Proyecto 1619 12 Cultura de la intoxicación 12

Workers and oppressed peoples of the world unite! workers.org Vol. 63, No. 23 June 10, 2021 $1 Pro-Palestine solidarity blocks Israeli ship

By Judy Greenspan in ILWU Local 10, achieved this great Oakland, Calif. #BlockTheBoat victory against ZIM in Oakland. We call upon all dockworkers June 6—​For the seventh year in a worldwide to intensify the boycott cam- row, Israeli-owned ships have not been paign against ZIM ships and all business allowed to unload in the Port of Oakland. profiting from apartheid.” On June 4, thousands of supporters of the In the statement, President of ILWU Palestinian struggle conducted six simul- Local 10 Trent Willis emphasized: taneous picket lines during two work “Workers’ struggle is worldwide. … When shifts to “Block the Boat.” Members of the the workers of the world figure that out International Longshore and Warehouse and realize that we have to band together Union Local 10 honored the picket lines, to make change, then it’ll be a better refusing to work the ship. world, including for the Palestinian peo- In a tremendous victory of worker and ple. Worker power, economic power, is community solidarity, the Israeli ZIM- real power—​it’s more powerful than operated ship was forced to leave the those bombs Israel is dropping.” port at 6 p.m.—​with all of its cargo still The Oakland Block the Boat protest was on board. part of an international week of actions to The day of action began when hun- ‘Block the Boat’ action at Port of Oakland, June 4. WW PHOTO: JUDY GREENSPAN prevent the docking and unloading of any dreds of demonstrators assembled at 5:00 ship carrying Israeli goods or owned by a.m. to prevent workers from entering the before the official start of the second shift asking workers around the world to sup- Israel. According to the AROC statement, berth where the Israeli-owned ZIM ship in the evening—​a strong measure of the port Palestine by refusing to handle any “Oakland and the broader Bay Area have had docked. Picketers fanned out to six success and strength of the Block the Boat Israeli goods or cargo. once again achieved a historic Boycott, entrances used by the dock workers. action. In a June 6 statement issued by AROC, Divest and Sanctions Movement (BDS) Members of ILWU Local 10 and other The solidarity action was organized Elias Al-Jelda of the Executive Committee victory for Palestine.” union members stood around in groups, by the Arab Resource and Organizing of the Palestine General Federation of On the East Coast hundreds of people refusing to cross the picket line and Center and supported by many progres- Trade Unions in Gaza stated: “It warms from the #BlockTheBoat coalition held a talking to protesters. Truckers driving sive groups in the Bay Area. According our hearts in the besieged occupied Gaza first-ever pro-Palestine action June 6 at through the Port of Oakland sounded to AROC, the blockade of the boat was Strip and the rest of occupied Palestine the Port of New York and New Jersey, their horns in solidarity with the protest. in direct response to an international that our comrades led by AROC, and against a ZIM ship docking in Elizabeth, The Israeli ship actually left the harbor call sent out by Palestinian labor unions with the solidarity of our fellow workers N.J. ☐

June 13 Honoring Ramsey Clark 3

Puerto Rican unions: ‘No LUMA!’ 3

Economic recovery? 3 Trans youth targeted 5 WW GRAPHIC: MIRINDA CRISSMAN On the picket line 4 Cops out of Pride 11

Arizona: Nazi death-camp gas Editorial Are pro athletes ‘Smart’ communication for profit exploited workers? 10 Solitary torture chambers Disability solidarity Mumia on abolition with Naomi Osaka 10 Shaka Sankofa’s last words 6-7

Defend Syria 8 Delegation demands ‘Free Alex Saab!’ 9 Palestine resists 11 Page 2 June 10, 2021 workers.org Support a Marxist voice for LGBTQ2S+ rights this week ◆ In the U.S. For over half a century, Workers World newspaper has donation of at least $75 a year—​or $100, or $300 or covered the global struggle to end all forms of discrim- more if you can—receive​ a year’s subscription to WW; a Pro-Palestine solidarity blocks Israeli ship . . . 1 ination, persecution and violence against lesbian, gay, regular letter about timely issues; and one, two or three Honoring Ramsey Clark ...... 3 bisexual, transgender, queer and gender-nonconform- subscriptions, respectively, to give to friends. Members Shambling recovery – COVID economic crisis . .3 ing communities. can receive a copy of the book: “What Road to Socialism?” On the picket line ...... 4 WW has consistently backed up our activist cover- upon request. (Or read it at workers.org/books) age with analysis. In the early 1970s, WW ran a series of New articles are posted daily at workers.org. Currently, Trans youth attacked by legislative hate bills . . 5 articles that led to publication of “The Gay Question: A one issue a month is being printed and mailed to sub- Arizona: Nazi death-camp gas in executions . . ..6 Marxist Appraisal” in 1976. Then in 1993, WW published scribers. As soon as it’s possible, the newspaper will Smart Communications – prison profiteer . . . 6 “The Roots of Lesbian and Gay Oppression: A Marxist resume more frequent printing and mailing. Solitary confinement ‘torture chambers’ . . . . 6 View,” with the first book’s original text and a new pref- Write monthly or annual checks to Workers World ace and afterword. (Read it at workers.org/books.) and mail them, with your name and address, to Workers The 'new abolitionists' ...... 7 In 2004 WW managing editor and globally recognized World, 147 W. 24th St., 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10011. Last words of Shaka Sankofa ...... 7 transgender leader Leslie Feinberg began the “Lavender Or sign up at workers.org to donate each month. A disability rights statement for Naomi Osaka . 10 & Red” series, which ran until 2008 in WW. A group of 25 We’re grateful for your help in building Workers Seattle: Cops out of Pride! ...... 11 articles from that series was later published as the book, World! ☐ “Rainbow Solidarity in Defense ◆ Around the world of Cuba.” In 2012 Feinberg per- formed civil disobedience and Puerto Rico: 'No peace' if energy privatized . . .3 wrote articles defending Black Anti-imperialist defense of Syria ...... 8 trans woman CeCe McDonald, The fight to win Alex Saab's freedom ...... 9 who was charged with man- In Palestine, police – and resistance . . . . . 11 slaughter after defending her- self from a racist, bigoted attack. ◆ Editorial WW helps to build mass struggles, like what’s been going Are pro athletes exploited workers? ...... 10 on in the streets from coast to coast. This righteous outpour- ◆ Noticias en Español ing of rage and protest over the La cultura de la intoxicación ...... 12 racist cop murder of George Floyd came as the COVID- Proyecto 1619: Educadores progresistas . . . .12 19 pandemic disproportion- ately impacted Black, Latinx and Indigenous peoples and immigrants. Please help us get out the word. Join the Workers World Supporter Program. For a Pride, New York City, 2019. WW PHOTO: BRENDA RYAN

Workers World 147 W. 24th St., 2nd Fl. Join us in the fight New York, NY 10011 Phone: 212.627.2994 for socialism! E-mail: [email protected] 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. 23 • June 10, 2021 party inside the belly of the imperialist beast. We are a mul- a regular basis. Closing date: June 9, 2021 tinational, multigenerational and multigendered organiza- The ruthless ruling class today seeks to wipe out tion that not only aims to abolish capitalism, but to build a decades of gains and benefits won by hard-fought strug- Editors: John Catalinotto, Martha Grevatt, Deirdre socialist society because it’s the only way forward! gles by people’s movements. The super-rich and their Griswold, Monica Moorehead, Betsey Piette, Capitalism and imperialism threaten the peoples of the political representatives have intensified their attacks on Minnie Bruce Pratt world and the planet itself in the neverending quest for the multinational, multigender and multigenerational Web Editors: ABear, Harvey Markowitz, Janet Mayes 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. sion, attacks on im/migrants, misogyny, LGBTQ2S+ WWP fights for socialism because the working class Production & Design Editors: Gery Armsby, Mirinda oppression and mistreatment of people with disabili- produces all wealth in society, and this wealth should Crissman, Ted Kelly, Sasha Mazumder, Scott Williams ties. It means joblessness, increasing homelessness and remain in their hands, not be stolen in the form of capi- Copyediting and Proofreading: Paddy Colligan, impoverishment and lack of hope for the future. No social talist profits. The wealth workers create should be socially S. Hedgecoke 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 Wages are lower than ever, and youth are saddled with worldwide. If you’re interested in Marxism, socialism Mundo Obero: Teresa Gutierrez, Carlos Vargas seemingly insurmountable student debt, if they even and fighting for a socialist future, please contact a WWP Copyright © 2021 Workers World. Verbatim copying make it to college. Black, Brown and Indigenous youth branch near you. ☐ and distribution of articles is permitted in any medium 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. 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In addition to supporting the wave of ney general under the Lyndon Johnson resistance then sweeping Latin America, administration from 1967 to 1969, died IAC militants joined Ramsey Clark’s inter- April 9 after a long illness at the age of 93. national delegations that stood in solidar- The two-hour tribute will be a virtual ity with Palestine in besieged Gaza, that accused of crimes by international courts ruling elite, into which he was born, is a memorial featuring hundreds of viewers defied the blockade of Cuba, the war and doing the bidding of U.S. imperialism. His testament to his willingness to be front from around the world, honoring Clark sanctions on Iraq, the U.S.-NATO war on visits to war-torn areas like the former and center in showing his disdain for a who became a fierce, defiant opponent to Yugoslavia and the kidnapping of then Yugoslavia, Vietnam, Iraq, Gaza and Sudan government he was once a part of, but U.S. foreign policy, especially in the area President Aristide in Haiti.” did not deter Clark from risking his life to eventually turned his back on, to con- of wars of aggression and occupation This solidarity came in various forms accomplish missions of solidarity. sciously side with the most oppressed. including sanctions. like people’s tribunals and commissions, Clark became the legal counsel for U.S. The son of the U.S. Supreme Court rallies, humanitarian trips bringing aid political prisoners Leonard Peltier, Iman To register for the June 13 tribute, Justice Tom Clark, Ramsey Clark was like medicines, foods and other supplies to Jalil Al-Amin (aka H. Rap Brown) and the go to bit.ly/RamseyClark, and to read one of the main contributors to the 1965 sanctioned countries, and legally defending late civil rights attorney, Lynne Stewart. and view condolence messages, go to Voting Rights Act and other historic Civil leaders of other countries, who were falsely The fact that Clark was so hated by the iacenter.org/RamseyClarkTribute.

