10,000 Black workers, students,housewives, professionals andothers turned out Thursday, Sept23rd in Detroit to protest theoutrageous slaughter of Blackpeople occurring in plants,prisons, and our communitiesacross the country.

ORqAmiZE, T E REVOLUTIONDISORqANIZE T E STATE !

300 ATTEND NATIONAL CONFERENCEThe first national conference of theBlack Workers Congress wasconvened in Gary, Indiana over theLabor Day weekend.Approximately three hundredBlack and other Third Worldworkers and students participatedin this conference, an historic first.The thrust of this conference wasto pull together the efforts of Blackand other Third World Workers in aunified struggle against U.S.imperialism and its lackeys.

The conference began on Saturdaymorning with opening remarks byMichael Hamlin, Chairman of theBlack Workers Congress. Followingthese remarks came a speech byJohn Watson on the ObjectiveConditions of Black and otherThird World Workers Today(textherein). The speech gives ananalysis of the crisis that capitalism

is in today, of how Nixon'swage-price freeze is used as a toolof economic sanction to capitalistbusiness and how this neweconomic policy further exploitsworking people, Black and otherThird World workers in particular.Watson's speech ended with a callfor workers to organize and struggleagainst economic repression.

Other delegates to the conferencegave brief speeches of solidarity tothe concept of Black Workers andother Third World people movingagainst Imperialism and industrialrepression. Representatives fromthe Chicano, Puerto Rican, andAsiatic oppressed communitiesspoke to the need to escalatestruggles against imperialism.

Workshops were convened onorganizing workers youth, and

women. A cross section of workersshared their experiences instruggling against imperialism. Theworkshops focused on how to buildstruggle around the concrete issueswhich workers face, and how tomobilize and involve workers in dayto day issues of struggle. Anotherimportant topic was buildingworking class unity, throughactions against plant atrocitiesespecially when workers aremurdered due to unsafe conditionsin plants.

The Black Workers CongressWomen Commission is organizingto fight imperialism as it exploitsblack and other Third Worldwomen on the job or excludedfrom the job; to fight imperialismas it controls Black and other ThirdWorld women on welfare rolls; tofight imperialism as it keeps the

wives of Black and other ThirdWorld workers locked economicallyand socially into their households othat they don't recognize and moveagainst the common enemy; tofight imperialism as, it usescapitalism, racism and anti-womanpropaganda and practices tooppress Black and other ThirdWorld people, the rest of theworking class, and oppressed peoplearound the work.

A highlight of the conference was afilm "The Red Detachment ofWomen" made in China released in1970 over three years after theirCultural Revolution. Thisprecedent-setting film depicts therole of women in revolutionarystruggle. This detachment ofwomen was given the task ofstruggling politically and militarily

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TODAY'News Briefs

Some auto plants are working on a week byweek layoff policy to avoid payment ofunemployment compensation. Workers in thesesituations are laid off by shifts. The unionscould put senority workers on one shift anddemand that the company lay these workers offfirst for more than one week periods, and theywould receive compensation as well asunemployment compensation. But so far thecompany has been free to lay workers off, atone week intervals, hire new employees whileothers are still laid off. Moreover, Chrysler isstill continuing with its $2.00/hr trainingprograms. Under these programs 'students' arc'trained' (work) for 6 weeks and are supposedto get a job. In reality they are laid off with norights to compensation. During their 'training'period the 'students' work on assembly lines,producing profit making goods for Chrysler, atlow wages with no rights under a programsubsidized by the U.S. government.

The United States Chamber of Commerne iscurrently lobbying to see the Wage-Price Freezeexpanded to include the outlawing of multipleunion bargaining and secret strike votes,removing unfair charges from NLRB, andlimiting NLRB appeals to Circuit Court

a recent executive council meeting of theAFL-CIO, the council called on theadministration to 'consider anew' the questionof Chinese Communist membership in the U.N.and demanded that the Berlin Wall be torndown. They also urged their affiliates to depositfunds in Black banks, and voted donations tothe Joint Council on Economic Education, theJewish Labor Committee, the League forIndustrial Democracy, and the United NegroCollege Fund

From 1965 to 1971 the Gross National productrose 521. During the same period wages andsalaries were up 60% while profits declined 4%.The rise in wages was mainly accounted for bythe expansion of the working class, andincreasing numbers of families where bothhusband and wife work to keep up with thecost of living, as well as strikes.

The decline in profits is accounted for by thesquandering of resources in the war, thecontinuing international monetary crisis, andthe predictable decline of markets whichcapitalists periodically face

North Carolina has the lowest % organizedlabor in the country and is also 50th in the levelof hourly wages.

It is interesting to note that the U.S. has thesecond largest number of 'days lost throughstrikes in the world. Italy is first and Britainthird. England's profit has fallen drastically inthe last few years. Between 1950-54 the profitswere 25.2% of the national income Diring thatperiod the British working class was relativelycalm, and Britain was effectively still a colonialmaster. In 1969 profits had dropped to 3.2% of

national income and the British workers werecontinually on strike.

Eight more of the nation's 150 major labor areaswere added to the 'substantial' unemploymentlist in August, boosting the number of areas soclassified to 62, according to the LaborDepartment. The latest figure compares with 54in July, 1971 and 31 in August last year

Latin America was exempted from the 10%reduction in foreign aid that is part of Nixon'snew economic policy.Many days of strikecaused idleness totaled 7.9 million in July andamounted to 52% of total estimated workingtime The total compares with 3.9 million inJuly 1970. The 0.52% idleness ratio - man daysloss as a percentage of estimated working timewas sharply above the 0.25% and 0 28% forJune 1971 and July 1970 respectively.

The first court challenge to Nixon's wage freezewas a suit filed by four Catholic universities,which had school professors who werescheduled for pay increases for the 1971-72academic year. They contend that theEconomic Stabilization Act of 1970 isunconstitutional and request that thePresident's Executive Order issued under it bedeclared null and void.

Teachers' workloads are increasing in the faceof rising unemployment in the educationalfield. In Southfield, Mich., classes started with22 fewer teachers than last year, resulting in aclimb in the student-teacher ratio from 22 1 to22.5.

Unions representing 65,000 postal workers havealso filed suit to lift the freeze in application tothem. They note that the Postal Service Actdirects the Postmaster General to carry out theterms of the contract negotiated under it,notwithstanding the provisions of any otherlaw.

FOR THE PEOPLES HEALTHThe first national convention speaking

concretely to the health needs of workingpeople took place in Lexington,Kentucky, Oct. 29-31. The daily struggleof coal and strip miners in Appalachiaagainst the mining industry in whocollaborate with union officials againstminers, was dramatically presented to800 delegates at a Medical Committee forHuman Rights(MCHR) Semi-AnnualConvention. MCHR is a coalition ofmainly white libera and some radicalmedical and health professionals willingto agitate around the issue of health careas a human right. There are now 59MCHR chapters.

Black Lung Association, a group of coalminers and retired mine workers wagingdaily struggle against the miningcompanies, unions, and relatedgovernment agencies, made major inputand an important contribution to thesuccess of the convention. BIA strugglesmainly against policies that lead toviolent explosions and cave-ins, the-twomajor occupational hazards that minersface.

Local strip-miners' associationspresented a slide and cultural showdepicting the brutal destruction of theland surface and sub-surface from stripmining. In addition to raising the level ofmilitancy among Kentuckians opposingland destruction, the miners expressed astrong feeling for the land and against

surface mining with frequent and familiarcries of white and Black Appalachians of"Free the land."

From a medical point of view, the focuscentered on Black Lung or occupationalpneumoconioses. Black Lung is adisabling and frequently fatalpulmonary(lung) condition caused byuncontrolled inhalation of coal dust bycoal miners.

Many struggles have ensued around theissue of Black Lung by miners afflictedwith the disease as they try to gaincompensation. Though the U.S. Congressmade Compensation for Black Lung a lawmore than two years ago, people have hadto wage bitter struggles to obtain what issupposed to be lawfully theirs.

On Sept. 14, some 28 Appalachianminers led by a militant Black miner, BillWorthington, an original founder of BLA,went to an "international scientific"conference on Black Lung disease. All ofthese Appalachian miners were disabledby Black Lung disease, but unable toreceive federal benefits. They disruptedthe conference which was composed of"international scientists" by denouncingthe collaboration of science, with thegovernment and unions, to depriveAppalachian rank and file mine workersof their right to earn enough to survive.

