Mr & Mrs. Grant Cannon fHH-1<. KIt f E 5htJ Frl..ANCI <:CD 4907 Klatte Road V S. ?O ',TAG- E- (ALIF, Cincinnati, Ohio 45244 rA-ID P r:K ,..... \ II tv'Q 8 ~ 0 3 "BLACK REVOLUTION ISREAL" STOKELY IN CUBA By. Julius Lester, Julius Lester was one of the SNCC representatives who visited Cuba along with Stokely Carmichael. In this .. article he talks about that SNCC REPRESENTATIVES TALK TO PRESS IN HAVANA. (l to r) George Ware, Julius Lester, Stokely Carmichael, Cuban visit. interpreter. (Photo: Felix Greene) Stokely Carmichael's visit to Cuba The meeting was like a gathering of raised more comment from the press revolutionary who's who. Regis Debray's and Congress than word that Lynda Bird attractive wife was there, as well as was going to marry Mao Tse-Tung's son. Frantz Fanon's widow, Senora Che Gue­ To the right-wing it was all the "proof" vara, Wilfred Burchett, Felix Greene they needed that SNCC, Black Power and and a delegation from the National Front the rebellions were Communist and that of Liberation from South Vietnam. THE CORAL SEA indeed, as U.S. NEWS AND WORLD RE­ Stokely's unexpected appearance hap­ PORT "reported," Fidel himself was pened to coincide with the insurrection in behind the "riots." To the liberals Stoke­ Detroit and the analysis that he gave to ly Carmichael had, once again, hurt_the it and the other insurrections was par­ ASailor Tells THE MOVEMENT: "cause" of the Negro. And meanwhile, ticularly relevant in the over-all context Detroit, Milwaukee, and eight other cities of OLAS and played no small role in the were being devastated and it was too much final resolutions. OLAS, in brief, came for white America to deal with. Niggers, together to debate the future of revolu­ niggers everywhere. Some whites started tionary movements in Latin America and LIFE IS HELL wishing for the good old days when all what their approach should be - armed they thought we wanted was to, marry their struggle or struggle through more legal­ daughters. istic means. The Communist Party fol­ Stokely's visit to Cuba was on the lowed the Russian line and pushed peace­ IN THE NAVY occasion of the first meeting of the Or­ ful co-existence and a go-slow approach. ganization of Latin American Solidarity The guerillas were for armed struggle. By Mark K1<~iman (OLAS). Gathered in Havana were dele­ Cuba, of course, was the strongest pro­ ponent of armed struggle and stated its gates from some 20 Latin American coun­ I recently made contact Q. How many atomic weapons does the tries, as well as invited guests from the position unequivocally in the two opening Coral Sea carry? socialist countries (except China, who speeches of the conference delivered by with two men on the USS A. I can't tell you exactly how many, declined to come, saying that OLAS was Armando Hart and President Dorticos. It Coral Sea, a 68,000 ton air­ because I don't have clearance to not serious if they were going to debate was apparent, as the conference opened get near them. But we have enough the efficacy of armed struggle. When however, that to pass a resolution for craft carrier which had re­ to blow half of Asia off the map. they had concluded that armed struggle armed struggle was going to be almost turned from Vietnam and was the only way, G'hina would be happy as difficult as armed struggle itself. to attend and talk business.) Present was docked in Oakland. Both CASUALTIES also were observers and invited guests STOKELY MEETS PRESS m en were against the war, Q. Do you ever hear anything about how from Europe and a full contingent of and neither of them wanted many soldiers and Marines are killed? U.S., Latin-American and Asian press. On the opening day of the conference to go back for their second A. I can't give you any exact figures, but Stokely held a press conference. Hav­ I will tell you that the word that gets ing been swamped with requests for in­ tour of Vietnam, but the back to the States as to how many terviews, it was decided that he hold Coral Sea pulled out July Americans get killed and as to how an open-ended press conference - no many Vietnamese get killed is a time limit, no questions left unanswered. 