• TRABAJADORES AGRÍCOLAS LUCHAN EN SYRACUSE 12

Workers and oppressed peoples of the world unite! workers.org Vol. 58, No. 23 June 16, 2016 $1 VERIZON STRIKE WINS Victory for all workers By Martha Grevatt

June 6 — After 45 days on the picket line, 39,000 Anti-racist solidarity in PRIDE striking Verizon workers went back to work on June 4. Members of the Communications Workers and Interna- tional Electrical Workers are voting, starting now, on a new four-year contract. Voting will be completed June 17. “Verizon knows that they got their ass kicked and they know it’s time for us to celebrate,” said CWA Pres- ident Chris Shelton. “This was the best strike I’ve ever seen in my lifetime.” A IBEW System Council T-6 report to members stat- ed, “We have emerged from an ideological war with a corporation that believed that this was their opportu- nity to break the union. The exact opposite happened.” The union bargaining council was chaired by IBEW Lo- cal 2222 Business Agent Myles Calvey, who was called a “rock star” of the Boston labor movement by a Verizon union steward. This was the longest strike in recent years and the biggest since the previous Verizon strike in 2011. Then the IBEW and CWA combined had 45,000 members at Verizon. With a loss of 6,000 jobs since 2011, jobs and job security were a major issue in this strike. The job protection language that the unions fought for in the WW PHOTO: GARRETT DICEMBRE Youth in Bu alo, N.Y., support Black Lives Matter and blast violence against trans people. See page 10 for editorial and past, which Verizon sought to gut, is mostly intact. more articles on LGBTQ Pride. A company proposal to make workers transfer out of state, away from their families and communities — just to keep their jobs — was forced off the table. A major concern of the workers was the outsourcing of call cen- ter positions. In the end, Verizon agreed to hire an ad- STOP EVICTIONS ditional 1,300 call center workers as well as create new Pitched battle in Detroit 3 technician jobs. Current workers’ base pay will rise almost 11 percent by 2019. Monthly pension payments to retired workers were also increased. SOLIDARITÉ, SOLIDARITY Strike pushed Verizon back With French workers, students 4 Verizon made other demands for concessions from the workers, but the strike pushed them back. These included a scheme to freeze pensions after 30 years of service. Under the old contract, pension credits contin- #FREEJASMINE ue to accrue for as long as a worker keeps working. The company also wanted to take away the union’s right to Black Lives Matter political prisoner 5 bargain on behalf of retirees. Verizon’s threat to eliminate the cost-of-living allow- ance was also blocked. The company lost its bid to make Sunday a regular, straight-time work day. Also, man- THE CHAMP agement wanted to pay overtime only when the worker 3 perspectives on Muhammad Ali 6-7 put in more than 40 hours during a week — which is the minimum requirement under the 1938 Fair Labor Stan- Muhammad Ali defeats dards Act. That means workers would lose overtime pay Sonny Liston, 1964.

Continued on page 4 FORT DIX 5 Islamophobia crushes justice 8 Subscribe to Workers World

4 weeks trial $4 1 year subscription $30 VENEZUELA Sign me up for the WWP Supporter Program: workers.org/articles/donate/supporters_/ U.S., OAS pushed back 9 Name ______SO. AFRICA Email ______Phone ______Lessons of Soweto uprising 11 Street ______City / State / Zip______Workers World 212.627.2994 147 W. 24th St., 2nd Fl, NY, NY 10011 workers.org Page 2 June 16, 2016 workers.org

 In the U.S. Verizon stirke wins victory for all workers ...... 1 Detroit activists ght to stop evictions ...... 3 Macy’s workers vote to strike ...... 3 Workers say French anti-labor law must go ...... 4 Free Jasmine Richards! ...... 5 Black & Latina workers resist nonpro t racism ...... 5 Racist killer cop indicted in Florida...... 5 Muhammed Ali: The People’s Champ...... 6 Muhammed Ali: A ghter against war and racism ...... 6 Fort Dix 5 : Community protests Islamophobia ...... 8 Cuomo tries to quash BDS movement ...... 8 Zika: crisis of the poor ...... 8 Philadelphia queer solidarity kicks cops out of Pride . . . . . 10 Bualo anti-racist solidarity in Pride parade...... 10

 Around the world Support for Venezuela ...... 9 Lessons of 1976 Soweto rebellion...... 11

 Editorial LGBTQ Pride in ght-back ...... 10

 WWP Presidential Campaign Muhammad Ali’s legacy: He ‘shook the world’ ...... 7

 Noticias en Español Trabajadores agrícolas de Nueva York luchan por derecho a organizarse ...... 12

Workers World 147 W. 24th St., 2nd Fl. New York, N.Y. 10011 Phone: 212.627.2994 E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.workers.org Vol. 58, No. 23 June 16, 2016 Closing date: June 7, 2016 Editor: Deirdre Griswold Who we are & what we’re ghting for Managing Editors: John Catalinotto, LeiLani Dowell, Hate capitalism? Workers World Party fights for a degrading people because of their nationality, sexual or Kris Hamel, Monica Moorehead; Web Editor Gary Wilson socialist society — where the wealth is socially owned gender identity or disabilities — all are tools the ruling Production & Design Editors: Coordinator Lal Roohk; and production is planned to satisfy human need. This class uses to keep us apart. They ruthlessly super-ex- Andy Katz, Cheryl LaBash outmoded capitalist system is dragging down workers’ ploit some in order to better exploit us all. WWP builds Copyediting and Proofreading: Sue Davis, Bob McCubbin living standards while throwing millions out of their unity among all workers while supporting the right jobs. If you’re young, you know they’re stealing your of self-determination. Fighting oppression is a work- Contributing Editors: Abayomi Azikiwe, Greg Butterfield, G. Dunkel, K. Durkin, Fred Goldstein, future. And capitalism is threatening the entire planet ing-class issue, which is confirmed by the many labor Martha Grevatt, Teresa Gutierrez, Larry Hales, struggles led today by people of color, immigrants and with its unplanned, profit-driven stranglehold over the Berta Joubert-Ceci, Terri Kay, Cheryl LaBash, means of production. women. Milt Neidenberg, John Parker, Bryan G. Pfeifer, Workers built it all — it belongs to society, not to a WWP has a long history of militant opposition to im- Betsey Piette, Minnie Bruce Pratt, Gloria Rubac handful of billionaires! But we need a revolution to perialist wars. The billionaire rulers are bent on turning Mundo Obero: Redactora Berta Joubert-Ceci; make that change. That’s why for 57 years WWP has back the clock to the bad old days before socialist revolu- Ramiro Fúnez, Teresa Gutierrez, Donna Lazarus, tions and national liberation struggles liberated territory been building a revolutionary party of the working Carlos Vargas class inside the belly of the beast. from their grip. We’ve been in the streets to oppose every We fight every kind of oppression. Racism, sexism, one of imperialism’s wars and aggressions. Supporter Program: Coordinator Sue Davis Copyright © 2016 Workers World. Verbatim copying and distribution of articles is permitted in any medium Contact a Workers World Party branch near you: workers.org/wwp without royalty provided this notice is preserved. Workers World (ISSN-1070-4205) is published weekly National Oce Bay Area Cleveland Houston Pittsburgh except the first week of January by WW Publishers, 147 W. 24th St. 2nd Fl. 1305 Franklin St. #411 P.O. Box 5963 P.O. Box 3454 [email protected] 147 W. 24th St. 2nd Fl., New York, NY 10011. Phone: New York, NY 10011 Oakland, CA 94612 Cleveland, OH 44101 Houston, TX 77253-3454 Rochester, N.Y. 510.600.5800 216.738.0320 713.503.2633 212.627.2994. Subscriptions: One year: $30; institu- 212.627.2994 585.436.6458 tions: $35. Letters to the editor may be condensed and [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] edited. Articles can be freely reprinted, with credit to Boston Denver Lexington, KY Rockford, IL Workers World, 147 W. 24th St. 2nd Fl., New York, NY Atlanta 284 Amory St. [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] 10011. Back issues and individual articles are available PO Box 18123 Boston, MA 02130 Detroit Los Angeles San Diego on microfilm and/or photocopy from NA Publishing, Atlanta, GA 30316 617.286.6574 5920 Second Ave. 5278 W Pico Blvd. P.O. Box 33447 404.627.0185 [email protected] Detroit, MI 48202 Los Angeles, CA 90019 San Diego, CA 92163 Inc, P.O. Box 998, Ann Arbor, MI 48106-0998. A searchable archive is available on the Web at www. [email protected] Bu alo, N.Y. 313.459.0777 [email protected] [email protected] 712 Main St #113B [email protected] 323.306.6240 Tucson, Ariz. workers.org. Baltimore Bualo, NY 14202 Durham, N.C. Milwaukee [email protected] A headline digest is available via e-mail subscription. c/o Solidarity Center 716.883.2534 804 Old Fayetteville St. [email protected] Virginia Subscription information is at workers.org/email.php. bu[email protected] Durham, NC 27701 2011 N. Charles St. Philadelphia [email protected] Periodicals postage paid at New York, N.Y. Baltimore, MD 21218 919.322.9970 P.O. Box 34249 Chicago [email protected] Washington, D.C. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to 443.221.3775 312.630.2305 Philadelphia, PA 19101 P.O. Box 57300 [email protected] [email protected] Huntington, W. Va. 610.931.2615 Washington, D.C. 20037 Workers World, 147 W. 24th St. 2nd Fl. [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] New York, N.Y. 10011. workers.org June 16, 2016 Page 3 Defying landlords and bankers Detroit activists ght to stop evictions

