BY REBECCA WILLIAMSON  
SEATTLE--Members of the Young Socialists here helped to sponsor and build two events December 1–2 on "Youth and the Coming American Revolution," featuring Jack Willey. One meeting was held at a community center in a working-class part of Seattle and another at the University of Washington (UW). The events were sponsored by the Black Student Union at UW and the local MEChA chapter.

Willey, one of the founding members of the Young Socialists, spoke on the U.S. imperialist war against working people, the Cuba-U.S. Youth Exchange, and the 15th World Festival of Youth and Students held in Algiers last summer. Willey explained why books and pamphlets produced by Pathfinder Press help arm young people with the real history of working-class struggle so that we can learn from these lessons.

Among the activities of the Young Socialist chapter here is a class series on Socialism on Trial. This book lays out the basic ideas of socialism through the 1941 trial and testimony of James P. Cannon. Cannon, the National Secretary of the SWP, was one of the 18 defendants in the government prosecution of Minneapolis Teamster unionists and SWP members under the notorious Smith "Gag" Act.

Since last spring the YS in Seattle has arranged regular classes on Pathfinder titles such as Palestine and the Arabs' Fight for Liberation; Cosmetics, Fashion and the Exploitation of Women; Cuba and the Coming American Revolution; Revolution in the Congo; and The Communist Manifesto. After the imperialist war drive began, the chapter organized a series of classes on the article in New International no. 7, "Opening Guns of World War III: Washington's Assault on Iraq."

As the imperialist war accelerated trends in world politics, our classes on socialist ideas have doubled in size. More people have approached us at Pathfinder literature tables, and at other political work on campuses and on the job. At Seattle Central Community College a YS member gave a classmate a flyer about the next YS class. She was immediately interested and purchased a subscription to the Militant and a copy of Socialism on Trial. Through a short discussion she quickly decided that she wanted to attend the class. The next day the YS member talked to one of her teachers about the Militant and two teachers showed up at the next Militant Labor Forum.

This helped us to see the political space that is there, and that by using it as much as possible we are helping to broaden the communist movement. The YS chapter has also joined picket lines with strikers at Washington Beef and the protests against government raids on a Somali-owned store in the same neighborhood of the Pathfinder Bookstore.

People had a variety of responses to the forum by Jack Willey, but all appreciated that a different point of view was presented, aside from what they hear in the big-business media. One student from the University of Washington said she "liked the forum and the Militant because it's different than the news you hear everyday," which she sees as in favor of the war.

One young person who recently attended her first Militant Labor Forum and subscribed to the Militant plans to participate in a weekend of volunteer work, called a Red Weekend, at the Pathfinder Building in New York December 15–16. "I'm excited to learn more," she said.

The Seattle chapter is beginning work building a tour for fired socialist worker Mike Italie, including engagements at campuses here so he can win support in his fight against his firing by Goodwill Industries for speaking out against the war and in defense of the Cuban Revolution.

This is an important part of building a nationwide campaign not only to win Italie's job back, but a move to defend against attacks on workers' rights. The defense campaign sets a good example for future fights in which workers will defend ourselves against attacks by the employing class and prepare for the coming American revolution.

Brendan Weinhold and Brendan Mills-McCabe contributed to this article.  
 
 
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