In Lexington, these miners gave statistics

showing ways to cut down coal dust atthe expense of the company, which thecompanies do not use. These methodsincluded better ventilation, vacuuming,watering down walls to eliminate coaldust and are being used in some parts ofthe world. These would also serve to cutdown explosions which is also caused bycoal dust. The miners say wheneverinspection time comes the company fixesup selected spots to be checked to makesure it gets a "no violation" report.

According to Paul J. Nyden, writing inThe Nation (Sept. 20, 1971), the

percentage of Black miners increases thefarther south you go. Between 15 and20% of miners in West Virginia andeastern Kentucky are Black. These Blackminers hold many local union offices andhave formed principled coalitions withthe white miners according to BillWorthington with whom I talked. Minersalso once made up Y2 of UMWSmembership and - held 50% of all localoffices. Today they comprise about 25%.

Racism is generally instigated by districtor international union officials. Whilewhite workers and Black workers struggleagainst each other, the company and theunion have been known to lower wagesand raise production. Or as BillWorthington said in Kentucky, "Theyhave it all planned to keep poor workersfighting each other." In the last 15 yearssome companies in eastern Kentucky

have destroyed unions and subsequentlypay as little as $15 a day with nobenefits.

One thing noted in Kentucky and veryfrequently stated was that most of theBlack Working people there from theNorth felt more class solidarity with theAppalachian white working men andwomen than they'd ever felt with thewhite left.

Among the delegates were people fromHealth Revolutionary Union Movement,Health-PAC, Antioch Newsreel, the BlackPanther Party, Red Family Collective, atleast 40 representatives of the 59 MCHRChapters. the Motor City Labor League,NWRO, and the Young Lords Party.

by Edna Watson

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SEEGE

pgc SIEGE

i5tat c oftintrrgentby Carolyn Ramsey

In the weeks that followed the Massacreat Attica Prison and the murder ofGeorge Jackson at San Quentin, Blackand Third World folk throughout thecountry turned out in mass in the streetsof their cities to demonstrate to thiscountry and to the world theirdetermination to fight against repressionand murder of their people. Schools andplaces of work were brought to a nearstandstill in some cities.

In the city of Detroit, Black workers,students, mothers, and communityspokesmen with other groups of theBlack Workers Congress declared to theworld that a State of Emergency Exists inthe Black Community and that anon-going State of Emergency Committeewould be formed in Detroit to addressitself actively to any and all aspects ofofficial war against Black people.

The first priority of the State ofEmergency Committee bet me the taskof mobilizing the masses of Blacks inDetroit for a silent march of protest ofthe Attica Massacre held on the 23rd ofSeptember 1971. In the midst of theactivities prior to the scheduled march,the war of repression struck still anothertragic blow.

On the 19th of September 1971, twoBlack youths, Craig Mitchell, age 14, andRicardo Buck, age 15, were murdered by apoliceman of the eight month-oldSTRESS unit of the Detroit PoliceDepartment.

The two slain boys were both unarmed,and were shot in the back by policeofficer Richard Worobec who lateraccused them of attempting to rob him.This insane, brutal and very tragic actmade the State of Emergency an evenmore awesome reality for Black people inthis country.

On the 23rd of September 1971, over10,000 Black and Third World folk tookto the streets of Detroit to show to thecountry and to the world theirdetermination to struggle for the finaldefeat of the State's crimes against thepeople.

What follows is the complete text of theDeclaration of the State of Emergency.

We the Black and oppressed people ofthe city of Detroit hereby declare thatthere exists in this community andthroughout the country a STATE OFEMERGENCY because of:

1. The brutal killings of two Blackjuveniles near the North End FamilyCenter by members of the so-called"STRESS" unit of the basically racistDetroit Police Department. PatrolmanRichard Worobec, the officer who pulledthe trigger, was exonerated of all guilt bythe prosecutor's office even though thetwo dead boys, Ricardo Buck and CraigMitchell were both unarmed and shot inthe back.

2. The brutal cold-blooded slaughter ofprisoners at the Attica State Penitentiaryby New York State police and othercorrectional officers under the directionof New York Governor NelsonRockefeller.

3. The continuing brutality practiced byguards and officials in jails and prisonsthroughout the U.S. including vicious jailraids in New Orleans, Detroit, Baltimoreand other prison centers.

4. The murder of George Jackson at SanQuentin, and the continuing inhumanincarceration and legal frameup of AngelaDavis in California.

5. The illegal, unconstitutional and brutalconditions at the Wayne County Jail,including inadequate sanitation, extremeovercrowding, inhumane treatment,harrassment of prisoners, poor food, useof solitary confinement ("the hole") forboth male and female prisoners,inadequate heh.. facilities, and the

ontinued confinement of citizensconvicted of no crime, but tooimpoverished to pay ransom in the formof bail.

6. The frameup of President Imari andother citizens of the Republic of NewAfrica, in Mississippi and Detroit, on falsemurder and other charges.

7. The intensification of economicdeprivation and exploitation of Black andpoor people through the mechanism ofthe Wage-Price Freeze, the establishmentof Pay Boards and Productivity Boards.

8. The total lack of Black politicalcontrol over land policy in this country.Resultant from this policy, millions ofBlack and poor people live in substandardand deteriorated houses, and areincreasingly exploited by landspeculators, unscrupulous real es ateagencies, and slum landlords, all workingin collusion with local, state and federalagencies. Taxes on land continuallyincrease without adequate representationfor the people, and there is gross neglectof public housing.

9. Current economic labor policies haveled to astronomical unemployment ratesfor Black and poor communities. Trainingprograms to provide new jobs are nearly,nonexistent, and there is virtually no

capital base for ongoing economicdevelopment.

10. The education system operative i theBlack community serves only to prepareblacks for prison, factory labor, or ascannon fodder in the army. The crisis ineducation is being further exacerbated bythe rise of bussing to ostensibly bringabout "integration" of the school system,rather than providing quality educationfor our children.

The current State of Emergency hastaken the form of violent repression inthe jails, prisons, courts, communityschools and work places wherever Blackfolk are found. The economic situation isdisastrous and getting worse. Brutalkillings, the spread of dope, beatings,illegal jailings, imprisonment for politicalactivities, and ransom demanded of Blackand other oppressed people through thebail bond system, are all manifestationsof the dangerous cancer spreadingthroughout our communities.

The time to act is NOW.

The State of Emergency Committee is aunited front that includes a wide spectraof organizations and individuals who arecommitted to fighting repression. Theprinciple of the State of EmergencyCommittee represents the United Blackcommunity. You are called upon to joinand work with the State of EmergencyCommittee to rid the Black communityof the reign of terror unleashed upon usby the forces of exploitation, oppressionand repression, and to build a communityin which Black people can live and workin safety and security. State ofEmergency Committee, 8824 Fenkell,Detroit, Mich. 48238, phone:342-8355.

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SIEGE

WAyNE COUNTy INMATES FilE SUiTSix present or former inmates at Wayne

County Jail in Detroit took the Sheriff ofWayne County and others tocourt Oct. 5for maintaining inhuman practices andunhealthy conditions in the jail. Thehearing was the next step in the inmates'class action suit against the officials whoare responsible for the conditions in thejail. The jail administrators were advisedto show cause at this hearing why theyshould not be charged with contempt ofcourt for not making the prescribedchanges in the conditions and practices inthe jail according to an accepted plan formaking these changes. The namedplaintiffs in this class suit representing theinmates' interests are Michael Harris,James Johnson, Lawrence RobertPlamondon, Norman Richardson, CarolynTraylor and Nora Ware.

On January 25, 1971 a complaint wasfiled in the Wayne County Circuit Courtby these named plaintiffs who represent

the interests of approximately 1,100persons who at any given time areincarcerated at the Wayne County jail anddeprived of their liberty solely becausethey, unlike wealthier persons accused ofcrime, cannot afford the price of bail orransom.

The thrust of the complaint was todescribe in detail the depraved, inhumanand barbaric conditions of the jail, and torequest the court to bring a halt to theinhumane treatment of persons who havenot been convicted'of any crime, but whoonly are being held to insure theirpresence at trial.

A hearing on the inmates' charges began'on February 23, 1971. Plaintiffsrepresented by counsel of the LaborDefense Coalition, introduced 27witnesses who witnessed or experiencedill-treatment and poor conditions. Twelveof the witnesses presented by plaintiffs

were either present or former inmatesand, through them, the intolerableconditions at the jail were described.They testified to the grossly inadequatemedical care, the sardine-packed cells, thetotal lack of exercise facilities, thecontaminated food, the disregard forsanitation needs, the arbitrary, punitiveand unlawful summary discipline, and theunlawful restrictions on visitation,communication, association and privacy.

