people ization—as well as the lack of resources people from the fear and anxiety about These Pride events and other similar drowning their problems in substances for LGBTQ+ people—and the move to being judged or mistreated by a violent, LGBTQ+ events are being led by a new in order to avoid reaching the conclusion self-medication through drinking and heteronormative society. wave of queer/trans socialists committed that their problems are the result of the drug use. The Centers for Disease Control and to building a socialist revolution that is bourgeoisie. Alcohol companies understand this and Prevention have documented that use queer-led, trans-led and based around This is especially true in the queer profit off the oppression of LGBTQ+ peo- of drugs and alcohol statistically lead to community care and solidarity. community, where queer people are 2 ple, perpetuating intoxication culture, cre- higher rates for HIV/AIDS and These LGBTQ+ social- to 4 times more likely to use and abuse ating more substance-abuse issues in the other STDs, fueling the ongo- ists have realized that substances than their heterosexual and LGBTQ+ population and pocketing more ing epidemic of HIV/AIDS capitalism will not bring cisgender counterparts. This happens money. Unrelenting corporate pursuit of in the LGBTQ+ community. liberation or a solution to because of anti-queer and anti-trans profits directly contributes to the contin- Though the epidemic is not as any problem, but will only oppressions. (tinyurl.com/3h6rpryt) ued suffering of an oppressed group. rampant as it was 35 years ago, fuel more chaos, more The incidence of drug and alcohol the deadly disease still ravages intoxication culture and abuse rises in people who have experi- Hard drug usage soaring in oppressed communities and leave more oppressed peo- enced anti-queer and anti-trans harass- the LGBTQ+ population people, particularly work- ple and workers dead in its ment or violent incidents. For example, Not only is alcohol and alcoholism a ing-class Black trans women. wake. people who have experienced anti-trans growing problem for queer/trans peo- They know that it will verbal abuse in schools were about 35% ple, hard drugs such as crystal meth have Sobriety and socialism be socialism that deals the more likely to abuse substances, and become an abuse epidemic. Statistically, The connection between Available for free death blow to intoxication those who experienced physical abuse gay men are four times as likely to try intoxication culture and download at culture. ☐ were about 40% more likely. crystal meth than heterosexual men. death is a vicious cycle that workers.org/books. Oppression of queer and trans peo- ple is a direct factor behind drug abuse in queer communities. But corporations continue to feed on our abuse of legal substances like alcohol products. Almost A salute to Madeline Davis all major Pride events in the U.S. are By Marge Maloney In 1970 Davis was organizations. Housed in the special collec- sponsored by alcohol companies. Despite one of the founders tions of SUNY Buffalo State and renamed the fact that June’s Pride-themed events Madeline Davis, a mentor, of the Buffalo chap- the Dr. Madeline Davis LGBTQ Archive should be welcoming to everyone—the role model and trailblazer in ter of the Mattachine of Western New York, the collection pow- sober and the underaged included—sub- the LGBTQ+ community of Society, an early gay- erfully documents how a movement for stance-abuse corporations continue to Buffalo, N.Y., died April 28 rights organization. equality can be built in a working-class city. use Pride as a marketing gimmick. at the age of 80. Born in She and other mem- A performer who originally worked Targeted corporate advertising cam- Buffalo, Davis was an activ- bers created “Fifth her way through college singing folk paigns knowingly prey on and are ist there for most of her life. Freedom,” the earli- and jazz in coffeehouses, Davis later extremely destructive in our community. With Elizabeth Kennedy, est magazine for the sang at political fundraisers for the All Yet few queer mainstream organizations Davis co-authored “Boots of LGBTQ+ community Peoples’ Congress—a mass organiza- and events call this advertisement out, Leather, Slippers of Gold: Madeline Davis in western New York. tion of Workers World Party—and in thinking that corporate dollars guaran- the History of a Lesbian In 1972 she developed many Pride celebrations. For the first gay tee survival. Community.” Based on 13 years of “Lesbianism 101,” the first class focusing rights march on New York’s state cap- Rainbow capitalism fuels research, including 45 oral histories, the on lesbian identity offered at a major U.S. itol in Albany in 1971, Davis composed intoxication culture book was and still is the definitive study university. “Stonewall Nation,” which became a kind of the lives of working-class lesbians in In 2001, after retiring from her job as of unofficial movement anthem. It is no surprise that corporations have Buffalo from the 1930s through the 1960s. chief conservator in the Buffalo and Erie Davis is survived by Wendy Smiley, her begun to rebrand themselves as “diverse It documented butch-femme culture in the County Public Library System, Davis primary partner of 25 years and primary and inclusive” and to emphasize that their bars and in relationships and the struggles founded the Buffalo Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, caregiver. products “are for everyone.” This is done lesbians faced just to exist safely as who Transgender Archives. One of the largest The LGBTQ+ Caucus of Workers to stay competitive in attracting the most they were. The book won awards from the LGBTQ+ archives in the U.S., the 200-plus World Party salutes Madeline Davis for buyers for their products in the capitalist American Sociological Association, the file boxes of materials include T-shirts, but- her activism in the struggle and for her dog-eat-dog race of profit-making for the American Anthropological Association and tons, early literature, publications and doc- long, dedicated history of work for our corporations and the bosses. the Lambda Literary Foundation. uments of over 80 individuals, groups and community. ☐ Companies have developed a barrage of alcohol advertisements geared towards the LGBTQ+ population. There are rain- bow liquor bottles, rainbow shot glasses, beer commercials featuring queer cou- Trans liberation and socialism ples—the works. This campaign shifts into overdrive Continued from page 6 and pushing toward socialism during Pride month. In large cities, you in a way that we can all feel won’t be able to attend a major Pride point—​understand the U.S. role as a welcomed and comfortable event without seeing advertisements for country and how that affects other people and alive. Bud Light, Absolut or another alcohol in other countries. Historically there are Romeo: I just want to add company. In Boston and Chicago, Bud third-gender communities everywhere, that I personally won’t feel lib- Light is one the top sponsors of Pride. and they are affected by colonialism and erated if the hormones that I In smaller cities, it has become more capitalism! take are being manufactured common to attend Pride festivals and come Then especially last year with the pan- on stolen Palestinian land, face-to-face with liquor trucks, beer tents demic, that really showed we need so which is where a lot of hor- and other advertisements of alcohol. In much—health care, education and so mone replacement therapy some places, there are many all-night Pride many other things. That leads us obvi- comes from. That’s just one of parties with seemingly endless amounts ously toward socialism. With the admin- many, many examples of how of alcohol as well as illicit drugs. Many of istration we have now, they’re basically all these struggles across the The ‘riot’ at Compton’s Cafeteria, San Francisco, 1966. these events end up with people suffering going to try to get us back to where the globe are materially linked. Not from alcohol poisoning or other dangerous U.S. was before the pandemic—which only in the way we need to look side effects of excessive drinking. was still a very terrible place! So I think at structures and deal with structures, but being controlled and policed to a great There is no denying that the advertising for us, it’s just a constant, constant there is the actual material physical con- extent by these systems of capitalism and onslaught puts temptation right in the face unlearning of our own toxic behaviors, to nection that globalization and capitalism imperialism. ☐ of many working-class LGBTQ+ people continue learning more about ourselves have tied together. Our gender is still Page 8 May 27, 2021 workers.org

