From: Subject: African American Liberation and Revolution in the United States Date: Wed, 13 Apr 2011 07:30:29 -0700 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/html; charset="Windows-1252" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Location: http://web.archive.org/web/20001004201459/www.lrna.org/texts/AAQ.html X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2900.5579 African American Liberation and Revolution in the = United States 
AFRICAN AMERICAN LIBERATION AND REVOLUTION IN THE UNITED =
STATES

From the field, to the factory, to the street


By Nelson Peery  =20


(c) Copyright November, 1992
Workers Press
P.O. Box 3705
Chicago, IL 60654


Society is formed on the basis of the unity of productive forces=20
and productive relations. Productive relations are the laws=20
defining property and the relationship of people to property in=20
the process of production. The constant, spontaneous development=20
of the productive forces eventually disrupts that unity. An epoch=20
of social revolution creates new productive relations that reflect=20
the level of, and are compatible with, the newly developed=20
productive forces.

From the viewpoint of this science of society, let us re-examine=20
the political fundamentals of our history as regards the African=20
Americans' struggle for freedom and equality.

The United States was colonized by trading companies. Some of=20
these companies were given grants of land equal in size to entire=20
states. They were entirely commercial enterprises. There was never=20
any feudalism in the U.S. There were, however, economic formations=20
that were feudal-like. The indentured servitude system and slavery=20
were hybrid in this respect. Hybrid because the slaves were slaves=20
but the masters were capitalists. This relationship, fundamental=20
to the history of the country, distorted everything America=20
proclaimed it stood for.

The Northern states, manufacturing the necessities for the slave=20
system, grew as an appendage to the South. As the U.S. grew, the=20
North entered into an economic revolution, from manufacturing to=20
industry. This happened only in the North. In Europe, the shift to=20
industry caused great dislocations and tremendous struggle between=20
the towns (the bourgeoisie) and the countryside (the feudalists).=20
A major part of this dislocation was caused by the outflow of=20
serfs into the towns. In America, all this was avoided by=20
importing the industrial workers from Europe. The native-born=20
Americans were family farmers and stayed as such for another=20
century. The economic and social revolution in the North proceeded=20
quite smoothly without any major social upheavals. This peaceful=20
transition from pre-industrial to industrial formations has no=20
parallel.

The development of giant industrial enterprises and a new=20
concentration of money did call into question the political=20
dictatorship of the agricultural South. Industry, more productive=20
than manufacture, caused the North to break its economic=20
dependence upon and come into political contradiction with the=20
South.

The South had a stranglehold on political power in the country. It=20
became known as "the slave power" through the constitutional=20
provision that slaves counted as 3/5 of a person for appropriating=20
representation in Congress. The North, more populous in free,=20
voting-age males, was constantly out-voted by the slave-owning=20
South and its Northern supporters. The Southern-dominated Senate,=20
Supreme Court and Presidency refused to pass harbor, railroad,=20
canal and tariff appropriations. Such legislation was necessary to=20
the growth of industry in the North, but not in the interests of=20
the slave-owning agricultural South. The new industrial productive=20
forces in the North came into conflict with the productive=20
relations of slavery in the South.

Such historic contradictions of economic forces cannot be fought=20
out in the economic base of society. They are fought out in the=20
social superstructure as ideological and political struggles.

As these economic contradictions became political antagonisms, the=20
South militarily attacked the North to whip it back under its=20
control. Its aim was to reorganize the entire country and=20
eventually the entire hemisphere on the basis of slavery. The=20
North responded with a war to whip the South back into the union.=20
Its aim was to convert the South into an agricultural reserve of=20
industry.

The North could not defeat the South so long as the South had the=20
vast manpower reserve of slaves. Every physically capable Southern=20
white could become a front-line soldier since the support work was=20
primarily done by slaves. Many people in the North were unwilling=20
to fight for the Union with slavery; they advocated letting the=20
South secede. For the North to win the war, slavery had to be=20
abolished.