Following these testimonies the 3-judgepanel declared the conditions at the jailconstituted cruel and unusual punishmentin violation of the 8th Amendment andviolated numerous statutory buildingstandards. Even though the court hasissued two orders directing the Sheriff ofWayne County, the administrator of thejail and other public officials responsiblefor the maintenance of the jail to correctthe deplorable situation at the jail, mostof the inhumane conditions present at the

time the suit was brought, still exist.

As a result the plaintiffs went back tocourt on October 5, 1971 seeking a hearingon why the defendants should not beheld in civil contempt for failure tofollow the court's order to materiallychange the unconstitutional operation ofthe jail.

Recognizing the need for thecommunity to hear about and supportthe inmates' suit, the Labor DefenseCoalition office asked the Blackcommunity(since 85% of the pre-trialdetainees are black)to show their supportby attending the hearing.

by Charles Rutledge

PARISh PRISON RE bEll ONOrleans Parish Prison in New Orleans,

known for its horrible conditions wit-nessed what officials called "the noisiestprotest" in Parish Prison's history. OnMonday evening, September 20, 1971, at6:30PM, some inmates, tagged "Blackmilitants" refused to be moved toanother part of the prison to facilitatetheir separation. From this the inmates incertain areas staged a protest around thebad conditions. The brothers burnedmattresses, chanted loudly and a fewwaved liberation flags from the cellwindows. The smoke and noise drew agreat deal of attention from the cellwindows. The smoke and noise drew agreat deal of attention from thesurrounding communities where a largeconcentration of blacks live.

BROThER

Because many people in the communityhave close relatives and friends in thatprison, they rushed toward the gates asthe news of the actions spread. Allapproaches to the prison were sealed offand all traffic going past the prison wasredirected to keep the community fromgetting close enough to lend support andencouragement. The streets were blockedwith firemen who would act if"something serious" developed, and bythe police who stood ready if any escapeattempts were made or if the observersbecame too unruly. At times the policeeven agitated, deliberately bumping intoand pushing people.

It appeared that the rebellion was notput down shortly after midnight but it

RAINEy Fiq0ing class and government that discrimi-nates and exploits us at home; and Whothrough the process of induction expectus to accept and say nothing about theharassment and discrimination that Blackmen are subjected to at induction centers.So, in this case the government is attem-pting to prosecute Joe Rainey for ques-tioning their rights over his life plus resist-ing the inhuman treatment of a racistdraft system.

Joseph Rainey, twenty-two year old for-mer merchant seaman and activist in theBlack liberation movement was arrestedon April 27, 1971, at his home in NewOrleans and charged with two counts offailure to perform a duty at an armedforces physical examination. He faces tenyears in prison.

The issues involved in Rainey's case arewhether the United States Selective Ser-vice, has the right to select who shall diein foreign imperialist wars for a rich rul-

Joe Rainey led handcuffedinto Federal Court Building.

was not until the next day that thecommunity discovered that there hadbeen 54 brothers who had held out in anisolated area of the prison through thenight and until 12:30PM the next day.

The inmates protested the conditions inthe prison--the crowded living conditions,poor medical facilities, and the inhumanguards. Parish Prison was built forty-twoyears ago to accomodate 460 inmates andnow accomodates about 940 humanbeings, many of whom sleep on the floor.Ventilation is nonexistent because thewindows were boarded up to keepprisoners from hollering at passers-bybelow. Plumbing was not repairedbecause the doors to the pipe lockerswere an escape route for 21 inmates a

ITs DRAfTThe resistance to the war and the United

States military has been far reaching, ex-tending throughout the country to all seg-ments of the population, from Muham-mad Ali to the working and unemployedyouth of every community, be it urban orrural. Particularly in New Orleans therehas been a very strong draft resistancecommunity. One recent draft case of na-tional importance has been the fight ofWalter Collins.

The case of Walter Collins was also acase against the movement. Walter, an ac-tivist in the movement for a number ofyears has organized in the deep southwith the Southern Conference Educa-tion# Fund(SCEF), was co-founder ofthe National Black Draft Coun-selors(NBDC), and he was formerly withthe National Association of BlackStudents(NABS). He refused induction,and was convicted on five counts of draftevasion and sentenced to five, five yearterms to run concurrently. The U.S.Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit up-held his conviction in a recent decision.The case went on to the Supreme Courtwhich refused to hear it and who imme-diately arrested him to start a five yearterm in the Federal Peniten-tiary(Texarkana).

year ago; consequentlywelded closed.

all doors were

No consideration is given to theconditions under which the inmates haveto rehabilitate. The budget decides theaccommodations and services. Theallocations give as little as possible tomeet the needs of the inmates. and asmuch as possible to meet the salary needsof "servants of the public." It appearsthat because these people and others inprison are not in the mainstream ofsociety they are denied human needs andare expected to rehabilitate themselves toenter a society which has not and willnever be able to accept.

by Francine Brown

ChARqESJoe Rainey is now waiting for the filing

of the actual charges where they(the gov-ernment) will be attampting to illegallyprosecute Joe and other poor and work-ing class youth to follow.

The Staff:SIEGE is the official organ of the BlackWorkers Congress, and is published under thedirect supervision of its Central CommitteeAddress all criticisms, articles, and letters to*

SIEGE8824 FenkellDetroit, Mich.

48238

James Forman - Executive Secretary, BWCMichael Hamlin - Chairman, BWCStaffChristine Clark, Augusta Stephens, CarolynRamsey, Karla Kilough, John Watson, EdnaWatson

Page 5

SIEGE

What is Siege?

Siege is the official voice of the BlackWorkers Congress and its publicationrepresents a new stage in therevolutionary struggle in the UnitedStates. The Black Workers Congress isdedicated to waging the anti-imperialistfight in the United States and to preparethe broad masses of people in the UnitedStates to build a socialist society, underthe control of workers.

The I ages of Siege will represent aneffort to give leadership and direction tothe revolutionary forces and the broadmasses in the United States, reflecting theobjectives and concrete work of theworkers and revolutionary organizers inthe Black Workers Congress who arededicated to building a new world.

The Black Workers Congress is fullyaware that at this moment in historyblack workers, Chicanos, Puerto Ricans,native Americans and Asians are thevanguard force of the working class in theUnited States. It is our responsibility tostruggle to give leadership to all workersand anti-imperialist forces, to unite withall sincere international workers and to

Jr- constantly root ourselves in the blackmasses who are fighting both class andracial oppression.

Siege welcomes all suggestions forimproving our work, criticisms and storiesabout the conditions of workers in theUnited States and around the world. Weare especially interested in stories aboutblack, Chicano, Puerto Rican, nativeAmerican and Asian workers!

Anti-WarActivities

The anti-war movement on the surfacesufferred a setback recently with thearrest of twenty-eight people in Camden,New Jersey, and Buffalo, New York, whowere moved to action against theSelective Service Board. Without a doubtsomeone informed on the plans of thegroup.

Informers and spies are running wildthroughout the United States making aprofitable living from revealing the secretsof anti-war and revolutionary forces andeven promoting activities that will lead toarrests.

The political lesson is clear. Anti-warforces must re-group, tighten security andmap future mass actions against the warin Vietnam. Experiences must be summedup and new forms of struggle devised.Black workers, Chicanos, Puerto Ricans,native Americans and Asians must assumemore leadership in the anti-war

We must all realize that the anti-warmo oemedt is an important forin ofstrugg against United Statesimperialism. It is extreiel) important tothe Vietnamese and to our oi strugglethat increased pressure be directed at theNixon war machine.

Recently the Provisional RevolutionaryGovernment of South Vietnam issued aseven-point peace proposal that isreceiving wide support in South Vietnamand throughout the world. The Nixongovernment has refused to accept theseseven points and efforts in the ant-waumovement must be made to popularizethese demands. Not long ago manypeople in the United States refused torecognize the existence of the NationalLiberation Front or the ProvisionalRevolutionary Government of SouthVietnam. But the vigorous and consistentarmed struggle of the people of Vietnamcoupled with the anti-wai activitiesaround the world and in the UnitedStates have changed this situation.

Two comparisons might be helpful to allanti-war forces: 1) During the Vietnamesewar against French colonialism, theFrench people were never able to mounta successful draft resisters program. Insidethe United States many people forvarious reasons are refusing to fight in thearmies of the United States and thirdworld communities are filled with peoplewho refuse to register. Draft resistanceand refusal to register must be steppedup.

2) Never before in the history of warfarehas a country had its military secretsrevealed as was done in the release of thePentagon Papers. This action is testimonyto the growing dissension in the UnitedStates against the war. That dissensionmust be accelerated.

The publication of the Pentagon Papersis also clear proof that the monopolycapitalists are fighting among themselves,making the job of revolutionaries mucheasier.

