Saturday, August 23, 1919 THE REVOLUTIONARY AGE The Negro Issue The Left Wing Unites of Wing Conference there was a clique that played petty politics, engaging in a gamble for clique control of the new party.
In the majority at the Left Wing Confer THE race pogroms organized against the Left Wing Section, Socialist Party, and ence there were Centrists, comrades not con Negro are now apparently under control.
the Central Committee of the Federated Rus cerned exclusively with the organization of a Commissions and legislatures are discussing sian Federations in issuing a Joint Call for Communist Party but with modifying the and investigating the problem, but no action a Convention on September to organize a old party and securing control for themselves is proposed except such as may maintain the Communist Party, ends the split in the Left as against Germer Co.
status quo or make it worse as against the Wing forces.
The agreement on a joint call for a con Negro.
This is agreement, not compromise. It vention to organize a Communist Party on The South cackles in glee at the experiunites the actually revolutionary and Com September unites the Communist elements ence of the North and insists that the only right munist forces on both sides.
The character in the Left Wing, gives each the opportunity procedure is to deprive the Negro of all poliof the agreement is shown in the vote: the of casting off their non Communist adherents, cal and social rights and maintain him in subdecision of the National Council was by a and uniting all the Communists irresistibly jection precisely as the South has done for vote of five to two, and that of the Federations for the conquest of power in the new party.
generations. The politicians of the South are by a vote of eight to four. small faction on There was always a larger issue involved in solemnly informing the North that the only both sides interested more in personalities and the secession of the minority from the Left way to solve the problem is to repress the clique control than in the Communist Party Wing Conference than the small clique inte Negro; and many of them indicate that mob opposed this unity of the Left Wing.
rested in control, and that was the Communist violence against the Negro and lynching are The decision of the National Council is in Party issue. This issue, on which the Left necessary factors in the process of repressing accord with the purposes of the Left Wing Wing now unites, evoked an enormous res these submerged people.
Conference of June 21. The Conference fav ponse from the revolutionary masses in the All this is contemptible. But the most conored the organization of an American Com Socialist Party for a Communist Party, mak temptible aspect of the situation is the exploitmunist Party: the disagreement fundamentallying as clear as crystal the sentiments of the ation of sex and sex hysteria.
was on procedure.
Left Wing masses.
The procedure adopted by the majority of There was another factor which destroyed soldiers were corrupted in France. While in The argument is general that the Negro the Conference was to wage the fight within the campaign to use the Emergency Conventhis country they recognized their white suthe Socialist Party until the Emergency Contion of the Socialist Party as the basis for periors, but in France, is the argument, they vention in order to rally the revolutionary organizing a Communist Party, and that is the were treated as equals, and they developed masses for a Communist Party. The struggle failure of the new to call a separate arrogance in consequence. The fact is that was to come to a climax at the Emergency Socialist Party Convention under its own aus the French have more consideration for the Convention. This implied a separate con pices. Left Wing delegates who now go to colored races, and acted towar the Negro vention called by the new of the So the Emergency Convention are going to a accordingly. But the lecherous and putrescialist Party, a convention that would at the convention of the old packed by the cent minds of certain Americans have distorted start separate the Left Wing forces from the moderates a packing that has been more than this social consideration into a sexual issue; reactionary moderates and constitute a Left assured by the expulsion of Massachusetts one United States Senator speaks of the Negro Wing convention under Socialist Party aus and Philadelphia since the Left Wing Confer soldier as French Women ruined. None but pices to organize a Communist Party. In this ence and the coming expulsion of Ohio. In a poisonous mind could speak in this fashion.
way, the struggle to rally the revolutionary answer to these new conditions, the National member of Congress introduces a measure masses in the Socialist Party could proceed Council, realizing that its mandate was to to prohibit inter marriage between white and and the new Communi become the his assure the organization of a Communist Party colored people. The whole issue of the equality torical continuation of the revolutionary ele has severed relations with the new of the Negro is being consciously distorted ments in the old party. It was a procedure and the Emergency Convention, concentrating into whether white and colored persons should that, assuming the unity of the Left Wing all its forces for the organization of a Commarry. But this is a perversion of the issue.
forces, would have achieved great results. muist Party on September, Equality for the Negro has nothing to do But the Conference split. minority deThe controversy within the Left Wing must with intermarriage; it is a demand for econocided to repudiate the Emergency Convention now end; the few comrades on both sides who mic, political and social equalty. The whites of the Socialist Party and proceed directly to are disgruntled with the decision to unite are can accord the Negro equality without being the organization of a Communist Party.
acting against the Communist Party.
compelled to accept marriage. The hypocrisy Some of the problems in dispute are still The division constituted more than a split of this whole intermarriage issue is exposed in the Left Wing: it was a split of the real unsolved, but they will be solved at the Com in the large numbers of mulattoes in the South, munist Party Convention. The task now is Communist elements in the Left Wing. The the product of white cohabitation with Negro breaking of our organization unity would have to organize the convention, to get an adequate women, particularly by the old manor arisbeen unimportant; but the breaking of our representation of the revolutionary forces in the Socialist Party. Upon this task depends taining the purity of the white race.
tocracy which is most insistent upon mainrevolutionary unity was disastrous.
The development of events placed both the future of the revolutionary movement in this country.
The Negro issue is an economic and poligroups in an untenable position. The minorComrades of the Socialist Party. Upon you tical issue. The Negro problem is developed ity at the Conference learnt that not all who by the designs of the propertied classes to favored a new party were necessarily Commun deferids a great decision. Upon you is now maintain the workers in subjection, and acists and were compelled to rely for their Engthe task of drawing the logical conclusions lish speaking expression upon comrades whom of your revolutionary purposes, and rallying complish this in a measure by dividing the to the Communist Party. majority of the Negro and white workers on a race issue, the Federations themselves admit not actually Bolshevik, real Communists. The new elected by you has issued a dec precisely as in California the propertied interests use the Japanese to inflame racial hatred National Council realized that not all who laration in favor of a Communist Party: this in words accepted the Manifesto and Program recognize that the actual fulfillment of this new C. and you, comrades, must now and divert the minds of the workers from the class struggle.
of the Left Wing are necessarily Communists, declaration depends upon the Communist The Negro constitutes a large portion of and was plunged into a struggle with Centrists.
Party Convention of September our proletariat. The white workers must It is indisputable that the old party is not realize that there can be no emancipation for The waging of this struggle to a conclusion in accord with revolutionary Socialism. De them without the co operation of the Negro, meant disaster. It meant that the Federation prived of the stimulus of the Left Wing agi just as there can be no co operation for the comrades would more and more depend upon tation within the party. it must more and more white workers if the Vegro is allowed to bethe non Communists from Michigan (who are rely upon counter revolutionary moderates, come the reactionary tool of the capitalist essentially parliamentarians, repudiating inmore and more become a Labor Party in fact interests.
dustrial unionism and mass action) while the if not in name. It is equally indisputable that As a preliminary toward the achievement National Council of the Left Wing would the masses in our country need a Communist of Negro equality, it is necessary for him to verge more and more toward the Centre. The Party, agressive, alert, rallying the masses for achieve class equality, the recognition by the fatal logic of trying to put it over each other, the struggle against Capitalism. There is but white and colored workers of their identity would make each group draw farther away one way of answering the call of our revolu of interests as a class, their equality in econofrom the real issue the organization of a tionary comrades in Europe and the Commun mic bondage, and their equality of purpose in Communist Party adapted to American condi ist International, and that is to organize a destroying economic oppression as the only tions.
Communist Party. In spite of all and every means of securing social and economic equalIn the minority that seceded from the Left thing!
ity.
are