The industrial empire of the North was based on the cotton of the=20
South. It was not in the interest of the industrial-financial=20
oligarchy of the North to abolish slavery. Their aim was to=20
abolish the political supremacy of the slave power. Yet, the war=20
could not be won without abolition.

Abe Lincoln had a plan to gradually abolish slavery, ending it in=20
1940. This is a date to be remembered. The military and radical=20
political leaders would not accept Lincoln's plan; so Lincoln=20
signed the Emancipation Proclamation.

The abolition of slavery was a social revolution without a=20
preceding or corresponding economic revolution in the South. That=20
is, the instruments of production of the agricultural South did=20
not advance; but the North imposed a revolution in social=20
relations upon the South with the freeing of the slaves. This=20
contradiction shaped American politics and society for the next=20
stage of history.

The emancipation was revolutionary. It transferred property worth=20
some four billion dollars in the form of slaves from the master=20
class to the freedmen. The next stage of the social revolution=20
would have been to break up the plantations and parcel them out to=20
the freedmen and the landless poor whites. This would have=20
finished the planters as a class, and such widespread ownership of=20
productive property would have democratized the South. This was=20
not in the interest of the Northern oligarchy.

At the end of the war, there was widespread seizure of abandoned=20
and vacant land by the land-hungry freedmen. The Freedmen's Bureau=20
was supposedly set up to facilitate the transition from slave to=20
independent farmers, as was the Southern Homestead Act of 1866.=20
Actually these bureaus were set up to corral and divert the=20
impulse of the freedmen to take land from the defeated and=20
temporarily politically impotent planters.

The transition from slave to yeoman farmer could have been=20
possible. There was plenty of land. Land from the traitors could=20
and should have been confiscated. There was plenty of abandoned=20
and vacant land. Land grabbed by banks at tax sales could have=20
gone to the freedmen. Such a transition would require the=20
revolution be pushed to its conclusion of radical land=20
redistribution. The existing means of production were applicable=20
to small farming as the sharecropping system proved. The reality=20
was that an alliance with an economically dependent and=20
politically subordinate Southern ruling class was in the interests=20
of the Northern industrial ruling class. That was the only way=20
they could rule the South. A South consisting of independent=20
farmers would become a land of rebellious populism. A new class of=20
independent farmers in the South would pose an economic and=20
political threat to the industrial-financial oligarchy in the=20
North. Furthermore, the plantations were not entirely Southern=20
owned. A goodly number of Northern investors had sunk a lot of=20
money into Southern agriculture and were not about to give it up=20
with emancipation.

The increasing world demand for cotton and tobacco coupled with=20
the absence of an economic revolution was the condition for the=20
political alliance of the planters with the Northern=20
industrialists. This alliance, in turn, made slavery in a new form=20
inevitable. The violence of the counterattack by the planters=20
against the blacks was the condition for condemning more whites=20
than blacks to the sharecropping system. By concentrating the=20
attack against the blacks, the planters made it appear that the=20
majority of poor whites were out of the line of fire. Centuries of=20
white supremacy led most of the poor whites to believe that=20
uniting on the basis of color would give them privileged status=20
over the blacks. The legalization of segregation and=20
discrimination against the blacks guaranteed that the whites could=20
not escape the slavery of sharecropping. After the=20
disfranchisement of the African Americans, the laws supposedly=20
passed against the black tenant farmer were then applied to the=20
white.

The tools, the sharecropping slavery, the poverty of the South=20
changed very little from 1870 to 1940. 1940 was Lincoln's target=20
date for liberation, and it became a fact. The invention of the=20
cotton picker in that year and the development of weed-killing=20
chemicals in 1952 was the economic revolution for the social=20
revolution of 1864 to stand upon. The social revolution then moved=20
forward to completion. The death of sharecropping slavery was=20
followed by a massive freedom movement and the outlawing of=20
segregation and discrimination.

The fight to destroy legal segregation was the beginning of the=20
final stage in this social revolution. The ongoing battle for=20
actual economic and social equality of the African Americans will=20
complete it. The integration of the former sharecroppers into the=20
working class is removing the last objective blocks to working=20
class unity. The completion of this social revolution is creating=20
the political conditions for the emancipation of the working=20
class, the last exploited class in the country.


