BY MEG NOVAK
MINNEAPOLIS - The Young Socialists National Committee met here May 2-3 to review the work of the Young Socialists (YS) since its second national convention a month ago and take steps to strengthen its central leadership. The meeting elected a larger National Executive Committee (NEC), voted to move the YS national office to Chicago, discussed building the U.S. delegation to the World Festival of Youth and Students, and decided to launch a fund drive.

Young Socialists leaders from around the country shared experiences of protest demonstrations and conferences that the YS has been a part of in the recent period, and the opportunities that are open to the communist youth organization to reach out with the Militant and books by revolutionaries to young fighters they meet.

Brian Taylor, a member of the New York chapter, explained the importance of having discussions on the political character of the conferences the Young Socialists participates in. "We were part of a conference on police brutality in New York," Taylor said, referring to the National Emergency Conference on Police Brutality and Misconduct called recently by the Center for Constitutional Rights. "A Black cop, who claimed to be `revolutionary,' called for cleaning up the police department from within. Because we had a discussion beforehand with members of the YS and Socialist Workers Party who participated in the conference," Taylor continued, "we were better prepared to discuss with other conference participants the role of the cops under capitalism."

"The more we participate in these conferences, the more we're seen as a force within these movements," said Verónica Poses from the Twin Cities chapter. At the conference of MEChA -the Chicano Student Movement of Aztlán - "several people told us that they had seen us at other conferences and demonstrations and had bought the Militant and Pathfinder books in the past," she added.

Joshua Carroll, from Washington, D.C., spoke about the young people YS members there are working with following the Young Feminist Summit, and the potential for recruiting them to the Young Socialists. He also spoke about people the YS has been working with who they met at a conference of Black farmers fighting against government foreclosures of their farms.

"In Des Moines, we have been driving out to meet with people in our region that Young Socialists met at the Young Feminist Summit in Washington, D.C., and the MEChA conference in East Lansing, Michigan," explained Tom Alter. YS members from Des Moines also attended the Pedagogy of the Oppressed conference in Omaha, Nebraska, where they sold over $500 worth of Pathfinder literature.

"These experiences show the real opportunities that exist today for the YS to be a part of these conferences, and raise the political level of discussion by bringing the working class and the class struggle into them," explained Willey. "It also points to the organic relationship between the fights that we're engaged in, education, our continuity, and the need for serious discussion and study within the Young Socialists. Through these experiences, we will raise the political level of the YS and become more effective at bringing communist politics to the young fighters we meet."

National Committee (NC) members took this opportunity to discuss the work being done around the country in preparation for the 14th World Festival of Youth and Students to be held in Havana, Cuba, July 28-August 5. At its convention, the YS took on building this international forum on world politics as a major campaign.

Paul Pederson reported a local festival commitee is reaching out to American Indian organizations, women's groups, and other organizations in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area.

"At George Washington University in D.C., a member of the Arab Club has decided to attend the festival," Carroll reported. He explained that by reaching out besides those involved in solidarity work with the Cuban revolution, the Young Socialists has met young fighters from a variety of backgrounds who are interested in the festival.

The National Committee also voted to launch a national fund drive, beginning May 15 and going through June 30, with a goal of raising $6,000. Chapters will be discussing and voting on goals they plan to raise through pledges from members of the Young Socialists and fund-raising activities.

Making YS a self-financed organization
A good part of discussion at the meeting focused on the importance of working toward becoming a self-financed organization. "After going to several political conferences over the past few months, I've grown to appreciate even more the fact that the communist movement is self-financed," Poses explained. "We don't rely on any grants or contributions from bourgeois institutions to fund ourselves.

Lieff Gutthuidaschmidtt explained how finances come directly out of the political work and goals of the YS and how this is an integral part of building a democratic centralist organization.

Chapters will be discussing out with every member how much they can contribute to the fund drive, as well as organizing fund-raising activities that help the Young Socialists reach out politically, such as speaking engagements on campuses where the YS can get honoraria, socials, and pre-forum dinners.

At the meeting, the National Committee voted to move the national office of the Young Socialists to Chicago for two central reasons. Chicago is a major working-class city that plays an important role in U.S. politics. Moving the national office there puts the YS nationally in the strongest position to reach out to the rising Chicano struggle, protests against police brutality and other political events that workers and youth are part of.

Strengthening the YS leadership
"At the NACCS (National Association of Chicana/Chicano Studies) conference in Sacramento, California, almost 90 people from Chicago attended," Poses noted. "This points to the possibility to reach out to young fighters in that city, and the real political openings that exist there. The Young Socialists needs to put itself in the best position to respond to these things." Others pointed to the thousands of Latino fighters from Chicago who participated last October in an immigrant rights march in Washington, D.C., and recent protests against a racist beating in Chicago.

The Illinois membership of the Socialist Workers Party (SWP) recently voted to combine the Chicago and Peoria branches into one, based in Chicago. This move puts the communist movement in that region in good stead to reach out further into the political fights in the city and region.

"By having the kind of national leadership we need in Chicago, we can move forward towards doing what's objectively possible in every city where we are turned out into politics, building a large, politically strong chapter of the Young Socialists that is actively involved in the political life of the city and the region," explained Jack Willey in his report on leadership responsibilities in the YS.

In a move to strengthen the national leadership of the Young Socialists, the National Committee increased the size of the National Executive Committee from three to five members. This committee is charged with leading the work of the organization between meetings of the NC. The new NEC will include two members working in the industrial trade unions alongside other communists in the YS and SWP.

The new National Executive Committee is composed of Lieff Gutthuidaschmitt, Meg Novak, Cecilia Ortega, Verónica Poses, and Jack Willey.  
 
 
Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home