Within the anti-war movement, stressmust be placed on the fight againstimperialism. Many African revolutionariesare also fighting United Statesimperialism. The Portuguese governmentfor instance is supplied with arms fromthe United States through the NorthAtlantic Treaty Organization(NATO).

Every effort will be made by the liberalsto soft pedal the anti-war struggle as moretroops pull out of Vietnam, but theNixon doctrine is to get Asians to fightAsians and to change the color of thecorpses. Hence we cannot relax ourvigilance but must increase anti-waractivities and support of liberationmovements that are fighting imperialism.

To Black G.I.'sThe Black Workers Congress cails upon

all black soldiers and Vietnam veterans tojoin the Black Workers Congress in itsfight to destroy United States imperialismand to end the slavery that our peoplehave been subjected to for over threehundred and fifty years.

The Vietnamese people always stressthat the black soldier is oppressed by thesame enemy as the Vietnamese peopleand they make a distinction between theblack soldier and the white racist soldier.

The letter of Carl Smith which we haveprinted indicates that change is alwayspossible. Smith fought in Vietnam, butnow he is fighting imperialism in theranks of the Black Workers Congress.

Inside the Black Workers Congress blacksoldiers and Vietnam veterans will findsincere brothers and sisters who arealways striving to make a scientificanalysis of how to make a revolution inthe United States. We must learn andprofit from your experiences. Togetherwe can figure out ways to advance thecause of our people and all the strugglingmasses of the world.

Me suggest that all black soldiers andVietnam veterans begin an intensive studyof the Selected Works of Mao Tse Tung,especially his essay On Protracted War.One of the first requirements of warfareis the political mobilization of the massesand a firm belief that people are decisivein warfare and not weapons.

The United States cannot defeat thepeople of Indo-China because it is wagingan unjust war and the Vietnamese havepolitically mobilized the masses inVietnam to wage relentless struggleagainst United States imperialism andwhite racists.

Unite to end the economic oppressionand racism we face daily as black people!

Join the Black Workers Congress!

The UnitedFront

The people of Cairo, Illinois, under theleadership of Charles Koen and manyother sincere sisters and brothers havebeen waging active self-defense for morethan two years. That struggle has causedmany ramifications inside the UnitedStates. It is a heroic testimony that Blackpeople can unite to defend themselves inthis racist, imperialist land and will godown m history as a spark that lit aprairie fire.

Black workers must struggle to unitewith the broad masses of people who arewaging an anti-imperialist fight. TheBlack United Front has consistentlytaken an anti-racist, anti-capitalist,anti-imperialist position.

Within the Black United Front sincerepeople must realize that there will not beagreement upon every point, but we mustunite to defeat the commonenemy--United States imperialism. Noneof the racial or national problems that we

GUIDELINESmovement.

face can be solved until United Statesimperialism is thoroughly defeated.

Volumns two and three of the SelectedWorks of Mao Tse Tung are filledwith many .words of wisdom on howrevolutionaries should function within aUnited Front. We must maintain ourinitiative and independence within aUnited Front. And when we wagestruggle with other members of theUnited Front we must make sure that ourpositions are correct, that it isadvantageous to wage struggle, and ourstruggle within the United Front must berestrained. We cannot confuse work inthe United Front with work in our ownranks.

Ultimately, there must be a UnitedFront against imperialism in some formacross racial and organizational lines, butat this stage of our struggle the mostpressing problem is to unite as manyforces in the Black community who areagainst imperialism as possible.

Build the Black United Front!

Unity-Struggle-unity!

Down with United States imperialism!

Telegrams, letters of support, donationsshould be sent to: United Front of Cairo,P. 0. Box 544, Cairo, Ill. 62914.

Nixon's Visitto China

By going to China with hat in handseeking a visit, Nixon reveals the troublehe is having in Indo-China and with theeconomy of the United States. He islooking for some relief. Caught in thisposition, the Chinese will further tightenthe screws on him. Before the UN vote onthe American proposal for "two Chinas,"many puppet governments that supportedthe United States rushed headlong torecognize the People's Republic of China,afraid that they may be sold out onceagain by the United States. Now sinceChina's acceptance by the world into theUN, despite U.S. threats and manoeversto keep China out, Nixon will be makinghis visit to the People's Republic of Chinawith this embarrassing defeat in hisrecord. The Chinese are not giving Nixonthe relief lie is looking for.

In diplomatic struggle there are certainissues that only can be struggled for withheads of states, including those fromcapitalist states. While the Chinese peopleare planning on how they will receiveNixon, at the same time they areintensifying their preparation for aconventional and nuclear attack from anyquarter in the world. Moreover, theChinese government has made it clearthat there can be no normalization ofrelations with the United States until the'United States gets out of Indo-China, andsupport for the Vietnamese people stillcontinues.

Workers in the United States have beenfilled with anti-China propaganda fromthe United States government and manybankrupt, sterile, phony parties whoseofficials shout slogans against ChairmanMao Tse Twng and the government ofChina.

Unable to chart independent courses of

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actions, these people do not realize thatNixon's visit is a sign of bankruptcy ofthe American strategy to isolate Chinafrom the rest of the world.

These racists brand the government ofChina as everything from revisionist to apetty bourgeois dictatorship. Some ofthese same voices were heard to say tiatthe great Ho Chi Mink and theVietnamese people were revisionistsbecause they entered into diplomaticstruggle in Paris. The Vietnamese havenot relented on their armed struggleagainst United States imperialism andthere is every reason to support Chinaand to attack these arrogant white racistleftists who think they are the only truegenuine revolutionaries in the world.

Support the Chinese Revolution!We are iot Alone!

RNAEleven members of the Republic of New

Africa are facing murder charges inJ ackson, Mississippi. The terror andintimidation against black people mountswith each new day, but this repressionwill breed new resistance and new formsof struggle in the United States. Politicaland more support must be rendered tothose eleven victims who are suffering atthe hands of white racists and agents ofimperialism in Jackson, Mississippi.

Telegrams, letters of support anddonations should be sent to:Ministry of State and Foreign AffairsRepublic of New Africa9130 Fig StreetNew Orleans, La.

Wage PriceFreeze

The criminal war in Indo-China hasforced many contradictions in the UnitedStates to become sharper and sharper andthe wage-price freeze is only the latestindication of the mounting crisis of theUnited States economy.

Richard Nixon wants to wage war inIndo-China and to make the workers ofthe United States pay for it. But his planwill not work. We predict that there willbe a new wave of strikes againstmonopoly capitalism after ninety daysand if the wage-price freeze or the laborcontrols of the new phases of Nixon'splan are not lifted new antagnism willarise within the United States.

Many workers were on strikes whenNixon pumped money into the monopolycapitalists and struck a blow at workers.It is our duty to struggle to make theseworkers and all workers understand thatthe economic system of capitalism naustbe replaced and workers have the powerto destroy the monopoly capitalists andtheir political representatives such asRichard Nixon. If this is not done, therewill be new and more vicious attacksupon the workers and Black, Chicano,Puerto Rican, native Americans and Asianworkers will be hardest hit, but allworkers will suffer.

Defy the monopoly capitalists!Power to the workers!STRIKE!

OpEN LETTER TO ThEATTICA

The repression and brutalization ofBlack and other Third World peoplemounts as the other controls that theNixon administration and othergovernment forces have on us collapse.The murder of 42 Black and Puerto Ricaninmates plus hostages at Attica prison inNew York is the response that Gov.Rockefeller had to the inmates' effort tomake changes in the lives of their fellowprisoners inside Attica as well as ThirdWorld political prisoners in other prisonswhere tl%, conditions are the same.Justice, human rights and decent livingconditions had been denied to them andothers in prisons across the country.

The U.S. government's aggressive wars,particularly the present war inIndo-China, are the ways that imperialismplunders and exploits with military forceand then holds with military force. Thekillings at Attica prison demonstratedagain the kind of military force thatNixon's government forces too often use.In the large scale aggressive actions as inthe siege of Attica where eight prisonguard-hostages were killed we see thatU.S. imperialism cares not even for loyalservants.

Black and other Third World peoplecame out in demonstrations by thethousands in Atlanta, Los Angeles,Detroit, New Orleans, New York andcities across the country in the daysfollowing the Attica murders. News ofthe demonstrations in other areas of thecountry was blacked out or censoredfrom television, radio, and newspapers sothat the people who participated in andsupported these demonstrations wouldnot know the impact they had had northat their feelings were shared by Blackand other Third World people in othercities.

The people in oppressed communitiesmobilized to act against this repression.Blacks, Chicano, Puerto Ricans, nativeAmericans, and Asians have and willcontinue to mobilize and resist theseattacks on their communities.