By Abayomi Azikiwe Editor, Pan-African News Wire Detroit

Jeanette Shannon was evicted from her Detroit home on June 3 after a pro- tracted fight with fraudulent real estate interests and local courts that favor pred- atory lenders and banks. This was a test case for the Detroit Eviction Defense (DED) coalition and other anti-foreclosure activists in the city. In similar attempted evictions during UAW Local 600 second Vice-President A.J. Freer escorts WW PHOTOS: ABAYOMI AZIKIWE 2012 in another section of northwest De- Jeanette Shannon into her besieged home to retrieve High-ranking Detroit police stand guard over the eviction of Jeanette Shannon. troit, police had either withdrawn, say- belongings. Baili seen wearing badge following behind. The baili is standing between the two uniformed ocers. ing it was a civil matter, or stayed away, DLBA. The homes are often sold on “land erty tax debt had been sent to the County.” geting not only the Treasurer of Wayne allowing the situation to be resolved by contracts” because, despite ruling-class The county of Wayne is designated County for not vigorously pursuing the activists through political pressure and propaganda that Detroit is being revital- to collect not only its portion of taxes utilization of the federal monies to assist negotiations with the courts and banks. ized with property values and rents in- on properties but also those delinquent homeowners to remain in these proper- This time the eviction was viewed by creasing, the banks wrote less than 500 payments assessed by the Finance Divi- ties, but also the MSHDA and the U.S. 100 people, who turned back the dread- mortgages during the entire year of 2015. sion of the city of Detroit. Late fees and Department of Treasury. ed dumpsters twice in two days. But the After purchasing homes from land charges accumulate at the rate of 18 per- The Treasury Department issues the struggle to save Shannon’s home revealed contract companies, the residents soon cent annually. funds and is allowing them to be funneled further the political character of the ad- discover there are property tax and other These inevitable burdens placed on into the Detroit Land Bank Authority, ministration of corporate-imposed May- liens on the homes. Others discover they homeowners are compounded by the fact where massive fraud by administrators or Mike Duggan. do not even own the homes, since their that actual appraisals of Detroit homes and functionaries is currently under in- Duggan’s police officials provided pro- names do not appear on the deeds. have not been effectively carried out in vestigation by the Department of Justice. tection for the bailiff and the contract In the specific case of Jeanette Shan- two decades, since the 1990s, when banks So-called “blight removal” efforts are the laborers hired to break into the home, non, according to an entry on the DED engaged in predatory lending, in part, by source of the corruption, as well as the trash the property and dispose of Shan- website, “Shannon purchased her Detroit overinflating the worth. Residents would process of emptying the city of its African- non’s household belongings in a dumpster home in 2010 from Thor Real Estate LLC then borrow money against these arbi- American and working class population. parked in an alleyway next to the house. for $15,000 on a land contract — with an trarily designated values. The MSHDA held its monthly board On June 2, the court bailiff appeared at understanding that the company was re- Typically the courts in Wayne County meeting on May 25 in Lansing. The pro- the Shannon home after 5 p.m., intending sponsible for paying the property taxes, side with the real estate firms and the ceedings were streamed to its offices at to evict the homeowner and her 17-year- and that the amount for taxes was added banks. Only public pressure from activ- the state office building at Cadillac Place old son. The storm door leading into the into her monthly payment. But the year ists has won residents’ rights to remain in in the New Center area of Detroit. house was pulled off the hinge. after she moved in with her daughter and their homes. A delegation from the Moratorium Several activists who had been keep- son, she was shocked to be told by Thor’s NOW! Coalition and supporters attended ing vigil in an effort to block the eviction attorney that her house payment was be- Federal funds misdirected the meeting. During the public comment were able to stave off the bailiff. The bai- ing jacked up by almost $100 a month to to corporate Interests section they blasted the board for not di- liff then told those outside the home that pay the property taxes. That threw her All this is taking place even as the recting these limited resources to pay de- Shannon had to be out by the next day. in a panic and she hired an attorney she Michigan State Housing Development linquent property taxes and water bills for Early the next morning, when the found through a friend of a relative, who Authority (MSHDA) on June 1 received residents of Detroit and Wayne County. dreaded dumpster was delivered, an- said she was an expert in real estate law.” $188 million in federal funds, ostensi- Another action is being planned for the ti-foreclosure activists keeping watch over (detroitevictiondefense.org) bly aimed at foreclosure prevention and Treasury Department, which by turning the home responded. Then a driver of the As is frequently the situation among blight removal. over hundreds of millions to MSHDA vehicle delivering the dumpster attacked, Detroit residents, “It was then,” reported A struggle is now being waged by the and the DLBA is facilitating the forced choked and pummeled activists, resulting the DED website, “that Shannon discov- Moratorium NOW! Coalition to Stop removal of people from Detroit. These in a leading member of DED, Bob Day, ered that Thor LLC hadn’t paid any prop- Foreclosures, Evictions and Utility Shut- efforts will continue over the next sever- having his leg broken in two places. erty taxes since 2008, two years before her offs to release the federal funds to those al months through various forms of pro- A member of the Moratorium NOW! purchase of the property. When she con- who need them. Other organizations are tests and agitation, according to Morato- Coalition, Martha Grevatt, was unjust- tacted the city, they told her that the prop- also endorsing the effort, which is tar- rium NOW! Coalition organizers. ly issued a civil infraction for ostensibly refusing to move her automobile from in front of the Shannon home. Her vehicle was not breaking any parking laws. These Macy’s workers orders were motivated by enforcement of the eviction order. Others at the scene were threatened vote to strike with felony arrests. Columns of police cars returned after noon that day and at- By Anne Pruden Workers at the rally re- tempted to break down the front door. New York vealed that pay starts at $9 Having failed to enter through the an hour, while the bosses front, they walked around to the back Workers in service jobs continue to are now trying to block new and barged the door open. They refused rise up as 5,000 union members at New city and state laws raising access to Jeanette Shannon so she could York-area Macy’s department stores voted the minimum wage to $15 retrieve her cats. She was later allowed to unanimously to go on strike on June 15 an hour. The company offers enter the home to rescue her pets from when their contract extension expires. The new workers fewer benefits, the bailiff and the hired hands, who went main issues are health care, pay and work such as sick time, and tries about hauling possessions to the dump- schedules. The workers are represented by to keep most workers part ster and boarding up the house. Local 1-S of the Department Store Union. time. One worker told this Mobilization to defend Shannon home Local 1-S held a spirited rally here on reporter that the company DED, along with other social justice June 2 at the company’s historic Herald has made working on holi- and labor activists, rallied to the defense Square store. That’s the site of the peren- days mandatory. of the Shannon home due to the compel- nial Christmas fantasy, “Miracle on 34th Supporters at the rally ling character of the case. Similar scenar- Street.” included members of the ios have proliferated across the city stem- But these workers weren’t asking for Laundry Workers Center ming from the real estate and banking a miracle. Instead, the local’s informal and Make the Road, as well collapse of 2007-08 that left tens of thou- band blared out Aretha Franklin’s an- as members of the Commu- sands of vacant homes, many of which them, demanding: “R-E-S-P-E-C-T!” nications Workers and Inter- have been turned over to unscrupulous They handed out fliers explaining: “Ma- national Electrical Workers “developers” and the notorious Detroit cy’s has been making demands that unions, recently victorious Land Bank Authority. would limit workers’ pay and weaken in their struggle against cor- A number of these so-called real estate benefits. It’s time to stand up to corporate porate giant Verizon. developers are given preference in pur- greed. ... They shouldn’t take from the They want decent pay and workers who make this company run.” chasing the properties through auctions R-E-S-P-E-C-T. conducted by Wayne County and the (1srwdsu.org) WW PHOTO: ANNE PRUDEN Page 4 June 16, 2016 workers.org Solidarity with June 14 general strike Workers say French anti-labor law must go

By G. Dunkel politan area. Air traffic controllers and Socialist Party’s attempt to impose aus- bers marched with the CGT in the May Air France pilots are “creating grave terity through “labor reform.” Day protest in Paris, their contingent was Hundreds of thousands of French problems for the French economy,” stat- attacked by the cops with tear gas and workers, youth and students have come ed French President François Hollande International solidarity grows stun grenades. out into the streets of France nine times — that is, problems for the French ruling International solidarity with the The U.S. coalition statement starts: since the middle of March to protest a class. months-long struggle of the French “We, the undersigned, express our sup- “labor reform law,” which is so unpopu- Refineries are still shut and tankers re- workers has been building. Several sec- port for the ongoing mobilization of lar with the workers that the government main unloaded, so many French gas sta- tions of the World Federation of Trade France’s workers in a coalition led by the had to push it through Parliament’s Na- tions are running dry. Workers at most Unions have released statements in sol- General Confederation of Labor (CGT), tional Assembly without a vote. nuclear power plants, which supply 80 idarity with the French workers. A state- and of the Nuit Debout movement con- A single national day of protest on June percent of the country’s electricity, are ment issued May 23 said: “The WFTU ex- sisting primarily of youth and students, 14 has been called by the General Con- also on strike, forcing the electricity dis- presses its indignation against the forced against austerity attacks contained in federation of Labor (CGT) and the coali- tribution company to import power at a evacuation of oil storage facilities and its that country’s so-called Labor Reform tion of labor unions it leads. On that day, very high cost. full solidarity with all workers in France, Law. the French Senate will take up the bill. France’s misnamed Socialist Party, who are fighting against the ‘labor’ law “This law, which was pushed through Nuits Debout (“Up All Night”), a group which runs the government, has not only of the Social-Democratic government of by the government and corporate vul- of mostly youth and students outside the been directing French imperialist inter- François Hollande.” (wftucentral.org) tures, will only serve to drive down the labor movement, has also endorsed this ests, but has abandoned any pretense of United Steel Workers Local 8751, standard of living for current and future action. “being for the workers.” It is competing which represents the Boston school bus generations. The multinational French Workers worldwide, including in the with the Republicans (LR) and the Na- drivers, released a statement April 28: working class is using many forms of United States, inspired by the determi- tional Front (FN) for the title of the most “We send our warmest internationalist strikes, occupations and street protest, nation of the French workers, have called effective proponent of austerity for the greetings to the rising working class of all of which illustrate who has the real solidarity actions for June 14. working class. France. We hail the upsurge of public and power in society.” Besides the protests, a number of Even though austerity programs have private sector unions, of unemployed, The statement concludes: “We call French workers went on strike in May, been common in developed North Amer- pensioners, students and immigrants, on United States and other countries’ and some are still out. Railroad workers ican and European economies, the pub- and of everyone under siege by the capi- unions and other workers’ organizations, have been off the job since the middle of lic’s response to them has usually been talist exploiters.” A majority of members community groups and youth groups to May. Even though Prime Minister Man- limited to the ballot box, which has not of this local are originally from Haiti. exchange information with the French uel Valls and Guillaume Pepy, the head provided effective resistance. Greece has An ad hoc coalition in the United States CGT and student leaders via satellite, ra- of the SNCF, the corporation in charge provided the strongest example of how is using social media to organize coor- dio, and written interviews with reliable of the railroads, tried to use the recent the workers have been unable to solve dinated protests at French consulates translators. We further urge everyone floods afflicting Paris to shame the SNCF their problems by relying on the ballot. on June 14, the date of the next national to support the June 14 general strike in workers into returning, the unions stayed The Party of the Left, under Jean-Luc protest in Paris. Some initiators of this France via resolutions, educational meet- strong and are still on strike. Melenchon, and the French Commu- campaign, members of the Free Mumia ings, and rallies at the nearest French FranceTV.info on June 3 said that nist party, which just finished its 37th Abu-Jamal Coalition, were in France on consulate.” (June 6 email) most of the street cleaners and sanitation congress, are orienting to France’s 2017 May 1 to celebrate with the CGT the 10th In New York City, supporters of the workers in Paris remain on strike. There presidential elections. But the workers anniversary of the naming of a street, “Rue French workers will gather near the are continuing reports of blockades at are in the streets and on picket lines in Mumia,” in St. Denis, a suburb of Paris. French Consulate at 934 5th Ave. on June sorting centers outside the Paris-metro- an all-out attempt to defeat the so-called When the Free Mumia Coalition mem- 14 from 4 to 6 p.m. to show solidarity. Verizon strike wins victory for all workers

Continued from page 1 and deductibles. Some workers are angry rates when they worked weekends, holi- about these higher out-of-pocket costs, days and after eight hours on a given day, which the wage increases might not fully unless it added up to more than 40 hours offset. a week. (The United Auto Workers lost similar A sense of power overtime pay during the 2009 GM and at the point of production Chrysler bankruptcies, and it has yet to The militant strike was highly effec- be fully restored.) tive. The poor service being provided by For the first time, low-wage wireless strikebreakers was driving customers retail workers at two stores — in Ever- away. Company stock was falling. Beyond ett, Mass., and Brooklyn, N.Y. — have a that, the potential breakdown of telecom- union contract. This means they are not munications — now essential to the basic mere “employees at will.” They have a function of the capitalist economy — was grievance procedure and a union to de- a threat the capitalist state recognized. fend them from wrongful discharge by Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez called this anti-worker company. Before this Verizon and the CWA and IBEW together contract, workers had to to jump through and pushed them to reach an agreement. hoops to get bonuses for achieving “per- It would be simplistic to analyze this or Support from Boston school bus drivers. WW PHOTO: STEVE KIRSCHBAUM formance” targets; now these are paid any strike’s impact only by using a base without conditions. calculation of the gains and losses on ei- ever expanding union of the workers.” ers know. They struck back at the point This tremendous breakthrough opens ther side. Even those have to be weighted; of production. They stopped a company, the door for a mass organizing campaign they must be seen in the context of the Solidarity with strikers hell-bent on breaking their union, in its in Verizon’s wireless retail sector. A suc- time and place in which the terms of a The unity of the workers on the Verizon tracks. They went back to work with a cessful union drive in this sector would contract — really the terms and condi- picket lines, which stretched from Mas- newfound awareness of their collective reverberate throughout the retail indus- tions that mitigate class exploitation — sachusetts to Virginia, was tremendous. strength. try and be a major boost to the struggle are fought out. The strike brought workers of all nation- The whole labor movement feels own- for a $15/hour minimum wage, known as At one time, the word “concessions” alities, genders, sexual orientations, reli- ership of the Verizon win. This strike “Fight for 15.” was used to define what the boss could gions, abilities and ages together. It won could mark a historic turning point to- The unions won improvements to a be pressured to “concede” to the union the hearts of workers and oppressed peo- ward “the ever expanding union of the special retirement buyout program, but to maintain class peace and avoid dis- ple, organized and unorganized. workers.” the company has more leeway in admin- ruptions to production. But now, since Every union in the country made this istering the program. Verizon will sure- the Reagan administration broke the strike their strike through material aid, ly try to use it to reduce the number of air traffic controllers’ strike in 1981, that walking with the strikers and adopting higher seniority workers with traditional word is used to mean what workers have stores that they picketed on their own. Capitalism at pensions. Since 2011, newer hires are in been forced to give up — that is, the class Philippine unions, who know the su- a Dead End a separate 401k pension tier, where they opposite. per-exploitation of call center workers Job destruction, are not guaranteed a specific pension. As early as 1848 in the Commu- there, supported the strike. overproduction and There was one key area where it ap- nist Manifesto, Karl Marx wrote about That Verizon “knows they got their ass crisis in the high-tech era pears the company got what it want- unions and strikes. “Now and then the kicked” is probably true, although the ed. Rising health care costs have been workers are victorious, but only for a ruling class may arrogantly try to spin For more information go to passed on to union members in the form time. The real fruit of their battles lies, this workers’ victory into its opposite. LowWageCapitalism.com of higher monthly premiums, co-pays not in the immediate result, but in the What really matters is what the work- Available at online major booksellers workers.org June 16, 2016 Page 5