University of California graduate student workers of against the bourgeois owners of industry. Oppressed UAW Local 2865 passed a resolution in 2015 calling groups are guaranteed rights as union members in the on the union and the university to divest from Israeli workplace, even if this does not extend to society in gen- when we banks and major companies which profit from business eral. Many union contracts contain language banning fight with Israel—​such as Hewlett-Packard and Caterpillar. discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and On the we win! In 2016, similar resolutions were passed by UAW Local gender identity/gender expression. 2322 graduate student workers at the University of LGBTQ+ workers who fought against workplace injus- Massachusetts and UAW Local 2110 grad student work- tice played a prominent role in the history of the labor picket line ers at New York University. But the UAW International movement in this country. Helen Marot was a lesbian By Marie Kelly Executive Board under the leadership of now-disgraced labor activist who organized working women into trade former President Dennis Williams declared these reso- unions and fought for reforms to limit child labor in the lutions a violation of the union’s constitution. 19th and 20th centuries. She was one of the leaders of Members of International Longshore and Warehouse the first shirtwaist workers’ strike in 1909. Labor solidarity with Palestine Union Local 10 refused to cross the picket line when activ- In the 1930s heyday of labor militancy, the Marine On May 18, a general strike of Palestinian work- ists protested the docking of an Israeli ship in Oakland Cooks and Stewards Union elected Stephen Blair, an ers was held to protest the killing of civilians in Gaza, harbor in 2014. The ILWU has a decades-long history of openly gay man, as vice president. His partner, Frank the displacement of Palestinians from their homes in solidarity actions, and their contracts contain language McCormick, worked with communist, gay-rights activ- Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood and the attacks prohibiting members from crossing picket lines. ist Harry Hay to help organizers of the 83-day San on Al-Aqsa Mosque by Israeli Defense Forces. The strike The International Dockworkers Council issued a strong Francisco dockworkers’ strike in 1934. helped to pressure the oppressive apartheid state of statement supporting the Palestinian workers’ May 18 In the 1970s, the American Federation of Teachers Israel to call off their genocidal bombing attacks. general strike and condemning the massacre of Palestinian spoke out in opposition to discrimination against The labor movement in the U.S. must ally with civilians and children. Both the ILWU on the West LGBTQ+ workers, and the AFL-CIO joined the boy- Palestinian workers and adopt BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Coast and the separate International Longshoremen’s cott of Coors beer over Coors’ union busting and anti- and Sanctions campaign) resolutions to end Israel’s apart- Association on the East Coast are affiliates of the IDC. LGBTQ+ and racist hiring practices. heid stranglehold on Palestine. Currently the AFL-CIO still Unfortunately only one national U.S. union, so far, has Workers World Party leader Leslie Feinberg, a rev- sides with the Jewish Labor Committee, which opposes taken action to support the BDS movement. The United olutionary communist transgender lesbian, said “Like the BDS movement and supports Israel’s war crimes Electrical Workers adopted a resolution endorsing racism and all forms of prejudice, bigotry against trans- against the Palestinians. The AFL-CIO and many national BDS at their national convention in 2015. UE General gendered people is a deadly carcinogen. We are pitted labor organizations hold Israeli bonds invested from union President Bruce Klipple said, “The widespread abuse of against each other in order to keep us from seeing each members’ pension funds, but are not transparent about workers under the occupation (of Palestine by Israel) is other as allies. Genuine bonds of solidarity can be forged the amounts invested, estimated to be in the billions. a concern for the global labor movement.” (ueunion.org) between people who respect each other’s differences and Leaders of both the Retail, Wholesale and Department Many union leaders and activists have penned are willing to fight their enemy together. We are the class Store Union and the American Federation of Teachers their names to a recent Labor for Palestine statement. that does the work of the world and can revolutionize it. belong to the JLC. (laborforpalestine.net) We can win true liberation.” Historically, it has been rank-and-file members who Feinberg was a member of the National Writers Union have shown support for a free Palestine. In 1973, 2,000 Labor unions align with and of Pride at Work. Founded in 1994 on the 25th anni- autoworkers with UAW’s Arab Workers Caucus held a versary of the Stonewall Rebellion, PAW is an AFL-CIO wildcat strike in Detroit and other protests to demand LGBTQ+ rights constituency group representing LGBTQ+ union mem- United Auto Workers divest from Israel. Multiple UAW As we commemorate Pride Month and the victories bers. The group organizes mutual support between locals did liquidate their Israeli bonds and assets by 1975. won against anti-LGBTQ2S+ oppression, let’s take a organized labor and the LGBTQ+ community to further In 2010, a Connecticut AFL-CIO campaign was suc- moment to recall the protections that belonging to a social and economic justice. cessful in divesting $25,000 worth of Israeli bonds. union provide. Labor activists defend the working class Leslie Feinberg ¡presente! ☐ Cops and colonizers out of LGBTQ+ Pride! Continued from page 1 uprising, led by working-class transgender youth and drag queens of color, against police brutality and oppres- continues at an alarming rate as we enter this year’s sion. The most marginalized and oppressed of the Pride month. LGBTQ+ community rebelled against a police raid on The U.S. government, not content with its war at the Stonewall Inn in New York City, June 28, 1969. The home against Black, Brown and Indigenous people, transgender community in the Tenderloin neighborhood exports police terror abroad. We are sickened by the of San Francisco had previously rebelled against police continued occupation of Palestine by Israel, which is oppression and raids in August 1966, in the Compton’s armed and supported by the U.S. In fact, while Israel Cafeteria Riot. The LGBTQ+ movement was born out of was bombing the West