BY JOSHUA CARROLL
ATLANTA, Georgia - "Having James Harris here in Atlanta really helped us in building the Young Socialists," said Clint Ivie, the newly elected coordinator of the revolutionary youth organization's chapter in Atlanta. Harris is the Socialist Workers Party candidate for president of the United States. Up until a week before Harris's campaign visit, there had only been two members of the Young Socialists in Georgia -one in Atlanta and one in Athens. "But in the week before Harris arrived," Ivie continued, "we recruited two new members in Atlanta and finally formed a chapter."
A chapter consists of three members of the Young Socialists (YS). The YS had its first chapter meeting on Sunday, September 15. They discussed how best to utilize the time that the presidential candidate would be in Georgia to build and consolidate their chapter. "We organized ourselves to carry out a week of political activity along with the campaign, and also to recruit to the Young Socialists," said Daniel Rhodes, one of the two new members of the young socialists in Atlanta.
That afternoon, Rhodes along with Harris addressed a gathering of supporters of the socialist campaign at a rally at the Pathfinder bookstore in Atlanta. He explained that more and more we see young people wanting to fight back against the horrors of the capitalist system. "These revolutionary-minded youth," he continued, "should join us in the Young Socialists."
Rhodes joined the YS after participating in labor struggles with striking hotel workers in San Francisco. "After that experience, I called up a bunch of labor unions, but none of them had a place for me as an active student." He then looked up the Socialist Workers Party in the Yellow Pages. He was referred to the Young Socialists. Rhodes explained, "I was looking for politics - that's exactly what I was doing.
"But the reason I actually joined the YS is because of their activism. Unlike many other organizations I have run into, the YS does things - we meet people and we talk politics with them," he said.
Over the course of the campaign week, Young Socialists accompanied Harris to meet with workers at Wilen, a mop factory in Atlanta. On Tuesday evening, they organized a meeting with Harris for young people interested in the campaign. One person who attended bought a Militant, and a copy of New International 10, with the article "Imperialism's March Towards Fascism and War." Two nights later, the Young Socialists organized a class on the Communist Manifesto.
Finally, on September 18, the last day of Harris's tour, the Young Socialists staffed a campaign table all day at the University of Georgia in Athens. They gave out campaign literature as well as a flyer announcing a youth meeting they organized for that evening at Jittery Joe's Coffee House, where Laura Garza, Socialist Workers vice presidential candidate, had spoken only a few weeks before. Matthew, a first-year student who stopped by the table to talk about politics for over an hour, asked how he could become more involved in the fight for socialism. He read a copy of the newly published YS pamphlet, and then came to the evening meeting with Harris.
Over 20 young people showed up to hear the socialist candidate explain why working people and revolutionary-minded youth need to break with the two parties of big business, and how only a socialist program of struggle can advance the interests of workers and farmers. Karolina Bjornheden, a member of the Young Socialists in Athens, chaired the meeting. She explained how young people can become involved in working-class struggles by joining the YS.
At the meeting, Steven, a student at the University of Georgia who had already had a subscription to the Militant, renewed his subscription and bought the YS pamphlet. After the meeting, both Matthew and Steven asked to join the Young Socialists.
Two days later, Matthew traveled to Atlanta to participate in a full day of campaigning for the socialist alternative. In the upcoming week, he and other Young Socialists plan to build the October 12 march in Washington, D.C., for immigrant rights. Bjornheden, who also intends to actively build this march, explained, "I know that there will be a lot of support on this campus. Many young people are disgusted by what they see as their future, and they are looking for ways to fight back."
YS NEW MEMBERS CHART
27 new members in the YS
From July 10 till September 25
City # of new members
======================================
Athens, GA 1
Atlanta 2
Boston 1
Chicago 2
Cleveland 2
Denver 2
Houston 1
Los Angeles 3
Morgantown 1
Newark 1
New York 3
Salt Lake City 1
San Diego 1
San Francisco 3
Twin Cities 1
Washington D.C. 2
TOTAL 27