Free Jasmine Richards! Cops turn anti-lynch law on its head

PHOTO: DEMOCRACY NOW! By Scott Scheer state prison. Jasmine Richards in court Los Angeles Richards was referred to as “the first said: “It is our duty to ght political prisoner of Black Lives Matter” for our freedom.” Bulletin: On June 7, Superior Court by New York Daily News columnist Shaun Judge Elaine Lu sentenced Jasmine King in his June 2 column. BLM called whom they were arresting on a matter Reconstruction ended. Richards to 90 days in jail, despite a for supporters to attend court when Rich- unrelated to the protest. No one was ar- Racist mobs murdered Black people letter sent to the court from Juror #6, ards will be sentenced on June 7 at 8:30 rested at that time. It was only on Sept. 2 with impunity, hanging them, burning a white male, pleading for leniency. It a.m. at the Pasadena Courthouse, 300 E. they arrested Richards and charged her them alive and shooting them. Many included the following: “The true injus- Walnut St. with “felony lynching.” attempts at a federal anti-lynching law tice and political misstep was the deci- Richards was arrested in August 2015 were defeated, but pressure and public- sion to prosecute to the furthest extent by Pasadena police on the “lynching” Twisting a progressive law ity finally began to force many states, of the law…. I ask you please honor this charge and two lesser charges. Her arrest Richards was arrested for supposedly counties and cities to enact some form of request to deliver the minimum possible came a few days after a demonstration violating a law that — like anti-lynch- anti-lynching law. Even after many of the sentence for Ms. Richards.” calling for justice for Kendrec McDade, ing statutes in many other states — was laws were in place, lynchings occurred The spirit of California’s anti-lynching an African-American teenager shot to enacted after decades of campaigning with alarming frequency. Yet in all the law has been turned on its head in a case death by two Pasadena cops who claimed by the likes of Ida B. Wells, many Afri- years since anti-lynching laws have exist- targeting a young anti-racist organizer. they thought he had a weapon. While can-American women in the Anti-Lynch- ed, only one white person has been con- Outrage is spreading over last week’s con- McDade was in fact unarmed, both cops ing Crusaders grouping of the NAACP, victed of first-degree murder. viction of Jasmine Richards, also known were cleared of wrongdoing. and many other progressives who fought The prosecution of Richards was dis- as Jasmine Abdullah, the founder of the Richards had made the McDade case for a federal anti-lynching law. No re- honest and should have fallen apart. Pasadena chapter of Black Lives Matter. an organizing priority. She was singled cords were kept before 1882, but at least The anti-lynching law is supposed to be The charge is so-called “felony lynching,” out by police at one of the BLM’s rallies 3,500 African Americans were murdered applied when a “riot” occurs or when a which is the attempt to take a person out protesting the killing of McDade. The from 1882 to 1968, according to records group removes someone from police cus- of police custody by force. cops claim that on Aug. 29, as Richards compiled by the Tuskegee Institute. tody by physical force. During the years Richards has been kept in custody and led a march past a restaurant, protesters Lynchings were likely to have been at when so many lynchings happened, there faces a possible sentence of one year in removed someone from their custody least as frequent earlier, especially after Continued on page 10 Black & Latina workers resist nonpro t racism WW PHOTO: JOE PIETTE By Betsey Piette Philadelphia Department of whose policies were cited as particularly Philadelphia Health, one of the FIGHT racist and offensive; and funded equal funders. BBWC demonstrators access to ongoing professional develop- The Black and Brown Workers Collec- delivered a list of demands that ment for Black and Brown workers. tive and supporters took to the streets on included the firing of Shull. Black and Brown workers have been June 1 to call out racist, classist, trans- The BBWC “Call to Action” targeted and even fired for speaking out phobic and homophobic policies and enumerated 18 institutional against FIGHT’s oppressive practices. practices in the HIV/AIDS nonprofit practices at FIGHT that ad- Shani Akilah, who is one of those fired, sector in Philadelphia. Marchers chant- versely affect Black and Brown said: “Workers are united to demand ed: “No more racist organizations!” and workers, particularly those justice and a change in organizational “Blood in our communities! Money in who identify as transfeminine. culture. FIGHT has a long history of this their pockets!” Demands included imme- type of discrimination. We are tired of The protest specifically targeted Phila- diate compensation for over- the retaliation. Workers who are still on delphia FIGHT, an AIDS service agency, time labor of Black and Brown their jobs are united with us.” for raising the money for its expenses off workers; an immediate stop to Victoria Lopez worked at FIGHT as a the needs of Black and Brown communi- stopped by outreach offices of the non- FIGHT sharing the medical history of phlebotomist for three years and then was ties while discriminating against work- profit in Center City Philadelphia. FIGHT Black and Brown employees with other forced to leave because of sexual harass- ers who come from these communities. had put its main office in lockdown status frontline workers; and additional pay for ment unaddressed by management. She BBWC represents current and former in response to the protest, which came bilingual workers for translation services was also asked to provide translation ser- workers at FIGHT, the Mazzoni Center, six weeks after BBWC presented FIGHT they provide, which are currently not vices with no additional compensation. GALAEI (the Gay and Lesbian Latino director Jane Shull with a list of propos- compensated. Viviana Ortiz, another former FIGHT AIDS Education Initiative) and other als to improve conditions for workers of Other demands include evaluation of worker, was sexually assaulted and ha- nonprofit agencies. color. Shull was informed that BBWC FIGHT’s hiring and firing practices to rassed by a participant in the program. Led by Black and Latina workers who would return if she failed to respond. more equitably represent communities She charged management with failing to lost their jobs for speaking out against The June 1 protest began at the AIDS most impacted by the current HIV/AIDS protect her and other Black and Brown oppressive work conditions, the march Activities Coordinating Office of the epidemic; termination of specific staff employees. Speaking outside FIGHT’s Center City office, Ortiz asserted that if she were a “blue eyed, blonde-haired staff person, the client would be long gone.” While specifically targeting Philadel- Racist killer cop indicted in Florida phia FIGHT, BBWC organizers empha- sized that discrimination in hiring and By Chris Fry son, brother and friend, this arrest will onds, and then fired three more shots. promotion of Black and Brown workers send a message that this conduct will not Two bullets struck Jones’s arms, and one permeates nonprofit agencies serving as A Florida cop who shot and killed mu- be tolerated from members of law en- hit his chest and passed through his heart. “gatekeepers” for community services. sician Corey Jones in October 2015 was forcement.” (theguardian.com, June 1) Jones’s body was found nearly 200 feet In Pennsylvania, the private nonprofit finally indicted by a Palm Beach Coun- On the night of Oct. 18, Jones was on away from his car. His gun, unfired and sector employs almost 15 percent of the ty grand jury for manslaughter and at- his way home from a music gig when his with the safety on, was found near his car state’s workforce, more than any other tempted murder on June 1. Nouman van broke down on an interstate highway where he had thrown it, far away from his sector. In Philadelphia and surrounding Raja, who shot Jones, could face life in in Palm Beach County. Fearful of being body. counties, employment in private non- prison if convicted. robbed of his expensive musical equip- “There is no question that Jones ran profits is closer to 40 percent. A 2013 A city housing authority worker and ment, he owned and carried a properly away from Raja,” court documents state study by Nonprofit HR Solutions found a popular church band drummer, Corey licensed pistol. in the Guardian article. “Despite this only 32 percent of U.S. nonprofits reflect Jones was beloved by family and friends Plainclothes cop Nouman Raja pulled observation, realizing that Jones had the diversity of the communities they in the African-American community of up in an unmarked van, got out and con- thrown his handgun in the grass near the serve in hiring and promotional practic- Boynton Beach. He had just turned 31 fronted Jones while Jones was on his cell rear of Jones’s vehicle, Officer Raja con- es. (tinyurl.com/j29uqnm) when he was cut down. Public meetings phone speaking to a roadside service cen- tinued to fire at Jones as he ran away.” As the BBCW workers marched through of hundreds demanded “Justice for Corey ter. What happened next was recorded in Indictment of this killer cop is a great Center City, they received an outpouring Jones!” The Black Lives Matter move- shocking detail on Jones’s phone. At no victory, a rare exception in this era of of support from people on the streets. ment amplified pressure on Florida- of point in the recorded conversation did nonstop police murders. The Raja indict- Members of the Philadelphia Coalition ficials to fully investigate Jones’s killing Raja identify himself as a cop. ment shows that growing outrage and for R.E.A.L. (Racial, Economic and Legal) and prosecute his killer. Raja shouted, “Get your fucking hands community pressure, expressed by the Justice, Philadelphia Black Lives Matter, In a statement, Jones’s family said they up! Get your fucking hands up! Drop!” Black Lives Matter movement, is having the Womanist Working Collective and were relieved Raja was charged for this He then fired his revolver three times as a strong impact on the racist police, the Workers World Party joined in the action. “reckless” act, adding, “While we under- Jones threw his gun into the grass and courts, and the social and economic sys- For more information, contact blackand- stand that nothing can bring back our started to run away. Raja waited ten sec- tem that stands behind them. [email protected]. Page 6 June 16, 2016 workers.org