THE AFRICAN AMERICAN PEOPLE

The social motion of the African American people of the United=20
States has always reflected the level of development of the=20
productive forces, the productive relations and the political=20
maneuvering of the ruling class to keep the two united. This=20
political maneuvering and the response of the African Americans=20
has kept them at the center of the country's history.

England created the American colonies to guarantee primary,=20
especially agricultural, commodities to her growing markets. A=20
chronic labor shortage, crude tools and open land made indentured=20
servitude and eventually African slavery as a labor system=20
inevitable.

As labor demands increased and intensified, it became impossible=20
to simply complement indentured servitude with slavery. The=20
expanding frontier and the growing rebelliousness of the slaves=20
and indentured servants began to threaten the productive relations=20
of capitalism. As white indentured servitude phased out, African=20
slavery became the basic plantation labor system. The consequent=20
identification of slavery for life with race and of race with=20
inferiority set the conditions for the slaves to begin their=20
development as a class and finally as a people.

The economies of the New England states were not conducive to=20
slavery. The abolition of slavery in these states created a=20
community of free blacks. This freedom was precarious and depended=20
upon the abolition of slavery in the South. The abolition of=20
slavery and the securing of full and equal rights was the only=20
real protection for them. They created a press and organizations=20
dedicated to abolition and equality. They fought on all fronts to=20
secure these goals. They created the underground railroad. They=20
fought against proposals for relocation in Africa. They appealed=20
to the mother churches in Ireland and England to impose an=20
abolitionist morality on the churches in America. This split the=20
churches in America on the issue of slavery. Their actions and=20
agitation were the foundation of the broad anti-slavery movement=20
that made the Civil War inevitable.

The African Americans began to coalesce into a people based on=20
this common political goal. The horrors of slavery in the South=20
and the brutal segregation and discrimination in the North forced=20
them ever closer together culturally, politically and physically.

The Civil War and Emancipation were the two most traumatic moments=20
in the history of the United States. Emancipation -- a political,=20
moral and military act -- constituted a great social revolution=20
militarily imposed upon the defeated South. The force of arms made=20
possible and stabilized this social revolution. This social=20
revolution had no objective base in a revolution of tools that has=20
preceded every other social revolution. The social revolution was=20
dependent upon political alliances and was therefore vulnerable.

For a brief moment, state-sponsored force and violence against the=20
African Americans was checked. The immediate result was a marked=20
tendency by the ex-slaves to disperse. Apart from organizing to=20
defend their newly won freedom, their political motion was to=20
individually become free and equal citizens.

Every social revolution must proceed from, stand upon and develop=20
from an economic revolution. It is not possible to truly liberate=20
slaves or proletarians without replacing them with more efficient=20
energy. At the time of Emancipation, there was no such economic=20
revolution in the means of production connected to Southern=20
agriculture. This truth coupled with a growing domestic and=20
international demand for cotton and tobacco condemned the freedmen=20
to a new and often more brutal form of exploitation.

The growing monopolization of industry in the North had its=20
reflection in the South as the defeat of post-war land=20
redistribution and reconstruction. The ex-slaves, freed with=20
little more than the rags on their backs, had a deep land hunger.=20
There was no way for the majority of them to purchase land. At=20
that time, sharecropping appeared to hold out the possibility of=20
someday owning land. The post-war plantation system stabilized,=20
and sharecropping as a specific form of tenant farming evolved.

Sharecropping and the convict-lease system became new forms of=20
slavery for the African Americans. The most brutal social and=20
political oppression was necessary to carry out the extreme level=20
of economic exploitation. The sharecropping blacks, cheated by the=20
landlords, brutalized by the legal authorities, terrorized by the=20
extra-legal forces were reduced to the level of the peasants of=20
India.

The near total isolation of the blacks through segregation laws=20
and Southern custom was necessary for that exploitation to take=20
place. The era of segregation, lasting some 95 years, isolated the=20
mass of African Americans to a greater degree than did slavery.=20
This isolation and oppression based on color was the condition for=20
the final stages of their development as a people.