STOP REPRESSION!Resist!Unity-Struggle-Unity!

ViETNAMESE pEOplE ANdBLACk G. I's OVERSEAS

The present situation in the United States is characterized by aprofound and deepening crisis On one hand, the divisions within the rulingcircles are becoming sharper as we can see from recent "news stories " On theother hand, the masses themselves are becoming increasingly restless andintolerant of existing conditions, and especially those conditions related to thegenocidal war in Southeast Asia

Most of us had not heard of Vietnam before the war - only French Indochina. Itwas always French or English or Portuguese something. The service was the onlyalternative for many of us...many of my friends were being drafted and manywere volunteering...

"The Vietnam war changed the racial profile of the armed forces dramatically.By mid-1968, Negroes made up 20% of American troops in the war zone,including those in Thailand and on Naval vessels off Vietnam. The Negro hasbeen warmly welcomed into the armed forces during the war GeneralWestmoreland singled out Negro troops for commendation for valor in a speechto the South Carolina Legislature, a posture he consistently maintainedthroughout his command."

Nothing can be more satisfying at this time for me and other revolutionariesinside Imperialism's belly, than to exploit this opportunity to communicate andshare experiences with our Vietnamese comrades-in-arms. And I take specialpleasure in writing this letter.

The revolutionary struggle of the Vietnamese people has a rich and heroichistory. From the pre-Marxist period, to the August revolution to the present, atremendous contribution - both in terms of revolutionary theory and practice,and the building of communist man, has been forged and re-forged by theconstant, continuous self sacrifice of millions of Vietnamese people. Hall.

Vietnamese sisters and brothers, we in the United States have learned a greatdeal from you and we are continuing to synthesize your experiences and applythem to our own concrete conditions here. Your greatest victory has been forman over technology and is a leap forward in the long road to socialism. Further,you have taught us a lesson we will never forget- REACTION ALWAYSCREATES MORE REVOLUTIONARIES THAN IT DESTROYS

I am a Vietnam Veteran...A former tool in the hands of Imperialism. I enteredthe marines in 1965, when the war was really being escalated.

I did not enter for patriotic reasons (very few people did even then), but becauseI was 18 and black and could not get a job, or into college. But most of all,because I did not have any political consciousness.

I did not understand then, as I do now, that most of the problems I faced as ablack teenager were not wholly my own, but were consciously designed by aracist-capitalist system. We were not taught that in school.

What we were taught, however, was that even though America had its faults,negroes here were better off than any place in the world and in time, we, too,could one day rise in this "great society", if we continued to behave like happyslaves. The only thing we had to fear, they said, was 'God and COMMUNISM.'

The competition for entering college became increasingly sharper as weprogressed in school. By the eleventh grade we could tell who would make it.College was the be-all and end-all. "Without college," my teacher said, "you arenothing." After I heard that, I had a hard time relating to my parents who hadbeen workers all their hves.It didn't take me very long to discover that themarine corpos was a very racist institution. The internal and external realities ofbeing stationed in South Carolina, that is, on the base as well as off, had theeffect of leaving a definite impression that was intensified as my time in theservice passed. We knew that being in the service, even in the Marine Corps,changed nothing. But we still didn't see then how Vietnam was connected withthat. So we are off to Vietnam. Vietnam.

August 24, 1966, my birthday...Arriving in Da Nang. It was very hot. I wasattracted and repulsed at the same time by the beauty of the countryside andknowing that a war was going on. I was afraid. We all stood motionless as theofficers greeted us and began assigning different areas where we would serve inthe Corps: Dong Ha, Quang Nai, Da Nang, Chu Lai,'Hue. I was to serve in anammunition company outside of Da Nang.

Nib=

SIEGE

SIEGEOPEN LETTER TO THE VIETNAMESE PEOPLE AND BLACK G'I.'SOVERSEAS

My real education had begun. What was very noticeable, was the fact that somany of the Black troops were not above the rank of corporal, when we weretold that rank was not easy in "Nam". All the officers and most of the 1'igherNCO's were white just like at home. Most of the Black pfc's had the dirt jobs.The guys in the infantry told us it wasn't much different there either.

Then I heard the word- "Gook". I never heard that word before but it soundedfamiliar. From that time on, I couldn't help but think that we and theVietnamese had something in common- We were committing the same acts ofviolence and racism against the Vietnamese people that the white racists wereperpetrating against our people at home. I had to spread the word.

We formed the Black Servicemen's Awareness Committee after we heard of therebellions in the streets back home: Detroit, Newark, Harlem, Watts. Somehow,'Black Power' and the National Liberation Front became only differentexpressions of the same principle - self-determination. Though our level ofpolitical consciousness was still not very high, we were cognizant enough toknow we shouldn't be killing any Vietnamese.

One of the harsh realities that contributed to our enlightenment was theunbelievable fact that in the POW compound across from our base, there weremore Black troops than the "supposed" enemy. When Martin L. King wasassassinated, the brothers rebelled and burned half of the compound to theground. And then we started being friendly to the Vietnamese prisoners whichdrew a sharp reaction from our commanders.

From then on it became increasingly difficult to remain in Vietnam. Thecontradictions were too great. Many of the brothers were turning to dope as away of forgetting about our presence there. I personally started stealing goodsand supplies from the base and giving them to some of the villagers I had beenfriends with. Others deserted. Some were imprisoned Others went homewounded. Others died. I had to get out.

I did. I couldn't shoot myself in the foot like so many others were doing, so Ipretended to be psychotic and got sent home. But it wasn't over. I was on drugsfor a long time afterwards mainly because of the guilt feelings I had for justbeing in Vietnam - even though I didn't kill any Vietnamese. Today the troopsare coming home feeling worse and, consequently, more hooked on dope.

I came home hating all whites. Like many other black G.I.'s, I was reacting tothe white racism we all felt in the service We didn't know who our real friendswere or who were our real enemies. We had no theory to base our experiences onnor could we explain how we went to Vietnam in the first place.

But then I got a job in a Kaiser Aluminum Plant working in the "pot-room" orwheie the raw bauxite is processed into aluminum - the point of production.

The first thing I noticed was that black men were again working in the 'dirt' jobs- just like in Vietnair. And the officers were white -just like Vietnam. The onlydifference was that there wasn't a war going on (although men were dying) andthe word "gook" sounded like "nigger".

The pressure of the job was veiy intense and many of the guys who started work- many of whom were veterans - left after a short time. We felt we deservedbetter after serving "our country" in war. I decided to quit too. Some guys I hadheard were talking about political education classes for workers and students, soI looked them up.

I started studying Marxism. I first thought it only applied to whites becauseMarx and Engels were white and they were constantly talking about theEuropean proletariat. But as I studied more, I realized that the conditions of theworkers they were so vividly describing were like those at the Kaiser Plant. Andthe workers had nothing for sale but their labor ina country where moneymeant everything. And then I remembered what one of my teachers had toldme, "If you don't have an education, you are nothing." Workers were nothing.

Most Black people were workers, I thought, so most Black People are "nothing".But most white people are workers too. Even in the United States. They don'twork as hard, maybe. They were never chattel slaves But they are still exploited.Marxism explains not only the lives of workers, but the whole history ofCapitalism

So now I am in an organization called the Black Workers Congress. The BlackWorkers Congress is a Marxist-Leninist organization inside Imperialism. TheCongress seeks to ink up the every day struggle for socilhsm and the seizure ofstate power by the Black and Third World workers. The Congress knows that theprinciple contradiction in thd world today is between Imperialism andanti-Imperialism. That is why we call ourselves the BLACK WORKERSCONGRESS.

The Black Workers Congress faces many a difficult task. Primary among thesebeing, How do we attack Capitalism from within and simultaneously struggle forour own free development? How do we teach Marxism where the penetration ofbourgeois thinking is the greatest in the world? Who are our fiends and who areour enemies9 How do we fight consumerism and petty-bourgeois tradeunionism?

We have tremendous organizational and ideological work ahead. We are leavingthe pre-Marxist phase of our struggle, tI-erefore, we need all the guidance we canget, realizing of course, that we must depend primarily on our own resources andexperiences.

page 8

Our people are looking for a way out of an increasingly intolerable situation!Now we have taken the initial steps in a struggle that promises to be extremelycomplex, long, arduous, bloody, and one that will require a great deal of efforton the part of the most advanced of the proletariat to lead the masses of theUnited States to the seizure of state power and toward the development of thesocialist man.