COMMENTARY The People’s Champ — beautiful, brilliant and great

By Larry Hales watching two Black men beat each other as he suggested it would be. afire: “Why should they ask up.” That description brings to mind the me to put on a uniform and go The champ has passed. “The Greatest” first chapter in Ralph Ellison’s book, “In- The ‘People’s Champ’ ten thousand miles from home and drop has gone. Muhammad Ali is dead. It was visible Man,” sometimes presented as a The fighter is part of the “champ,” just bombs and bullets on brown people in a foregone conclusion that this day would short story called “Battle Royal.” a piece of what made Ali great. That part Vietnam while so-called Negro people in come — “the day” when everything a per- It would be difficult to argue against can’t be separated from the whole; with- Louisville are treated like dogs and de- son has been ends with one final exhala- that perception. Most fighters are from out it he would not have had the world’s nied simple human rights?” tion. It comes for everyone. the oppressed world. Consequently, so are stage or drawn such ire from bourgeois His internationalist sentiment exposed When it was announced that Muham- most fans, except those who can afford to politicians and their media mouthpieces. the great hypocrisy of why the U.S. claimed mad Ali was hospitalized yet again, this see the biggest fights and those who profit What made him the “People’s Champ” it was in Southeast Asia. Even if it was not time with a respiratory illness, it seemed, the most are white. and greater than even his in-ring ex- understood that the U.S. had material in- sadly, that it was only a matter of time. It is the hurt game, a brutal contest. It ploits is what Ali did with his fame and terests and ideological reasons for waging And it was. Surrounded by family, he is, perhaps, a contradiction for this writ- allure. When he joined the Nation of Is- war against the people of Southeast Asia, passed quietly of septic shock on June 3. er, a revolutionary, to enjoy. lam in 1964, it made more of a political Ali’s refusal and explanations hit home. It Since his death, Muhammad Ali has statement than it would today, though it was like Langston Hughes’ character Jesse been lauded in major bourgeois media, in In the pantheon of boxers remains one. B. Semple, an everyman, learning Interna- minor sources, in print and in every form Boxing is a sport of science and skill. It Ali said then: “I am America. I am the tionalism and Anti-Racism 101. of media around the world. He is remem- is a chess match that requires a great deal part you won’t recognize. But get used to bered by people too young to have seen of thinking and certain physical attri- me. Black, confident, cocky; my name, ‘I’ve been in jail for 400 years’ him box and by revolutionaries and reac- butes. Ali possessed it all. It is difficult to not yours; my religion, not yours; my Ali explained, “I ain’t draft dodging. tionaries. Everyone has something to say rank athletes from different eras because goals, my own; get used to me.” His state- I ain’t burning no flag. I ain’t running to about Muhammad Ali. scientific advances have made training ment symbolized the period of revolution Canada. I’m staying right here. You want Who was Muhammad Ali? This can more efficient and helped increase the against Western imperialism and white to send me to jail? Fine, you go right ahead. be confusing. People are complex. His- performance level of athletes. supremacy, as well as the Black Libera- I’ve been in jail for 400 years. I could be tory is too; it is dialectical. So the ideas Some scribes rank Ali at the top of the tion struggle in the U.S. there for four or five more, but I ain’t going and beliefs of an individual, like society pantheon of boxers; some rank him in the Ali stood to lose everything he fought no 10,000 miles to help murder and kill as a whole, are affected by the real world top five. Often these rankings are culled for, but that threat did now cow him. He other poor people. If I want to die, I’ll die around us. Changes are due to objective together by people who have never been said what the Black masses felt. At a time right here, right now, fightin’ you, if I want and subjective factors. punched in the face. But it would not be of American apartheid, when Civil Rights to die. You my enemy, not no Chinese, no A simpler way to say it is that the po- sacrilegious to rank Sugar Ray Robinson as leaders were being jailed, beaten and as- Vietcong, no Japanese. You my opposer litical tumult of the 1960s era that pro- history’s greatest fighter and Henry Arm- sassinated, he stood up as a Black nation- when I want freedom. You my opposer duced Muhammad Ali was no more by strong second, with Ali third, or maybe alist and taunted the dominant national- when I want justice. You my opposer when the 1980s. So the Muhammad Ali who lower, but definitely in the top six. Robin- ity unceasingly. He couldn’t be controlled I want equality. Want me to go somewhere supported Ronald Reagan was a different son and Armstrong were tremendous ath- or ignored. and fight for you? You won’t even stand up Ali. The revolutionary fervor around the letes and fighters who accomplished amaz- The Civil Rights Movement was still the for me right here in America, for my rights world had quieted, and the Black Liber- ing feats. Armstrong held belts from three predominant wing of the Black political and my religious beliefs. You won’t even ation struggle that he championed had different weight classes at the same time. movement. But Ali’s presence was an im- stand up for my rights here at home.” been violently repressed by the police, the Ali’s abilities and accomplishments put portant component of what would become This stance helped to unify the senti- FBI, the military and the courts. him in a unique class. He was the fastest the most feared wing of the Black struggle ments of Black people across the country Years of reaction followed, with the de- heavyweight the world had ever seen, in — the Black Liberation movement. and usher in further militancy in the an- struction of the industrial heartland due terms of hand and foot speed. But it was When Ali was drafted into the Army, he ti-war movement and the Black struggle. to high technology, and the capitalists’ his hands and the spectacle of the dizzy- could have stated that he was a conscien- Jim Brown, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill drive to find higher rates of exploitation ing blur of combinations he would throw tious objector solely on religious grounds. Russell, Willie Davis, Curtis Stokes and in the Third World, coupled with an as- that held many people in awe. He was also But he insisted, “No Viet Cong never others, athletes at the prime of their ca- sault on workers and oppressed people in light on his feet for someone of his size. He called me n——r.” reers, made their objections to the war the United States.. could move backwards and laterally while Ali’s further elaboration set the world public in a unified way. Even then, one cannot say that Muham- popping a jab. He could set his feet, uncork mad Ali’s unfortunate support for Reagan a right hand and then dance away before or other right-wing politicians defined his his opponent could respond. His balance post-boxing life. The establishment that was like a dancer’s, and his punches had embraces him today portrays him as just power from both the torque generated and an icon, a person with nebulous politics, the leverage he was able to get. A fighter against war and racism who was loved and respected by all, who If someone were looking to create an- could shake hands with Fidel Castro or other Muhammad Ali, that person would By Abayomi Azikiwe They sparked a nationwide struggle. By Nelson Mandela and then sit down with need to take the hand, foot speed and Editor, Pan-African News Wire April, the Student Nonviolent Coordinat- Bill Clinton in the White House. balance of an early Floyd Mayweather; ing Committee (SNCC) was formed. The people who eulogize Muhammad the reflexes of a prime Roy Jones Jr.; the Muhammad Ali died June 3 after a This militance on social issues was Ali today would lambaste the Ali whom combination of speed and power of Shane decades- long battle against Parkinson’s matched by the strong, dominant pres- we hold close. They wanted to silence him Mosley; the clowning of Emanuel Augus- disease. ence of African-American athletes at the at the height of his physical prowess and tus, and then put them all on a 6-foot- In addition to being a phenomenal ath- Olympic games in Rome in 1960. There, political significance. 3-inch frame. Then add the buttery voice lete, he made great contributions to the the advancements that African Americans of Sam Cooke, the skill with vernacular anti-war and anti-racist movements. made in international sports were high- A symbol for the oppressed of Michael Eric Dyson and the sing-song Ali, then known as Cassius Marcellus lighted. Their presence in the games di- Who was Muhammad Ali? In three quality of the delivery of rapper Method Clay, won the Chicago Golden Gloves title rectly challenged segregationists, who still words, he was beautiful, brilliant and Man — and you get Muhammad Ali. in amateur boxing in 1959 and 1960. In controlled Southern and national politics. great. He was our Blackness, our expres- Ali made the violence of boxing almost subsequent bouts, he won unanimous de- The July 16, 2012, Examiner pub- sion through and through — and yet, still beautiful to watch. When his reflexes cisions over Gennady Shatkov of the Sovi- lished during London’s Olympic Games more. He was a symbol for all despised dulled and his feet lost their speed, it was et Union and Tony Madigan of Australia, recalled, “Not since Jesse Owens in the and oppressed people who yearn and his ring intelligence and his superior will and then decisively beat favorite Zbigniew 1936 Summer Games in Germany had struggle for more. He was our “religion” that defeated opponents. He faced some of Pietrzykowski of Poland. African-American athletes captured the — what Karl Marx called “the sigh of the the most efficient punchers in heavyweight Clay, then 18, came to world attention Olympic world stage as in 1960. ... Sprint- oppressed creature, the heart of a heart- history — Liston, Shavers, Foreman, Ron in 1960 after winning a gold medal for the er Wilma Rudolph was the first woman to less world, and the soul of soulless con- Lyle, Joe Frazier — and he beat them all. U.S. in light heavyweight boxing at the win three Olympic Gold Medals. Decath- ditions.” He was everything that we were Who could forget Ali’s fight against Rome Olympics. There, he won his first lon Gold Medal winner Rafer Johnson and are — outfront and defiant for all to George Foreman and the images of Ali fight against Yvon Becot of Belgium. was the first African-American Olympic see how magnificent and brave we are and surrounded by throngs in the Democrat- In 1960, youth in the U.S. South initi- Captain. African-American athletes won a must continue to be. ic Republic of Congo? Foreman was the ated the sit-in movement, demanding an total of 22 medals, 16 of which were gold.” The dialogue will continue about Ali’s establishment’s pick, a powerful fighter end to legalized segregation in restaurants Becoming Muhammad Ali political importance. But what made him with a more fearsome reputation than and other commercial establishments. On the Greatest must be reclaimed. Sonny Liston. Ali took Foreman’s ev- Feb. 1, in Greensboro, N.C., four students After Clay won the heavyweight boxing It was not only boxing that made Ali ery punch and taunted his foe, wearing from the North Carolina Agricultural and championship against favored titlehold- great and the champ. His skill as a boxer him down before coming alive to knock Industrial College, attended by African er Sonny Liston on Feb. 25, 1964, he an- is part of it. Some might sum up boxing as him out in the eighth round. It was a Americans, sat down at Woolworth’s De- nounced his membership in the Nation he once did, “Boxing is a lot of white men demonstration of his in-ring greatness, partment store in a “whites only” section. of Islam, and declared that his new name workers.org June 16, 2016 Page 7