The formation of the African American people is unique. Their=20
consolidation was not based on common land or religion. There is=20
no internal dynamic to hold them together. The force that formed=20
the African Americans into a people has always been the legal and=20
extra-legal pressure of the whites.

There could be only two tactics in the fight. One was to separate=20
into a political entity and, as a group, seek equality with white=20
America. Their physical dispersal throughout the country prevented=20
this. The other tactic was to fight for integration through=20
desegregation and equality. The natural and consistently expressed=20
drive of the African Americans has been to become equal members of=20
American society. There has been bitter struggle over tactics, but=20
there has never been serious struggle over goals.

The African Americans' common struggle against segregation and=20
inequality has been the central force in their cohesiveness as a=20
people. This creates a contradiction. Every victory against racial=20
oppression weakens this cohesion. They can protect themselves and=20
move forward so long as they are united as a people. Conversely,=20
they cannot consolidate their victories as a people. Defeat of=20
segregation meant the African Americans would individually enter=20
their respective classes. Necessarily, each social class would=20
benefit unequally from desegregation. There would then be greater=20
economic and ultimately social inequality between the African=20
Americans of different classes than between the individual black=20
and white within the respective class. This is unavoidable since=20
the rest of the people of the United States are unequal. The=20
African Americans can only take advantage of their victories as=20
individuals becoming more equal to their white counterparts in a=20
fundamentally unequal society. The best example of this is=20
desegregation in the Army. The black private soldier is much more=20
equal to the white private than to his black company commander.

Segregation created the black bourgeoisie -- that is, a black=20
petty capitalist based on the "captive" black market. The victory=20
over legal segregation began to disperse this black market. The=20
black bourgeoisie turned to the federal government for protection=20
against the vastly superior forces of monopoly capitalism they=20
were suddenly competing against. Affirmative action in the form of=20
government contracts and decent jobs with the huge governmental=20
bureaucracy turned the upper strata of the African Americans from=20
reliance on the black masses to reliance on the government. Every=20
seller has to protect his market. At one time the black=20
bourgeoisie sold to the black masses and had to protect them.=20
Today, a big section of what we call the black bourgeoisie is well=20
paid government bureaucrats. They sell to the government. The=20
product for sale is the black masses. The government is the market=20
and they must protect it. This forced the black upper strata to=20
physically, then politically, and now morally disassociate=20
themselves from the black proletarian mass.

The idea of the "ghetto" as an extension of segregated plantation=20
life is incorrect. The mechanization of Southern agriculture drove=20
millions of African Americans off the land and into the central=20
areas of the major cities. They came as immigrants entering the=20
Anglo-American proletariat. They occupied a common area, the=20
decaying central cities. The Irish, Italian and Jewish immigrants=20
before them had also moved into special neighborhoods. The city=20
central area is an extension of the proletarian slums of former=20
immigrants rather than an extension of the plantation.

During the first stage of this migration, the African Americans=20
raised their standards of living as rapidly as former immigrants=20
had done. The migration began to end with the beginning of the=20
application of electronics to industry. "Last hired and first=20
fired" took on a new qualitative meaning. Huge masses of black=20
workers, twice the rate of whites, were cast into permanent=20
unemployment and poverty. The black workers who held on to their=20
jobs continued to close the gap between their living standards and=20
those of the white workers.

These factors have tended to accelerate the stratification and=20
dispersal of the African Americans as a people. The black=20
bourgeoisie is striving for secure equality as a bourgeois. The=20
various strata of black workers are struggling for equality with=20
their white counterpart. As such equality is achieved, the=20
tendency is to integrate. Although the path has been especially=20
difficult for the African Americans, it is the general path taken=20
by previous immigrant groups. The path seems to lead from=20
desegregation to equality and then to integration. The "people" of=20
the "African American people" has increasingly become the mass of=20
blacks in the proletarian slums.