Puerto Rican workers No peace if energy is privatized On June 1, the Financial Oversight and Management they will not allow it. Board overseeing Puerto Rico’s economy privatized the “We are not going to allow our main industry to be island’s public power utilities by signing a $1.3 billion taken from us, and even more so, knowing that the people contract with private consortium LUMA Energy. The will be the ones who will pay the consequences. To this contract, in effect for the next 15 years, could increase must also be added the humiliating and abusive way in electric rates by 10 cents per kilowatt hour or more. which they have treated the workers of the corporation, LUMA customers are already encountering new fees stripping them of their positions and rights and even the and significantly higher bills than formerly paid to the possibility of attending to the service needs of citizens. PHOTO: ALEJANDRO GRANADILLO public Puerto Rican Electric Power Authority. Thousands In the same way, we express our total and uncondi- In San Juan, Puerto Rico, a person waves a ‘LUMA out!’ flag of PREPA workers have lost their jobs. The privatization tional solidarity to the Alliance of Active Employees and to protest the privatization of public power utilities under LUMA Energy, June 1. has fueled demonstrations including encampments and Retirees, who have been bulldozed, abused, humiliated picket lines at plant gates. Further actions could lead to and belittled by the government of Pedro Pierluisi and mass protests similar to those in summer 2019 that forced the dictatorship that governs the country,” he added. guarantee their domination. Now, face the consequences. former Governor Pedro Rosselló to resign. The group reiterated its support and solidarity with You drew the line. We know how to cross it,” said Lizbeth The following is a statement from unions represent- the PREPA employees who have been transferred, to Mercado, president of the Unión de Empleados de la ing thousands of Puerto Rican workers, ranging from whom they advised to keep their calm. Corporación del Fondo del Seguro del Estado (Union of teachers to truck drivers, in support of PREPA workers the State Insurance Fund Corporation). and demanding the LUMA contract be repealed. ‘Remove all the vultures that invade our country’ “This will be something temporary—​we have lived Signing organizations: Unión General de Union organizations today warned Governor Pedro through very difficult times, but we have also shown that Trabajadores (UGT), UNETE (sindicato de mae- Pierluisi and the Financial Oversight and Management the struggle of the people of Puerto Rico is our most effec- stros), Central Puertorriqueña de Trabajadores, Board that they will paralyze the country if the LUMA tive tool; if the people removed a governor, they may have Movimiento Solidario Sindical, Federación Central de Energy contract—​that increases rates, allows the con- the will to remove all the vultures that invade our country. Trabajadores/UFCW Local 481, Prosol-UTIER (Unión sortium to leave Puerto Rico if a hurricane strikes and We reiterate our support, solidarity and the commitment de Trabajadores de la Industria Eléctrica y Riego) , displaces thousands of workers—is​ not canceled. to make sure that LUMA’s days are numbered,” stated Asociación Puertorriqueña de Profesores Universitarios “We are warning the attorney for the Financial Antonio Cabán, president of the Federación Central de (APPU), Sindicato Puertorriqueño de Trabajadores Oversight and Management Board, Gov. Pedro Pierluisi, Trabajadores (Central Federation of Workers), United y Trabajadoras, EDUCAMOS, Frente Amplio de that there will be no peace in Puerto Rico if the contract Food and Commercial Workers, Local 481. Camioneros, Hermandad de Empleados Exentos no is not repealed and they listen to the people who demand, Union leaders maintained that they will fight along- Docentes (HEEND), Federación Puertorriqueña de not only a public and more efficient PREPA, but also one side the Active Employees Alliance and the people to oust Trabajadores, Unión Independiente de Abogados free of fossil fuels. Right now there is a favorable atmo- LUMA Energy from the country. y Abogadas de la Sociedad para la Asistencia Legal sphere for paralyzing the country, and if the governor “The so-called rulers should have no doubt that they (UIASAL), Union Independiente de Trabajadores continues to be deaf to the people, we will do so. We have will have an effective response from the working people. del Aeropuerto (UITA), Unión de Empleados de la already held several meetings to coordinate logistics and We are not sitting by, nor are we going to do so. You, Corporación del Fondo del Seguro del Estado (UASAL), dates, and this week we will meet again to finalize details. arbitrarily, have closed the doors to dialogue; you have Union de Abogados y Abogadas de Servicios Legales Make no mistake, this summer will be one very similar to closed the doors to the search for equitable solutions (UAASL), United Steel Workers-PR, Hermandad de that of 2019,” said Carlos Rodríguez, coordinator of the in the courts of justice; you have legislated to under- Empleados de Oficina Autoridad Metropolitana de Frente Amplio de Camioneros (Broad Front of Truckers). mine our rights; you have done everything you can to Autobuses (HEOAMA). ☐ “Today, we tell LUMA not to bother settling in our coun- try, since we will not leave them alone until they leave Puerto Rico. And the workers who they intend to bring in from abroad should know that if they cross the picket Shambling recovery from line, they will face a people willing to defend their energy sovereignty and their access to water. There is no life with- out water and electricity! In the next few days we will not the COVID economic crisis only be in front of the gates together with our comrades in struggle to prevent the entry of the LUMA parasites, By G. Dunkel shown images of long lines at food banks and pantries. but we will continue calling for activities that will lead to a Biden extolled the “recovery” benefits of $1,400 that National Strike if the intransigent Pierluisi does not stop President Joe Biden interrupted a long weekend at the went to 167 million people, which propped up their pur- the contract. The ball is in their court,” stressed María Delaware shore to claim credit for the 559,000 new jobs chasing power and let them pay for “food, rent, utilities, del Mar Rosa, organizational coordinator for Asociación which the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the econ- car payments, student loans and health care expenses.” Puertorriqueña de Profesores Universitarios (Puerto Rican omy added in May. He admitted to some bumps in the But he didn’t raise the eviction threats hanging over the Association of University Professors). process, but said: “In short, this is progress—​​historic heads of millions of families. The spokespersons insisted that the governor wants progress—​progress that’s pulling our economy out of The president pointed out that the “boost in unemploy- to deprive the people of the island of its main resource the worst crisis it’s been in, in 100 years.” ment benefits” provided by the federal government—​ for economic development, the Puerto Rican Electric Some of the “bumps” are major. He admitted that 18 $300 a week over and above state unemployment—​was Power Authority, by giving it up to LUMA Energy for million people in the United States still have to confront ending in 90 days. nothing and without any guarantee for the country, and hunger, even though the big business press no longer has Continued on page 4 Page 4 June 10, 2021 workers.org

Groups like Los Deliveristas Unidos and El Diario de los Deliveryboys en la Gran Manzano (Deliveryboys in the Big Apple) are working with the Brooklyn- when we based Worker’s Justice Project/Proyecto Justicia fight Laboral (WJP). Mexican and Guatemalan gig work- On the we win! ers are reaching out to workers from West Africa. However, gig workers in New York City should be wary of draft state legislation, backed by the picket line New York State AFL-CIO, that would organize food By Marie Kelly delivery drivers and rideshare drivers into two pre- selected, massive unions. (Labor Notes, May 21) No vote by rank-and-file members would occur, and the Gig workers are essential workers designated unions would deal directly with the com- pany with no input from members. State law could As pandemic business closures escalated in 2019- wipe out local victories that have won minimum pay 2020, many immigrant workers who lost jobs at hotels laws. Workers labeled “contractors” would not gain and construction sites turned to the gig economy employee status. for work with Lyft, Uber, DoorDash, GrubHub and A setback in state law happened in California in Instacart. Labeled as independent contractors by the 2020. Uber, Lyft, DoorDash and Instacart spent hun- companies, these workers have few labor protections. dreds of millions of dollars in a successful campaign Mainstream media and corporate heads hailed them as to enact Prop. 22. The measure denies gig workers essential heroes during the pandemic lockdown—​while the right to organize and refuses to recognize them as for the average RN. Tenet is paying millions for nurses the workers themselves are treated poorly. company employees. These workers are the backbone to cross the picket line, rather than negotiate with the What is it like to rely on this type of job to earn a liv- of the corporations; their labor provides the expanding experienced nurses who know how to care for patients ing? Conditions are bleak. The hours are long, and the profit margins. at St. Vincent’s. pay is low. Safety is a real concern. Drivers have been Ligia Guallpa, WJP executive director, puts it plainly: Multiple agencies advertise for nurses to travel to robbed; those on bikes have had them stolen. Francisco “There is no labor movement without organizing the new hospitals where nurses are striking. Agencies pay travel Villalva, a 29-year-old delivery cyclist, was killed in workforce, which just happens to be immigrants in New and room and board expenses. Minimal experience is March during an attempted robbery in New York City. York. Which is the exact same way the labor unions got required from the nurses. Drivers depend on tips to supplement the minimum started back in the day, right? They got started by immi- An online listing by the U.S. Nursing Corporation cur- wage they receive. But restaurants commonly steal the tips grants.” (Labor Notes, May 20) rently advertises a need for nurses for an “indefinite nurs- to apply to app service charges. Workers are frequently ing strike” in Massachusetts. (tinyurl.com/252bcyrx) paid only when out on a delivery, even though they may Strikebreaker nurses That doesn’t seem to bode well for St. Vincent’s spend hours on a company’s app searching for a gig. nurses, as Tenet digs in its heels to fund corporate greed Workers are fighting these enormously profitable com- The valiant nurses at St. Vincent’s Hospital in at the expense of patients and the professional stan- panies for status as employees—with​ the right to receive Worcester, Mass., are still locked in their struggle with dards expected from nurses. Meanwhile, nurses with adequate compensation, sick time and workmen’s com- hospital owner, Tenet Healthcare Corporation, over ade- little experience, or union consciousness, are enticed pensation and the right to form a union. Like Amazon quate compensation and safe staffing. Tenet has under- to work in an unstable hospital environment that their workers, gig drivers are organizing for basic measures cut the nurses by hiring itinerant nurses to keep profits peers have already deemed so unsafe they have walked around human dignity. There are close to 5,000 restau- flowing amid reports of unsafe practices. off the job. rants serviced by DoorDash, and fewer than 200 allow Who are these nurses who would cross the picket line? As companies expand into health care empires, RNs delivery drivers to use their bathrooms. Workers report What motivates them to risk their professional and eth- are struggling to hold their place at the bargaining table urinating in bottles or on the street, because they are ical standards to take a job in a state in which they may to fight for the well-being of their patients and their denied access to these bathrooms. not be licensed, at a hospital they are unfamiliar with? fellow nurses. Nurses should be speaking as one voice Gig workers are connecting through social media to Unfortunately, the answer seems to be money. Salaries against capitalist greed instead of being divided by the share experiences and take up grassroots organizing. for a “strike nurse” are considerably higher than the pay bosses. ☐ Shambling recovery from the COVID economic crisis Continued from page 3 gender-oppressed parents who would broadly demanding higher wages to go raising those states’ minimum wage rates, otherwise seek work. back to restaurant work. not for cutting the supplement. While Biden wanted to claim a lot of Biden has allocated $39 billion to In response to this demand, the gov- credit, he ignored a lot of problems, such childcare relief, but it will be months ernors of 25 states, all Republicans, have Evictions and foreclosures as lingering high unemployment, low before this program is up and running. either stopped or announced that they will According to the U.S. Census, 7 million wages and the threatened loss of hous- Although 204,000 women returned to soon stop disbursing the $300-a-week families are behind on their rent, and 12 ing. All this suffering disproportionately the workforce in May, according to the federal supplement. This is ill-thought- million families aren’t sure that they will impacts Black, Brown and Indigenous BLS report, it is not guaranteed that this out cruelty, because workers spend this be able to pay next month’s rent. As of communities, women and gender-op- trend will continue. money provided by the national govern- June 2021, over 4.2 million properties pressed people, people with disabilities ment in local economies to lift themselves were in mortgage forbearance programs and LGBTQ2S+ people. Factor: low wages out of poverty. that postpone payments, according to the Women are a major portion of work- The governors and their capitalist cro- Mortgage Bankers Association. Labor shortage versus ers in leisure and hospitality. Restaurants nies hate the idea that the working class Legally, it’s far easier to evict someone high unemployment have built their business model on pay- can survive without working—​although than to foreclose on a delinquent mortgage. Even with the boost in employment—​ ing servers $2.13 an hour, supplemented the capitalists, who are parasitic, have Congress has passed bills supplying 559,000 jobs is indeed a big increase—​ with tips. But during the pandemic some grown rich on work done by others. both renters and homeowners with finan- the economy is still down about 7.5 of their staff, who had been out of work, Perhaps in some states, the combination cial assistance to stay in their homes. million jobs from the beginning of the found jobs in warehouses and retail that of federal and state unemployment benefits According to CNBC as of the end of April, pandemic. It will be late next year before paid $15 to $18, with additional bene- was more income for many workers than at least 20 states had no program to dis- the economy fully recovers at this rate of fits—​still inadequate, but much higher they had received from minimum wage tribute the $40 billion allocated. job growth. than server pay. So now the workers are jobs. If true, that’s a strong argument for The Centers for Disease Control and According to the Economic Policy Prevention, using its authority in the Institute, 4.5 million workers have had midst of the COVID-19 crisis to set their hours and/or pay cut because of national public health policy, imposed a the pandemic; 3.2 million are unem- moratorium on evictions and foreclosures ployed but misclassified, and 3.9 mil- that is set to expire June 30. A U.S. dis- lion have dropped out of the labor force. trict court recently held the CDC’s order (tinyurl.com/5fu5kj22) as unconstitutional, yet it is still in force Many people who have dropped out of while the CDC appeals. Various states and the labor force are women, who have taken municipalities also have moratoriums. on caregiver roles. They are helping their Housing and Urban Development children with remote learning or providing Secretary Marcia Fudge in a May 8 inter- support for ill family members, or they are view on National Public Radio’s “All afraid they could transmit or catch COVID Things Considered” indicated that HUD if they have a face-to-face job. was aware of the deadline and the defi- Even when in-person school is ciencies of the states’ responses and was restored, many women will be unable to taking steps to remedy them. find affordable childcare for children too Throwing millions of families into the young for school. It has become obvious streets is not only a recipe for a social that lack of government-organized child- explosion. It would also be a major blow care penalizes parents and has an espe- to the U.S. financial system, worse than cially negative impact on women and Inadequate child care forces women out of workforce. the speculative bubble in 2008. ☐ workers.org June 10, 2021 Page 5