Moorehead is the 2016 presidential candidate of Workers World Party. Her vice presidential running mate The People’s Champ — is Lamont Lilly. beautiful, brilliant and great Muhammad Ali’s legacy: He ‘shook the world’ Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali Ali’s stance resulted in the loss of his By Monica Moorehead led by students at Historically license to fight, his championship belts, Black Colleges and Universities money — and his best fighting years. He Like millions of people around the against segregated lunch count- knew of this possibility and remained world, the Moorehead/Lilly 2016 elec- ers throughout the South. resolute. When he returned to the ring, tion campaign mourns the profound loss When Clay embraced Black his physical talents were somewhat di- of “The Greatest,” Muhammad Ali. The Nationalism by converting to the minished. Reflexes and speed are the first three-time heavyweight boxing champi- Muslim faith, joining the Nation things a fighter loses. on suffered from Parkinson’s disease for of Islam and changing his name over 30 years before succumbing to sep- in 1964, the demand for Black Beloved worldwide tic shock due to respiratory failure. When Liberation at home and abroad This is the Ali that the world — outside Ali was named the “greatest sportsman of — in the form of the Civil Rights of mainstream bourgeois circles — re- the 20th century” by Sports Illustrated in Movement here and the anti-co- members. It is why he could travel any- 1999, very few could deny it. lonial struggles for national where in the world — to Cuba, Iraq, Libya, When he became champion in 1964 af- independence on the African Muhammed Ali in Kinshasa, Zaire (Congo) in 1974. the Congo, Philippines and elsewhere — ter beating Sonny Liston, a brash 22-year- contingent — were impacting op- and people by the tens of thousands would old, Ali, known then as Cassius Marcellus pressed peoples, including Ali. Ali’s rebellion against white suprem- gather and wait to see him. This is why he Clay, stated boldly that he “had shook up When Ali refused to be drafted into the acy and the status quo endeared him to was respected by revolutionaries and an- the world.” Little did he know how pro- U.S. military in 1967 due to his faith, he millions of people worldwide, including ti-imperialists. phetic those words would become. defiantly stated that no Vietnamese per- today’s younger generation. Black Lives It is also why a reviled, bourgeois, re- A li’s prominence as a great fighter would son ever called him the N word and there- Matter activists are seeking to know more actionary demagogue like Donald Trump eventually extend beyond the boxing ring. fore he had no quarrel with the Vietnam- about what Ali stood for. How many sea- or any other politician might speak glow- He evolved into the most popular symbol ese people. Ali took on this heroic stance soned activists even know that decades ingly of him today, but would have hated worldwide for racial pride and against the simultaneously with a powerful anti-war ago Ali supported the right of return of him 50 years ago. Throw a rock in any di- U.S. genocidal war in Vietnam. What gets movement — a movement that embraced the Palestinian people and visited refugee rection, and you might hit someone who lost in all the accolades for Ali since his him after the racist U.S. government camps in southern Lebanon? speaks of Ali as if they are memorializing death — including from those who once stripped him of his heavyweight title. The lasting legacy of Muhammad Ali the same man the oppressed do. They lie. despised him — was that Ali did not take should be examined and understood: how That is not our Ali. Our Muhammad Ali his heroic stances in a social vacuum. He Towering gure of resistance he played a historic role in a particular was not safe. Our Ali spoke like us and for was influenced by political and economic For almost four years, before the U.S. epoch of the class struggle and how that us. We keep him close to our chest, and conditions, especially the oppression of Supreme Court overruled his draft con- struggle impacted him as an individual. that is the Ali we mourn. Our Ali believed the Black masses and their massive resis- viction, Ali was denied the right to defend One cannot be separated from the other. in doing the impossible: “Impossible is tance during that historic era. his title during the prime years of his ca- This is important, as bourgeois histori- just a big word thrown around by small Like many idealistic young Afri- reer. Once his title was stolen from him, ans are now seeking to coopt and sanitize men who find it easier to live in the world can-American athletes, Ali had hoped Ali was invited to speak at many college what he did and why he did it. they’ve been given than to explore the that winning a gold medal at the 1960 campuses to explain his anti-war posi- Muhammad Ali was a fighter on many power they have to change it. Impossible Olympic games in Rome would help him tion. He became the most recognizable fronts, refusing to bow down to white su- is not a fact. It’s an opinion. Impossible is strike a blow against racial segregation in Black activist who stood up to the U.S. premacy and U.S. imperialism on his own not a declaration. It’s a dare. Impossible his hometown of Louisville, Ky. It did not. war machine’s genocidal war in Vietnam. rebellious, powerful terms. Workers World is potential. Impossible is temporary. Im- In reaction to being denied the right to Ali was viewed as both a victim of and a Party joins millions of people around the possible is nothing.” eat at an all-white lunch counter, a justi- resister against the U.S. government. world in declaring that Ali will always hold He was The Greatest. We will remem- fied, enraged Clay stated publicly that he To this day, the government has offered a special place, inspiring millions to shake ber him as we fight on. Ali presente! We would throw his gold medal in the river. no formal apology to Ali and his family the world collectively for a social revolu- will win. This occurred before the massive upsurge for its vindictive ruling. tion. Muhammad Ali ¡Presente! A fighter against war and racism was Muhammad Ali. Consequently, he Resistance to the draft June 28, the Supreme Court unanimously became a target for the ruling class and Ali was drafted into the overturned Ali’s conviction for refusing the corporate press. U.S. military in 1966 and the draft. Ali invited Malcolm X to Miami for the refused induction in early Ali regained the title in Zaire (now the Clay vs. Liston fight. After returning to 1967, saying he had no quar- Democratic Republic of Congo) in Octo- New York, Malcolm X took Ali on a tour of rels with the Vietnamese ber 1974, defeating George Foreman, the the United Nations and introduced him to people. The boxing estab- 1968 Olympic gold medal heavyweight African and other diplomats. In December lishment took his title away, boxing winner. Then, thousands of peo- 1963, Malcolm X had been silenced for 90 while the courts convicted ple from throughout Africa and the world days by NOI leader, the Honorable Elijah him of violating the Selective visited the country. Famous Black artists, Muhammad, over his “chickens-coming- Service Act and sentenced including James Brown, B.B. King, the home-to-roost” statement about President the champion to five years in O’Jays and Miriam Makeba, performed in John F. Kennedy’s assassination. prison. He remained free on several concerts. Developments in March 1964 broke the bond, while appealing the Even though Zaire was a neocolonial relationship between Ali and Malcolm X. sentence and speaking out outpost of reaction and counterrevolu- Chicago NOI headquarters informed Mal- across the country. tion across Africa, the African masses colm X of his indefinite suspension, and Ali’s stance was shared by expressed their solidarity with Ali as il- Muhammad Ali and President Kwame Nkrumah. barred him from speaking at mosques or thousands of African Amer- lustrated in the documentary “When We publicly on behalf of the organization that President Kwame Nkrumah, the found- icans, whites and others who objected to Were Kings.” he had made famous worldwide. er of modern Africa and a proponent of serving in a war of genocide against the Ali fought a victorious bout with Joe Malcolm X announced at a March 12 Pan-Africanism and socialism. When en- Vietnamese people. The NOI and organi- Frazier in the Philippines in 1975. His press conference in Harlem that he was countering Malcolm in an Accra hotel, Ali zations in the struggle, such as SNCC and contests afterwards led to both victories forming a separate mosque. His efforts refused to address him. the Black Panther Party, opposed the war and defeats before he retired in 1981. took on a more direct political character Acrimony between Malcolm X, who and pledged their solidarity with the Na- The life of Muhammed Ali illustrates when he asserted that the new Muslim formed the Organization of Afro-American tional Liberation Front of Vietnam. the role of African Americans in sports Mosque, Inc. would engage in voter reg- Unity in June 1964, and the NOI escalat- Ali won back his right to participate and its relationship to the broader strug- istration and perhaps form a Black polit- ed into an ideological and personal con- in professional boxing in 1970 when a gle against national oppression. His death ical party. flict. Relations were so strained that when ruling allowed him to fight again for the has highlighted the great contributions Ali and Malcolm X met for the last Malcolm X was assassinated on Feb. 21, first time in over three years. By March he made as an athlete and fighter against time publicly in Ghana in West Africa in 1965, the federal government and corpo- 1971, he lost his title to Joe Frazier at imperialist war and for social justice for May 1964, when the country was led by rate media tried to blame the NOI. New York’s Madison Square Garden. On oppressed peoples. Page 8 June 16, 2016 workers.org Fort Dix 5 Community protests Islamophobia

By Joe Piette ney prosecuting Camden, N.J. the case was Chris Christie, WW PHOTO: JOE PIETTE Brothers Eljvir, Dritan and Shain Duka now governor of New Jersey and a sup- In front of two large, colorful banners, the word of the men he put in jail for life. were convicted eight years ago of partic- porter of right-wing presidential candi- supporters held black and white placards Those lawyers said they offered to let the ipating in a plot they had literally never date Donald Trump. reading: “Justice for the Ft. Dix 5. Islam- men testify. The men said they were de- heard of, in an atmosphere of Islam- On June 1, Duka family members, ophobia convicted the Duka brothers. nied the opportunity to speak to the jury ophobia fueled by ambitious politicians area Muslim residents and community Free them now.” in their own voices. and sensationalist media headlines. The activists from Philadelphia, New Jer- The Free the Fort Dix 5 Support Com- A statement by The National Coalition Duka brothers received life sentences sey, Washington, D.C., and New York mittee organized the press conference in to Protect Civil Freedoms emphasized: plus 30 years for their disputed role in a gathered at the Federal Courthouse in less than 24 hours. Muhammed Malik “This decision further illustrates the in- government-manufactured “conspiracy” Camden, N.J., to express outrage at the of the FFD5SC told the two dozen par- justice that Muslims have faced at the to attack Fort Dix, a U.S. military base in judge’s denial of the brothers’ appeal. ticipants: “Continue to come out and op- hand of the courts and makes it impossi- New Jersey. Robert Boyle, Shain Duka’s attorney, pose Islamophobia, which is attempting ble to envision a legal system where Mus- On May 31, U.S. District Judge Robert said in a press statement read to the to entrap people, which is attempting to lims have a legitimate chance at gaining Kugler, the same judge who sentenced press: “The government used highly paid reduce Muslims to animals. We want to justice. The NCPCF ardently believes in the brothers originally, denied their ap- informants that manipulated the Dukas make sure we continue to stand up and the innocence of these men and will con- peal for relief post-conviction because into making theoretical statements that fight back.” tinue to campaign on their behalf until of ineffective counsel. The three Muslim the government then used to charge them they are released.” men argued their convictions should be with terrorism. No act was ever commit- Justice denied once again Attorney Boyle, in a statement de- overturned, since their attorneys im- ted by them. No act was ever planned by The brothers’ appeal hearing, held in claring Shain Duka’s intention to ap- properly prevented them from testifying them. Nor did they agree to commit any January, was limited to a narrow point of peal again, said, “Those of us who are during their 2008 trial. illegal acts. The result is that hard-work- law: whether the men’s not testifying ma- not Muslim must join with our Muslim Mohamad Schnewer, Serdar Tatar and ing young men with devoted families are terially affected the outcome of the case. brothers and sisters and others of good the three Duka brothers were entrapped serving sentences of life without parole. District Judge Kugler’s denial of their ap- will to secure justice for the Dukas and by two informants in an FBI sting oper- This case was not about fighting terror- peal came down to his belief in the cred- other victims of government miscon- ation for the alleged plot. The U.S. attor- ism. It was about feeding fear.” ibility of the original lawyers rather than duct.” Cuomo tries to quash BDS movement Zika: By Lyn Neeley By Joe Catron cleansed from their homes. French courts have convicted a series New York Announcing his broadside, Cuomo of BDS activists on grounds of “discrimi- As the thermometer soars past 90 de- peppered his speech with predictable nation,” with four in the city of Toulouse grees and Zika arrives in the Southern Before marching in the annual “Cel- bluster: “If you boycott against Israel, currently facing charges for distributing states, summer won’t be fun and games, ebrate Israel” parade in Manhattan on New York will boycott you. If you divert flyers encouraging the boycott of Israeli especially for women, Black people and June 5, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo revenues from Israel, New York will di- goods. the poor. Zika is arriving. signed an executive order requiring pub- vert revenues from you. If you sanction While Cuomo snickered on Sunday Hot, moist climates, extreme poverty, lic agencies controlled by his executive Israel, New York will sanction you.” that passing legislation can “often be crowded neighborhoods, stagnant water branch to divest from companies and But it is not immediately clear who his a tedious affair,” nine states, as well as pooling in refuse and drainage ditches, institutions that “participate in boycott, order, which mentions only public in- Nassau County, New York, have enacted still no federal funding or coordinated divestment, or sanctions activity target- vestments in entities that support BDS, anti -BDS bills over the past year. These prevention plan, reactionary abortion ing Israel.” might actually affect. None of the com- measures range from rhetorical denun- laws: a bad recipe for the rampant spread The order, announced to a beaming panies that have changed their policies ciations of the movement to attempts to of Zika-carrying mosquitoes. crowd of Zionist leaders and business following massive campaigns have ac- impose policies against it like Cuomo’s, The World Health Organization en- executives at the elite Harvard Club, also knowledged the role of BDS, much less with similarly unclear results. courages countries heavily affected by requires the commissioner of the Office endorsed it. Last month, BDS co- founder Omar Zika to use “both old and new approaches of General Services to compile and main- Gilad Erdan, Israeli public security Barghouti announced that Israel had re- to mosquito control as the most immedi- tain a list of targeted entities. and strategic affairs minister, railed that fused to renew his travel document, im- ate line of defense.” (theguardian, Feb. 16) “Cuomo’s action has the ugliest at- “BDS was a factor in the decision of secu- posing an effective travel ban on him. tributes of McCarthyism: identifying rity company G4S to sell their operations “Having lost many battles for hearts Zika is a women’s issue organizations that engage in speech we in Israel.” However, the British-Danish and minds at the grassroots level, Israel This month a New Jersey woman gave dislike and ‘Let’s blacklist them,’” Baher security conglomerate, a contractor with has adopted since 2014 a new strategy birth to the third baby in the U.S. with Azmy, executive director of the Center Israeli prisons and occupation forces, de- to criminalize support for BDS from the Zika-related microcephaly. She acquired for Constitutional Rights, told the Asso- murred, preferring to cite “strategic and top,” Barghouti told the New York Times Zika while visiting Honduras. ciated Press. “This is a well -orchestrated, commercial grounds” for its decision. June 5 after Cuomo’s announcement. Over 150 pregnant women in the U.S. well -funded, organized strategy to dis- The company’s claim has an element of And over recent months, the move- have reported Zika-like symptoms, and proportionately punish U.S.-based activ- truth. BDS has always sought to impact ment’s website, bdsmovement.net, was another 129-plus are in U.S. colonies, ists. Really ugly.” (AP, June 5) its commercial targets by impacting neg- hit with a series of Distributed Denial of mainly Puerto Rico. (CDC, May) Women The Boycott, Divestment and Sanc- atively on their bottom lines, that is, low- Service attacks that online security firm are desperately seeking more information tions movement, launched by Palestinian ering their profits, rather than through eQualit.ie described as having “a level of about Zika, a looming crisis that can af- organizations in 2005, continues to ex- moral appeals. And organizations whose sophistication and commitment not gen- fect the lives of women and their families. pand in its tenth year, driving corporate support it has sought and won, like the erally seen.” A new report shows women of repro- giants like Veolia, Orange, CHR Interna- United Church of Christ and the United “These latest cyber attacks against BDS ductive age (from 15 to 44) are 90 per- tional and G4S from the Israeli market; Electrical Workers, have no stock to buy seem to be part of a full-fledged Israeli cent more likely than men to be infected pushing Israeli enterprises, including or sell. war on the movement that includes Mc- with Zika through sexual transmission. SodaStream and Ahava, out of the occu- While time will tell, Cuomo’s order Carthyite legal repression, use of intelli- This means more babies may be born pied West Bank; and winning campaign reads as if it had been carefully drafted gence services and yet more funding for with virus-caused microcephaly due to victories. to avoid any practical consequence, in- ‘brand Israel’ propaganda,” Mahmoud sexual transmission than was previous- The BDS movement demands that cluding an inevitable legal challenge on Nawajaa, general coordinator of the Pal- ly thought, making the need for access Israel end its occupation and coloni- constitutional grounds. estinian BDS National Committee, said to contraception even more important as zation of all Arab lands and dismantle But political grandstanding or not, in a statement on June 2. Zika spreads. (Cold Spring Harbor Labo- the “Apartheid Wall” in the West Bank, Cuomo’s action joins a growing raft of Catron is a member of Al-Awda New ratory, May 26) extend full equality to its own minority measures by Israel and its allies to re- York: The Palestine Right to Return Co- Zika reaches a fetus by crossing cells of Palestinian citizens and allow the re- press a global surge of solidarity with alition and an organizer with Samidoun: into the placenta. The virus kills develop- turn of Palestinian refugees ethnically Palestinians. Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network. ing nerve cells in fetal brain tissue. (Lan- workers.org June 16, 2016 Page 9 Support for Venezuela as Latin American unity pushes back OAS