There is nothing to support a projection that this dispersal is=20
mechanically connected to the individual economic circumstances or=20
that there has been an abandoning of the culture the blacks have=20
created during the past 300 years. Quite to the contrary, the=20
dispersal has carried African American culture the length and=20
breadth of the country.

Before the migrations of the late 1940s and the 1950s, there was=20
very little penetration of African American culture into the=20
culture of the Anglo Americans. Such cultural expressions as the=20
"Blues" and the dance of the blacks reached a high point just as=20
the migrations began. The concentration of blacks in the major=20
cities, North and South, meant a concentration and strengthening=20
of their culture. As the blacks entered new employment in=20
industry, sports and entertainment, increasing numbers of=20
especially young Anglo Americans came in contact with this=20
culture.

Apart from the culture of the Native American Indians, the culture=20
of black America is the only "American" culture. The significance=20
of Elvis Presley is that more than anyone else he "Anglo-sized"=20
the culture of the African Americans. Since Elvis, every cultural=20
expression of the African Americans has with increasing rapidity=20
become part of the culture of a growing sector of Anglo Americans.=20
The Mormon Choir recorded a beautifully sung album of Negro=20
Spirituals, and a Welsh rock musician's recording of a Negro=20
Spiritual outsold Mahalia Jackson's.


THE BLACK BELT NATION

The African Americans as a people and the Black Belt of the South=20
as a colonial nation are distinct but inter-connected,=20
historically evolved entities.

In order to clearly understand any historical question it is=20
necessary to go to the beginning of the problem, examine the=20
context that created it, and trace the stages of its development=20
up to the present.

The American nation was basically Southern at its inception. Its=20
core area was Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, North and South=20
Carolina and Georgia. The New England states were shipping and=20
manufacturing appendages of the slave plantation system of the=20
South.

By the late 1840s, the political leaders of the South viewed the=20
population and industrial growth of the North with apprehension.=20
They realized that the shift from manufacturing to industry was=20
creating a new nation in the North. This new nation was being=20
formed as waves of European immigration created an industrial=20
proletariat in what a few years before had been the north western=20
frontier. A new relationship was being formed as the industrial=20
cities produced agricultural machinery and in turn were fed by the=20
Anglo-American family farmers. The Northern churches were shifting=20
from a position that slavery was God's will to a position that=20
allowing slavery to exist was a sin. This position was expressed=20
by Lincoln saying he believed that the Civil War was God punishing=20
the South for having slavery and the North for allowing it.

The Southern leaders began the preparation for the irrepressible=20
conflict. They knew the mass of whites who did not own slaves=20
would not fight simply to preserve slavery. The leaders realized=20
they must create a separate, Southern nation based on slavery, but=20
with social and cultural institutions that benefited all whites.=20
Then all whites could be compelled to defend them.

Nations are not built. They evolve as the historical expression of=20
a community of people, culture, economics and land. The evolving=20
culture of the African American slaves had already made the South=20
Southern. It was clearly culturally distinct from the North. The=20
main problem was to create an economic infrastructure to tie the=20
area together. They set about creating economic intercourse=20
between the towns and the countryside. This demanded that more=20
land be set aside for the production of food rather than export=20
crops. It demanded that factories be built and railroads created=20
to carry their production. It meant that the South had to become=20
economically independent. Above all, it would demand more slave=20
labor as well as free white labor for industrial development.

The model for the Southern leaders was the Greek and Roman slave=20
democracies. The concept of democracy without liberty, and opposed=20
to liberty, exactly suited their purpose.

Remarkable economic progress was made between 1850 and 1860. But=20
as the war started, the South was not a nation, nor could it be so=20
long as slavery prevented the consolidation of a community of=20
people. Slave-grown King Cotton for export prevented the necessary=20
economic intercourse between town and county.

The South was 15% richer than the North at the beginning of the=20
war. At the end of the war, it began its deep slide into regional=20
poverty. Its economic base came under direct and indirect control=20
of Northern financial interests. Just as the Black Belt had been=20
the political base for the control of the rest of the country by=20
the planter elite, it now became the base for the control of the=20
country by emerging, aggressive, jingoist Wall Street financial=20
imperialism.