Bank and Gaza, during the end these actions against police terror. of Ramadan and the beginning of Eid, two Muslim In 2015 the Williams Institute reported that 48% of holy days, the U.S. Congress was approving over $700 LGBTQ+ victims of violence experienced police vio- million in arms to Israel, widely recognized as a set- lence. In 2015, the same institute reported that 58% tler-colonial state. Over 243 Palestinians, including of trans people said they were victims of verbal harass- 66 children, were killed by Israeli terrorism during its ment, persistent misgendering, physical and sexual recent attacks. assault, and forced to perform sexual acts to avoid World Social Forum, Vancouver, B.C. 2017. This year’s Pride marks the 52nd anniversary of being arrested. Of course the groups most affected by the great Stonewall Rebellion—​which was a militant police violence within the community are Black and Brown LGBTQ+ people. Unarmed Black people are 3.5 times more likely to be killed by the police compared to their white counterparts. It is critical that we live up to our heritage of resis- tance and stop police violence against our commu- Defend trans youth! nity. It is high time that all cops be kicked out of Pride, whether events are virtual or in person. No police of any Continued from page 1 fatality reporting. kind—including​ police officers, members of the FBI or Trans unemployment is three times the national aver- other federal police agencies, Immigration and Customs since HRC began tracking their deaths in 2013. Last year age—​and even higher when compounded with racist Enforcement or prison guards—​should be allowed to had been the most violent year, with 44 killings; there and sexist discrimination. had been 200 since 2013. The police will not protect the trans community from participate in Pride activities. We applaud the actions Contributing factors to the high level of vicious attacks bigoted violence. In fact they are among the killers of of New York City’s Heritage of Pride organizers who on trans women of color include pov- trans people, including Tony McDade, banned uniformed police and security from all events erty and homelessness, abusive inti- a Black trans man fatally shot May 27, this year and through 2025. We challenge all Pride orga- mate relationships, lack of physical and 2020, by Tallahassee, Fla., police. nizers to ban any participation of these purveyors of rac- mental health care, nonacceptance from A militant mass working-class ist violence. biological families and dependency on response to defend the trans commu- We urge all Pride organizers to terminate any connec- sex work for survival. All these condi- nity is urgently needed. The LGBTQ2S+, tion with colonizers, including the Israeli Consulate, and tions are rooted in anti-trans stigma progressive and labor movements must to take a strong stand against U.S. support for the con- and discrimination and its intersection- demonstrate unity and solidarity against tinued occupation of Palestine. LGBTQ+ Pride should ality with racism and sexism. bigotry. fully embrace the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Discrimination in many areas of The LGBTQ+ Caucus of Workers movement against Israel. life is well documented. A majority of World Party has initiated a call for a This Pride, let us demand an end to racist police ter- trans people report bigoted comments week of action June 14-21. We say: ror, not only in the U.S. but across the globe. Stonewall from family members. More than 1 in Defend trans youth! Stop anti-trans must once again commemorate and inspire continued 10 have been advised by mental health attacks! Black, Brown and Indigenous rebellion against U.S. racism and U.S.-backed oppres- professionals to stop being transgender. trans lives matter! Organize an action sion everywhere. ☐

Misgendering and dead-naming in the WW PHOTO: MINNIE BRUCE PRATT where you live. ☐ media is commonplace, including in June 2020, Syracuse, N.Y. workers.org May 27, 2021 Page 9 Despite loss of life and destruction Gaza resists, hits Israel hard By Monica Moorehead within Congress. Progressive Democrats like Rep. Cori Bush from Missouri and Rep. A cease-fire between Israel and Hamas Rashida Tlaib, a Palestinian American from began May 21. It followed 11 days of the Michigan who represents the largest Arab U.S.-armed and backed Israeli Air Force’s population in the U.S., have openly criti- vicious airstrikes on occupied Gaza. The cized Israel’s assault on Gaza. bombs and rockets massacred more than Cori Bush was a prominent organizer 250 Palestinians, including over 60 chil- of the Black Lives Matter struggle in dren. Some 2,000 people were injured out Ferguson, Mo., following the brutal murder of a population of 2 million in Gaza. of 18-year-old Michael Brown by a white According to the Palestine General police officer in August 2014. This killing Federation of Trade Unions, the Israeli sparked a month-long uprising, not only raids destroyed over 700 residential build- in Ferguson but throughout the United ings, including 76 high rises and over 20 States. During that time Palestinians in the media outlets in three buildings, including Occupied Territories demonstrated solidar- the famous building that housed the offices Ramallah, in the West Bank, May 18. ity with the Black community of Ferguson. of Al-Jazeera and the Associated Press. In a statement to the May 22 Until the cease-fire began, the Hamas and bourgeois sources, this latest assault, apartheid.” (New York Times, May 18) Washington Post, Rep. Bush said, “As we liberation group, the political representa- with all its mass destruction and loss of It is no coincidence that this powerful march in defense of Black lives, we are not tive of Gazans, fired rockets made out of life, turned into a political victory for Gaza show of shutting down major sections of just saying that Black people in this coun- both detonated and undetonated Israeli and a political and moral defeat for Israel. the Israeli economy by these low-waged, try should be able to live full and joyous missiles into Israel, including Tel Aviv, That all the weapons at the disposal of oppressed workers played an import- lives. We’re saying that our own govern- and reportedly killed 12 people. the most powerful garrison state in the ant role in speeding up this latest cease- ment is funding a brutal and militarized Israeli airstrikes targeted the already “Middle East”—​geographically part of fire. There were more Palestinian calls disposition toward our very existence—​ understaffed and underfunded Gaza West Asia—​failed to defeat the Hamas- for a one-state solution, as opposed to a from Ferguson to Palestine.” health facilities, including the only clinic led people’s resistance sets back Western two-state solution that allows the Israeli Melina Abdullah, co-founder of the Los serving exclusively those infected with imperialism. This is indeed a stunning repressive state to remain intact. Angeles chapter of Black Lives Matter, said coronavirus. As the bombing forced so development. in the same article, “We understand that many Gaza residents into underground Black Lives Matter and the liberation of Black people in the United bunkers, community centers and small General strike was ‘significant’ U.S. shift in opinion States is tied to the liberation of Black peo- enclosed spaces, the virus has undoubt- On May 18, Palestinians held a historic, During the 11 days, Biden publicly called ple all over the world and tied to the libera- edly spread. Only 2% or 40,000 Gazans unprecedented general strike not only in for a cease-fire, while at the same time say- tion of oppressed people all over the world. had been