By Cheryl LaBash tion tried and convicted socialist Cuba. … up another weapon against Bolivarian menace; Venezuela, after all, is of great- “The Ministry of Foreign Relations con- Venezuela to justify imperialist interven- er economic and strategic importance to A campaign against the Bolivarian siders what has now occurred in Wash- tion — including military intervention. the United States than were El Salvador Republic of Venezuela by Secretary Gen- ington as new evidence that Our America Journalist Berta Joubert-Ceci de- and Nicaragua in the 80s’ [where the U.S. eral Luis Almagro of the Organization has changed, although the OAS contin- scribed the warm-up for the special government supported death squads and of American States was pushed back on ues to be an unreformable instrument of meeting of the OAS Permanent Council: CIA-trained insurgents].” (alba-tcp.org) June 1. A special meeting of the OAS Per- U.S. domination over the peoples of Latin “To fulfill his role serving U.S. interests, At its close on June 4, the Seventh As- manent Council declared its “respect for America and the Caribbean, a reminder Secretary General of the Organization sociation of Caribbean States Summit the nonintervention principle in the do- of what President Raul Castro Ruz said … of American States Luis Almagro an- held in Havana presented a special com- mestic affairs of the States; and that every when paraphrasing Jose Marti, he assert- nounced on May 13 from Miami that the muniqué in support of the Bolivarian State has the right to choose, without ex- ed, “Before Cuba returns to the OAS, the OAS should apply its Democratic Charter government of Venezuela. ternal interference, its political, econom- northern seas will unite with the south- against Venezuela. For the OAS to arrive ic, and social system and to organize itself ern seas, and a snake will be born from at a decision, Almagro requested that the Letter defends Venezuela in the best way suited to it,” and “support the egg of an eagle.” (minrex.gob.cu) National Assembly of Venezuela report A May 31 protest letter to Almagro for all efforts of understanding, dialogue The OAS has formally rescinded the on the political situation. Almagro made signed by at least 81 concerned organiza- and the constitutional procedures.” suspension of revolutionary Cuba. Yet the announcement at the two-day con- tions and individuals from the U.S. and This last point supports the initiative for Cuba was finally invited to attend the ference called the ‘Concordia Summit,’ Canada was hand-delivered to the OAS dialogue facilitated by the Union of South OAS-sponsored April 2015 Summit of at which 200 rightist representatives of headquarters in Washington, D.C., the American Nations (UNASUR), although the Americas in Panama only after the public and private sectors gathered to an- site of the special meeting. it does not mention the organization by countries of Latin America refused to alyze the situation on the continent. The signers said they were “deeply con- name. More importantly, it recognizes the have a summit without Cuba. “It’s enough to see the names of the cerned by your intervention in Venezuela legitimacy of the Bolivarian Constitution, In 2011, 33 of the 35 countries in the participants to guess its agenda: Luis on behalf of the opposition United Demo- a target of the anti-Chavista right wing. Western Hemisphere united in the Com- Alberto Moreno, president of the In- cratic Roundtable (MUD) and its allies in The Cuban Ministry of Foreign Re- munity of Latin American and Caribbe- ter-American Development Bank, and Washington as well as your relentless at- lations in a June 2 statement supported an States, omitting imperialist U.S. and former presidents and prime ministers, tacks on the administration of President Venezuela’s “difficult but victorious dip- Canada. This development followed the including Luis Alberto Lacalle of Uru- Nicolás Maduro. lomatic battle against the interventionist defeat of the U.S.-inspired Free Trade guay, Sebastián Piñera of Chile, Jorge “Far from helping Venezuela move plans of imperialism and oligarchies.” Area of the Americas and the birth of the Quiroga of Bolivia, Alvaro Uribe of Co- toward a peaceful and cooperative res- The statement added: “All appearanc- solidarity trading bloc, the Bolivarian lombia and José María Aznar of Spain. olution of these challenges, your inter- es indicated that a triumphal parade was Alliance for the Peoples of Our America “Incidentally, it was at this summit cessions over the past year have served at hand, but the Secretary General, OAS — Peoples’ Trade Treaty, as well as oth- where Uribe called for foreign military to exacerbate the conflict. We urge you bureaucrats and their ghastly mentors er continental self-governing bodies like intervention to help the Venezuelan op- to avoid further partisanship and play a forgot that we do not live in 1962 when UNASUR and PetroCaribe. position.” (workers.org, May 24) more constructive and impartial role in with shameful complicity the organiza- On Feb. 15, Venezuela objected to Al- promoting peace and dialogue. For an Conspiracy vs. Venezuela made in USA magro posting on the OAS website a example of a such an approach one only The draft declaration attacking Bo- Washington Post opinion piece by edito- need look to the mediation efforts of the livarian Venezuela had been submit- rial writer Jackson Diehl, “A revitalized Union of South American Nations (UNA- ted by the delegation of Argentina, with voice for the Americas.” Diehl lauds Al- SUR), which has the backing of UN Sec- co-sponsorship of the U.S., Honduras, magro for intervening in the Venezuelan retary-General Ban ki-Moon. crisis of Peru, Mexico and Bahamas. But Wash- parliamentary elections with an open “We are particularly concerned about ington started the attack with its Ven- letter attacking the Venezuelan govern- your strong support for the MUD’s ef- ezuela Defense of Human Rights and ment. “He’s also intervened in Haiti’s forts to pressure the OAS into invoking the poor Civil Society Act, which went into effect election crisis, a corruption scandal in the Inter-American Democratic Charter on Dec. 18, 2014 — the day after the U.S. Guatemala and a border dispute between against the Maduro government; your cet, March 15) Zika reproduces in these released the last three members of the Colombia and Venezuela,” Diehl writes. attempts to cast doubt on the democratic neural cells and infects neighboring cells. Cuban 5 and presidents Raul Castro and Venezuela says of Diehl’s right-wing legitimacy of last December’s legislative The virus also damages cells that insu- Barack Obama committed to normaliz- history: “On various occasions he has elections during the weeks preceding late neurons in a fetus and in adults. (Cell ing relations between the U.S. and Cuba. expressed frustration that the U.S. gov- the vote; your intense lobbying in favor Stem Cell, May) Even tiny amounts of vi- On March 8, 2015, President Barack ernment has not dealt more aggressively of the highly controversial amnesty bill; rus can cause damage throughout preg- Obama declared Venezuela “an unusual with the Venezuelan government (despite the selective nature of your expressions nancy, especially in the first trimester. and extraordinary threat to the national the fact that the Bush administration en- of indignation over violations of human The World Health Organization re- security and foreign policy of the United dorsed the 2002 coup). In August 2004, rights; and your failure to denounce ported in June evidence of a wider range States.” Diehl stated that ‘It is virtually unprec- Washington’s increasingly belligerent of abnormalities than was earlier expect- The OAS secretary general, allied with edented for Washington to do so little posture towards Caracas.” ed from Zika-related births: eye defects, the Venezuelan oligarchy, sought to line about such a considerable Latin America Read the full letter at infoamericas.info. hearing loss, impaired growth, spasticity, seizures and irritability. In Brazil, nearly 1,000 babies have been born with microcephaly since the Due to poverty, Southerners have a may be ready to test by September. How- sent” into heated public meetings. They Zika outbreak last October. Abortion is higher incidence of chronic illnesses and ever, “A top health researcher said he is argue that with so many variables in na- illegal and contraception hard to find in other poor health outcomes. More people worried a lack of funding may dramat- ture, we should be more careful. Besides, Brazil, but Southern states in the U.S. also live without health coverage or Medic- ically impede the search for a Zika vac- the program is expensive for developing have severe anti-choice laws. In Texas, so aid. The gender-wage gap is highest in cine, as the House and Senate prepare countries and poor Southern communi- many women’s clinics have had to shut the South, with the biggest discrepancy to lock horns over how much funding to ties. Oxitec’s bioengineered mosquitoes down that 25 percent of women seeking in Louisiana, where women make 65.9 provide the Obama administration to would cost Brazil $10 per person, twice abortions live over 140 miles from a clin- cents for every dollar a man makes. (U.S. deal with the virus.” (Washington Exam- the country’s current annual budget for ic. Long distances, loss of a workday, no News, September 2014) iner, May) Zika control. money for child care and transportation Extreme poverty makes it unrealistic Oxitec, a British biotech company, en- Oxitec supporters say engineered mos- put women, especially poor women, in a for people to follow recommendations for gineered and tested genes designed to quitoes will replace harmful, ineffective tough situation. “Between 100,000 and preventing Zika: install window screens, reduce populations of the Zika-carrying insecticides that can’t reach areas in- 240,000 women of reproductive age liv- air conditioning, drainage pipes, clean mosquito, Aedes aegypti. Both are in- doors and will increase mosquito resis- ing in Texas tried to end their pregnancy up standing water, get regular medi- serted into male mosquitoes that don’t tance over time. With 3,000 mosquito on their own,” reported ThinkProgress cal check-ups. “Another thing Southern bite humans when released into the wild. species on earth, the technology targets on March 30. states have in common is Republican One gene causes males to bear infertile only the invasive species Aedes aegypti. political leaders that have spent the past offspring; the other gene kills future off- Disease-carrying mosquito bites from Zika is a class and race issue decade shrinking the social safety net.” spring. 100 species make them the most deadly By the end of June, Zika is expected to (Huffpost Business, July 2014) Although Oxitec claims a 90 percent animal on earth, killing over 700,000 hit the South, where over 20 percent of The poorest counties will continue to success rate during field tests in the people a year. (Smithsonian, June) the people live in poverty. But this figure have the worst mosquito control pro- Cayman Islands, Panama, Malaysia and It’s time for the U.S. to approve sub- doesn’t show the huge white-Black pover- grams, because there is no central plan- Brazil, those rates may be controversial. stantial funding to deal with the Zika cri- ty gap. ning or funding in the U.S. for this crisis. Last month the company announced an sis — not just take money allotted for Eb- For example, Wilcox County, Ala., is In fact, the Centers for Disease Control expansion of the program it calls the ola and other tropical diseases. It’s time the poorest county in the U.S. Not for and Prevention cut $44 million in April Friendly Aedes aegypti Project. to fund research for vaccines and tech- white people, though. The poverty rate from its fund that helps state and local Pending FDA approval, Oxitec hopes nologies to curb the Zika crisis. It’s time among the county’s white population is governments prepare for public health to conduct trials in the Florida Keys this to bail out the Southern states to stop the just 8.8 percent, compared to 50.2 per- emergencies. (NPR, May 19) summer. spread of Zika and provide contracep- cent for the Black population. The trend Opponents of the field trials include the tion, abortions and women’s health care. is similar in other Black Belt counties. Money for vaccines and Zika research Florida Keys Environmental Coalition, It’s time to subsidize families with chil- (Al.com, May 2015) There are five possible vaccines that which carries signs reading “No Con- dren who will live with microcephaly. Page 10 June 16, 2016 workers.org Queer solidarity kicks cops out of Pride