Legislative hate bills Trans youth under attack The following are excerpted comments from panelists transportation. We help pay for at an April 1 webinar, “Transgender Day of Visibility: any work-related—and that a Socialist Perspective,” sponsored by Workers does include sex work—any World Party, viewable at Workers World YouTube: work-related items that trans tinyurl.com/35944sht. In this selection, WWP comrades people may need to survive. Ezra Echo and Devin Cole are joined by Indigo Lett, sec- We’re in the rural Deep South, retary and social media coordinator of the Gulf Coast and as we’re the only group of transgender activist organization STRIVE. this kind in this area, we take the brunt of all transgender Ezra: According to the American Civil Liberties oppression in the area. Union, there have been over 118 anti-LGBTQ+ bills sub- So why is there so much mitted in state legislatures across the U.S. so far in 2021. recent legislation targeting Most target the transgender community. The bills range young trans people in partic- from prohibiting health care for transgender youth to ular? They’re the most vul- excluding transgender youth from athletics and more, nerable group. Trans kids are with restrictions couched in religious language. Why is the most vulnerable group. there so much recent legislation targeting young trans I’m one of those trans people, WW GRAPHIC: MIRINDA CRISSMAN people in particular? What can LGBTQ+ organizing in and I believe Indigo can relate the past teach us about mass response to this violence as well. We didn’t come out until we were adults. And experiencing a revolutionary momentum. This legisla- in the present? there’s no doubt that repression in the education system tion is an attempt to stop these incredible youth in their and in the medical system played some role in that. But tracks from the revolutionary momentum that they are Indigo: When COVID happened, I think most kids now you see many more young trans people emboldened building themselves. were out of school. I feel like the right wing had a lot at a much younger age. They’re bold! I’ve been out of high school almost 10 years; Indigo of time to plan out their next move, to try to see what I’ll never forget back in 2017, I met a 13-year-old trans has been out almost 20 years. This is not our genera- they could do legislatively against the trans liberation guy. He was out; his teachers used his correct pronouns; tion anymore. This is Gen Z. And what these youth are movement. The fact was that everyone was more worried people respected him—and it blew my mind! I’ll be 27 in doing is incredible. The fact they’re being repressed is about what was going on with COVID. They had enough about two weeks. So you know, it wasn’t too long ago that symptomatic of capitalism and imperialism in a decay- time to try to slip bills through. They were slipping bills I was 13. It wasn’t that terribly long ago. But the thought ing stage, lashing out at the youth as we continue, and as through in Florida in 2020, but we were counteracting of doing something like that when I was 13—that is just they continue, to push it further into the grave. them one by one. But for some of the other states, orga- inconceivable to me. nizers may not have had the wherewithal to do that. These kids these days are so incredible and so embold- Ezra: I’m part of that younger generation. My com- Here in Florida, we have the “Parents’ Bill of ened and so powerful. This legislation is a direct attack rades and I joke that I was the first Gen Z kid, and I came Rights”—where parents can pull children out of class on their autonomy by the capitalist ruling class. It’s eas- out when I was 19. But I knew that I was gender fluid at 15, if the kids are learning about African American history, ier to attack trans kids legislatively, to try to repress that mostly because of having access to the internet. We see a for example, or LGBTQ+ history. If movement. Florida House Bill 24 lot of that these days—these kids have access to the inter- their kid is in some sort of a queer These kids these days that Indigo talked about is the “par- net. They have access to seeing real trans people doing real or trans group, they can find that ents’ rights” bill. The GOP angle is things and living their life. And they know that that can be out now. It’s really invasive and are so incredible that it gives parents more “insight” them too! I love to see all the kids coming into their own really terrible in our state. We have and so emboldened into their child’s education and and learning about themselves in that way. another bill about sports. That’s one health. That’s a smokescreen. What That’s why it’s incredibly unjust that we have these issue where even some liberals don’t and so powerful. it really does is give parents almost different bills trying to tear them down in their tracks follow trans people. When it gets total control over what their child and set them back many, many years. Because—for to sports, it’s “Oh, no, the science This legislation is a can learn in school, what their instance—puberty blockers are not permanent. The says...” But—no! No. Science says child can do in school and what effects are reversible. But puberty is not reversible. otherwise; science says it’s fine! direct attack on their their child says to their health care These attacks are baseless, coming from the right wing What can LGBTQ+ organiz- autonomy by the provider. to tear down young trans people and try to put out their ing in the past teach us? We If this bill is signed into law and fire. But it’s not going to work that way! look especially to the Stonewall capitalist ruling class. a young trans child goes to the Because the struggle for trans liberation continues. Rebellion in 1969 and other parts doctor, with the parents not in the Another great way to learn more is to check out the writ- of the LGBTQ+ movement like It’s easier to attack room, and they say, “I think I might ing and life work of Workers World Party comrade Leslie STAR (Street Transvestite Action be trans; I’m interested in learn- Feinberg. Ze was a revolutionary communist who put Revolutionaries). I think it is our trans kids legislatively, ing more about hormone replace- theory into practice every day, advancing the struggles thing we do in STRIVE in the Gulf to try to repress ment therapy,” or “I am trans,” the against imperialism, racism, sexism, homophobia, trans- Coast—how we help the com- doctor would be legally required phobia, ableism, the prison-industrial complex—you munity out. Where people come that movement. to inform the parents. Thus effec- name it. together and try to connect our tively outing the trans child to their Hir works—from “Transgender Liberation” to the fight with everyone else’s. And also understand that it’s parents. If a child comes out to a school worker, to the widely influential novel “Stone Butch Blues” to “Rainbow OK to be different; it’s OK to have that difference. principal, to the guidance counselor, the school would Solidarity with Cuba,” on the LGBTQ+ advances made We know, as trans people, it’s gonna be an uphill bat- be legally required to inform the parents that their child in revolutionary Cuba—are all sure to raise your class tle. It’s not even a question. We need that camaraderie has come out. consciousness and inspire you to join in the fight and that combination of how we fight for each other. Oftentimes, if the child has not come out to the par- for your own liberation too. You can read more at To try to continue that fight, because it’s really difficult, ent—and I say this, as someone who grew up in rural workers.org/books and lesliefeinberg.net. especially where we are at in the South. It’s just a battle. Alabama and had a lot of closeted gay friends—when the Thanks, Devin and Indigo! On to trans liberation! ☐ The thing we need to learn is to continue to be bold and child comes out to the teacher continue to push ourselves to take those risks. Because or to the doctor instead of trans youth—they can’t. They’re in a position where the parents, it is because they can’t do that. And we want to be there for them as the parents are not provid- much as we can. So each step that we take, especially as ing an accepting, affirming millennials, helps get them to a place where they can household. freely take that next step toward liberation. So this bill forces the teach- ers and the doctors to repress Devin: Indigo and I have mentioned STRIVE several these children, these LGBTQ+ times now. For the people who don’t know what STRIVE youth. It forces them to is, let me give a little bit of a background. Indigo and repress! LGBTQ+ youth are I live in northwest Florida; we’re bordered right up the easiest targets now in the against Alabama and very close to Mississippi as well. “culture wars.” STRIVE stands for Socialist Trans Initiative. We are a And what can LGBTQ+ transgender advocacy organization. We’re the only one organizing in the past teach of our kind for over 250 miles around. We provide mate- us? It teaches us that the rial support to transgender, nonbinary and [Native] Two youth are the future. That’s Spirit people. We provide emergency housing to trans just the dialectic. That’s a people who are experiencing homelessness; we help fact. The youth will inherit people get on HRT [hormone replacement therapy] every movement. And at this and pay for that. We help pay for utilities, for food, for moment right now, we’re Leslie Feinberg WW PHOTO: LIZA GREEN Free download at workers.org/books. Page 6 June 10, 2021 workers.org Arizona readies use of Nazi death-camp gas in executions By Gloria Rubac 1999 to execute Walter LaGrand—​the last person put to death by lethal gas anywhere in the U.S. The In the United States, where support for state-spon- Tucson Citizen reported “agonizing choking and sored executions has been dropping for the last decade, gasping” during his execution. “He began coughing where fewer people are being condemned to die and violently—​three or four loud hacks—​and made a where fewer executions are being carried out, it seems gagging sound before falling forward.” It took 18 extreme that states are now using firing squads or hang- minutes for LaGrand to die. ings or electrocutions or gas chambers to carry out legal lynchings. Denouncing Arizona’s plans Thanks to excellent work by European activists, drugs Christoph Heubner, executive vice president for lethal injections have become extremely hard to find. of the International Auschwitz Committee, told Drug manufacturers, many based in Europe, will no lon- the New York Times in a June 2 interview, “For ger supply drugs for lethal injections to prison systems, Auschwitz survivors, the world will finally come including in the U.S. States have resorted to using unreg- apart at the seams, if in any place on this Earth, the Anti-death penalty campaigners protest outside the prison in ulated compounding pharmacies to produce the drugs. use of Zyklon B in the killing of human beings is Florence, Ariz., where Joseph Wood was executed July 23, 2014. considered again. In their eyes, this is a disgraceful Nazi death methods act that is unworthy of any democracy and, moreover, Abolitionists are fighting not only to end prisons, as they This spring, the state of Arizona prepared to carry out insults the victims of the Holocaust.” are known today, but also to end legal lynchings. executions with the same gas as the German Nazi regime Martin Weiss, Austrian ambassador to the U.S., As a call and response chant used in Texas says: used. Arizona spent thousands of dollars buying ingredi- tweeted: “The death penalty is in and of itself a cruel “Executions? Shut ‘em down! The death penalty? Shut ents to execute people with a cyanide gas, Zyklon B, which and unusual punishment. Getting ready to use Zyklon B it down! Racist courts? Shut ‘em down! Lying cops? Shut the Nazis used to murder millions of European Jews, the for executions is just beyond the pale.” ‘em down! The whole damn system? Shut it down!” Roma, LGBTQ+ people, communists and other resistancce For death penalty abolitionists, all execution methods fighters in concentration camps between 1942 and 1945. are horrific, as is the death penalty itself. No state, no Gloria Rubac is a decades-long activist in the Texas The last time Arizona used its gas chamber was in government, should be in the practice of killing people. Death Penalty Abolition Movement. Smart Communications – another prison profiteer By Cindy Miller Holding, Inc. And on Sept. 4, 2018, in a leeching money from the families of the was rejected. (thevice.com, March 24) no-bid, 3-year contract, the PA DOC exe- incarcerated. In frustration, many incar- The renewal of this Smart Many people do not realize that the cuted an "emergency" agreement with cerated people in Pennsylvania started to Communications contract is in September, mail one sends to an incarcerated loved Smart Communications to scan and pro- use email to communicate, even though and Food Not Bombs Solidarity, along one in Pennsylvania must now be sent to cess prisoners’ postal mail for $15.8 mil- it costs 25 cents a shot. However in order with incarcerated member Jerome Coffey, Smart Communications in St. Petersburg, lion. (tinyurl.com/3dvv9p3d) to use email, the incarcerated person (or plans another demonstration to expose Fla. There the mail is scanned, then sent It is highly suspect that a company their family) must purchase an electronic and protest the privatization schemes of digitally to prisons in the state, where could be found and a plan could be imple- tablet at a grossly inflated price from the the prison profiteers.☐ copies are printed and distributed to mented in six days; so, was this already prison commissary. recipients. The originals are kept for 45 planned? “They were the only com- Smart Communications days. Incarcerated people never receive pany that could do it as quickly,” Wetzel also offers the potential the actual mail their loved ones sent. claimed. for deep surveillance. In We see this contract for what it truly March 2018, the com- How and why did this happen? is—yet​ another way to completely privat- pany pitched a proposal On Aug. 29, 2018, Pennsylvania ize every facet of an incarcerated person’s for their Mailguard sys- Corrections Secretary John Wetzel life. It extracts any human emotion (like tem to the Virginia DOC. ordered a lockdown of all state facilities getting a real drawing from your child It stated: “Investigators after correctional officials allegedly got instead of a copy) from the daily lives of will have access to the sick from substances in incoming mail. the incarcerated. postal mail sender’s email It didn’t matter that this highly suspect It leaves feelings of simmering rage address, physical address, story was disproven by many. Plus, it is and despair. This is one of the reasons IP address, mobile cell well-known that guards are the major why there are so many angry and rebel- number, GEO GPS location source of drugs in prisons. lious incarcerated people. The prison tracking, exact devices used Yet based on these fabricated accounts, administrations’ solution is to imple- when accessing system, any the Pennsylvania Department of ment yet more and more retaliations and related accounts the sender Corrections contacted Jon Logan, owner punishments. may also make or use.” and CEO of Smart Communications This contract is paid for with tax dollars, Fortunately their proposal Solitary confinement ‘torture chambers’ By Betsey Piette Donna Bullock and State Senators John the U.S. The practice was later widely The event included a mock cell com- Philadelphia Kane and Katie Muth. Both events were discredited and considered inhumane, plete with a concrete bed. Those who had organized by the Human Rights Coalition counterproductive and akin to torture. never experienced solitary confinement Calling for “solidarity, not solitary,” of Pennsylvania (HRC), the Abolitionist But in the 1970s it was widely used, as the were encouraged to spend just five min- dozens of people—​including organizers Law Center (ALC), the Coalition against “war on drugs” led to a rapid rise in mass utes there and reflect on what it would be from prisoners’ rights groups, survivors Death by Incarceration and the Solidarity incarceration. to survive this 24/7. of solitary confinement and state legisla- Not Solitary PA-CAIC (Campaign for At the rally John Thompson, with the tors—​rallied outside the Eastern State Alternatives to Isolated Confinement). ALC, noted that the revitalization of soli- The ‘torture chamber’ of solitary Penitentiary in Philadelphia June 1. The events’ press release stated: tary confinement in the U.S. coincided with Patricia Marshall Vickers, who helped They called for passage of HB1037, “Mental health experts note that solitary state efforts to suppress Black national lib- found the HRC in 2001, described soli- Pennsylvania legislation that would cap confinement causes anxiety and depres- eration. Prison officials particularly tar- tary confinement as “a torture chamber—​ the maximum days in solitary confine- sion in the vast majority of people forced geted organizers who stood up to abuse a means to punish, retaliate, abuse and ment at 15. This is in accordance with ‘in the hole,’ exacerbating existing mental from guards or complained to adminis- mentally break a person.” The HRC has U.N. Standard Minimum Rules for the health issues. The suicide rates for those tration. Thompson said, “Solitary confine- received thousands of letters from dif- Treatment of Prisoners—​named the in solitary confinement are, at minimum, ment was used to break activists.” ferent prisoners across Pennsylvania, all “Nelson Mandela Rules” in honor of the double compared to incarcerated com- Several speakers were survivors of long- describing similar brutal conditions. longtime political prisoner in the strug- munity members sanctioned to ‘general term solitary confinement in Pennsylvania Incarcerated people report being gle against South African apartheid. The population.’ Recidivism rates are also prisons. Their testimonials were very emo- sprayed with a chemical that burns their Pennsylvania legislation would prevent higher for those who have spent time in tional. Many had been released after cases skin, but not being allowed to wash it people under 21, LGBTQ+ people and solitary confinement.” against them were exposed as based on off or receive medical treatment. Many aging (55 years+) community members lies. They emphasized that while they are report being stripped naked and placed from being held in solitary. Birthplace of U.S. solitary confinement survivors, they can’t forget the people still in a “restraint chair,” with arms and feet A June 2 press conference also at Eastern State Penitentiary in confined. One described being stripped strapped to the chair for extended periods Eastern State Penitentiary featured legisla- Philadelphia, opened by Quakers in the naked, air blown on him and a light shone of time. tors in support of HB1037; this was hosted 19th century, was the birthplace of mass on him 24 hours a day. He was chained to Abusive guards withhold or by State Representatives Tina Davis and institutionalized solitary confinement in a metal bed for months. Continued on page 7 workers.org June 10, 2021 Page 7 The new abolitionists By Mumia Abu-Jamal through the annals of time and gave us they cannot abide. Slavery. Mass incar- new ways of reliving the abolitionist creed ceration. The death penalty. Juvenile life. If we are to adopt the name of aboli- in new eras of U.S. history. Solitary confinement. Police terrorism. tionist, let us do so openly, mindfully and Both Howard Zinn and Staughton Those goals are worthy of the name aware of its great and true significance. Lynd, two of the most-loved and most-re- “abolitionist.” Only the fire and will seem For guild history has rewritten the texts spected historians of the 1960s, saw the to be lacking. Let us recover their vision—​ and penned what Black historian Lerone youth of the Civil Rights Movement as the and build new ones that soar towards the It is our abolitionist duty to hear Bennett has called “theology” rather than new abolitionists. bright morning of Freedom. Douglass well, as we tackle monsters we truth to depict some figures of the past, to Abolitionists are, simply put, those And yet—​and yet—​before we hug dare to think are new, but are, in actuality, create a past that never lived. beings who look out upon their time and ourselves in isolated, sweet self-content- “old wine in new bottles.” If he had been We all know of Lincoln, for we were say, “No.” ment, let us ponder our history and one of heeded, perhaps Reconstruction could’ve taught of him as children: “The Great They want to abolish state policies that its most potent turning points. been extended, instead of its miserable Emancipator.” Bennett’s view is that he Our revered abolitionist ancestor, 10 years. Instead, too many abolitionists was (as were most men of his era) a white Frederick Douglass, as the Civil War took off their fighting clothes and went supremacist who was “forced into glory” was dying down in favor of the ending back home, satisfied that the good fight (the title of Bennett’s book, by the way). of slavery, warned his abolitionist breth- had been won. He was many things, but he wasn’t an ren and sisters to beware of thinking that Let us fight with Light in our eyes, that abolitionist. the battle was over. In his typical, lyri- we see what is before us, and not succumb In his pre-presidential speech before cal, Southern-informed proverb, he told to New Jim Crows, ever again. Cooper Union in New York, Lincoln gave them: “Slavery has been fruitful in giving Long live John Africa! a contemptuous tone to his comments itself names. It has been called 'the pecu- In the Spirit of the Ancestors! about “abolitionists,” and he took great liar institution,' 'the social system' and pains to separate himself from a group 'the impediment.' This column, originally published seen as mad by the elites. John Brown, “It has been called by a great many June 17, 2015, is part of a series of perhaps the noblest white figure of his names, and it will call itself by yet another “Abolition Statements” from members age, is but a madman on Lincoln’s tongue. name; and you and I and all of us had bet- of the Abolition Journal Collective and But any considered vista of history ter wait and see what new form this old Editorial Review Board. See more at shows us that this small, focused and Mumia Abu-Jamal monster will assume, in what new skin tinyurl.com/5ddunrjr. brave group sent vibrations of honor this old snake will come forth next.” The last words of Shaka Sankofa By Shaka Sankofa stand together in unity and to demand a that we get my name as Shaka Sankofa. state-sanctioned murder, state-sanc- moratorium on all executions. My name is not Gary Graham. Make sure tioned lynching, right here in America, Shaka Sankofa was lynched by the We must not let this murder/lynching that it is properly presented on my grave: and right here tonight. state of Texas June 22, 2000. These were be forgotten tonight. We must take it to Shaka Sankofa. They know I’m innocent. They’ve got his last words: the nation. We must keep our faith. We We must move forward. Minister the facts to prove it. But they cannot I would like to say that I did not kill must go forward. We recognize that many Robert Muhammed. Ashanti Chimurenga, acknowledge my innocence, because to Bobby Lambert. That I’m an innocent leaders have died: Malcolm X, Martin I love you for standing with me, my sister. do so would be to publicly admit their Black man who is being murdered. This is Luther King Jr. and others who stood You are a strong warrior queen. You will guilt. This is something these racist peo- a lynching happening in America tonight. up for what was right. They stood up for continue to be strong in everything that ple will never do. There’s overwhelming and compelling what was just. We must, you must, carry you do. Reverend Al Sharpton, I love you, You must stay strong. You must con- evidence of my innocence that has never on that tradition. We may lose this battle, my brother. Bianca Jagger. I love all of tinue to hold your heads up and to be been heard in any court of America. What but we will win the war. This death, this you. Reverend Jesse Jackson, know that there. I love all of you who are standing is happening here is an outrage for any lynching will be avenged. this murder, this lynching will not be for- with me in solidarity. We will prevail. civilized country, to anybody anywhere, So, you all stay strong, continue to gotten. I love you, too, my brother. This is We will keep marching. Keep marching, to look at what’s happening here. It is move forward. Know that I love all of genocide in America. Black people, Black power. They are kill- wrong. I thank all of the people who have you. I love the people, I love all of you You can kill a revolutionary, but you ing me tonight. They are murdering me rallied to my cause. They’ve been stand- for your strength, for your courage, for cannot stop the revolution. The revolu- tonight. ☐ ing in support of me and have finished your dignity, the way you have come here tion will go on. You are the people that with me. tonight and the way you have protested must carry that revolution on in order to I say to Mr. Lambert’s family, I did not and kept this nation together. Keep mov- liberate our children from genocide. kill Bobby Lambert. You are pursuing the ing forward. Slavery couldn’t stop us. The To my sons, to my daughters, I love all execution of an innocent man. lynchings couldn’t stop us in the South. of you. You have been wonderful. Keep I want to express my sincere thanks to This lynching will not stop us tonight. We your heads up. Keep moving forward. all of you. We must continue to move for- will go forward. Our destiny in this coun- We will gain our freedom and liberation ward and do everything we can to outlaw try is freedom and liberation. We will gain in this country, and we will do it by any legal lynching in America. We must con- our freedom and liberation by any means means necessary. We will keep marching. tinue to stay strong all around the world, necessary. By any means necessary, we March on, Black people. Keep your heads and people must come together to stop keep marching forward. high. March on. the systematic killing of poor and inno- Bianca [Jagger], make sure that the We’re going to end the death penalty Shaka Sankofa cent Black people. We must continue to state does not get my body. Make sure in this country. This is nothing more than Solitary confinement ‘torture chambers’ Continued from page 6 Pennsylvania prisons. three recent major victories against soli- “This is the start of people seeing the Commenting on the recent one- tary confinement in New Jersey, New York system for what it is,” said Saudia Durrant contaminate their food. Water in cells year anniversary of the police mur- and in Allegheny County in Pennsylvania, with the ALC. “In Pennsylvania prisons, is cut off for days. Guards turn off heat der of George Floyd, Vickers said, “We where Pittsburgh is located. there are over 2,000 people every day—​ in the winter and air conditioning in the face police brutality on the disproportionately Black, summer. Basic rights like sunshine and streets, and the exact same Brown and poor—​sub- showers are denied. Guards charge into thing happens inside the jected to the state-spon- solitary cells, severely beat the incarcer- prisons where our loved ones sored violence of solitary, ated person and subject them to constant face abusive guards. We need hidden behind prison walls verbal abuse. Incarcerated people with laws that hold the guards and removed from human mental health issues are told by guards accountable.” connection and rehabili- to “go ahead and kill yourself.” tation. To transform our Vickers stated that “85% of people in Abolish solitary! societies, we must end solitary are there for disobeying an order, Organizers expressed opti- the use of long-term iso- not for violent behavior. Pennsylvania mism for passage of HB1037, lation and create alterna- prison administrators claim no one is held as situated within a broader tive methods of care and past 90 days, but we know they have held wave of racial justice organiz- rehabilitation.” people for years.” Former Black Panther ing and legislation seeking to Party member Russell Maroon Shoatz reform and abolish solitary Inside the Eastern State Penitentiary, WW PHOTO: JOE PIETTE Marta Guttenberg con- spent 33 years in solitary confinement in confinement. There were supporters gather for HB1037 on June 2. tributed to this article. Page 8 June 10, 2021 workers.org For anti-imperialist solidarity in defense of Syria! By Ted Kelly Syrian state protects these rights and of Puerto Rico, a U.S. colony. identities? And considers the mosaic of There are at least 1,000 U.S. These remarks are excerpted from a Syrian multiethnic, multireligious soci- military bases around the June 3 livestream event, “Eyewitness ety an asset? world—​that we know of!—​ Syria,” featuring speakers from the Ask them if they know that today, June including in countries the U.S. International Delegation to the 2021 3, in Al-Malikiyah (Derik in Kurdish) an is currently blockading, like Syrian Presidential Election. Speakers Assyrian activist named Husam Alkass Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. Johnny Achi, Kobi Guillory, Wyatt was abducted by the YPG, an anti-govern- One-third of the population of Miller and Ted Kelly were all sig- ment, ethno-nationalist Kurdish militia the planet, one in three human natories to the delegation’s state- armed and funded by the Pentagon. This beings, is sanctioned by the ment, found at bit.ly/syria2021. kidnapping could only have taken place U.S. Before you decide whether A full video of this event can be found at with the cooperation of the so-called these people are worthy of your youtu.be/SVPYMUR5sKs. Syrian Democratic Forces, the anti-gov- solidarity, are you going to go ernment militia also armed and funded scan through the Wikipedia National self-determination—​the by the Pentagon. page of each of these 40 coun- national question—​is central to our Ask them if they know that in Derik, tries to see if you agree with A full video can be found at youtu.be/SVPYMUR5sKs. analysis. It is central to an understand- where this kidnapping took place, in the results of their most recent ing of the global class war that Sam Al-Hasakah, over a million people are election? Marcy laid out going back to 1950. (See experiencing water scarcity because of the That would be chauvinism, imperialist language, history, specific features, etc., workers.org/marcy for Marcy’s writings combined catastrophe of U.S. sanctions chauvinism of the worst kind: the deluded but also because such exposure is part of on the subject.) and U.S./Turkish military occupation. kind, the kind that doesn’t even know it’s imperialist intrigue, and not an interna- As the Communist Manifesto says, chauvinism or pretends it doesn’t know. tionalist duty. “The history of all hitherto existing soci- Problems of Western left on Syria Instead, it’s much easier to be a rev- “[One] is not an internationalist who eties is the history of class struggle.” But even beyond the lack of knowledge olutionary for someone else’s country. vows and swears by internationalism. We know that, in our society, national of what the Syrian state does do right, Where you aren’t the One is an internation- oppression is not secondary to this his- there is something deeply racist and one risking your life, alist who in a really tory but is a central component of it. deeply self-centered about this “leftist” where your family If you truly care about internationalist way The 20th century taught us that social- attitude towards Syria. This is a problem isn’t at risk of being the Syrian people, let’s combats ‘his own’ ist revolutions tied to national liberation on the left in the U.S. right now. Groups displaced or hurt or bourgeoisie, ‘his own’ struggles are the most successful. that are extremely hostile to Syria’s sov- killed. Where it isn’t start with the root of social-chauvinists. Our role is to bring a revolutionary ereign state range from anarchists to pac- your water infrastruc- “Socialists in every class consciousness to the working class, ifists to “socialists” who compromise with ture, your roads, your the problem. That’s country must now to national movements, to movements capitalism. schools and hospitals what being a radical unfailingly and more of identity and oppression. But our role Lt. Colonel Alfred Dreyfus was a right- being destroyed. You vigorously than usual is also to understand and emphasize the wing artillery officer and commander can feel like a revo- is: addressing things expose their own gov- interconnectedness of capitalist oppres- in the imperial France army. Does that lutionary and over- ernment and their sion with national oppression and gender mean that the socialists and anti-racists throw a government at the root. The root own bourgeoisie. They oppression. should have said nothing when in 1894, without any of the of the problem, the must expose the secret We need to make sure movements he was falsely convicted of treason as hard work of building agreements they have of revolutionary socialists don’t lose part of a festering explosion of anti-Jew- a new workers' state root of all this evil, ‘the concluded, and are their sensitivity to these questions, and, ish paranoia? Should other French Jews in its place. concluding, with their indeed, that the movement of revolution- have said, “we don’t agree with his poli- You get the picture? greatest purveyor of imperialist allies for ary socialism is led by the most oppressed. tics, so I guess we don’t have any stake in It’s chauvinism. It’s the division of colo- this racist frame-up”? liberalism. Nothing violence in the world nies, spheres of influ- Confronting disinformation about Syria Are you going to tell me that you have made this more clear today,’ as Dr. Martin ence, joint financial We have to be dialectical about this. nothing to protest about the kidnapping to me than visiting undertakings in other We have to investigate a system, study its of Alex Saab because he is a business- Syria and speaking to Luther King Jr. said, ‘is countries, buying up internal contradictions, the forces work- man? As if, well, I only protest the false Syrians. I am so grate- my own government.’ of shares, monopoly ing on the system. arrest and kidnapping of revolutionary ful to Johnny Achi, arrangements, conces- An understanding of the Syrian state socialists. Or anarchists. Or whatever. E.E., co-founder, sions, etc.” can lead you to understand that the multi- Who are these Westerners that are Arab Americans for Syria, for making that The rise of right-wing political Islam cultural, multiethnic, multireligious char- setting parameters on anti-imperial- possible. These are things I knew in my and the funding, training and arming of acter of Syria is central to its functioning. ist solidarity? Since when were we only head before, but now I also know them in these reactionary right-wing groups, like There is a lot of effort being put into supposed to get out of bed when social- my heart. I know them in my soul. Johnny Achi said, is all being done in diverting attention or confusing this ist countries are under attack? When the order to install puppet regimes in these understanding of self-determination. monstrous armies of empire are directed Lenin on the national question countries. To understand first of all that Carving up Syria into segregated ethno- towards colonized or developing coun- V.I. Lenin said: “The Socialist of this is not a civil war, but rather an impe- graphic enclaves and then backing separat- tries who don’t share our particular politi- another country cannot expose the gov- rialist attack by foreign capitalists, is ist efforts is an imperialist tactic; we saw cal analysis, do we say, “not my problem”? ernment and bourgeoisie of a country at to begin to understand what the Syrian this in Iraq. I’m glad someone in the chat There are 39 sovereign countries under war with ‘his own’ nation, and not only people have been resisting. And what the asked about the so-called area of Rojava in U.S. sanctions—40​ including the nation because he does not know that country’s Axis of Resistance, the allied forces in the Syria; that’s become a very big meme for region, are up against. people on the online Western left. Ask yourself: what are you doing to But ask those who are calling for the fight back against the suffocating sanc- overthrow of a sovereign government tions imposed on Syria? Which gov- because they read something online ernment do you have the ability to hold about the Kurds, ask them if they know accountable? If you truly care about the about Syria’s protection of the right of Syrian people, let’s start with the root of self-determination for the Assyrians. Or the problem. That’s what being a radical the Armenians. Or the Yazidis. Ask them is: addressing things at the root. The root about the protection of religious/ethnic of the problem, the root of all this evil, groups in Syria like the Druze, Alawi, “the greatest purveyor of violence in the Jews and Greek Orthodox followers. world today,” as Dr. Martin Luther King Why don’t they know that the current Jr. said, “is my own government.” ☐ The International Delegation to the 2021 Syrian Presidential Election.