vaccinated before May 11. the Occupied Territories of Gaza and the ing “Israel had the right to defend itself,” Being in solidarity with the Palestinian Israeli border patrol prohibited food West Bank, but throughout the pre-1967 just as every U.S. president has before him. people is something that’s been part of our and humanitarian aid from coming into boundaries of Israel. Hundreds of thou- Meanwhile the U.S. population, especially work as Black Lives Matter for almost as Gaza during the bombing. This included sands of Palestinian workers, students, the younger generation, showed they sided long as we’ve been an organization.” medical supplies like masks and vaccines. business people and supporters refused to more and more with the Palestinians and The Black Lives Matter struggle, which According to the International Red work, go to school or open their businesses. considered them an oppressed, occupied has called for defunding and even for Cross, the bombings cut water supplies in They protested the Israeli government and people—​which they are and have been for abolishing the police, has become even Gaza by 40%, and an estimated 700,000 military’s heinous assaults on Gaza. more than 73 years. When Biden visited more international in scope following the Gazans are still affected by power cuts. Also, over a dozen Palestinian demon- an auto plant in Dearborn, Mich., home of police lynching of George Floyd in May Gazans are suffering, not only from the strators in the West Bank and Ramallah many people of Arab descent, the workers 2020. This development has helped raise air strikes, but from ongoing disease, lack were shot to death by the Israelis during there protested his support for Israel. consciousness and solidarity with other of water and power, and hunger. the 11-day siege. Prominent entertainers like Rihanna, oppressed peoples like the Palestinians. What happened to Gaza was another Mustafa Barghouti, an independent Rage Against the Machine and actors Seth Whether they are brutalized and occu- racist, genocidal act on the part of the politician, characterized the strike as a Rogen, Mark Ruffalo, Susan Sarandon and pied by the National Fraternal Order racist, settler-colonial regime of Israel. “a very significant day,” saying that “It Viola Davis condemned Israeli aggression of Police or the Israeli armed forces, Still, according to many sources includ- reflects how Palestinians now have a uni- on social media. the oppressor is the same imperialist ing Palestinians, others in the Arab world fied struggle against the same system of This shift of views was also reflected system. ☐ Delegation observing Syrian elections reaches Damascus

By Ted Kelly pharmaceuticals, once a major sector of Damascus, Syria industry, have ground to a halt, because critical components can no longer be May 23—​As the global conflict cen- imported. tered in their country enters the 11th year, Aviation equipment, for another exam- Syrians are preparing for May 26 national ple, must be retrofitted and recycled since elections. Thousands of citizens displaced they can’t be imported. But the most dev- by war and U.S.-imposed sanctions have astating effect of international sanctions, already cast their ballots in Lebanon, he said, falls not on President Assad, not Iran, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates on the government, but on the people. and elsewhere round the world. Over a million people in al-Hasakah prov- President Bashar al-Assad, reelected in ince are going thirsty as sanctions restrict the last round of presidential elections in even water access. 2014, stands for reelection as the head of WW PHOTO He expressed the Syrian people’s affec- a coalition government, led by Al-Assad’s Delegation with Imad Abdullah Sarah, Syrian Minister of Information, fifth from right. tion for the people of the United States. Ba’ath Party, which includes the Syrian He cited the state murder of Black people, Communist Party. Minister Imad Abdullah Sarah told the massive propaganda campaign launched mentioning George Floyd by name, as a All opposition groups which have agreed delegation, “We do not tell the media what by billionaire-owned U.S. corporate media. way of expressing understanding that the to not engage in armed struggle to over- to say. But we just ask that they try to be Describing the sanctions that have U.S. government does not represent the throw the government may participate objective.” He lamented that U.S. media strangled Syrian industrial and finan- interests of the people living there. in the elections, and the government has outlets have used the access they’ve been cial institutions, the minister said people even welcomed Syrians who had previously granted to distort the truth to favor U.S. must understand how much damage has The author represents the IAC on the taken up arms, to “exercise their electoral State Department narratives. been done over the last decade. Syrian delegation of election observers. right” to “determine the future of Syria.” Minister Sarah joked, “When the New An international delegation orga- York Times comes to Syria, I want to ask Capitalism on a Ventilator nized by Arab Americans 4 Syria and the them, ‘Okay, how many of you are work- Syrian Solidarity Movement arrived in ing for the CIA?’” He said that in one case, The impact of COVID-19 in China & the U.S. Damascus late Sunday night, May 23, to a reporter staying in Damascus reported An anthology contrasting the effective Chinese response to assist in monitoring elections. The dele- as if he were on the ground in Aleppo. COVID-19 with the disastrous response here in the U.S. It pushes gation includes representatives from the That city is hundreds of miles to the north back against the racist anti-China campaign in the media. International Action Center and Anti- near the Turkish border, which the U.S. War Committee. Workers World will audience would be unlikely to know. Order a print copy: tinyurl.com/CapVent-print be publishing on-the-ground updates “We are a small office, a small staff,” he E-book from Kobo: tinyurl.com/CapVent-ebook throughout the election week. said, without the resources to counter the Page 10 May 27, 2021 workers.org

editorial ‘What's Going On?’ 50 years later One year ago, May 26, 2020, the video street. I still smell smoke and see fire. I Including the title song, all nine album did all the blue skies go? Poison is the of George Floyd’s murder by Minneapolis still see Black businesses being burned. I tracks connect without pauses and take wind that blows.” And later: “Radiation police officer Derek Chauvin sparked still hear airplanes flying overhead. I hear on issues of racism, police brutality, war, underground and in the sky. Animals and months of intense global struggles which the screams.” the environment, drug addiction and birds who live nearby are dying.” “Flyin’ have kept the movement against police social and economic justice in ways that High (In the Friendly Sky)” takes on drug brutality and for racial justice on the front still resonate, because they raise ques- addiction, already becoming an issue in burner. Despite Chauvin’s conviction, tions that remain unanswered. Fifty years oppressed communities. since his trial began March 29, police after its debut, the album has found a In a track that could have been penned murders of Black and Latinx people con- new generation of appreciative admirers, today, “Inner City Blues (make me wanna tinue at over three per day. many of them activists. holler),” speaks of bleak economic times One hundred years ago, between and social unrest in the 1970s. Gaye May 31 and June 1, 1921, mobs of Gaye’s lyrics speak volumes addresses economic