By Matty Stardust that is at best privileged and isolated, LGBTQ Pride Philadelphia and at worst directly undermines this critical work.” (Trentonian.com, May 23) Members of Philadelphia’s multiracial A petition opposing the selection picked in ght-back LGBTQ community came together to op- up more than 350 signatures in less than pose the nomination of the Philadelphia a week. police Gay Officers Action League as Despite this outpouring of grass-roots June is the month we mark our calen- lions by these LGBTQ people against grand marshals of the 2016 Philly Pride opposition to the disgusting pro-cop dars to honor and celebrate the fightback state-sanctioned racist police repression. Parade. spectacle, Philly Pride staff remained un- courage and resistance of the LGBTQ So this Pride month let us honor the Pride, formerly known as “Gay Pride,” responsive, except to call an emergency community. Pride Month originated in lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, gender- is a yearly celebration of the June 1969 meeting where they shamelessly defend- rebellions by LGBTQ people in 1966 at queer and non-binary people who have Stonewall Rebellion, where queer ed their corrupt actions. A grouping of Compton’s Cafeteria in Los Angeles and led and are leading resistance to racism and trans people fought back against anti-racist LGBTQ individuals, includ- in 1969 at The Stonewall Inn in New and poverty, to state legislative violence, state-sanctioned police violence in New ing survivors of police terror, attended York, sparking the modern gay liberation to police brutality. York City’s Greenwich Village. Armed the meeting. There they promised civil movement in the U.S. We honor Sylvia Rivera and Marsha with rocks and bottles, the multinational disobedience, in the true spirit of Stone- What we should mark in our hearts P. Johnson, Latina and African-Amer- grouping of LGBTQ people at The Stone- wall, if the cops were allowed to lead the to remember every day of the year is ican trans heroes of the Stonewall Re- wall Inn held the cops under siege for parade. that those rising up in righteous anger bellion. We honor CeCe McDonald, Afri- four days. The rebellion is widely consid- Finally, amid growing public pressure were mostly trans people of color, gay can-American trans woman who fought ered a turning point in the struggle for and mobilizations for militant anti-cop youth hustling to survive on the streets, back against white supremacy and was queer and trans liberation. demonstrations, the cops themselves draft-resisting crossdressers, gender sent to prison for it — and we honor our The nomination of cops to lead this caved under the pressure. In a May 26 nonconforming lesbians, drag queens comrade Leslie Feinberg and the people year’s parade in Philadelphia not only rep- press release posted to GOAL’s Facebook and kings — a complex spectrum of peo- worldwide who defended CeCe. resents a gross revision of Pride’s revolu- page, the group announced that “after ple of transmasculine and transfeminine We honor the queer and gender-non- tionary history. It’s also a racist attack on calls from concerned members of the identities and expressions. conforming founders and leaders in the the members of the community who con- Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Those rising up were, in fact, the very Black Lives Matter movement, including tinue to be plagued by police abuse, most Queer (LGBTQ) communities, the great- kinds of people targeted this year by Jasmine Abdullah Richards, targeted by significantly transgender people of color. er Philadelphia chapter of the Gay Offi- the “bathroom bully” legislation against the Pasadena police and recently con- Organizers published an open letter cers Action League (GOAL) respectfully trans people in North Carolina, which victed of a trumped-up felony charge for signed by dozens of community members declined the honor of appearing as Grand also eliminated protections for lesbian, going to the aid of someone harassed by and groups opposing the choice, explain- Marshals in the Philadelphia Pride Pa- gay and bisexual people and for work- the cops. ing: “In the midst of the #BlackLivesMat- rade.” (facebook.com/phillygoal) ers. Other states are making their own We honor the queer and trans people ter movement, which affirms the value Organizers will continue to meet to anti-trans laws, including Michigan with of color leading the effort to overturn the of Black life and fights anti-Black racism plan how to further defend the anti-rac- two hateful bills. bigoted HB2 legislation in North Carolina and police violence, choosing GOAL as ist, revolutionary history and future of The people rising up on those hot — those who are marching, sitting in, dis- the grand marshals for 2016 is a move the queer liberation movement. summer nights in the 60s were resisting rupting and creating a new future, those the state. They were resisting the police. who are leading an LGBTQ rebellion that They rose up because their small gath- chants along with Assata Shakur, “It is Bualo ering places got raided by the same cops our duty to fight for our freedom. It is our who routinely brutalized them for being duty to win. We must love each other and queer people, poor people, people of col- support each other. We have nothing to Anti-racist solidarity or on the streets and in the bars. lose but our chains.” Compton’s and Stonewall were rebel- in Pride parade Free Jasmine Richards!

Continued from page 5 Jasmine Richards, a courageous wom- were numerous deadly riots of white an, a skilled and determined young or- mobs attacking African Americans. Just ganizer, is the first African American as often, cops willingly turned over Afri- to ever be convicted of so-called “felony can Americans to murderous mobs. lynching.” Black Lives Matter organiz- Richards was represented by long- ers are calling on supporters to pack the time civil rights attorney Nana Gyamfi, courtroom and are pushing for an out- who pointed out that the person the cops come that will mean no more jail time. claimed was removed from their custody Every progressive should check out was never even handcuffed, and there BLM online to figure out how they can was no “riot” at all. help in this important case. We need to The so-called justice system belongs unite to turn back attempts by the cops On June 5, a youth contingent of Work- many corporate entries in the parade and to those who have much to fear from a and courts to criminalize anti-racist ac- ers World Party and the International drew a tremendous response from the strong anti-racist movement, and this tivists. Free Jasmine Richards! Black- Action Center marched in the Buffalo crowd. Everywhere people raised fists conviction is a reminder of that. Lives Matter! Pride parade in anti-racist solidarity and loudly cheered on the contingent, with the Black Lives Matter movement whose demands included an end to racist and against transphobic violence. This police brutality and anti-trans violence. Are you a WW Supporter? militant contingent was unique given the — Report and photo by Garrett Dicembre

New Orleans  If reading WW has convinced you that Then invest your hard-earned dollars in sta, but the cost of printing and mailing the racist establishment — from killer Workers World — the only revolutionary WW 51 weeks a year is a huge expense. cops to the unjust court system — socialist weekly in the U.S. that’s in print as Not to mention the monthly overhead for has got to go well as on the Web. our easily accessible Manhattan oce!  If you nd the bigoted anti-trans law The WW Supporter Program was found- That’s why we’re asking you to join the passed in North Carolina an outra- ed in 1977 so our subscribers and friends WW Supporter Program to help us deliver geous attack on the rights of all queer could help build the newspaper. We’re the Marxist-based, worker-oriented, revolu- communities determined to keep issuing a print edition tionary class truth that you’ve come to de-  If you hate the class system that keeps to send to prisoners, hand out at demon- pend upon. We urge you to sign up today! mostly women and people of color in strations, plant gates and street corners We invite you — sign up today! Write low-wage jobs -- and share with people like you who are checks to Workers World and mail them,  If you’re sick and tired of bankers and  If you want to ght for a better way looking for real answers to today’s most with your name and address, to 147 W. bosses making workers pay for the of life based on economic planning, pressing national and international issues. 24th St., 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10011. crisis they didn’t create equitable distribution of wealth and The paper is produced entirely with Or donate online at workers.org/donate/.  If you worry that the capitalist crisis isn’t justice for all volunteer labor donated by contributing And thanks for helping to grow the revolu- going away anytime soon  If you’re lucky enough to still have a job writers, managing editors and production tionary media in the U.S. workers.org June 16, 2016 Page 11 South Africa

LESSONS OF 1976 SOWETO REBELLION By Abayomi Azikiwe ticipated in the demonstration, bringing Both the ANC and its breakaway Lessons of the liberation movement Editor, Pan-African News Wire thousands of youth into the streets. Pan-Africanist Congress of Azania ex- Today, 22 years since the ANC’s as- Police encountered young people who perienced a boost in membership and cendancy to power in South Africa, the On June 16, 1976, students in the were peacefully protesting. They first affiliation. By 1980, the armed struggle struggle is by no means over. Advances Southwest Townships (Soweto) outside threw teargas into the crowd and later escalated: Fuel production refineries have been made in acquiring power, con- of Johannesburg, South Africa, stayed fired live bullets, initially striking at least were bombed by the ANC on June 1. The struction of homes, provision of water to home from school to protest the Bantu four students. After the first massacre, attacks on refineries coincided with the township and rural residents, and the ex- educational system enacted by the racist people scattered, enraged by the outra- apartheid Republic Day. pansion of educational opportunities and apartheid regime in the early 1950s. geous killings of youth. A new generation of resistance took medical care. However, South Africa’s The Bantu Education Act of 1953, Soon enough the West Rand admin- hold, leading to the mass upsurge of the national wealth has not been transferred drafted by H.F. Verwoerd, who became istrative buildings and vehicles were 1980s involving the formation of unions, to the African majority. prime minister in the 1960s, was also burned to the ground. Stores selling alco- civic organizations, a cultural revival and Legitimate grievances remain, which protested by the African population. holic beverages were looted and burned. more consistent armed struggle, which are reflected in the ongoing unrest among Those 1950s demonstrations were even- Other clashes with the police took place led to the racist system’s demise by 1994. the African working class and urban res- tually crushed by the colonial settler re- where dozens of students were mur- The apartheid regime attempted to idents. Yet the U.S. government — which gime’s security forces. dered near the Regina Mundi church in ruthlessly suppress the national lib- reaped tremendous benefits from corpo- Nevertheless, the struggle that began Orlando and the Esso garage in Chiawe- eration struggle through mass incar- rate investments in the apartheid system that June played a major role in the over- lo. When students were halted and dis- ceration, targeted assassinations and — is still seeking to undermine the ANC all battle that eliminated the apartheid persed by the police in one locality, they massacres of protesters and strikers. It government. system from South Africa. swiftly moved on to other areas. also conducted cross-border raids into The ANC is facing formidable challenges Bantu education was designed for Af- By the end of the uprising’s first day, neighboring Frontline States accused of in local governmental elections in August. ricans. Its intent was to convey that the most of Soweto, including Diepkloof, harboring guerrillas from Umkhonto we The rand, the national currency, has de- majority population should not pursue were impacted by the unrest. The apart- Sizwe (MK), the ANC’s military wing. clined in value. That and rising unem ploy- equality with whites. One unintentional heid authorities closed all schools early, ANC offices and training camps in ment rates fueled by capital flight by min- consequence of that act was to increase and many students headed toward home, Angola, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe, ing firms and financial institutions have enrollment of Africans in the school sys- while townships were ablaze. Lesotho and Botswana were raided and worsened the country’s economic crisis. tem, which then provided a base for ex- As demonstrations spread to Cape Town bombed by the South African Defense What lessons can youth in the U.S. and pressing mass discontent with the system and other regions of the country, hundreds Forces. other Western countries learn today from of racist oppression. of people were killed in the following days. More than 1 million died in the strug- these struggles? Like the Civil Rights and In 1976, the Nationalist Party govern- The protests spread across the country, gle to free South Africa and Namibia, Black Power movements, South Africa’s ment declared that educational instruc- joined by more youth and workers. including during efforts to drive out the revolution was based on national and tion would be conducted in English and SADF from southern Angola in the 1970s class oppression. Armed and mass struggles grew Afrikaner, the tongue of the country’s and 1980s. In the U.S., African Americans and dominant oppressors. Students who had The 1976 strikes and rebellions enabled Socialist Cuba provided hundreds of Latinos/as face high rates of joblessness, been radicalized planned to take action the banned and exiled national liberation thousands of volunteers in the fight to de- poverty, police repression and mass in- to oppose the language policy and the de- movements to recruit youth fleeing the feat the SADF in Angola. The South West carceration. Linking the plight of the plorable educational system. country, as well as those who remained Africa People’s Organization in Namibia youth to that of the working class was The action committee of the Soweto there. African National Congress leaders also waged a heroic campaign from 1960 fundamental to Southern Africa’s libera- Students Representative Council report- escalated efforts to provide political and to 1989, which led to that country’s inde- tion movement as a whole. edly called the June 16 march and ini- military training to a new generation of pendence in 1990. The U.S. 2016 presidential campaign, tially involved two high schools: Naledi youthful militants. focused entirely on the two major cap- High in Naledi and Morris Isaacson in italist parties, the Republicans and the Mofolo. Other accounts contend that the Democrats, is not seriously discussing is- main focus of activity was Phefeni Junior sues related to oppressed peoples’ social Secondary, located near Vilakazi Street conditions. This reality suggests the need in Orlando. (sahistory.org.za) for independent self-organization within Phefeni was near the railway station a framework such as the ANC, along with where many students got off the trains its allies in the South African Communist to join the demonstration. The plan was Party and the Congress of South African that students from Naledi High were to Trade Unions. march from this direction and later mo- Lessons from the Soweto uprising and bilize students from the schools on the the struggle that followed — which in- way toward Morris Isaacson. cluded the working class and peasantry Students from Morris Isaacson were — should be considered as a way forward to march from their school and connect to realize self-determination and social with others until they arrived at a central emancipation in the U.S. The capitalist location. There, they would continue col- relations of production in South Africa lectively, in a disciplined manner, to Or- and the U.S. must be overturned to obtain lando Stadium. Other schools also par- genuine liberation and social justice.

