Today we see that many organizations around the world are involved in struggles against things ranging from neocolonialism - the continuation of colonial relations in a new era - police violence, drug addiction, poverty, sexual violence, LGBTQ+ oppression, a lack of political power, mass incarceration, climate change, etc. all culminating in a need for a new political system entrenched in the needs of the people who struggle the most, by their direct participation in planning, coordination, production, social relations, and especially therein, in building political power.
But some of these organizations have in the past and continue to this day to have blind spots when it comes to those who suffer the most brutal edges of the Capitalist systems' consequences. An example might be trade unions who are often said to have stood as an example of working-class organization and militancy, yet mainly focused on organizing the white working class. In cases like those of women, black women, and especially black women who were domestic workers, as well as immigrant farmers, incarcerated laborers, Jim Crow segregated labor, the unemployed or the "criminal" class of workers, groups like the AFL-CIO, IWW, and others, historically or today, have either lost sight of, or outright ignored the plight of the most vulnerable in our society.
We know that all who labor under capitalism are exploited; if you do not own capital, you are only able to sell one thing: your labor power. This means billions of people around the world are competing in one of the fiercest markets known to humankind today: the labor market. Competing to do what? Sell their ability to work to the highest bidder, for whatever that work might entail, for a "wage" scientifically calculated to only allow one to make it to the next shift, or the next pay-day.
We are told that by educating ourselves, going to college, gaining skills, getting a job, working hard, never taking days off, never calling out sick, it will lead to us being able to pay our exorbitant debts, to cover our bills, and to give us upward mobility to join the ranks of the "comfortable" in society. But for the majority, again, billions of people worldwide, this remains only a fairy tale. Although it is the case that all labor is exploited under capitalist relations, it is also true that there are segments of labor that, through the historical development of what we call "the division of labor" - the breaking up of production domestically and internationally so that no one person or one factory can say "we made this commodity, therefore, you must pay us for the finished good" - have been made to work the most dangerous, disgusting, and poorly-paid jobs, while others in the Imperialist nations sit in offices, or on automated factory floors (still being exploited) but able to afford the plastic-wrapped, sugar-filled foods that others cannot. This is the difference between "exploitation" and "superexploitation".
Because of the vast number of unemployed persons around the world, there is an ability for the capitalist class to keep wages low, standards of living abysmal, industry and development non-existent, while extracting trillions of dollars' worth of stolen goods, wealth, and labor. People from Claudia Jones to Walter Rodney, Vladimir Lenin to Mao Zedong, Martin Luther King Jr. to Lorraine Hansberry, and plenty of others have made the poorest of the poor, the downtrodden, the forgotten, the peasantry, the formerly enslaved, whatever terms they might go by today, their main focus for this exact reason. It is important to understand that because of this reality, many if not most people around the world are simply left for dead, or to labor to their death, rather, in odd-end jobs, gig-work, or unpaid and precarious labor.
It is clear to many today that the parties, organizations, groups and collectives that may have name recognition, a branch in their local area, a mutual aid fund or community fridge, do not represent their interests. This is why unions, political parties, mass organizations, and even charities, religious institutions, governments and nonprofits are losing or have lost credibility among the mass of people. So why is it that these groups continue to organize, propagandize, and theorize in the same way that has failed the people, time and time again?
I find that it comes from 3 places: 1) A lack of objective information (many in the West are ignorant and uneducated by intention to keep them docile and unorganized), which leads to a genuine lack of knowledge (intentional or not) of the reality or conditions of the majority of people around the world. 2) Racism, which has been systematized into the very nature of thinking, educating, and organizing even among radical and "revolutionary" collectives, tending to see the people as animalistic, unstable, and needing of "enlightened guidance" especially from white men. And 3) Opportunism, as many seem to be interested only in their "own" idea of Socialism, revolution, organizing, education, and take advantage of the movements, issues, calls, or causes of the people in order to usurp the natural leadership and direction of the movement for their own gains. This need not be monetarily incentivized, pushed on by intelligence agencies, or outright conscious and intentional - though all are possibilities - more often than not ALL of these issues come as a side effect of existing under Capitalism-Imperialism and points 1 and 2, in tandem, cause a want for individual power, wealth or status.