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Visit countries lead the way to the future serves the military-industrial complex, which, willy-nilly, is workers.org/books to get your copy. World View Forum WVF propelled in the direction of imperialist war.” workers.org/books • What is socialism? Read it online at workers.org/books. workers.org June 10, 2021 Page 9 Delegation fights to win Alex Saab’s freedom By Sara Flounders during harrowing night visits. They Sal Island, Cabo Verde cut his wrist with a knife on three different occasions, demanding he Flounders took part in a delegation that traveled to sign an agreement of extradition. Cabo Verde in solidarity with Venezuelan diplomat Alex During the period of confine- Saab, who was abducted in June 2020 on orders of the ment, Saab was held for seven U.S. and held under onerous conditions since then on months of darkness, 23 hours a two of C.V.’s ten islands. Cabo Verde is an archipelago day, in a bare concrete cell. It was nation, whose population is 560,000, located 400 miles hard to keep from screaming at across the Atlantic Ocean to the west of Dakar, Senegal, these facts. in West Africa. And in addition, Saab, who has cancer, has been prevented from June 5—​Our delegation from the International seeing his oncologist the entire #FreeAlexSaab Solidarity Committee reached Sal Island time he has been in prison. June 3, hoping to meet with Alex Saab and his legal team and anxious to put an end to his illegal abduction and Meeting with ambassador torturous confinement and to stop an extradition to the We also met June 3 with United States that would violate international law and Alejandro Correa Ortega, disgrace Cabo Verde’s sovereignty before its allies in Venezuelan ambassador to Cabo Africa. Verde. Correa confirmed that when Our goal was to mobilize support to free this Saab was arrested—​based on an Venezuelan diplomat, who was sequestered on political Interpol order of June 12, 2020—​ Delegation from the International #FreeAlexSaab PHOTO: INTERNATIONAL ACTION CENTER command by U.S. imperialism. Our additional goal was within three hours of the arrest, Solidarity Committee in Cabo Verde to establish the facts regard- Venezuela made ing Saab’s seizure and the Our goal was to mobilize official notification to C.V. officials of corpus, falsely claiming that Saab was only held under unjust and brutal handling Alex Saab’s diplomatic immunity. house arrest. of his person and to bring support to free this Saab was originally held in a cell on He has no access to the internet or phone. He was, these facts before the world. Saint Vincent Island and was moved to however, able to send us a note that he heard of our Saab’s case is being Venezuelan diplomat, Sal Island a week later. Correa was first delegation. fought in the Cabo Verde who was sequestered allowed to meet with Saab June 20, eight Supreme Court, so he can- days after his seizure, and then not until Saab’s message not be immediately extra- on political command July 20. Later efforts to meet with Saab “My brothers and sisters, I cannot tell you how dited. But we fear that by U.S. imperialism. Our were denied. touched, how moved and how eternally grateful I am for unless we can bring inter- It was outrageous both to deny Saab, your support and your expressions of goodwill. . . . national pressure on both additional goal was himself a diplomat, these visits and “I can only hope that President Biden and all his advi- the U.S. and Cape Verdean doubly illegal to prevent visits by the sors and especially the people of the DOJ [Department of governments, Saab will be to establish the facts Venezuelan ambassador. Justice] are watching and finally waking up to the devas- abducted to the U.S. where regarding Saab’s seizure Like Saab’s attorney, Correa con- tation their illegal sanctions and political blockade have he could disappear in the firmed that Saab described to him the perpetrated against the good people of Venezuela. U.S. injustice system. and the unjust and brutal torture, night visits and the rest of the “I am a lawfully appointed diplomat, as you have We have succeeded in handling of his person treatment that violated his human rights. acknowledged. My detention is illegal and arbitrary by gaining media coverage in Both Dr. Pinto and Ambassador any reading of international law, and this has been fur- various African countries and to bring these facts Correa confirmed that Saab was denied ther confirmed as so by the ECOWAS regional Court and in mobilizing support before the world. legal assistance from a larger team of of Justice on March 15. [ECOWAS is the Economic from the expatriate C.V. lawyers who were available to defend Community of West African States.] community in Boston, espe- him, that he was denied visits by diplo- “Disappointingly, Cape Verde has chosen to ignore cially from the Boston School Bus Drivers Union, United matic representatives and was denied visits from doc- the binding ruling of the ECOWAS court, as well as Steelworkers Local 8751, and in bringing this important tors, including his oncologist. the fact that the court has jurisdiction to deal with the struggle before the progressive movement in the U.S. matter. The fact that Cape Verde now wishes to renege Refusal by police on international treaties to which it has signed should It’s a political charge In our attempt to visit Saab, we went to two differ- be a warning to all future investors in the country and While the Cabo Verde police prevented us from meet- ent police stations to meet with the police chief and gain anyone thinking that Cape Verde is a stable long-term ing with Alex Saab, meetings with his lawyer in C.V.—​ permission to visit. In both cases we were given run- partner. ...” Dr. José Manuel Pinto Monteiro—and​ with Venezuelan arounds. We then attempted to send a recording from ambassador Alejandro Correa Ortega allowed us to our delegation. Worldwide support grows establish the true nature of the charges against Saab and From the street near the building where his kidnap- The delegation’s visit led to media coverage in Ghana how he was treated in captivity. Saab’s own message to pers are holding Saab, you can see that he is surrounded (ghanaweb.com), Cabo Verde (affairstv.com), Nigeria the delegation confirmed these results. by military police and security with automatic weapons, (platformtimes.com.ng, citimirrornews.com), and Saab was arrested for alleged “money laundering” at including snipers on the roof. They grabbed this writer’s other countries, including Portugal and Spain, and in a plane refueling in Cabo Verde a year ago, while on his phone briefly, with its camera, but photos were able to the Orinoco Tribune of Venezuela (orinocotribune.com). way from Venezuela to Tehran in an attempt to arrange be saved. deliveries of food, medicine and fuel oil for the people It is obvious Saab is imprisoned and being held by The trip coincided with a petition campaign being of Venezuela. From the discussions we held, we could force on Sal. He is allowed no movement, and our promoted internationally and especially in the U.S. determine that Saab’s seizure had political roots—​no visit was prohibited. It was important to establish his Please take less than a minute and sign the petition: crime was involved—​with the U.S. behind the seizure, imprisonment, as the C.V. courts denied suits for habeas and that his treatment violated his human rights and bit.ly/FreeAlexSaabVZ diplomatic status. The defense team for Alex Saab makes the point that “it is the executive, not the courts, that decided to arrest Saab. It is the executive, not the courts, that stalled the release of Alex Saab on June 25, 2020, when Interpol cancelled the Red notice so that their American friends could issue the extradition request, and it is the execu- tive as the Supreme Court of Cape Verde itself that has indicated it must decide the ultimate fate of Alex Saab.”

