Race and the Movement (from ZNet) <URL: http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=30&ItemID=3100 >

Michael Pugliese debsian at pacbell.net
Sun Feb 23 09:05:03 PST 2003


From: DavidMcR at aol.com Date: Sun, 23 Feb 2003 03:16:24 EST To: spnatcomlist at topica.com, ufp at lists.riseup.net, redyouth at ypsl.net, yds-discuss at topica.com Cc: carmentrotta at yahoo.com, mmariejames at hotmail.com, oijeffoi at aol.com, Isablbishp at aol.com, happyhouse_ at hotmail.com, ariehnyc at Prodigy.net, truth4ce at yahoo.com (Jason Becker), shaun at newyorksocialists.org Resent-From: redyouth at ypsl.org Subject: [REDYOUTH] Re: FYI: from the UfPJ list

I'm glad Greg forwarded this - it is a long statement and I assume you've

read it or can find it in your files, so I've not copied it. It was also sent

to the DSA youth group and to Red Youth, so a cc goes there.

 

I know four of the signers. I am sorry to see the signer from Freedom Road,

Juliet Ucelli, because I've felt her to be responsible. Steve Bloom is not a

"leading member" of Solidarity, he is a member, he is very active, he works

on the Mumia case, but he is somewhat isolated within Solidarity and he is

such an ardent Trotskyist that if put down in the midst of events in the

early 1920's I think he could quote both Lenin and Trotsky by heart.

 

Merle Ratner is originally from the CP (I think) and is now in CCDS, though

she is NOT a leading member there, and failed to gain at large election to

their NC.

 

The letter is a race-baiting one, from a group in NYC which couldn't organize

its way out of a paper bag.

 

The original New York Coalition for Peace and Justice had an unhappy birth -

a third of the audience, some of color, some just attached to the more

militant groups - prevented the body from adopting a key point.

 

Stand Up New York didn't founder because Carmen Trotta and War Resisters

League organized a vigil on 9.10. It foundered because it never got its act

together. Carmen was weary of trying to get anything going and just went off

with a broad range (Jewish, Palestinian, Asian, African American, Hispanic,

relatives of those who had died on 9.11) and pulled together an extremely

successful vigil in Washington Square Park which drew thousands of people.

Among the many speakers was Martin Luther King III, as well as Palestinians

and Jews, etc. etc.

 

I wish this letter could be ignored, but it can't. It does (in my view) tell

us that these groups will insist on being "dealt in" or will charge whoever

moves without them as "racists". I think that is nonsense. I am sorry the

letter was sent. It will leave a bad taste in the air while doing nothing

helpful to encourage serious outreach to wide range of groups that must be

involved, not only in New York City but elsewhere in the world.

 

Coming just at this time, my sense is that the group that signed this is

taking aim at UFP. By being willing to attack War Resisters League, which is

probably one of the most radical of groups involved in UFP, I think they are

firing a shot across the bow, hoping white guilt will provide this group with

authority it would not othrerwise possess.

 

Solidarity,

David McReynolds

 

<< Subj: FYI: from the UfPJ list

Date: 2/22/03 10:03:17 PM Eastern Standard Time

From: gpason at sp-usa.org (Greg Pason)

Reply-to: spnatcomlist at topica.com

To: spnatcomlist at topica.com

 

I'm forwarding this from the UfPJ list. An important topic for

discussion (signed by two key folks from SOlidarity & Freedom Road).

Forwarded FYI since folks aren't on the UfPJ list.

 

Greg

 

Dear Sisters and Brothers in the anti-war movement,

 

Attached is an open letter raising issues of racism in the anti-war

movement. In it, we identify racist practices that have hindered our

ability

to work together and will continue to do so, unless movement organizers

take

aggressive steps to overcome these dynamics.

 

 

--

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-- Michael Pugliese

"Without knowing that we knew nothing, we went on talking without listening to each other. Sometimes we flattered and praised each other, understanding that we would be flattered and praised in return. Other times we abused and shouted at each other, as if we were in a madhouse." -Tolstoy



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