26, and they went. This is bunch of bullshit. I've talked to Ma­ All press were invited, except for United part of an interview with rines while I was overseas and a lot States press. This was considered pay­ one of the sailors. more of them are getting killed than ment for past services rendered. is getting out in the official figures. The press conference lasted two hours I can't say whether it is more or less and forty-five minutes and when it was Q. When were you in Vietnam? than the number of Vietnamese. over, the press applauded. They had A. We deployed on July 29, 1966 and Q. Would you say that holds true for our asked serious questions and had received returned February 23rd, 1967. aircraft losses as well? lengthy, serious answers, and what they Q. How many planes were you carry­ A. Yes, when I came back no one ever had heard had been beyond their expec­ ing? knew how many planes the CuRAL tations. This was not much so that for the A. There were around sixty aircraft. SEA actually lost. I've never read first three days of OLAS news of the I never made - an exact count be­ an announcement in a paper about the press conference overshadowed every­ cause it didn't seem important. Dur­ number of dead pilots, so they must thing else. ing the cruise, 29 planes were shot not be telling them. And they have down. We left most of the rest in CIA people around in the shore patrol, CONTINUED ON P. 4 Japan, disabled by lack of parts or CONTINUED ON P. 11 mechanical difficulties. IMMORALITY OF PEACE Friends: What THE MOVEMENT does is im­ between American and Asian forces and SNCC AND THE ARAB portant, its coverage of what's happening against armed intervention in Asia by U.S. really comes from where it's happening; forces? Is not, then, the Peace Movement but, because of the Movement's impor­ accomplishing something of possible val­ tance, I worry about some of your writer's ue? -ISRAELI CONFLICT conclusions. I found julius Lester's piece It is true that if we don't have inter­ one of the two most questionable. national peace, we shall probably soon Does peace in Vietnam have to mean have no more oppression by Caucasians pacification by the military force of the - because there will no longer be any THE MOVEMENT would like to urge all those people outraged and indignant at the United States? lf theforeign militarywith­ people to oppress or to be oppressed. article in the SNCC Newsletter of june-July on ~'The Palestine Problem" to read it. drew, would not the people of Vietnam By the way, were the people of Spain again, thiS time in good faith, quietly and without malice aforethought. soon be able to establish a peace basedon or of the world benefited by there being We have read it many times. It is not anti-jewish. It does not characterize jews that people's conception of their own so few people (Lester calls them Ameri­ as a group. It carefully distinguishes between jews and Zionists: needs? Won't U.S. forces be withdrawn can liberals) ready to combat theSpanish " •.. several American and European jews, who are not Zionists aild cannot sup­ quicker if a majority bfthe U.S. population counter-revolution? port the horrors committed by Zionists in the name of judaism, have spoken out and favors it? Isn't it, then, a hopeful de­ condemned the Zionist distortions of the jewish religion •• :' velopment that more and more organiza­ Yours for a much better worId, In fact, the statements made by SNCC pale in contrast with the accusations hurled tions and publications come out for peace Tom Lawrence against the Zionists by anti-Zionist jews. SNCC knows deeply and well that a people are not to be j'udged AS A GROUP, but that the political actions of a STATE are to be judged, and if wrong, to be condemned. SNCC has never flinched from speaking its LETTER TO LBJ mind. President Lyndon johnson SNCC IS PARTISAN The White House Washington, D.C. The article in the Newsletter is partisan, no doubt about it. SNCC clearly supports the revolutionary aspirations of the Third World: and Israel, as characterized by the Dear Mr. PreSident: I remember, Mr. President, when you actions of its statesmen and military men, is opposed to these aspirations. I am writing you this letter in regard stood up in the U.S. Congress, and before We question the motives of those. Americ_ans who oppose American militarism and to your address'to the nation on july 27, the nation said, •'We shall overcome;'"' support Israeli militarism, who denounce johnson and acclaim Dayan(a military ad­ when you said that you were setting up a Ever since then, the decent people's visor to American forces in Vietnam), who cry out against the napalming of Viet­ committee to investigate the riots in the / been having a hard time throughout the namese and consider the napalming of Arabs "necessary:' United States. United States.