injustices in refrains: white residents attacked, set afire and In the title track, Gaye’s refrains “Rockets, moon shots, spend it on the destroyed the Tulsa, Okla., Greenwood include: “Brother, brother—​there’s too have nots. Money, we make it, before we District, at the time one of the wealthiest many of you dying,” and “We don’t need see it you take it.” And later: “Inflation, no U.S. Black communities. The 1921 Tulsa to escalate; you see war is not the answer.” chance to increase finance. Bills pile up Race Massacre, which was covered up for Also “Picket lines and picket signs, don’t sky high. Send that boy off to die” inter- decades and omitted from history books, punish me with brutality.” spersed with the lament “This ain’t livin’; is now recognized as one of the worst acts “What’s happening brother” starts with this ain’t livin’.” of racial violence in U.S. history. Between these two milestones in Black the lyrics: “Hey baby, what’cha know Toward the end of the track, Gaye sings, Over 300 Black people were killed. And history came the release 50 years ago, good. I’m just gettin’ back, but you knew “Oh crime is increasing, trigger-happy with the destruction of the Greenwood May 21, 1971, of Motown legend Marvin I would. War is hell, when will it end?” policing, panic is spreading, God knows District, 10,000 were left homeless. The Gaye’s “What’s Going On,” named “great- The song opens with the background where we’re heading. Oh, make me want only living survivors of the massacre—​ est album of all time” by Rolling Stone noise of a homecoming for a Vietnam to holler.” Viola Fletcher, 107; Hughes Van Ellis, 100; magazine last year. The album was veteran [Gaye’s brother Frankie who had Take some time, sit back, but listen to and Lessie Benningfield Randle, 106—tes​ - released during a historic period rocked just returned from the war]. Other lyrics the entire album—only​ 35 minutes long. tified last week in favor of a congressional by community rebellions in major U.S. say: “Can’t find no work, can’t find no job, (tinyurl.com/y3stpttb) bill allowing them to seek reparations. cities, frequent protests over the U.S. war my friend. Money is tighter than it’s ever Then, in Marvin Gaye’s memory, ded- At the hearing Fletcher said: “I will in Vietnam, demonstrations in support been … I just don’t understand what’s icate yourself to fighting for a socialist never forget the violence of the white mob of the Black Panther Party and demands going on across this land.” system, so that it won’t take another 50 when we left our home. I still see Black for social justice for women and LGBTQ+ “Mercy Mercy Me (the Ecology)” years before his critical questions find men being shot; Black bodies lying in the people. laments environmental damage: “Where answers. ☐ Methadone: Harm or help? The state of Mumia By Mumia Abu-Jamal Continued from page 4 buprenorphine as dangerous and irrationally abusable, which is not the case. Even when methadone is diverted, The following lightly edited commentary appeared on wrong. But we must look at stigmatization against metha- it still saves people from the pain of opioid withdrawal. Prison Radio on May 12. On May 20, the Superior Court done to see how it is actually a very important medication. It’s not being abused or misused. On the other hand, of Pennsylvania, claiming it has no jurisdiction over Vivitrol is responsible for overdose deaths, when patients issues raised in Mumia’s open appeals, transferred all NIMBYs, abstinence and drug makers end or attempt to end that method of treatment. pending issues to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. This “Not in my back yard” movements in cities like Methadone maintenance treatment is an important includes the request by Mumia’s attorneys to remand his Philadelphia have been actively trying to stigmatize and drug addiction treatment that succeeds at high rates but case back to the Court of Common Pleas, to investigate eliminate the use of methadone, while ignoring how gets little credit for saving the lives of many people who new evidence found during the appeal process. many people are helped and how effective the medica- use it. On top of helping to prevent diseases like HIV tion is. They view methadone as a public nuisance and and HCV, it is responsible for improving the psycho- I don’t usually do this. This is discussing myself. I are often fueled by racism. logical health of patients who take it. find it far more interesting to tell the stories of others, Another source of methadone stigma comes from According to a study published in the New England the revolving globe on which we dwell and the stories the recovery world itself. The fellowship of Narcotics Journal of Medicine at the start of the methadone spawned by the fragile human condition and the strug- gles of humanity for liberation. Anonymous published Bulletin 29, “Regarding treatment phase, several patients were found to have But I digress, uncomfortably. Methadone and Other Drug Replacement Programs,” stopped engaging in criminal activity. In the book “The This commentary is about the commentator. a screed against methadone and the people on meth- Effectiveness of Methadone Treatment,” authors John Several weeks ago I underwent a medical procedure adone. It states: “Our program approaches recovery C. Ball and Alan Ross established that there was a 79% known as open heart surgery, a double bypass, after it from addiction through abstinence, cautioning against decrease in the number of criminal offenses committed was learned that two vessels beating through my heart the substitution of one drug for another. That’s our pro- by patients on methadone. have significant blockages that impaired heart function. gram; it’s what we offer the addict who still suffers.” Methadone can improve the lives of everyone who This impairment was fixed by extremely well-trained A similar “Just Say No” campaign prevalent in the needs it if they’re given the chance to take it. It helps and young cardiologists, who had extensive experience 1980s and early 1990s as part of the “War on Drugs” did to decrease the spread of disease and provides patients in this intricate surgical procedure. little to stem drug use, yet it gave politicians ammuni- with the structure needed to get psychiatric help for I tell you I had no clue whatsoever that I suffered from tion to pass more “get tough on crime” legislation that other diseases. Methadone is a medical necessity and such a disease. Now, to be perfectly honest, I feel fine. caused mass incarceration to skyrocket. needs to be treated like it, without stigma attached to Indeed, I feel more energetic than usual! With much of the recovery community against it from anyone. I thank you all, my family and friends, for your love methadone, one drug maker helped push the stigma Methadone will remain critical until we have a socialist and support. along. Alkermes—​maker of Vivitrol (naltrexone injec- society that can truly address the root societal causes of Onwards to freedom with all my heart. tion)—​pushes its lobbyists to paint methadone and drug addiction and abuse and find a permanent cure. ☐ From imprisoned nation — Mumia Abu-Jamal. ☐ Support a Marxist voice for LGBTQ2S+ rights