The Black Workers Congress recognizes that the most fundamental problemfacing African and Third World people at this time is the lack of politicalconsciousness. The structure of imperialism, capitalism and racism areformidable enemies that must be attacked, but this attack will not come from apeople who lack political direction or who have not been educated to theinterrelationships, the historical development, the continuing ramifications ofthese evils that face African people and other dehumanized people.

IN THE DEEPEST REVOLUTINARY SPIRIT,Carl Smith

Our Slogans:

Struggle and Organize, Organize and Struggle

Unite with our friends, divide our enemies,neutralize those in between!

Oppressed people of America unite,defeat Imperialism and all its Uncle Toms!

Political Lesson One:Get Acquainted

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na we 9SZIEGEa

Brothers and Sisters:

It is a great honor and pleasure toaddress you at the first NationalConference of the Black WorkersCongress.

Black and other Third World folk, whohave always been available wheneverAmerican Capitalism needed victims toexploit are now being made the primaryvictims of Nixon's New Economic Policy.

Whenever capitalism is in a period ofacute crisis and sees its vital intereststhreatened, the ruling class forces theworking class to bear the burden andmake the supreme sacrifice to overcomethe crisis.

Thus, under the guise of patriotism theruling class herded millions of workingclass youth into the armed forces to fightand die in the unjust imperialist war inVietnam, and now it calls on the workingclass to tighten its belts and bear thelion's share of the suffering caused by thepresent Wage-Price Freeze. And just asthe Black and other Third World workershave been forced to take adisproportionately high rate of casualtiesin Vietnam, today they will be forced tobear the greatest brunt of the economicausterity program of the ruling class.

Moreover, Black and other Third Worldpeople are forced to provide the primefodder for the increased extraction ofsurplus capital, the accelerated rate ofexploitation, which Nixon and his rulingclass cronies currently plan for theAmerican working class.

The -Black worker has traditionallyplayed the role of the most exploited,brutally oppressed, and the mostprofitable source of labor that was socheap that they received no remunerationfor their work, except that required forbare subsistence, minimal food, clothingand shelter. That source of cheap laborwas so productive that it earned hugeprofits for the white overlords of the day.Basically, from the billions upon billionsof dollars of profits ripped from the hidesof our forbears the American capitalistclass accumulated the surplus capitalnecessary to build the Americanindustrial empire.

Indeed the mighty industrial, fortressesof General Motors, IBM, U.S. Steel, etc.,are all laid on a foundation of Black andBrown blood sweat and tears.

Since slavery, Black labor has continuedto assume particular importance in thedevelopment of both domestic capitaland international imperialism, primarilybecause the Black female and maleworkers are the final prop, the ultimatemainstay, onto which capitalism shifts itsweight in order to survive.

Black Workers have remained a sourceof the cheapest most productive labor.First as agricultural labor, then as miners,merchant seamen, government,transportation and service workers, dock'and warehouse workers, etc., and finallyas the most exploited section of theproletariat in light and heavy industry.Today Black and other Third Worldworkers are still solidly entrenched at thebase of the proletariat.

In the building trades, for instance, only4.3% of the operating engineers are Blackand Puerto Rican, whereas theyaccounted for 39.3% of the laborers'union.

Blacks have always been the majorsource of the reserve army of labor, thatvast body of men and women who findthemselves unemployed semiemployed oroften permanently underemployed andused by big business to suppress thegeneral level of wages. From 1958 to1968 the official black unemploymentrate never dropped below 6.4% and forhalf of that period the rate was neverlower than 10.2%. Today blackunemployment has climbedastronomically, with unemploy ment rates40% or higher for Black and other ThirdWorld workers in many large cities. Withunemployment so high, Black and otherThird World workers remain a primesource of cheap, highly productive labor,facing a continual suppression of wagesdue to increased competition for jobs,especially in the service sector, fast foods,and related industries.

This suppression of wages is expandingbroadly throughout all areas of theeconomy.

In the past, the ruling class used thetactic of divide and conquer against theworking class. First they denied jobs toblacks, their used blacks to break whitestrikes. They constantly pitted whiteagainst black labor through the use ofracism and white skin privilege.Eventually the unions recognized theycould not exist without Black workersand the accomodation of blacks intothese unions was brought about under theguise of equality, but in reality we arestill the victims of the virulent racism ofboth the companies and the unions.

Moreover the companies still attempt touse Black labor as a wedge to force wagelevels down.

For instance, the capitalists are facedwith a squeeze in the constructionindustry, where white racist unions haveforced wage levels upward through thepractice of restricting entry of Black andBrown workers into these crafts. Thecapitalists answer this practice by callingfor the integration of the building tradesusing such schemes as the Philadelphiaplan, as well as through the introductionof prefabricated and modular housingconstruction techniques employing lowpaid Black and other Third World labor infactories. They have also established awage-price stabilization board for theconstruction industry.

So we see that Blacks still are:

1. The lowest paid sector of theworking class.

2. Forced into the worst jobs in the- labor market except when needed to

suppress the wages of overpaidwhites.

3. Subjected to the most hazardousworking conditions, higher mortalityrate (2V/2 times that of whites) andhigh rates of industrial disease.

4. Subjected to discrimination on jobplacement, job upgrading, andclassification.

5. Subjected to harsh regimentation

and discipline on the job.6. In a7 position of having little Or no

control of power in their union.

Of course these conditions have thesubsidiary effect of maintaining suchsubstandard conditions in Black workingclass communities as inadequateeducation and health care, inferiorrecreation facilities, police brutality,delapidated housing, and so on. Beingrelegated to the lowest paid, dirtiestjobs(as important as these jobs are to theU.S. economy) Black and other ThirdWorld workers often are forced tostruggle for survival against both theunions and the companies. This continualstruggle coupled with the rise ofconsciousness brought about by the civilrights movement and the rapid spread ofrevolutionary ideas has created in Blacksthe most militant, class conscious,politically advanced and volatile sectionof the working class.

However it has been lack of organizationthat has prevented the power of Blackand other Third World workers frombeing used to the fullest extent. Yet,generally without leadership, training, ororganizational experience, Black workingclass organizations caucuses, rank and filecommittees, and ad hoc groups havesprung up all over th& nation in anamazingly wide variety of industries

These groups are challenging bothcompanies and unions on the issues oftheir racism, exploitation, and theirgenerally class-collaborationist policies onhealth, safety, etc.

The reaction of the bourgeoisie to therising militancy of Blacks has been theusual carrot and stick game.

On the one hand they have created aBlack national bourgeoisie, new jobs asconsultants on minority relations,personnel offices populated with Blacktokens, minority training programs, etc.On the other hand the response hasbeenstepped-up repression of militantorganizations, caucuses and . theirleadership, the use of economicsanctions(firings, suspensions, etc.) theuse of court actions and injunctions,blacklisting, slander and threats ofviolence--sometimes carried out--and thelike.

None of this has stemmed the rise inclass consciousness on the part of Blackworkers, however. In fact givery theobjective situation in the world, thesteady rise of revolutionaryconsciousness, the African, Indo-Chinese,and Latin American anti-imperialiststruggles, it is impossible to prevent theonward development of class struggleamong all workers, much less amongblacks.

The ruling class has thus attempted toprevent the development of consciousorganization, especially, where it is underMarxist-Leninist leadership, resolutelydedicated to the anti-imperialistmovement, and to deny the resources,skills and knowledge necessary to prepareand sustain organizational forms forrevolutionary struggle.

While Black labor has reactedpredictably to its objective conditions of

existence (that is increasing militancy,national pride and class consciousness,and increasing resistance to oppression)the American capitalist class also has beenbeset by its own set of contradictions andhas responded predictably.

Since World War II the U.S. has assumedthe role of the dominant figure in thewestern imperialist system. As a result, a

-series of phenomena have led to political,economic and military disaster forimperialism's top dog, the U.S.A. Someof these phenomena are:

1. The U.S. had consistently exportedcapital and currency through the use

of foreign investment, foreign aid,maintainence of armies abroad.expanded tourism, and importing

2. The U.S. dollar had become thefoundation (reserve currency) of thewestern monetary system while theU.S. accepted the gold standard (theprice of gold was set at $35 perounce). Foreign governmentsaccumulated billions of dollars forwhich the U.S. did not have the goldto back them up. Consequently, thedollar became the object of regularrecurring speculation byinternational currency dealers toforce the U.S. to devalue, and givingthe speculators a sizeable profit onthe money markets.

3. The U.S. had expended vast sums ofmoney on the defense ofinternational imperialism,squandering dollars all over theworld which were picked up byimperialism's allies, i.e. Japan, WestGermany, Israel, South Vietnam,etc.