Meeting with attorney We met June 3 with Dr. Pinto, Saab’s lawyer, who moved to Sal Island so he could meet with Saab 40 min- utes each day within the total of four hours a week the courts allow. FREE Besides this writer, others in the delegation included Roger Harris from Corte Madeira, Calif., and two Cabo Verde citizens living among the large expatriate C.V. POLITICAL population of New England, Bishop Felipe Teixeira and Pericles Tevares. Dr. Pinto confirmed to us Saab’s description of torture PRISONER carried out by two people with U.S. American accents, who put a bag over his head and threatened his life ALEX SAAB Page 10 June 10, 2021 workers.org editorial Naomi Osaka’s treatment raises question Are pro athletes exploited workers? In the Communist Manifesto, Karl commodification of even highly paid—​ banned from boxing and found guilty of lawsuit over pay discrepancies between Marx and Friedrich Engels describe the and highly skilled—professional​ athletes. draft evasion for refusing to fight in the men and women in professional soccer. degrading character of work under cap- They are chastised and punished when Vietnam War. Tommie Smith and John Nowhere is the pay differential more italism, whereby workers “are a com- they prioritize their personal well-being Carlos were ostracized for their coura- glaring than in pro basketball. The base modity,” and the worker “becomes an over the business of athletic competition. geous black-fisted protest at the 1968 minimum salary in the Women’s National appendage of the machine.” This is most notably the case with Mexico City Summer Olympics. Colin Basketball Association is $58,710 com- This was written in 1848, but the dehu- Black athletes and other athletes of color. Kaepernick and LeBron James have been pared to around $925,000 in the NBA. manization still exists. A worker becomes Osaka withdrew from the competition vilified for their social justice activism. The WNBA players have stood out for an appendage of their work—​be it a altogether “to protect my mental health.” White male fans recently physi- their activism. Their on-court protests hotel, a fast food restaurant or an Amazon cally assaulted Black basketball players for Black Lives Matter have inspired ath- More than a century of racist indignities warehouse. The capitalists only see value Kyrie Irving, Trae Young and Russell letes of all genders—​and generations—​ in what a worker can produce, not their The racist treatment of Osaka is part of Westbrook during the NBA playoffs. to take stronger positions against white value as a whole human person. a thread running through the entire his- But solidarity is always there. supremacy. Correspondingly, the bosses of the tory of professional sports in the U.S. Prominent Black athletes rallied behind The overarching patriarchal culture in sports-industrial complex treat a profes- In the early years of professional Ali, and players of all races have emu- pro sports makes it difficult, even in 2021, sional athlete as a mere appendage of the sports, Indigenous players such as Jim lated Kaepernick’s “taking the knee.” for LGBTQ+ players to come out of the game. Thorpe (football) and Louis Sockalexis Basketball stars Stephen Curry and closet. A March 2020 study shows half This was underscored recently by the (baseball) were subjected to racist abuse. Kyrie Irving, Olympic gymnast Laurie of them experiencing taunts or insults. treatment of tennis superstar Naomi Teams adopted names and created mas- Hernandez, Olympic runner Usain Bolt, (salon.com, April 8) Osaka. Since her win in the 2018 U.S. cots demeaning to Indigenous people and tennis great Serena Williams and several Women, gender-oppressed and Open, an insensitive—​and worse—​bar- culture. These names are only beginning Japanese athletes have supported Osaka. LGBTQ+ players of color are doubly and rage of reporter comments has com- to be dropped, while some teams, nota- triply abused in the cesspool of bigotry pounded her struggles with depression bly the Atlanta baseball and Kansas City Patriarchy rules supreme that is professional sports. and anxiety. Osaka—​whose mother is football, are steadfastly holding onto their Golfer Michelle Wie West has reversed In the final analysis, even with high Japanese and father is Haitian—​has offensive team names. plans to retire from playing, goaded into salaries, athletes are still workers and been questioned about everything from Courageous athletes who “broke the action by Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani’s are expected to generate profit—​what her race, nationality, age and mental color line”—​including Wataru Misaka blatantly sexist and racist comments triv- Marxists call surplus value—for​ the team health challenges to her on-court per- (1947, NBA), Earl Lloyd (1950, NBA), ializing her athleticism. owners. formance against Serena Williams and Jackie Robinson (1947, MLB) and Marion Women and gender-oppressed athletes We hail the courage of Naomi Osaka her principled solidarity with Black Lives Motley and Bill Willis (All-America are treated as second-class players, if that. and all those who have taken on white Matter. Football Conference, later NFL)—​ Not only are they insulted, diminished, supremacy, misogyny, anti-LGBTQ2S+ Osaka was fined $15,000 after declin- endured taunts, slurs and even death marginalized and sexualized, they are bigotry, ableism and the profits-be- ing to participate in post-match media threats throughout their careers. grossly underpaid. Megan Rapinoe, cap- fore-people mindset—​on and off the interviews during the French Open. This A bold stand on political issues rarely tain of the U.S. women’s soccer team, is playing field. ☐ spotlights, for the umpteenth time, the goes unpunished. Muhammad Ali was leading a sex-discrimination class action In solidarity with Naomi Osaka Statement from Disability Justice and Rights Caucus of Workers World Party