Although the Hayes-Tilden agreement spelt the end to efforts at=20
Reconstruction, it did not unleash a counterrevolution. The=20
planter elite, terrified by the Southern struggle for democracy=20
crept into the arms of the Northern bourgeoisie for protection.=20
The Hayes-Tilden compromise was that protection. The elite made=20
their final surrender. In return for protection from the=20
democratic aspirations of the American people, they turned the=20
South into a region of political reaction and transformed the=20
Black Belt into a bastion of fascism. This allowed US imperialism=20
to emerge safely beyond the political reach of the democratic=20
masses. This was the "Birth of a Nation." As W.E.B. DuBois noted,=20
"Wall Street controls the South and the South controls the=20
nation."

Thus the Black Belt, an entire section of the country -- larger=20
than Czechoslovakia, more populous than Canada -- became the first=20
colony of Wall Street.

The forms of political control of the Black Belt colony flowed=20
from the historic forms of control of the blacks -- segregation,=20
brutality and terror. As these fascist methods of control became=20
institutionalized, the politically impotent blacks were used to=20
manipulate the whites. The blacks were used as a bogey man to=20
force the whites into unity with the elite -- their worst enemy.=20
They first gave up their right to vote in order to guarantee the=20
blacks were denied it. Six and half million white sharecroppers=20
could not keep five million black sharecroppers in the ditch of=20
poverty without jumping in on top of them. The segregation and=20
discrimination against the blacks was the guarantee that the=20
whites could not escape colonial exploitation.

Racial antagonisms made it appear as if there was a South African-
like white settler regime dominating a black nation. The isolation=20
of a very large and compact mass of black people meant the=20
isolation of an entire area. The complete development of the=20
African American people within this isolation was indispensable to=20
the development of the nation. The blacks were the majority of the=20
people in the historically evolved Black Belt community. They=20
provided the basic culture of that community. They were the=20
overwhelming force in its formation, but they were not the nation.=20
The colonial nation was comprised of an historically evolved=20
community of people -- regardless of their antagonisms.

The mechanization of Southern agriculture resulted in a massive=20
migration of African Americans from the Black Belt. The migrations=20
reduced the huge majority of blacks relative to whites, but it did=20
not affect the colonial position of the area. It is still the=20
poorest area of the country. It still has the worst schools, the=20
poorest health care, the greatest unemployment -- the lowest=20
standard of living. It is still the foundation of national=20
political reaction. It is still owned and exploited by Northern=20
financial interests. It is still a colony.

The struggles of the people in the Black Belt for political=20
democracy and economic equality with the rest of the country has=20
been very contradictory. Racism, inspired by and stabilized by the=20
ruling class, made it impossible for the true aspirations of the=20
people of the area to be expressed through elected officials. The=20
special oppression of the blacks facilitated the election of the=20
most reactionary, chauvinistic, imperialist, jingoist politicians.=20
These politicians made it appear as if their fascist projections=20
were the sentiments of the whites in the area. These reactionary=20
politicians, however, were elected not only on an anti-black, but=20
also an anti-federal government platform.

On the other hand, the African Americans were in support of the=20
federal government and the federal court system since they could=20
not get justice from the local courts.

On every level, the well-being of the whites and blacks were=20
counterposed. Despite these contradictions, the demand for=20
political democracy and equality with the rest of the country is=20
the form that the demand for self-determination has taken and is=20
taking.

With the African Americans tractored off the land, the essential=20
reason for segregation and brutality against them was gone. The=20
Voting Rights Act and the registration efforts weakened the county=20
police force as the main base for the Klan. Black county sheriffs=20
and city policemen have not solved the terrible economic problems=20
nor have they made the Southern penal farms more democratic=20
places.