4. The fact that the dollar wasovervalued in the world moneymarket led to a huge deficit in thebalance of payments position of theU.S. and led to the first U.S. deficitin the balance of trade since 1893. Ina word U.S. imperialism hadstretched itself thin.

5. With the continuation of the war inVietnam, the general pattern ofinflation developed with pricescontinually rising, unions pressingfor higher wages, and thedevelopment of a wide range ofwage levels throughout the workingclasses, and a general pattern offalling rates of profit for capitalist.

Caught in the contradiction ofover-production, an adverse tradebalance, recession, galloping inflation andfalling prices, the ruling class beganscreaming for drastic policies to stabilizethe economy. In recent months, thecapitalists began to experience panicbetween the competitive squeeze offoreign industry, economic gains won bymajor unions, the pressures of theinternational monetary system, arid theVietnamese war.

The entire system of capitalism exists inorder to maximize the production of

see next page

oinri-lir

SIEGEcontinued from precedng page

With the government stepping in toenforce wage restrictions on the brink ofbanning strikes, the role of the classcollaborationist union bureaucrats couldbe finished. The% may be forced tofight--not in the interest of the workers,but to prey ent the ruling class from usingits direct powers to police workers thuseliiniiiating the functional role nowplax ed b% the established unionleadership. Let there be no doubt that theXX age-Price Freeze in a gigantic gi eavNaNto business at the expense oflabor--especiallI Black workers.

The X age-Price Freeze puts no limit onthe interet that banks charge. creates noexcess profit tax (as was the case in XX orldXX ar II), abolishes the excise tax on autos.creates a 10% surcharge on imports. andrev in es the investment tax credit allowingbusiness to deduct 10% of theirmestment in American made machineryand business equipment from theirincome tax. There is. however, no freezeon the rise of professional fees, and thefreeze does not apply to the price ofstocks. In fact, the stock market rosesharply immediately following Nixon's'announcement, and many corporations,mutual funds, insurance companies,banks and other capitalist institutionsreaped millions in an orgy of profittaking.

This policy, coupled with S84.7 billioncut in non-military federal expendituresmeans long term layoffs and long termwage freezes for lover level governmentalemployees(Blacks). Nixon's currentproposals call for a nine billion dollar taxcut for industry against a two billiondollar cut for individual tax pay ers(which will primarily benefit wealthyindividuals).

The wage freeze will be enforced by achorus of cheering corporate leadersv while there is no real enforcementmechanism on the price freeze.Corporations plan price schedules inanticipation of deferred wage increaseswon by labor in contracts signed monthsor even years ago. As a result. workers arelosing the increases they struggled for.while many companies have increasedtheir price schedules in advance. TheUnited Farm X orkers lose their 5 cent anhour raise negotiated last N ear and duethis October while prices were raised inadv ance.

There is little doubt that there will be acontinuation of the freeze in one form oranother after November. There N ill mostcertainly be the creation of some kind ofX age-Price stabilization board to rideherd over the economic demands ofworkers. Currently the capitalist presssees no return to the old economicsystem. in fact. the XX all Street Journalpredicted that the freeze would end'sometime less than imfimity.'" but the

sv steim would return to old way s.

Perhaps most sinister, vet leastpublicized, are Nixon's plans onproductive ity . In the finial anali sis. theexcess profits will once again be squeezedout of the backs of workers.

The steel settlement. described by I. WX.Abel 1..S.WX. president as. "one of themost successful. if not the mostsuccessful contract negotiationn' in theuiiion's history. nion a 30% a wageincrease over a three year period, as wellas a renewal of the prev iously lost?scalator clause. At the same time. anagreement was made to set up "jointcommittees on productivity" to tackle

page 10

the "major problem- in the industrN.lagging productiitN. Both Secretary ofLabor James D. Hodgson and R. HealthLarry. U.S. Steel Vice President (head ofthe management team). cited thisprovision as having the mot potentialimpact of am, in the agreement.

Immediately after the signing of thesteel contract, Nixon slapped a freeze on, ages. But there vwas no freeze onproduction rises. on increasedregimentation, on the use of time ormotion studies. Moreover the price freezedid not effect the steel industrialcorporations. They were allowed toquietly raise the price of steel 8% afterthe freeze went into effect. Nixon's callfor the establishment of productivityboards on a national level is a clear stepto increase the exploitation of workers.

HXe can expect working conditions tocontinue to decline. safety conditions todeteriorate even more and production tospeed up to an even more exploitativerate.

The number of casualties resulting fromthe stepped up class warfare brought onby the "New Economic Policy" willincrease in coming months and years.Accidents. disease. fatalities and injurieswill increase. as n ill the harassment ofworkers by foremen and othersupervisors. Disciplinary actions,suspensions and firings will increase, andworkers in this country will respond tothis violent pressure with increasingviolence(For example James Johnson ofthe Chrysler Eldon Plant in Detroit or IkeJernigan at Lockheed Plant in L.S.).Federal cutbacks in domestic spendingwill further exacerbate the problem ofinadequate housing and education.inferior health care. the pollution of theenvironment and the many otherinsidious effects of a panicky capitalistsystem galloping wildly in a frenziedsearch for more profits.

The working class will mov e to defendits interests because it has no choice. Theburden of capitalism is becoming toohea v for the workers to carry. and wecan easily predict that Black and ThirdHk orld workers who are most %ictimizedby this new capitalist offensive whichescalates that class war. will be in the

vanguard leading the counterattack developed cadre of workerr.against imperialism.

But from where %sill thie,.e wvorkersdern e their leaderip HX ho wil guidethem into battle? Hho will raie thelogan of cla, nv arfare? Ni ho wN ill uiimak

and expose the infinite trick andduplicitN et to be used bN bu imne to,atisfN it- rapacious appetite for profit?HXho will clarifN the m-tue'. and expo ethe sell out claw,-collaborationiit unionleadership?

H ho Aswill organize. call nationaldemonstrations N lIch raise the clarioncrN for total cla, ,olidaritA . for generalArike, in vi uch the power of' worker, atthe point of production to eie controlof induAri. iAhow n?

Wio N ill put an end to the clique ofmadmen who- pre-entlh manipulate thepolitical and economic resources of thicountry so as to bring hayoc anddestruction to the world's people?

Due to the vears of cla-w-collaborationitpolicies the etablied union- arehopelesll paralyzed when it comes toreal class struggle.

The old left has long ago gn en uprevolutionary practice for reformist andrev isionist policies A hich are totall% outof touch with present reality.

The new left is fragmented anddemoralized and bareh understands therole of the Black and Third H orldworking class anyway .

The Black HX orkers Congres armed Aswitha correct analysis and program. coupledwith its projected actiNiti being nationalin scope. is the onl% currently existingorganization that promise to provide theleadership nece-sar in the upcomingstruggle.

HX e must ri-e to this historic task. HX emust put forth the revolutionaryslogan'.

We must organize the broad masses tounderstand the necessity of buildingsocialism.

e must train and educate a highly

He must develop broad cla , .oidarit.and prepare to lead maniv edeiontration. and trike.

H% e mu t relentleyA la% blow suponblowN on our Niciou cla, enems to endthe perpetuation 61 raci.n. capitaliinand imperialini. Blowv upon blowN totlie.,e ract m urderer, and ruthle-oppresor-. blowv upon blowv to theirrep~rne ~tate apparati,. to their court-their army. their police and other militantand para-militar form,. their foremenand executne-. their corporation- and allof their flunkie., high aiind lo.

And wve mut continue to battle themuntil theN are N hollN. completely>re-olutel . and utterly de-trov ed. andtheir evil influence i- eradicated forv erfrom the face of the earth.

John XX at-on

Speech given by John Watsonat the first National Conferenceof the Black Workers CongressGary, Indiana. Sept. 5, 1971

continued from coi er page

NationalConferece

with the Chinese landlord class.

The Women's workships weregreatly inspired by this movie aswell as the organizationalexperiences shared with them byother Black and Third Worldwomen and men.

A proposed constitution for theBlack Workers Congress waspresented and accepted in principle.

I I --1 - -. ' s .

BlAck WonkERS DEpTION INVIETNAM

In 1924 a young Vietnamese journalistnamed Nguyen Ai Quoc wrote an angryand brilliant article condemning thecommon American practice of lynchingBlack people He began that article withthese words, "as it is commonly known,the Black people are the most oppicssedpeople in the world."