The Disability Justice and Rights 25 percent of people with depression also long-standing practice of any boss and far Caucus of Workers World Party expresses suffer from anxiety. too many doctors. Osaka’s decision not its unwavering solidarity with tennis Being “depressed” or “anxious” is often to do press interviews, in order to pro- player Naomi Osaka. said when feeling sad or nervous. This is tect her mental health, should have been Once again Osaka has drawn attention not the same as depression that makes you respected, not fined. to problems so many people face every doubt yourself or question your abilities. Tennis has been a growing multibil- day. The world’s second-ranked tennis lion-dollar industry since 2016, based player stated she would not participate in Depression and mental health on the combined revenue from televi- Naomi Osaka press interviews following her matches at Osaka said she has been dealing with sion and live streaming of the Australian the 2021 French Open because she needs depression since her 2018 U.S. Open win Open, French Open, Wimbledon and the wore a mask emblazoned with the name to protect her mental health. over Serena Williams. That match grew U.S. Open. of a Black person killed by cops. The Other athletes have also spoken openly more and more contentious after racist parents of Trayvon Martin and Armaud about their struggles with depression, treatment of Williams cost her a point Spokesperson for social justice Arbery publicly thanked Osaka for wear- such as National Basketball Association and a game. Post-match press questions Naomi Osaka has taken on this mon- ing a mask bearing their murdered sons’ players Kyrie Irving, DeMar DeRozan and also cast doubt on Osaka’s skills and ey-making machine before. During the names after she won the U.S. Open. Kevin Love, along with Olympic swim- tennis acumen, implying that Williams global pandemic, three of the four majors Naomi Osaka is setting an example of ming champion Michael Phelps. Osaka is didn’t lose because Osaka outplayed her. went ahead with their tournaments, say- speaking out against racism while defend- the first major athlete in recent memory That kind of hostility can crush anyone. ing they could not afford to lose so much ing her mental health needs. In doing so, to walk away from a tournament to pro- Osaka was 20 years old at the time. She income. she becomes a leader for the next gen- tect her mental health. was playing her first major tournament, She spoke frequently about the rac- eration to demand better treatment and The fact that Osaka is considered by in which she reached a final in a Grand ism she faces because she is Haitian- more respect. She can connect to more many to be the world’s best women’s ten- Slam—one of the four most prestigious Japanese. She has been outspoken against people through Instagram and Twitter nis player has helped elevate the issue of tennis tournaments. police brutality. When Jacob Blake was than she can answering the inane and mental health to a major global topic. It is no surprise that depression took paralyzed after being shot seven times repetitive questions asked in post-match Osaka’s decision did not sit well with hold and ultimately stayed with Osaka. in the back by Kenosha, Wis., police, she briefings. the French Open officials, who fined her Serena Williams has also spoken out stepped back from playing in the semi-fi- It will take getting rid of capitalism and $15,000 for not going to the press room about her post-partum depression. At nals of the Western and Southern Open. the profit motive that ignores our needs after winning her first match on May 31. the French Open in 2018, she wore a On her Twitter feed, Osaka stated, “I to ultimately build a society that respects They even threatened to disqualify Osaka compression suit to prevent more blood don’t expect anything drastic to happen the health and well-being of workers and if she refused to participate in any press clots from forming. This is another time with me not playing, but if I can get a con- stamps out racism, gender bias, bigotry, briefings. That is when Osaka decided to that French Open officials overrode the versation started in a majority white sport hostility to disabled people and all similar withdraw entirely from the French Open, health of a player. They banned the suit I consider that a step in the right direc- oppressions. ☐ rather than let officials deny her control from being worn. tion. Watching the continued genocide of over her life. It was only after Naomi Osaka posted Black people at the Depression affects over 264 million a statement detailing more informa- hand of the police people worldwide. It can be a debilitating tion about her depression, introversion is honestly mak- condition that makes daily life functions and anxiety, that the French Open offi- ing me sick to my difficult. People with depression often iso- cials eased up on their hostility toward stomach.” (Aug. 27, late themselves because interactions are her. It was not enough for her to say her 2020) so difficult to carry out. Depression takes mental health had to be protected. They At every U.S. over your thoughts, your confidence, your forced her to say more. Having to “prove” Open match Osaka willingness to get through the day. Nearly your depression, to explain yourself, is a played in 2020, she workers.org June 10, 2021 Page 11 In Palestine, police raids—and resistance By Minnie Bruce Pratt inside and outside Israeli-enforced borders This is not just an attempt at intimida- motion described Israel’s assaults on acted together in a powerful show of unity. tion, and it is not just a policy of intim- Gaza as the “ongoing ethnic cleansing of In the struggle of the Palestinian peo- The strike pressured the Israeli state to call idation. This is an unprecedented war Palestinians” and pointed out that “illegal ple for self-determination and against off its genocidal attacks. on Palestinians at home, and it will be settlement expansion represents flagrant Israeli occupation, a new stage of resis- This May 18 was the 72nd anniversary carried out under the cover of a humil- breaches of international law.” It cited tance seems to be emerging. of the Palestinian Nakba, when in 1948 iating silence. Our people must act now a growing list of human rights groups On May 10, the U.S.-backed Israeli Israeli military forces drove 700,000 and immediately to thwart this war. The which say that Israeli policy amounts to Defense Forces began another genocidal Palestinians out of their homes into exile whole world must be shaken now.” (mid- apartheid and crimes against humanity. bombing of Gaza, Palestine territory, and destroyed hundreds of towns and vil- dleeasteye.net, May 24) The Belfast motion follows calls in the which under occupation has become an lages, in order to form the state of Israel. According to Al Jazeera, Israeli Irish parliament to impose sanctions on enormous open air prison. police say 1,550 Palestinians living Israel. (middleeastmonitor.com, June 3) That latest assault was retaliation for Police raids on resistance in Israel have been Meanwhile, more Palestinian resistance, for neighbors Within a week of the general strike, arrested since May 9. than 1,000 Canadian trying to stop illegal Zionist evictions of Israel retaliated against the strength- (tinyurl.com/7rwvjkvz) artists and workers Palestinian families in Sheikh Jarrah, ened resistance by ordering mass arrests signed an open let- a neighborhood in East Jerusalem. At of Palestinians who are Israeli citizens. International solidarity ter of solidarity with the same time, Israeli police raided Police raids began May 24 under opera- But Palestine is not Palestinians living Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque during the tion “Law and Order,” a plan approved by alone. People around under Israel’s military Eid Al-Fitr prayers signaling the end of Minister of Internal Security Amir Ohana the world have been out occupation. The letter Ramadan for millions of Muslims around and Commissioner of Israeli Police Kobi in the streets in solidar- Belfast, Ireland, supports Palestine, denounces Israel for the world. Shabtai. ity, and others are fight- Sept. 11, 2018. its “apartheid and set- Then, May 18, ten of thousands of Palestinian citizens of Israel, who make ing for institutional and tler colonialism” and Palestinian workers throughout the occu- up 20% of the population, have shared governmental support for Palestine. calls for Canadian cultural institutions pied territories staged a general strike to warnings of the Israeli mass arrests on In Ireland, the City Council of Belfast to support Palestine through the Boycott, protest the Israeli evictions and assaults. social media: “This is a declaration of war. passed a motion June 2 supporting Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) cam- As forces in Gaza fired rockets in self-de- The Israelis will storm more than 500 the expulsion of the Israeli ambassa- paign by ending cooperation with Israeli- fense against Israeli bombing, Palestinians homes to kidnap our children and youth. dors from both Ireland and Britain. The sponsored art and cultural activities. ☐