Claudia Jones, Ella Baker, Lorraine Hansberry and others, in their essays on the slave-market-like conditions of black women in domestic work; Mumia Abu Jamal, Jalil Muntaqim, and George Jackson who have commented on the nature of incarceration, modern-day slavery, segregation and colonialism, among others who have continued their work by engraining in their practice a focus on the most ostracized, oppressed, and condemned; Martin Luther King Jr. even, especially towards the end of his life, came to understand the need to focus on the most downtrodden segments of the population. All of these folks and more have shown those of us who have failed in the past to find a new (read: "correct") way to actually build revolutionary power, consciousness, and organization with the people. Walter Rodney's "Groundings with my Brothers" and his efforts to spend a majority of his time in Jamaica with the Rastafarian brethren, shows a dedication to understanding the very brutality and depth to which imperialism manifests itself, especially in pockets or areas commonly ignored or outright isolated and repressed, by those outside these groups. We must replicate this work in our own organizing today.
My hope is that in the future, groups like the Black Alliance for Peace and Cooperation Jackson, Community Movement Builders, the STOP COP CITY folks, the Black Liberation Army, Black Panther Party, the Young Lords, Brown Berets, and other revolutionary collectives, become more than simply centerpieces of inspiration in our movement, but foundations for thought, theory, and especially practice. Rather than continuously going to the same "Old Guard" trade unions, parties, and organizations that historically have given up on any attempt to work for the most vulnerable in society, we must meet with the people- and by the people, I mean all the people who will meet with us, who want to fight for liberation of the oppressed and end exploitation of humankind by humankind, those who work in offices or in mines, incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people, immigrants, the LGBTQIA+ community, children, former or current sex workers, and the international class of unemployed, dehumanized, and oppressed people here in the Domestic Colonies Known As the "United States", and around the globe.
In India, Nicaragua, Cuba, Vietnam, China, Laos, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Venezuela, Burkina Faso, and plenty of other places around the world we have current and historical examples of ways to wage a struggle - so what are we waiting for?
Stop with the same old patterns, practices, and procedures, with the same old talking points and organizational strategies.
Of course, incorporate what is correct, what works, and what represents the people's interests, needs, and wants, but also, do not forget that we must dedicate ourselves to study, practice, organization, and building bases of direct participation among the most exploited, so as to develop our own theories, our own organizations, our own political power.
We must rid this land of Settler Colonialism and grant the land to the indigenous peoples.
We must build political power among the immigrant, incarcerated, oppressed, and segregated communities.
We must do this and more today, so that tomorrow they and we, might stand tall and firm against repression and reaction, and will not stand alone.
The time is now to stand with the African People's Socialist Party, to fight against the shame indictment of their leadership!
It is time to free all political prisoners like Mumia Abu Jamal, Joshua Williams, Leonard Peltier, and those who go unnamed and unrecognized in mass organizations!
It is time to end the occupation of Palestine and put an end to the shame Israeli settler-regime!
It is time to free the people of Western Sahara!
It is time to end our wars on Russia, China, Iran, Venezuela, Bolivia, Peru, Nicaragua, Cuba, and the oppressed peoples of the world!
And it is time to fight for an end to all oppression, the most extreme oppression, once and for all!
In doing so, we will free ourselves, and others along the way. As Claudia Jones, Angela Davis, the Combahee River Collective, STAR (Marsha P), MOVE, the Black Liberation Army, and countless others have put forward, if we fight to free the most oppressed, the most exploited, in our struggle to liberate those who suffer the worst case of suffering, by logical development, we will free us ALL.
This struggle MUST include:
- Women
- Children
- LGBTQIA+ community
- Incarcerated people locked up in concentration camps as "prisoners" or "immigrants"
- the Indigenous nations
- the Colonies under US Imperialist subjugation: Puerto Rico, Guam, Hawai'i, Philippines, Pacific Islands, and others
- Domestic workers and in-home care workers
- Sex workers
- Unemployed persons
- the Differently Abled with Physical/Mental or other needs
all of the above, and others- aka: the most oppressed and the most forgotten.
This is the only way that the slogan, "All Power to the People" can truly be made a reality.