The links between the black proletariat in the North and the Black=20
Belt still exist. There are family and cultural ties, but more=20
importantly, there are historic ties. Before legal desegregation,=20
the states in the North encouraged and practiced illegal=20
segregation and discrimination against the African Americans. This=20
was a part of the effort to keep the blacks on the plantations. In=20
the North, the police played the role of the Klan, and black=20
unemployment was rampant. It was possible to carry on this illegal=20
discrimination because the racism directed against the African=20
Americans as a people was stabilized by the colonial status of the=20
Black Belt. Everywhere the African American went, he carried the=20
stigma of the Black Belt with him. The abysmal poverty and economic=20
backwardness of the blacks in the Black Belt was and is still a=20
constant threat to the African Americans everywhere. Blacks are=20
still confronted with the seemingly irrational situation wherein=20
they were treated better than the West Indian in England, and=20
worse than the West Indian in America. The politics of imperialism=20
is the reason.

In the post-Civil War South, as in the antebellum era, the Black=20
Belt dominates the entire South. Even today, the economic=20
backwardness and poverty of the Black Belt is a drag on the=20
region. The struggle of the South to raise itself up to the level=20
of the North is constantly frustrated by this drag. Despite the=20
outward appearance of progress, the region has been unable to gain=20
parity with the North. The colonial Black Belt is the guarantee=20
that the South as a region is a stable political, military and=20
economic reserve of imperialism.

In a like manner, reaction in the South as a region is a drag=20
against democratic aspirations in the North. Every piece of anti-
labor legislation is first tried out in the South. The cut back in=20
social service was first perfected in the South. The stability of=20
political reaction in the South prevents progress in the nation as=20
whole.

If any part of America is to move forward, it can only do so by=20
fighting for the equality of the entire country. In the Black=20
Belt, this equality will take the form of national liberation.


THE TASK OF THE REVOLUTIONARIES

Revolutionaries have always understood that the fight for the=20
social and political equality of the African Americans was key to=20
the revolutionary line of march. Over the years they have made=20
heroic efforts in this direction. They were not successful because=20
it is not possible to achieve political and social equality=20
without economic equality. Economic equality is objective. Social=20
and political equality are its subjective expressions. In a short=20
ten- to fifteen-year period, the African Americans made a massive=20
move from agricultural labor to industrial labor. The African=20
Americans, for the first time, became an integral part of the=20
industrial proletariat. This created the minimum of economic=20
equality that is the objective base of the fight for social and=20
political equality. For the first time, unity of the revolutionary=20
sector of the proletariat in America is possible.

The African Americans have always waged a determined, militant and=20
often bloody struggle for equality. The political left, always in=20
support of and often a part of this fight, could not make their=20
maximum contribution because they misunderstood the historical and=20
political direction of the fight and simply labeled it=20
revolutionary. The direction of the fight of the African Americans=20
as a people was to enter the existing system as equals, not=20
overthrow it. That process has gone as far as it can go.

Today the black proletariat is consolidating as a major part of=20
the fighting heart of the class. Much of the left, however, in=20
partial recognition of their previous error, has swung to the=20
opposite pole. Most of them are calling for "all-class" black=20
unity" at a time when the political motion of the black=20
proletariat is revolutionary -- against all capitalism including=20
black capitalism.

The moment revolutionaries longed for has arrived. Economic=20
equality -- the basis for revolutionary unity amongst the=20
unemployed, the unskilled and semi-skilled -- has consolidated.=20
Qualitative change in the means of production, the material base=20
for revolution, is irreversible. The disruption between production=20
and distribution and the tightening cyclical crisis can no longer=20
be ignored. We have entered the epoch of social revolution. Now,=20
everything depends upon the revolutionary passion and spirit of=20
combat that counted for so little in yesteryear.

Our task is clear. We must win the revolutionary sector of the=20
class to the recognition of revolution. As throughout our history,=20
the black toilers are the key to the next step. They are in fact=20
the sector most engaged in combat against the system. The question=20
of the Black Belt nation, the oppression of the African Americans=20
as a people, and the exploitation of the workers are inextricably=20
bound together in the form of the modern black worker.

The historic dialectic has played itself out. The synthesis is=20
being formed amidst the flames in the streets. The decisive battle=20
for the hearts and minds of the combatants has begun.

Forward, comrades, to the work that we must do.

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