By Monica Moorehead, rst printed in 1993 • How the disintegration of the Soviet Union impacted the struggle against apartheid. • The historical relationship between the African National Congress and the South African Communist Party. What this im- portant alliance means for the masses. • Has the bourgeois revolution been achieved in South Africa? How does it fit with the worldwide revolution described by Karl Marx and Frederick Engels in the Communist Manifest in 1848? • Why it is important for revolutionaries and progressives to understand the role of the state, particularly in South Africa. www.workers.org/books.july2012/SouthAfricaMM.pdf 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. 58 Núm. 23 16 de junio 2016 $1 Libertad para Oscar López Rivera, ¡YA! Trabajadores agrícolas de Nueva York luchan por derecho a organizarse

Por Minnie Bruce Pratt milia extendida de aproximadamente doce personas. Trabajadores agrícolas luchan valiente Marks Farm, un importante productor y tenazmente por el derecho a organi- de leche en Nueva York, tiene 10.000 ani- zarse en Nueva York. Actualmente, no males y 60 trabajadores. Hay 60.000 tra- hay una protección jurídica en el estado bajadores en las lecherías del estado, las para impedir que los patronos despidan a cuales alcanzaron los $6,34 mil millones las/os empleados solo por haber conduci- en ventas en el 2014. do acción colectiva con tal de mejorar las En el 2015, Hernández y otros traba- condiciones en el trabajo. jadores entablaron conversaciones con El 10 de mayo, el trabajador Crispín Fuentes sobre temas de seguridad en el Hernández, junto con dos centros de tra- trabajo y para organizar clases de inglés. bajadores de Nueva York – el Centro de Una noche, después de las horas de traba- Trabajadores de CNY (WC-CNY) y el Cen- jo, mientras se reunían en un apartamen- tro de Justicia de Nueva York en Roches- to pequeño que un trabajador alquilaba ter (WJC) – presentaron una demanda al dueño de la granja, el hijo del dueño en contra del estado de Nueva York, exi- llegó y ordenó a Fuentes que se fuera de giendo este derecho a protección. La Ley “su propiedad.” Ella citó la decisión del FOTO: WORKERS JUSTICE CENTER NY Estatal de Relaciones Laborales de Nue- fiscal general de Nueva York la cual dice Relatos de Hernández y del trabajador zarse y negociar colectivamente a lo largo va York de 1936 (SERA) excluyó específi- que las/os trabajadores agrícolas pueden agrícola José García, expuestos por NYC- de los EUA. (National Advisory Commit- camente a los trabajadores agrícolas del tener invitados en sus habitaciones y re- LU, cuentan de días trabajando doce horas tee on Farm Labor, “Farm Labor Organiz- derecho a negociación colectiva. A pesar husó irse a menos que los trabajadores se con sueldo bajo y sin pago de horas extras; ing 1905-1967: A Brief History,” 1967). de que la Constitución estatal de 1938 lo pidieran. lesiones en el trabajo sin atención médica La exclusión surgió por la presión de concedía tal derecho a todas/os los traba- Los trabajadores insistieron, diciendo y falta de equipo de protección para preve- los propietarios de la clase dominante jadores sin excepción, a los trabajadores que ella era su invitada. Ahí fue cuando el nir lesiones; aislamiento rural extremo y blanca del segregado Sur estadoun- agrícolas de Nueva York jamás se les ha dueño notificó tanto a la policía del con- falta de transporte para ir a obtener recur- idense, decididos a excluir a los traba- otorgado totalmente el derecho a organi- dado como a la del estado, quienes inter- sos; racismo, intimidación verbal, y asalto jadores agrícolas afroamericanos de la zarse debido a la exclusión del SERA. rogaron a Fuentes, a Hernández, y a otros físico por supervisores y dueños. posibilidad de sindicalizarse. Campañas A través de la demanda, Hernández y trabajadores. Al ser amenazada con ar- Los trabajadores agrícolas en Nueva organizativas efectivas por parte de tra- los centros de trabajadores exigieron que resto, Fuentes otra vez citó la decisión del York tienen una tasa de mortalidad veinte bajadores agrícolas y aparceros, como el el derecho a organizarse se aplique a los fiscal general. Los trabajadores desafiar- veces más alta que la del trabajador pro- Sindicato de Trabajadores Campesinos trabajadores agrícolas. on al dueño y a la policía al insistir que se medio en el estado. Algunos trabajan de del Sur, se extendió por la región durante El 10 de mayo, en una conferencia quedara y las autoridades se fueron. 90 hasta 95 horas por semana, operando la década de 1930, a menudo bajo el lid- de prensa en Albany Hernández dijo: Una semana después Hernández y Saúl maquinarias peligrosas bajo condiciones erazgo socialista y comunista. (R. Kelley, “Sin trabajadores del campo, no habría Pinto, junto con Fuentes y otros voluntar- extenuantes. (nyclu.org, 10 de mayo) “Hammer and Hoe,” 1990). leche, no habría frutas o verduras, pero ios del WC-CNY, caminaban de tráiler a Para las trabajadoras agrícolas mujeres, Pero incluso con un triunfo histórico nos tratan como esclavos, peor que a tráiler para hablar con los trabajadores una victoria ofrecería una manera de de la demanda, Hernández y otras/os tra- las vacas. Queremos poder mejorar las sobre los derechos que tienen cuando el luchar en contra de la violación y el acoso bajadores agrícolas todavía no tendrían condiciones de trabajo sin miedo o in- hijo del dueño les observe. El día siguiente sexual. Las trabajadoras agrícolas mujeres el derecho al pago de horas extras, seguro timidación. Creemos que nuestras vidas Hernández y Pinto fueron despedidos. enfrentan una tasa altísima de estos deli- de desempleo o compensación de traba- son importantes, y que todos los seres Fuentes dijo a WW-MO que si la con- tos, de acuerdo a un estudio del Centro de jadores, negados bajo las leyes existentes humanos merecen ser tratados con digni- cesión de Cuomo se confirma con una de- Investigación Periodística del 2013. Las de Nueva York. dad y respeto”. cisión positiva, la protección legal se ga- mujeres son particularmente vulnerables Carly Fox, abogada del Centro de Jus- La demanda se basa en la flagrante rantizará para todas/os los trabajadores debido a su estado de documentación, ticia para Trabajadores de Rochester, dijo supresión del derecho del demandante agrícolas de Nueva York por hacer lo que aislamiento rural o social, o por ser el que su organización ha estado luchando principal Crispín Hernández a reunirse hicieron Hernández y los otros cuando sostén primario para sus hijas/os. durante casi quince años por la aproba- libremente con otros trabajadores y con fueron despedidos. Esta acción llamada Esta victoria también dará una her- ción del Acta de Normas Justas para Tra- el Centro de Trabajadores para hablar so- “actividad concertada,” incluye acciones ramienta a las/os trabajadores agrícolas bajadores Agrícolas, la que garantizaría bre preocupaciones por las condiciones de las/os trabajadores tales como la for- para oponerse a la aceleración del traba- los derechos adicionales. en el trabajo. mación de comités para hablar sobre jo y la exigencia de aún más trabajo con El 15 de mayo, comenzó en Long Is- problemas en el trabajo o para represen- salarios de hambre como es la línea de Cuomo cede ante trabajadores land una marcha de 200 millas en apoyo tar a compañeros de trabajo ante el pa- producción agraria, especialmente en el al proyecto de ley y se manifestarán el 1 El 11 de mayo, el gobernador Andrew trono para exigir mejores condiciones de área de productos lácteos. En los EUA, de junio en Albany exigiendo un “sí” para Cuomo anunció que el estado no se trabajo. la tecnología y la especialización han in- el Acta. opondrá a la demanda. Este promete- ‘Actividad concertada’ puede incluir el crementado en nueve los rebaños de las En un email a WW-MO, Carly Fox dor acontecimiento da esperanza de que pedido de un día libre cada semana, que granjas lecheras en los últimos veinte de WJCY dijo que “Las/os trabajadores habrá una decisión exitosa y una victoria el patrono repare maquinaria defectuo- años. En el Noreste, granjas con por lo agrícolas nos alimentan, es ya es hora histórica para los trabajadores agrícolas. sa, o que provea equipos de protección. menos 700 vacas generaron casi el 50 que Nueva York los trate con dignidad y La Unión de Libertades Civiles de Nueva Generalmente, los dueños hacen que los por ciento de la leche producida en 2014. respeto.” York (NYCLU) representa a Hernández, empleados de vaquerías compren sus (D.P. Blayney, “Changing Landscape of Mientras tanto, los trabajadores al WC-CNY, y al WJC. propios guantes largos para protegerse Milk Production,” 2002) agrícolas y los centros de trabajadores se- La organizadora principal del WC- los brazos contra las infecciones y los Las/os trabajadores agrícolas típica- guirán reuniéndose en granjas lejanas en CNY Rebecca Fuentes, en una entrevista desechos de los animales. Fuentes añadió mente enfrentan amenaza e intimidación Nueva York para educar, agitar, organizar con Workers World-Mundo Obrero (WW- que la ‘actividad concertada’ es la tácti- si exigen mejores condiciones de trabajo a y reunir. MO), destacó que la lucha avanza gracias ca usada eficazmente por las/os traba- sus patronos. En el estado de Nueva York, Hay una canción que fue famosa en la al liderazgo de los mismos trabajadores jadores no sindicalizados con baja paga muchas/os trabajadores son mejicanos y década de los 1970, durante la huelga de agrícolas y la dedicación del WC-CNY a como las/os de McDonald’s o Walmart. centroamericanos y si se enfrentan a los Trabajadores Agrícolas y de la lucha por lo largo de los años para “educar, agitar, Fuentes dijo que ganar la demanda propietarios de las granjas, enfrentan el reconocimiento sindical en Califor- y organizar” a trabajadoras/es que viven legal daría a los trabajadores “una herra- también una posible deportación o la pér- nia. Todavía está siendo cantada frente a en áreas rurales apartadas. (New York mienta para resistir” – y firmemente de- dida de una visa de trabajo continuo. Marks Farm en Lowville-Nueva York. Times, 5 de mayo). claró: ¡“Estamos resistiendo”! La extensión del derecho a organi- El picket sign, el picket sign Desde 2012, siendo aún adolescente, zarse para las/os trabajadores del campo Herramienta poderosa Lo llevo por todo el día Hernández trabajaba doce horas al día, de Nueva York rompería el tramo de 80 El picket sign, el picket sign seis días por semana, en la finca Marks Una victoria significaría que Hernán- años de injusticia racista que comenzó en Conmigo toda la vida Farms situada en Lowville-NY. Era tanta dez y otros trabajadores agrícolas ten- 1935, cuando la Ley Wagner estableció la The picket sign, the picket sign la presión que a veces no podía comer o drían una herramienta poderosa para Junta Nacional de Relaciones del Trabajo. I carry it all day with me ir al baño en todo el día. Él era la única desafiar la amplia gama de condiciones Esta ley excluía específicamente a los tra- The picket sign, the picket sign fuente de ingreso para su numerosa fa- horrendas bajo las cuales trabajan. bajadores agrícolas del derecho a organi- With me throughout my life.