For over half a century, Workers World Leslie Feinberg began the “Lavender & the streets from coast to coast. This righ- three subscriptions, respectively, to give newspaper has covered the global strug- Red” series, which ran until 2008 in WW. teous outpouring of rage and protest over to friends. Members can receive a copy of gle to end all forms of discrimination, A group of 25 articles from that series the racist cop murder of George Floyd the book: “What Road to Socialism?” upon persecution and violence against lesbian, was later published as came as the COVID-19 request. (Or read it at workers.org/books) gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and the book, “Rainbow pandemic disproportion- New articles are posted daily at work- gender-nonconforming communities. Solidarity in Defense of ately impacted Black, ers.org. Currently, one issue a month is WW has consistently backed up our Cuba.” In 2012 Feinberg Latinx and Indigenous being printed and mailed to subscribers. activist coverage with analysis. In the performed civil disobe- peoples and immigrants. As soon as it’s possible, the newspaper early 1970s, WW ran a series of arti- dience and wrote articles Please help us get will resume more frequent printing and cles that led to publication of “The Gay defending Black trans out the word. Join the mailing. Question: A Marxist Appraisal” in 1976. woman CeCe McDonald, Workers World Supporter Write monthly or annual checks to Then in 1993, WW published “The who was charged with Program. For a donation Workers World and mail them, with your Roots of Lesbian and Gay Oppression: A manslaughter after of at least $75 a year—​or name and address, to Workers World, Marxist View,” with the first book’s origi- defending herself from a $100, or $300 or more if 147 W. 24th St., 2nd Floor, New York, nal text and a new preface and afterword. racist, bigoted attack. you can—​receive a year’s NY 10011. Or sign up at workers.org to (Read it at workers.org/books.) WW helps to build subscription to WW; a donate each month. In 2004 WW managing editor and mass struggles, like regular letter about timely We’re grateful for your help in building globally recognized transgender leader what’s been going on in WW PHOTO: BRENDA RYAN issues; and one, two or Workers World! ☐ workers.org May 27, 2021 Page 11 Colombia Broad general strike challenges ‘narc-oligarchy’ By John Catalinotto basically peaceful, the Colombian have their own armed groups—with the state continues to rely on force and rest of Colombia’s superrich. May 23—The general strike against violence in its attempt to crush the Challenging the state power seemed anti-poor “reforms” in Colombia is strike movement. What is impres- impossible before the strike began April 28. finishing its fourth week. So far, every sive is that the broad movement Economic shrinkage over the past year due test of strength has shown popu- has continued to challenge that to COVID-19 closing much of the economy, lar support has grown in defiance of repressive state. however, had already had its impact. It police and fascist murders and beat- The big question is whether the drove large sections of Colombia’s 50 mil- ings of protesters and the threat of strike movement can continue lion people into poverty, including many COVID-19, which has already killed to grow and defy the militarized members of the middle class. 85,000 people. Thousands demonstrate in every Colombian city on police, riot police (ESMAD) and Thus a much larger section of the pop- A May 19 national demonstration May 19. Here, Bogotá. the military itself. Will it challenge ulation, including millions of youth who that brought out massive actions in all the rule of what Colombians call seem ready to risk all to confront the cities “exceeded all expectations,” accord- Committee has called for further mass pro- the narc-oligarchy and its U.S. imperialist government, are shouting “Chao Duque.” ing to a May 20 article from Colombia tests May 25 and 26. backers? By narc-oligarchy, they mean the That is, they’re saying goodbye and good in rebelion.org. The National Strike While the May 19 protests were entanglement of narcotics capitalists—who riddance to rightist President Iván Duque. And they risk their lives daily to fight for this result. ‘1619 Project’ Strike threatens imperialist plunder Such a challenge not only affects the Colombian superrich, it threatens U.S. Progressive educators oppose imperialist interests in South America. Colombia’s military is Washington’s most powerful and useful tool for intervention reactionary legislation on the continent. The U.S. has seven of its own military bases in Colombia. In By Andy Terhune at School, Teaching for Change and the move us toward a more just society.” addition, the Pentagon trains and arms Zinn Education Project. Also, the Zinn Education Project and the Colombian army, and Washington Right-wing lawmakers in 15 states are If successful, teachers in these states Black Lives Matter at School are attempt- depends on this force to intervene directly passing legislation that will require public would be forced to teach with whitewashed ing to raise public awareness about school teachers to teach a nationalist nar- history textbooks that erase the struggles the harm the proposed legislation will against its neighbors. rative of history, which ignores the geno- and contributions of oppressed peoples cause, by promoting countrywide gath- In 2019 the Colombian army actively cidal, racist, sexist, anti-immigrant and throughout this country’s history. Idaho, erings hosted by Rethinking Schools and joined the U.S. attempt to destabilize and oppressive history of the United States. Iowa, Oklahoma and Tennessee recently Teaching for Change. overthrow Venezuela’s government, with Specific legislation differs among the 15 passed legislation that severely limits the These events will take place June 12 at the goal of replacing it with one led by states, but they all include a shared goal ways teachers are allowed to discuss rac- locations that “symbolize or reflect his- U.S. puppet Juan Guaidó. of banning the application of “critical race ism, sexism, homophobia, immigration, tory that teachers would be required to Since less than 5% of workers belong theory” in social studies instruction. classism and other issues which right-wing lie about or omit if these bills become to unions in Colombia, for this general This means teachers in Arizona, legislators aim to suppress. law.” Public awareness about this issue strike to succeed, broader forces must Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, is currently slim, so those interested are join the uprising. They have. Youths in Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, Teaching the real history of the U.S. encouraged to choose a significant loca- the informal economy, neighborhood North Carolina, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Another collection of teaching tion and organize a rally, together with committees, farmers, Indigenous peo- Tennessee, Texas, Utah and West Virginia resources that is at risk in these states is community members and local unions. ples, Afro-Colombians, even self-em- will be restricted from—and in some cases the Zinn Education Project, which was Laws like those passed in Idaho, Iowa, ployed and small business people, all fined for—teaching about the role of rac- created with the belief that “through tak- Oklahoma and Tennessee require, either with their own usual organizations, have ism in shaping the legal system and creat- ing a more engaging and more honest through commission or omission, stu- brought the struggle to a higher level. ing economic disparity and achievement look at the past, we can help equip stu- dents to be taught a reactionary view of What set off the strike were the Duque gaps. And they won’t be able to explain how dents—and all of us—with the analyt- history, full of falsehoods and backward regime’s four “reforms,” which attacked inequities that still exist today are rooted in ical tools to make sense of and improve ideas. Every student deserves a responsi- the interests of workers and Colombia’s ble education rooted in truth and respect a white-supremacist past. the world today.” Their website contains poor people. The most blatant was the a vast amount of free downloadable lesson for humanity. regressive 19% Value Added Tax—a sales Racists oppose 1619 Project plans and articles, which “emphasize the Even the most gruesome, repulsive and tax—on purchases of goods and services. One of the curriculum resources that role of working people, women, people of controversial historical events can be ana- The reforms would drive millions more conservative lawmakers oppose is The color and organized social movements in lyzed by youth, if done with a responsible into poverty. 