Cops kicked out of Seattle Pride events

By Jim McMahan groups, LeFevre said it’s likely cops are marches—decried his and other racist permitted freeway activity, did not pre- Seattle aligned with some of them. The CHPF police killings. vent the high-speed vehicle from enter- expressed support for the banning of cops Last summer, the Capitol Hill ing the highway. Following the anti-police Stonewall at New York City Pride activities. Organized Protest took place in Seattle’s Taylor and her anti-racist, pro- tradition, organizers of important annual Elayne Wylie, producer of Trans Pride LGBTQ2S+ community, with many of its LGBTQ2S+ legacy will be long remem- Pride events in Seattle are saying: “No Seattle, as well as executive director of members involved in the strong anti-po- bered. Ever since her death, Black Lives to racist, bigoted cops at LGBTQ+ Pride the Gender Justice League said, “We have lice, anti-racist and anti-gentrification Matter marchers have organized their Month!” produced something similar since 2017. mobilization there. In the CHOP action, own car brigades to surround their Charlette LeFevre and Philip Lipson, We have limited the presence of SPD by which lasted for over a month, demon- demonstrations as they proceed down directors of the Capitol Hill Pride Festival enacting our own internal security mea- strators occupied a 6-square-block area city streets. The cops usually follow them (CHPF), announced in a press release sures.” She said that in 2019, “our team around the police department’s East but stay far behind the protesters. issued May 21 that cops will be banned was able to prevent more than 150 incur- Precinct headquarters. Seattle PrideFest, which draws sev- from their June 26-27 events this year. sions from that small group of [ultra- Continuous protests on their very door- eral hundred thousand people, will be Trans Pride Seattle, which mobilizes a right] Proud Boys. I don’t think that the steps overwhelmed the cops and forced held virtually. Egan Orion, director of strong march, rally and festival every SPD could have done that . . . our commu- them to evacuate the building. This came PrideFest, which has big-money corpo- year, agrees with banning participation nity was very motivated.” after the police had used tear gas and rate sponsors, expressed a desire to move by the cops, which this organization has other weapons against demonstrators. away from police involvement. But the done since 2017. Year of protests vs. police terror On July 4, 2020, Summer Taylor, a big banks and corporations supporting While announcing the ban on police The decisions to bar police participa- nonbinary, anti-racist activist, was run the event would oppose that. attending Pride events, the CHPF called tion at Pride activities followed and were over and killed during a Black Femme However, LeFevre stresses, “We can't on the Seattle Police Department to fire influenced by the year of demonstrations March against police violence on trust any officer. Regarding the police, the six cops who traveled to the Jan. 6 across the country against police vio- nearby Interstate 5 in Seattle. Another we’re done!” Washington, D.C., racist invasion of the lence after cops murdered George Floyd demonstrator, Diaz Love, was critically Capitol. On the issue of how the Pride in Minneapolis May 25, 2020. Millions of injured. The cops, who were supposed Source: South Seattle Emerald, May 31. Fest would be protected from far-right people—in multinational, multigender to be preventing traffic from entering the Kathy Durkin contributed to this article.