Nguyen Ai Quoc made that statementand launched his campaign against thebrutalization of black people in Americaon the basis of his own personalknowledge He lived for a while in theUnited States whete lie made his mine inHailem and became the close fiiend ofmany Black people, among them MarcusGaivey, the father of modeiiiday BlackNationalism

Nguyen Ai Quoc later changed his nameto Ho Chi Minh. By that name, Ho ChiMinh, his memory is loved and reveied bythe Vietnamese people as the father ofthe Vietnamese Revolution and the firstpresident of the Demociatic Republic ofVietnam

True to the nemoriy and ietitage of HoChi Minh, the people of North Vietnamand the ievolutionary fighters in theSouth Vietnamese Liberation Aimy stillmaintain their understanding, supportand sense of brotherhood withAfro-American people and otheioppressed people inside the UnitedStates. In North Vietnam our delegationwas greeted and treated like visitingrelatives. Not only by Vietnameseofficials, but also by farmers, factory

woikets students. women and even youngchildicii who met and played with us onthe stiects where we wandeied at ouileisure without any guides, guai ds oiescoi ts

In complete honesty we must say thatwe found the Vietnamese leaders to bebetter informed. imote factuallyup-to-date and more sympathetic to theplight of our people than any of the iich,white politicians who are sending ourbrotlicis to Indo-China to die--any ofthere. firom Kennedy to Agnew, fromLongstieth to Rizzo'

As a Black person who has lived in theghettoes of Chester and NorthPhiladelphia as well as in the iacistwilderness of Mississippi, I must also say

that at night on the stiects of Hanoi andin the county side of North Vietnam. Ifelt pei fectly safe and unaft aid foi thefist time in my adult life. In Noi thVietnam thee aie no street gangs, notigger-happy nigger-hating cops, nopushes, no junkies, no unemployment,no children dying of maliuttion anddeteriorating neighborhoods except inthose aicas where Ameiican bombs haveleft homes, schools, hospitals, faims,nurseries and churches in ruins.

But the vietnamese people are rebuildingthen country in the North even whiledefending then country in the SouthNothing less than the total nucleardestruction of Vietnam will bring theU.S. government and the U.S. militaryanything but defeat, defeat and more

defeat The Vietnamese will win Outtask. as Black people and as peacelovingpeople of an iace. ae 1) to stel) up themovement against the wai. 2) demandthat Nixon withdraw all of the troops.and 3) to demand that not one solitaiypenny of oui tax money goes to supportthe Uncle Tom Saigon puppetadministi ation

Most important, the task of Blackpeople is to totally refuse to participatein the wai in Vietnam, to stop lettingNixon make muideicis and corpses out ofoutI sons, and to encourage BlackG I 's(who make rp 50(/ of the battlefieldforces in Vietnam) to either put downtheir guns oi to tuin theii guns on ouiteal enemies instead of the Vietnamese.

Similarly, we would do well to leainfiom the experiences and deteiinnationof the People's Republic of China, thenation to which Richai d Nixon sentHeniy Kissingei on a beggar's e rand justa few days before oui own veiy pleasant,non-seciet visit which I hope we candiscuss in moic detail

by Muhammad Kenyatta

Po rtLike the Vietnamese, the people of the

Pot tuguese colonies in Africa at e engagedin aimed struggle fot hibet ation. Thefighting began in Angola in 1961 At thattime the Confetence of OrgantzdtionsAgainst Pot tuguese Colonialism wasfo imed to coordinate the liberationmovements of FRELIMO inMozanibique, MPLA in Angola, PAIGC inGutned and Capo Verdes, and the CLSTPin Sao Tome and Principe Poitugal nowhas 150,000 ti oops in Africa, and yet inGuinea Bissau and the Capo Verdes, theycontrol barely one third of the teititory,and in Mozambique FRELIMO controlsthe northern fifth of the countryside

The success of the liberation fighters isall the more significant considering whothe enemy is and the nature of thePortuguese military response.Portugal, the most underdeveloped

country in Europe, is the last old-stylecolonial powet in the woild. ThePortuguese colonies in Africa includeAngola, Mozambique, Guinea, the CapeVerdes Islands and the Islands of SaoTome and Principe These ate vastterritories with rich agricultural lands,untapped mineral wealth including oil,and enormous economic potential.Altogether, the military dictatorship, firstof Salazar, and now of Caetano, attemptsto rule 14 million people occupying800,000 square miles in Africa. Africansout-number Europeans by 15-1.

The Portuguese first made contact withthe African peoples in the 15th century.but did not actually control them untilaftet World War I. Africa had been mainly

uguese Colonies inArmed StruggIc

an outpost on the way to India up until support for Portugal nascome from her In the liberated territories ofthe time Portugal lost its hold on its allies in NATO, and particularly from the Mozambique schools aie being improvedeastern empire and became involved in United States and West Germany For the and expanded. FRELIMP-trained teachersthe search for gold and silver in Africa. United States the use of the Portuguese returned from exile to teach ovei 20.000But the Africans had never passively Azores as a mtary base is considered the pupils. soldiers and adults includedaccepted Portuguese intervention. most significant security interest The Agriculture and trade are beingUprisings were frequent on both coasts U.S. also maintains a permanent military reorganized. Cooperatives ate beinguntil the 20th century when other mission in Portugal The U.S. insists that revived and encouraged. The people nowEuropean invades had shown great military aid to Portugal is used only to grow crops to produce a surplus to feedcolonial strength and stability. strengthen mutual security interests in villagers whose cops have been destroyed

Portugal itself is a police state controlled the Atlantic But it is undeniable that any in the fighting and by Portuguese airthrough an elitist coalition of business, military aid to Portugal increases raids, or who have been forced to leavemilitary and chuich powers, the people Portugal's military strength in Africa. their homes to escape reprisals More landare extremely poor, they are kept Beyond America's military concerns, is under production than evei before.illiterate, and their civil liberties are there are growing economic interests for Small scale local industries are beingnon-existent Thus, the government of the U.S. interest in a stable Poritgal and established These include soap-making.the colonies is an extension of the fascism continued Portuguese control ovei salt production, and the manufacture ofin the Lisbon Government itself African territories. The U.S. is Portugal's agricultural implements both fiom theGovernment censorship, the prohibition thud largest trading partner, millions of wrecks of ambushed Portuguese vehiclesof tiade unions, and a single-party dollars worth of loans have been made to and, in some aicas, fiom local non ore Inpolitical system aid in close control of the various industries, major U.S. companies all these activities the people arepopulace Opposition is silenced , by have significant investments in the encouraged to participate frlly, and toimprisonment oi execution. Africans are African territories, and then there is the work together to combine familiarrequired to cariy a passbook which involvement of American oil custoris of tribal government with)thecontains a tax and labor record, and corporations. Fot example, Angola is the new structriis they are developing. Thenames of members of their famihes with fourth largest oil producci in the woild, people are dealing with the changing rolephotographs and fingerprints. It must be and a subsidiary of Gulf Oil has an of young people, of women, and ofshown on demand and if papers ate not in exclusive concession which provides for a peasants. Ultimately colonial powers willoidei, an African may be sentenced to 50-50 split of the profits with Portugal always be defeated when the peoplecorrectional laboi (which provides a In spite of the fascist nature of the support a liberation struggle. The womenconvenient labot-supply control). The Portuguese government, in spite of the and men of Africa are the pioof that thesocial and economic controls would seem support of NATO and in spite of the will of the people is greater than theto make liberation an impossible task. determination of the United States to Man's technology

But, nevertheless, Portugal could not prevent revolution', the liberation fighterscariy on this war without help fiom other are WINNING' Most important, theynations. The presence of South African realize that evolution is not won by thetroops has already been reported in military struggle alone. The realMozambique, and South African revolution must take place in the lives ofequipment in Angola. However. the majot the people who will build the new nation

page 11I818I0'

Excerpts from theBLACK WORKERS CONGRESS MANIFESTO

Our Objectives:

1) Workers' control of their places of work--the factories, mines, fields,offices, transportation services and communication facilities--so that theexploitation of labor will cease and no person or corporation will get rich offthe labor of another person, but all people will work for the collectivebenefit of humanity.

2) An elimination of all forms of racism lit of self-determinationfor African people, Chicannd Indians who live inthe United States and Puertt 4

3) The elimination of ua9nWWYawl phases of

4) The right of alpeop to e A#',dev h etArI hedtogthroughlit the Unied State

5) % of all pep 'turre ls* thout fear 7pere

"a *i tejgrowing q),"the Irted'

Uta flat' 4 'arization 'fore UUCd

the repe al e f people,-ase)be, td0*4 td k spdi an bbic al

collaborators in the tra&ution movement t,

te intern8 national kdarity ofalloq ressed,~ "at tt 4?~ V4Lt&Itn~if Ntn~tnfs~kt~~ ~'tW.qEekin ''>A1~A A"

BLACK WORKERSCONGRESS