1619 Project. Its introduction states: “The shaping history.” (zinnedproject.org) use of dialogue, reflection and commu- Before the May 19 national action, the 1619 Project is an ongoing initiative from In response to the lawmakers working nication. Educators, who are dedicated The New York Times Magazine that began to ban their educational resources, the to teaching U.S. history in ways that are strike already forced the government to in August 2019, the 400th anniversary Zinn Education Project launched a pledge authentic about the roles all forms of big- cede—verbally—on two of the four unpop- of the beginning of American slavery. It for educators to sign, saying that whether otry and oppression have affected the ular reforms, those of tax and health. Some aims to reframe the country’s history by the reactionary legislation is passed or country’s development, are asking those government ministers and the police chief placing the consequences of slavery and not, they refuse to lie to students and will who agree with them to show solidarity of the city of Cali were forced out. These the contributions of Black Americans at continue to teach them the truth about with teachers who are being denied the concessions seemed to encourage the strike the very center of our national narrative.” U.S. history. right to teach their students the truth. movement, which demands the end of the (project1619.org) The pledge states: “We the undersigned other two reforms—​pension and labor. Traditional education in the U.S. educators will not be bullied. We will con- Pulitzer Prize-winner Nikole Hannah- They demand that the police and army teaches students that the country’s birth tinue our commitment to develop critical Jones was recently denied tenure by the stop persecuting the demonstrators, set occurred in 1776. This narrative ignores thinking that supports students to better University of North Carolina Board of the arrested people free and account for its formation as a settler colony, based on understand problems in our society and to Trustees. Conservative board members anyone missing. More and more, the stolen land and genocide of Indigenous develop collective solutions to those prob- voiced opposition to The 1619 Project, which mass anger is turning against the very peoples and the 157 years of chattel slav- lems. We are for truth-telling and uplifting she oversaw. It exposes the truth about the existence of the militarized state ruling ery that built the colonies before 1776. It the power of organizing and solidarity that history of slavery in the U.S. Colombia’s 50 million people. ☐ ignores the role of the slave-trade and the character of settler-colonialism in polit- ical and economic independence from Britain. Republican lawmakers are try- Asia-del-Sur: El afán de lucro impulsa el desalojo de los pobres ing to ban the 1619 project and multiple Continúa de la página 12 Bajo el capitalismo, los trabajadores trabajadores como “invasores” y eliminan other critical teaching resources like it, in seguirán sufriendo porque este sistema los asentamientos “ilegales”. an attempt to prohibit an honest, authen- del COVID-19. Junto con la violencia no quiere ni puede proporcionar la Las campañas de desalojo forzoso tic teaching of U.S. history. Many of these lawmakers not only estructural, incluido el apartheid de las infraestructura necesaria para garantizar que se llevan a cabo en la India dejan want to restrict discussions about criti- vacunas, los habitantes de la India siguen el bienestar y la seguridad de todos los a las personas expuestas a un desalojo cal race theory, but they are attempting enfrentándose a la amenaza de los desa- trabajadores. El capitalismo mata. Sus obligatorio prácticamente en cualquier to limit education about the role of sex- lojos forzados. efectos son claramente evidentes en los momento. En cada situación, la clase ism, heterosexism, xenophobia and class El año pasado, más de 20.000 personas actos abiertos de terror de la clase domi- dominante sólo quiere una cosa: benefi- oppression throughout U.S. history. In fueron desalojadas entre el 16 de marzo y nante contra los trabajadores. cios. La pandemia y los desalojos forzados Missouri, the proposed legislation would el 31 de julio, a pesar de las órdenes judi- El gobierno de Bahria Town que invade seguirán afectando principalmente a los ban public school teachers from using any ciales que prohibían los desalojos durante las comunidades de los pueblos indígenas trabajadores. resources from the 1619 Project, Learning el cierre de COVID. Actualmente, en la pobres y les inflige violencia es un reflejo Debemos construir la solidaridad inter- for Justice Curriculum of the Southern India, 15 millones de personas se enfren- del gobierno nacional de Pakistán y de nacional y la resistencia contra los contin- Poverty Law Center, Black Lives Matter tan a la posibilidad de ser desahuciadas. las fuerzas externas que etiquetan a los uos ataques a nuestra clase. ☐ Correspondencia sobre artículos en Workers World/Mundo Obrero pueden ser enviadas a: [email protected]

¡Proletarios y oprimidos de todos los paises unios! workers.org Vol. 63 Núm. 21 27 de mayo 2021 $1 MO FOTO: TONI ARENSTEIN Protesta contra el bombardeo israelí de Gaza, respaldado por Estados Unidos, el 12 de mayo en Times Square, Nueva York. Workers World/Mundo Obrero exige ¡Alto al bombardeo de Gaza! ¡Liberar a Palestina! ¡Detener la ayuda de Estados Unidos a Israel! Por el editor AlJazeera, los ataques aéreos israelíes creación de Israel por parte de los britá- para reprimir y ocupar a toda una nación... habían matado a 122 palestinos, y el nicos y otros imperialistas occidentales, Al igual que todos los presidentes Workers World Party/ Partido Mundo número de muertos sigue aumentando con el fin de controlar la región rica en que le precedieron desde 1948, demó- Obrero condena en los términos más enér- junto con los cerca de 1.000 heridos. petróleo conocida como Oriente Medio. El cratas y republicanos, el presidente Joe gicos el asalto genocida del ejército sionista Entre los muertos hay más de 30 niños. nombre de este desplazamiento es Nakba, Biden declaró que “Israel tenía derecho a israelí contra el pueblo de Gaza—​llamada Israel está aterrorizando a los residen- la palabra árabe para desastre, que el pue- defenderse”. la mayor prisión al aire libre del mundo y tes en edificios de apartamentos y casas blo palestino y sus partidarios han conme- Como Susie Abulhawa, escritora y acti- situada en la Palestina ocupada. Esta última día y noche, bajo el erróneo pretexto de morado durante los últimos 73 años. vista palestina, dijo a WW: “Lo que le ha batalla es una tragedia más en el continuo “defenderse de los terroristas”. El grupo de Israel existe para proteger los intereses ocurrido a Gaza en los últimos cuatro días desplazamiento de los palestinos de su tie- liberación palestino Hamás y sus aliados del imperialismo estadounidense—​los sólo es noticia porque Gaza se está defen- rra por parte de los colonos sionistas. en