Proyecto 1619: Educadores progresistas opuestos a legislación reaccionaria

Continúa de la página 12 y mejorar el mundo actual”. Su sitio web poder de la organización y la solidaridad Todos los estudiantes merecen una edu- contiene una gran cantidad de planes de que nos hacen avanzar hacia una sociedad cación responsable basada en la verdad y Si tienen éxito, los profesores de estos lecciones y artículos descargables gratui- más justa”. el respeto a la humanidad. estados se verán obligados a enseñar con tamente, que “hacen hincapié en el papel Además, el Zinn Education Project y Incluso los acontecimientos históricos libros de texto de historia blanqueados de los trabajadores, las mujeres, la gente Black Lives Matter at School están inten- más espantosos, repulsivos y controver- que borran las luchas y contribuciones de de color y los movimientos sociales orga- tando concienciar al público sobre el daño tidos pueden ser analizados por los jóve- los pueblos oprimidos a lo largo de la his- nizados en la configuración de la histo- que causará la legislación propuesta, nes, si se hace con un uso responsable del toria de este país. Idaho, Iowa, Oklahoma ria”. (zinnedproject.org) promoviendo encuentros en todo el país diálogo, la reflexión y la comunicación. y Tennessee han aprobado recientemente En respuesta a los legisladores que tra- organizados por Rethinking Schools y Los educadores, que se dedican a enseñar leyes que limitan severamente las formas bajan para prohibir sus recursos educa- Teaching for Change. la historia de Estados Unidos de forma en que los profesores pueden discutir tivos, el Proyecto Educativo Zinn lanzó Estos eventos tendrán lugar el 12 de auténtica sobre el papel que todas las for- el racismo, el sexismo, la homofobia, la un compromiso para que los educadores junio en lugares que “simbolizan o refle- mas de fanatismo y opresión han tenido en inmigración, el clasismo y otros temas lo firmen, diciendo que, se apruebe o no jan la historia que los profesores tendrían el desarrollo del país, piden a quienes están que los legisladores de derecha preten- la legislación reaccionaria, se niegan a que mentir u omitir si estos proyectos de de acuerdo con ellos que se solidaricen con den suprimir. mentir a los estudiantes y seguirán ense- ley se convierten en ley”. La conciencia- los profesores a los que se les niega el dere- ñándoles la verdad sobre la historia de ción pública sobre este tema es actual- cho a enseñar la verdad a sus alumnos. La enseñanza de la verdadera Estados Unidos. mente escasa, por lo que se anima a los A la ganadora del premio Pulitzer, historia de Estados Unidos El compromiso dice: “Los educadores interesados a elegir un lugar significativo Nikole Hannah-Jones, le fue negada Otra colección de recursos didácticos abajo firmantes no nos dejaremos inti- y organizar una concentración, junto con recientemente la titularidad por el Consejo que está en peligro en estos estados es midar. Continuaremos con nuestro com- miembros de la comunidad y sindicatos de Administración de la Universidad de el Proyecto Educativo Zinn, que se creó promiso de desarrollar un pensamiento locales. Carolina del Norte. Los miembros con- con la convicción de que “a través de una crítico que ayude a los estudiantes a com- Leyes como las aprobadas en Idaho, servadores del consejo se opusieron al mirada más atractiva y más honesta al prender mejor los problemas de nues- Iowa, Oklahoma y Tennessee obligan, por Proyecto 1619, que ella supervisaba. En pasado, podemos ayudar a equipar a los tra sociedad y a desarrollar soluciones comisión u omisión, a enseñar a los alum- él se expone la verdad sobre la historia de estudiantes -y a todos nosotros- con las colectivas para esos problemas. Estamos nos una visión reaccionaria de la historia, la esclavitud en Estados Unidos. ☐ herramientas analíticas para dar sentido a favor de decir la verdad y de elevar el llena de falsedades e ideas retrógradas. 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. 23 10 de junio 2021 $1 ¡Las Vidas Negras Importan! La cultura de la intoxicación y la clase trabajadora WW Comentario empresas se aprovechan a sabiendas y discriminado y oprimido. por las drogas, que libera temporalmente son extremadamente destructivas para Existe una correlación directa entre a las personas del miedo y la ansiedad de Por Devin Cole y Princess Harmony nuestra comunidad. Sin embargo, pocas el estrés de la opresión de las personas ser juzgadas o maltratadas por una socie- organizaciones y eventos de la corriente LGBTQ+ a causa de la discriminación y dad violenta y heteronormativa. La cultura de la intoxicación está for- queer denuncian esta publicidad, pen- la deshumanización -así como la falta de Los Centros para el Control y la mada por las señales y fuerzas sociales que sando que los dólares de las empresas recursos para las personas LGBTQ+- y la Prevención de Enfermedades han doc- empujan a los trabajadores y a los opri- garantizan la supervivencia. tendencia a automedicarse mediante el umentado que el consumo de drogas y midos a consumir drogas o alcohol. Toda consumo de alcohol y drogas. alcohol conduce estadísticamente a tasas nuestra sociedad -la sociedad estadouni- El capitalismo arco iris alimenta Las empresas de bebidas alcohóli- más altas de VIH/SIDA y otras ETS, ali- dense- se ha ahogado en esta intoxicación. la cultura de la intoxicación cas entienden esto y se benefician de la mentando la actual epidemia de VIH/ Ya sea cis o trans, heterosexual o queer, No es de extrañar que las empresas opresión de las personas LGBTQ+, per- SIDA en la comunidad LGBTQ+. Aunque todo el mundo se ve afectado por las fuer- hayan empezado a renombrarse como petuando la cultura de la intoxicación, la epidemia no está tan extendida como zas abrumadoras que nos empujan a usar “diversas e inclusivas” y a enfatizar que creando más problemas de abuso de hace 35 años, esta enfermedad mortal y abusar de las drogas y el alcohol. sus productos “son para todos”. Esto se sustancias en la población LGBTQ+ y sigue haciendo estragos en las comuni- La burguesía depende de que la gente hace para seguir siendo competitivos a la embolsándose más dinero. La búsqueda dades y personas oprimidas, sobre todo ahogue sus problemas en sustancias hora de atraer al mayor número de com- implacable de beneficios por parte de en las mujeres. para evitar llegar a la conclusión de que pradores para sus productos en la carrera las empresas contribuye directamente sus problemas son el resultado de la capitalista del perro come-perro de la al sufrimiento continuado de un grupo Sobriedad y socialismo burguesía. obtención de beneficios para las corpora- oprimido. La conexión entre la cultura de la intoxi- Esto es especialmente cierto en la ciones y los jefes. cación y la muerte es un círculo vicioso comunidad queer, donde las perso- Las empresas han desarrollado un alu- El consumo de drogas duras se que el capitalismo perpetúa mediante el nas queer tienen de 2 a 4 veces más vión de anuncios de alcohol dirigidos a la dispara en la población LGBTQ+ ataque directo y la cooptación. Por des- probabilidades de usar y abusar de población LGBTQ+. Hay botellas de licor No sólo el alcohol y el alcoholismo son gracia, esa cooptación está presente en el sustancias que sus homólogos hetero- de arco iris, vasos de chupito de arco iris, un problema creciente para las personas Orgullo. sexuales y cisgénero. Esto sucede debido anuncios de cerveza con parejas de homo- queer/trans, las drogas duras como la Frente a este conflicto permanente, a las opresiones anti-queer y anti-trans. sexuales... y todo eso. metanfetamina se han convertido en una algunos festivales del Orgullo han recu- (tinyurl.com/3h6rpryt) Esta campaña se intensifica durante el epidemia de abuso. Estadísticamente, rrido al Orgullo sobrio. Esto puede incluir La incidencia del abuso de drogas y mes del orgullo. En las grandes ciudades, los hombres homosexuales tienen cua- que no se permita ni se venda ningún tipo alcohol aumenta en las personas que han no podrás asistir a un evento importante tro veces más probabilidades de probar de alcohol en el recinto, junto con perso- sufrido acoso o incidentes violentos anti- del Orgullo sin ver anuncios de Bud Light, la metanfetamina que los heterosexuales. nal de reducción de daños en el lugar, que queer y anti-trans. Por ejemplo, las per- Absolut u otra compañía de alcohol. En Las tasas de adicción en general son tiene Narcan para tratar las sobredosis de sonas que han sufrido abusos verbales Boston y Chicago, Bud Light es uno de los alarmantemente altas en la comunidad drogas y proporcionar recursos sobre la antitrans en las escuelas tenían un 35% principales patrocinadores del Orgullo. LGBTQ+, debido al gran peso de la opre- sobriedad y el uso seguro de drogas. más de probabilidades de abusar de sus- En ciudades más pequeñas, es más sión diaria que nos asfixia a todos. Estos eventos del Orgullo y otros tancias, y las que sufrieron abusos físicos común asistir a los festivales del Orgullo Muchas personas queer/trans entran eventos LGBTQ+ similares están siendo tenían un 40% más de probabilidades. y encontrarse con camiones de licores, en una espiral de escapismo inducido liderados por una nueva ola de socialis- La opresión de las personas queer y carpas de cerveza y otros anuncios de tas queer/trans comprometidos con la trans es un factor directo detrás del abuso alcohol. En algunos lugares, hay muchas construcción de una revolución socia- de drogas en las comunidades queer. Pero fiestas del Orgullo que duran toda la lista dirigida por personas queer, trans y las empresas siguen alimentando nuestro noche con cantidades aparentemente basada en el cuidado y la solidaridad de abuso de sustancias legales como los pro- interminables de alcohol, así como de la comunidad. ductos alcohólicos. Casi todos los grandes drogas ilícitas. Muchos de estos eventos Estos socialistas LGBTQ+ se han dado eventos del Orgullo en Estados Unidos acaban con personas que sufren intoxi- cuenta de que el capitalismo no traerá la están patrocinados por empresas de alco- cación etílica u otros efectos secunda- liberación ni la solución a ningún pro- hol. A pesar de que los actos del Orgullo rios peligrosos del consumo excesivo de blema, sino que sólo alimentará más caos, de junio deberían ser acogedores para alcohol. PHOTO: GRANMA más cultura de la intoxicación y dejará todo el mundo -incluidos los sobrios y los No se puede negar que la embestida El Centro Nacional de Educación Sexual de más gente oprimida y trabajadores muer- menores de edad-, las empresas que abu- publicitaria pone la tentación justo en Cuba (CENESEX), fundado en 1988, basado tos a su paso. san de las sustancias siguen utilizando el la cara de muchas personas LGBTQ+ de en un paradigma socialista y emancipador, Saben que será el socialismo el que dé Orgullo como un truco de marketing. clase trabajadora que sufren de “estrés de reconoce el derecho a la sexualidad como el golpe de gracia a la cultura de la intoxi- inalienable. Las campañas publicitarias de las minoría”, es decir, la lucha diaria de ser cación. ☐

Proyecto 1619: Educadores progresistas opuestos a legislación reaccionaria

Por Andy Terhune papel del racismo en la conformación del negros en el centro mismo de nuestra sistema legal y en la creación de dispa- narrativa nacional.” (project1619.org) Para Proyecto 1619, Día de Acción, 12 de Los legisladores de derecha de 15 esta- ridades económicas y diferencias de ren- La educación tradicional en Estados junio, vaya a zinnedproject.org. dos están aprobando una legislación que dimiento. Y no podrán explicar cómo las Unidos enseña a los estudiantes que el obligará a los profesores de las escuelas desigualdades que aún existen hoy en día nacimiento del país se produjo en 1776. públicas a enseñar una narrativa naciona- tienen su origen en un pasado de supre- Esta narrativa ignora su formación como Muchos de estos legisladores no sólo lista de la historia, que ignora la historia macía blanca. colonia de colonos, basada en el robo de quieren restringir los debates sobre la genocida, racista, sexista, antiinmigrante tierras y el genocidio de los pueblos indí- teoría crítica de la raza, sino que inten- y opresiva de Estados Unidos. La legisla- Los racistas se oponen al Proyecto 1619 genas, y los 157 años de esclavitud que tan limitar la educación sobre el papel del ción específica difiere entre los 15 estados, Uno de los recursos curriculares a los construyeron las colonias antes de 1776. sexismo, el heterosexismo, la xenofobia y pero todos comparten el objetivo de pro- que se oponen los legisladores conserva- Ignora el papel del trato de los esclavos la opresión de clase a lo largo de la historia hibir la aplicación de la “teoría racial crí- dores es el Proyecto 1619. Su introducción y el carácter del colonialismo de colonos de Estados Unidos. En Missouri, la legisla- tica” en la enseñanza de estudios sociales. dice: “El Proyecto 1619 es una iniciativa en la independencia política y econó- ción propuesta prohibiría a los profesores Esto significa que los profesores de en curso por la revista The New York mica de Gran Bretaña. Los legisladores de las escuelas públicas el uso de cualquier Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Luisiana, Times Magazine que comenzó en agosto republicanos están intentando prohibir recurso del Proyecto 1619, del programa de Mississippi, Missouri, Nuevo Hampshire, de 2019, el 400 aniversario del inicio de la el proyecto 1619 y otros muchos recur- estudios Learning for Justice del Southern Carolina del Norte, Oklahoma, Rhode esclavitud estadounidense. Su objetivo es sos didácticos fundamentales como éste, Poverty Law Center, de Black Lives Matter Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah y Virginia replantear la historia del país colocando en un intento de prohibir una enseñanza at School, de Teaching for Change y del Occidental no podrán -y en algunos las consecuencias de la esclavitud y las honesta y auténtica de la historia de Zinn Education Project. casos serán multados- enseñar sobre el contribuciones de los estadounidenses Estados Unidos. Continúa en la página 11