2 THE PARTY A Political Memoir DEDICATION This book is dedicated to the memory of Farrell Dobbs (1907-83), worker organizer and leader, revolutionary politician, central leader of the Socialist Workers Party. Selfless, incorruptible, fair-minded and warm human being and friend. © Resistance Books 2005 ISBN 1-876646-50-0 Published by Resistance Books, 23 Abercrombie St., Chippendale 2008, Australia Printed by Southwood Press, 76-82 Chapel St., Marrickville 2204, Australia CONTENTS Acknowledgements................................................................................................................. 5 Preface .................................................................................................................................... 7 1. How I Came to Join the SWP ....................................................................................... 11 2. First Lessons ................................................................................................................. 29 3. The Southern Sit-Ins and the Founding of the YSA .................................................... 35 4. Early Battles ................................................................................................................. 41 5. The Cuban Revolution Changes the World!................................................................. 48 6. The Freedom Rides....................................................................................................... 54 7. Rifts in the SWP ........................................................................................................... 58 8. The Sino-Soviet Split ................................................................................................... 72 9. The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee ....................................................... 76 10. The Cuban Missile Crisis ............................................................................................. 80 11. “Subversion” in Indiana ............................................................................................... 86 12. The March on Washington ........................................................................................... 93 13. The 1963 Convention of the SWP ............................................................................... 98 14. The Kennedy Assassination ....................................................................................... 105 15. Malcolm X .................................................................................................................. 110 16. A Black for President ................................................................................................. 119 17. I Leave the YSA and Become Militant Editor ........................................................... 124 18. The New Antiwar Movement ..................................................................................... 129 19. The Overthrow of the Algerian Revolution ................................................................ 139 20. The 1965 Convention of the SWP ............................................................................. 142 21. Fidel Castro Attacks Trotskyism ................................................................................ 151 22. Antiwar Sentiment Deepens ....................................................................................... 156 23. A Political Assassination ............................................................................................ 161 24. The First Black Panther Party .................................................................................... 165 25. A New Stage of the Antiwar Movement .................................................................... 168 26. Big Events in World Politics ...................................................................................... 171 27. 1967: The Struggles Heat Up ..................................................................................... 176 28. The 1968 Tet Offensive in Vietnam ........................................................................... 183 29. The Assassination of Martin Luther King .................................................................. 188 30. The May-June 1968 Revolutionary Uprising in France ............................................. 191 4 THE PARTY A Political Memoir 31. The Prague Spring ...................................................................................................... 199 32. Talking to the GIs ....................................................................................................... 202 33. A Trip Around the World ........................................................................................... 204 34. Farrell Dobbs and the Political Committee ................................................................ 217 35. Brussels ...................................................................................................................... 225 36. The 1969 World Congress .......................................................................................... 231 37. Another World Trip .................................................................................................... 236 38. Growth as the Radicalization Deepens ....................................................................... 245 39. The 1969 Fall Antiwar Offensive ............................................................................... 252 40. The Deepening Faction Fight in the International ..................................................... 261 41. May 1970, the Great Student Strike ........................................................................... 266 42. New Assignments ....................................................................................................... 274 43. Chicano Moratorium and Mass Marches for Women’s Rights .................................. 277 44. Black September and Martial Law in Québec ............................................................ 283 45. April 24, 1971 ............................................................................................................ 289 46. A Campaign Party ...................................................................................................... 296 47. The 1971 SWP Convention ........................................................................................ 299 48. The End of the War ..................................................................................................... 308 49. Functioning as National Secretary.............................................................................. 313 50. Discussion on Gay Liberation .................................................................................... 319 51. The 1973 Party Convention ........................................................................................ 325 52. What the Radicalization Accomplished ..................................................................... 332 Notes ................................................................................................................................... 337 Index of Names ................................................................................................................... 340 Index of Organizations ....................................................................................................... 347 Index of Events, Ideas and Topics ...................................................................................... 350 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The idea for this book was first broached to me by Frank Lovell, a few years before his death in 1998. It was Caroline Lund and Malik Miah who finally insisted that I find enough time to begin to write the book. Further encouragement to begin the project was provided by Leo and Sherry Frumkin, and Walter Lipmann. The leadership of the Australian Democratic Socialist Party, as well as many of its younger members, also greatly motivated me. I want to acknowledge the following, who read all or parts of the rough manuscript and made suggestions: Jan Arnold, Jon Britton, Leslie Evans, Richard Fidler, Bill Gottlieb, Malik Miah, Mike Parker, John Percy, José Perez, Carol Reed (Lipman), Dave Saperstan, Carole Seligman, Roger Sheppard, Roland Sheppard, Melissa Singler, and Ernie Tate. I’m especially indebted to my editors — Gus Horowitz, Fred Feldman and Caroline Lund. They put in long volunteer hours not only to improve the writing and correct errors, but to sharpen the politics. Memory is notoriously inaccurate. I have tried to rely on contemporary sources, especially The Militant, and on the people referred to above, to refresh and correct my memory. I alone am responsible for any errors, and for the political opinions and conclusions contained in this volume. Suzi Weissman was kind enough to make available to me the photographs by Alex Buchman of Leon Trotsky and his comrade and companion Natalia Sedova, together with Farrell Dobbs, Joseph Hansen and Marvel Scholl. These photographs were taken by Buchman during Trotsky’s last exile in Coyoacan Mexico, 1937 to Trotsky’s assassination in 1940. Buchman was one of Trotsky’s bodyguards, and a member of the Socialist Workers Party. I am thankful to Eli “Lucky” Finer, Howard Petrick, Walter Lippmann and Brian Shannon for their fine photographs. Shannon Sheppard, library director of the Holt Labor Library, made available the 6 THE PARTY A Political Memoir resources of the library