Líbano han estado defendiendo Gaza lucrativos beneficios del petróleo—​como diendo de los ataques israelíes respalda- Este ataque se produce durante el Eid lanzando cohetes contra Israel, que en un estado de guarnición militar que ame- dos por Estados Unidos. No hay un signo Mubarak, que señala el final del Ramadán realidad no son rivales para las Fuerzas de naza y ataca a los países ricos en petróleo de igualdad entre defenderse con el lan- para millones de musulmanes de todo el Defensa israelíes, armadas hasta los dientes de la región que se atreven a luchar por la zamiento de cohetes desde el suelo frente mundo. por el gobierno de Estados Unidos. soberanía sobre su tierra y sus recursos. a los potentes ataques aéreos. No hay un El WWP/PMO se suma a las organiza- Israel amenaza con enviar tropas de Mientras millones de personas en solo día en el que no se ejerza algún tipo ciones que celebran cientos de acciones tierra a Gaza. AlJazeera también informó Estados Unidos han sufrido el desem- de violencia sobre la población de Gaza mundiales en solidaridad con los gazatíes que siete manifestantes palestinos fueron pleo, el hambre y la amenaza de desahu- o de cualquier otra parte de la Palestina y el pueblo palestino en general, que lle- asesinados en Cisjordania por las FDI. cios durante la pandemia, Estados Unidos ocupada que no sea informado por las van décadas luchando heroicamente por sigue apuntalando el régimen asesino fuentes principales”. recuperar su patria robada. (Visita sami- 73 años de resistencia israelí con $3.000 millones anuales en Exigimos: Detener el bombardeo de doun.net/events/ para encontrar una pro- Fue el 15 de mayo de 1948 cuando los ayuda militar. Piensa en el alivio que esa Gaza. ¡Detener la ayuda de Estados testa cerca de ti). palestinos fueron desplazados violenta- sola cantidad podría suponer para el pue- Unidos a Israel! ¡Liberen a Palestina! ☐ Hasta el 14 de mayo, según el noticiero mente de su patria ancestral mediante la blo de Estados Unidos si no se utilizara

Asia-del-Sur El afán de lucro impulsa el desalojo de los pobres

Por Tania Siddiqi contra los intrusos. Después de que una Uno de sus ataques más flagrantes contra persona arrojara una piedra al personal la clase trabajadora fue su campaña de En Pakistán, Karachi Bachao Tehreek de Bahria Town, los guardias empezaron 2019 para desalojar a los llamados “invas- (KBT), una alianza de activistas locales a disparar a los aldeanos. ores” que ocupaban estructuras “ilegales”. que luchan contra los desalojos y las apro- El activista indígena Shaukat Khaskheli En la época en que se puso en marcha el piaciones ilegales de tierras, denunció recibió un disparo, pero las fuerzas del programa contra las invasiones, entre el que el personal de Bahria Town, los guar- orden lo llevaron a una comisaría en 30% y el 40% de la economía de Karachi dias privados de la ciudad y la policía de lugar de a un hospital. Otros aldeanos consistía en mercados informales que la provincia de Sindh entraron el 7 de fueron secuestrados y torturados por los abastecían a los viajeros y a los turistas, y mayo en varios Goths [pequeños barrios guardias de Bahria Town por sus actos que proporcionaban el sustento a unos dos poblados principalmente por personas de de resistencia y su negativa a permitir millones de personas. FOTO: KARACHI BACHAO TEHREEK etnia sindhi] con maquinaria pesada, con que Bahria Town les robara sus tierras. Sin embargo, eso no impidió que los Residentes de Karachi luchan contra los la intención de seguir invadiendo las tier- (Dawn, 9 de mayo) funcionarios del gobierno demolieran desalojos y las demoliciones ilegales. ras de los indígenas pobres. El último ataque bárbaro de Bahria los negocios y las casas de la gente. En Abdul Hafeez, miembro de la Alianza Town es paralelo a los horribles esfuer- Empress Market, uno de los mercados especialmente durante las inundaciones. por los Derechos de los Indígenas de zos capitalistas que tienen lugar en otros más conocidos de Karachi, se destruyeron (Samaa TV, 25 de febrero) Sindh, informó al periódico “Dawn” de que lugares de Pakistán. al menos 1700 tiendas y puestos durante Sin embargo, había motivos más insid- los guardias y la policía intentaron destruir La guerra en curso de la clase dominante la campaña contra la invasión. iosos para expulsar a los trabajadores de los cultivos con bulldozers en Kamal Khan pakistaní contra los trabajadores pobres se Un informe de marzo de 2019 exponía sus medios de vida y sus hogares. Jokhio Goth. Los miembros de la comuni- centra en la promoción de la comerciabil- la siguiente información: “Hasta ahora se La abogada popular Abira Ashfaq rev- dad respondieron con actos de resistencia idad y la modernización de las empresas. han demolido 3.575 tiendas, lo que afecta eló que los desalojos forzosos se llevan directamente a no menos de 17.500 a cabo para transferir los derechos de trabajadores, si suponemos un pro- gestión de la tierra “a las empresas de medio de cinco personas vinculadas construcción y al Banco Mundial para que El Estatus de Mumia a cada tienda. El número de afecta- [puedan] beneficiarse de ello”. (The News dos se dispara a 140.000 si supone- International, 22 de marzo) La asesora de por Mumia Abu-Jamal jóvenes cardiólo- mos que cada trabajador tiene siete investigación de KBT, Fizza Qureshi, des- gos bien prepara- personas a su cargo.” (Amanecer, 12 cubrió que los datos que la KMC utilizaba Por lo regular, no hago esto, es decir, dos y con amplia de marzo de 2019) para justificar su afán de robar a la clase no escribo sobre mí mismo. Encuentro experiencia en este El ensañamiento contra los traba- trabajadora eran defectuosos. mucho más interesante contar las histo- complejo proced- jadores continúa, incluso durante una En referencia al Gujjar Nala, “las reci- rias de otras personas, del globo giratorio imiento quirúrgico. pandemia mundial. entes inundaciones urbanas de Karachi en que vivimos, historias generadas por la Les digo que yo no tenía la menor idea de En febrero, la Corporación no fueron causadas por el Gujjar Nullah frágil condición humana y las luchas de lib- qué sufría de tal enfermedad. Pero ahora, Metropolitana de Karachi (KMC), la [desagüe], sino por las comunidades cer- eración de la humanidad. para ser perfectamente honesto, me siento entidad que supervisa las campañas radas y las grandes plazas que se habían Pero me desvío del tema, incómodamente. muy bien. De hecho, me siento con más contra la usurpación de terrenos, construido en los deltas de los ríos y que Éste es un comentario sobre el energía de lo normal. anunció su intención de iniciar una atendían exclusivamente a la élite”. comentador. Les agradezco a todxs ustedes—a mi nueva campaña cerca de Orangi Nala Desalojos forzados en la India Hace varias semanas me sometí a un pro- familia, a mis amigas y amigos—su amor y Gujjar Nala, pequeños arroyos cedimiento médico conocido como la cirugía y apoyo. efímeros de Karachi. La KMC alegó Al otro lado de la frontera, en la India, a corazón abierto, un doble bypass después ¡Vamos adelante hacia la libertad, de que el desalojo de unas 14.000 vivi- los habitantes siguen sufriendo inmen- de que se supo que existían obstrucciones en todo corazón! endas y 3.000 locales comerciales era sos traumas y violencia causados por los dos vasos sanguíneos latiendo hacia mi cora- Desde la nación encarcelada, soy Mumia necesario para ampliar los desagües, mecanismos legales y extralegales utiliza- zón que perjudicaron la función cardíaca. Abu-Jamal. 12 de mayo de 2021 ☐ de modo que pudieran mejorar dos para sacar provecho de la pandemia el “buen flujo del agua de lluvia”, Esta deficiencia fue reparada por algunos Continúa en la página 11