Black militancy

[Louis Proyect]

This week's NY Magazine, best known for its recommendations on where to get
the best chocolates, pasta, or body massage, has a fascinating article on
Khallil Muhammed, the organizer of the Million Youth March scheduled for
Sept. 5th in Harlem. The march was originally blocked by Mayor Guliani who
labeled Muhammed as a racial demagogue. Talk about the pot calling the
kettle black. The NY Civil Liberties Union successfully won the right to
march and it will go ahead.

Muhammed was expelled from the Nation of Islam a couple of years ago
because he was not happy with their accomodationist posture. He was
recruited into the Nation out of the Black Panther Party in the 1970s and
has always retained some of their militancy. He was also devoted to Malcolm
X's political philosophy and only joined the Nation after prolonged battles
with them over their role in Malcolm's assassination.

Muhammed had a falling out with Louis Farrakhan because of his refusal to
soften his black militancy. Farrakhan wrote him a letter stating that God
would deal with the black man's tormentor, and that talk about revolution
was not befitting a Nation of Islam leader. After Muhammed left the NOI, he
was attacked by a gunman and spent 3 months in the hospital.

He went on to found the New Black Panther Party which showed up in the
small town in Texas where a black man was chained to a pickup truck and
dragged until his head and one arm were ripped from his body. Muhammed and
his comrades, over 30 in number, showed up with shotguns and frightened the
Klan out of town, according to Peter Noel, the article's author.

The theme of the march is not about black people looking for forgiveness,
as was the case in the Million Man March. This is are some of the demands:

--The release of all Political prisoners.

--Full and complete reparations for the descendants of slaves.

--Black Power, Black Nationalism and Pan Africanism

--Jobs for Black Youth (organizing skills, technology transfers).

--Adequate resources for the programs that can improve the condition of
Black Youth.

--Financial aid to Black Students.

--Black studies and African centered learning.

--Environmental Justice

--Repatriation and Dual citizenship.

--Unity between Black, Hispanic-Latino, Arab, Native American, and "Asian"
youth.

--Establish Black Brain Banks and Think Tanks worldwide.

--The establishment of Black power conscience cadres and study groups to
meet the needs of our people nationally and internationally.

--The establishment of Black Liberation/ Self-defense and security units to
patrol and control Black communities.

--The Holding of a Plebiscite

In the 1960s these sorts of demands came under the general rubric of Black
Nationalism. No wonder Guliani did not want the march to take place. The
groundswell of support for the march has been too large to ignore.
Congressman Charles Rangel has endorsed it, but says that he is opposed to
the leadership.

Meanwhile, the Nation of Islam has felt the need to come up with a
counter-demonstration since it fears that Muhammed might build a movement
that will outflank them to the left. They have called for a 5 million youth
march in Atlanta which is amazingly endorsed by the AFL-CIO and the NAACP.

One of the things to keep an eye on as the worldwide social and economic
crisis deepens is a rebirth of black militancy in the United States, which
has always been the Achilles Heel of the capitalist system. In the wake of
the successful Black Radical Congress, one must assume that black militancy
is indeed on the rise.


Louis Proyect

(http://www.panix.com/~lnp3/marxism.html)