Vol. 77/No. 37      October 21, 2013

Below is an excerpt from Maurice Bishop Speaks: The Grenada Revolution and Its Overthrow, 1979-83, one of Pathfinder’s Books of the Month for October. Bishop was the central leader of the 1979 revolution in the Caribbean island of Grenada that overthrew the U.S.-backed dictatorship of Eric Gairy and brought a workers and farmers government to power. Bishop became the nation’s prime minister, using the government to deepen the mobilization, organization, education and class consciousness of the Grenadian masses.

But on Oct. 19, 1983, a Stalinist-inspired coup led by Deputy Prime Minister Bernard Coard murdered Bishop, overthrowing the revolution. This betrayal opened the door to a U.S. military invasion, which installed a pro-U.S. regime. This piece is from a July 15, 1980, interview with Bishop in St. George’s conducted by Socialist Workers Party leader Steve Clark. Copyright © 1983 by Pathfinder Press. Reprinted by permission.

STEVE CLARK: One last question. What would you like to say to working people in the United States? To the Black community in the United States? What message would you like us to take back?

MAURICE BISHOP: First of all we would like to stress something that imperialism has been trying to use as a means of dividing and ruling—and this is that we have absolutely no quarrel with the American people. We have nothing at all against the people of America as a people.

Our quarrel is with the system of imperialism. Our quarrel, therefore, is with the American establishment and all its various manifestations—whether it’s through the presidency or National Security Council or the State Department or the CIA or the powerful business lobby or the powerful media or whatever. That is who our quarrel is with. And particularly insofar as that establishment seeks to support by violence the right of their transnational corporations to continue to exploit and rape our resources. That is what our quarrel is with.

After all, more Americans come to our country every year than the entire population of Grenada—140,000 came by ship last year, and I’m not talking about those who came for stay-overs.

So that is not our quarrel and we want to make that clear. Because imperialism has been doing its best to try to sow all sorts of confusion in that area.

Likewise, when you come to the question of the Blacks and other oppressed minorities in America, obviously we have a particularly close feeling, given our own cultural background and our own history. There is a very close sense of cultural identity, which the people of Grenada automatically feel for American Blacks and which we have no doubt is reciprocated by the American Black community.

Because our own struggle is internationalist, we have over the years been giving our fullest support to all international causes that demand such support. We see that as our internationalist duty.

Since the revolution, we have continued in that vein. We were the first country in the Western Hemisphere to recognize the Polisario Front; the second country in the world to recognize the provisional junta in Nicaragua on May 23 last year, fully three weeks before they finally won their victory; our open and consistent support to the PLO, for Puerto Rican independence, and so forth. That is our position.

And therefore we see the importance of progressive forces worldwide joining together. We see that struggle as being one struggle, indivisible. And what happens in Grenada, we recognize its importance for all struggles around the world. And we feel that on that basis, the progressive forces and democratic forces in America ought to give their support to our revolution also.

We certainly place a great deal of importance on the activity, the potential, and the possibilities for the American working-class movement. Both in terms of mobilizing and organizing to stop any draft movement, and in terms of the potential of doing mortal damage to the international capitalist and imperialist system from within the belly of the main imperialist power on earth.

And thirdly, in terms of the great possibilities for expressing solidarity with the revolutionary struggles around the world. Something they have done before and can do again. For example, mobilizing and organizing themselves to refuse to load ships heading for particular areas.

So, our basic message would be to get across this sense: That what we are struggling against is the system of imperialism. That we have the greatest respect for the people of America. That we feel a particularly close affinity to American Blacks and other oppressed minorities, to the working-class movement in America, toward progressive forces in America. That we certainly are willing to extend our solidarity with them in their struggles, and we certainly would hope that they would extend their own solidarity to us in our struggle.

Finally, our message would be: We would love to see them. We believe that it is very important that instead of reading the propaganda that is being circulated in America, they should come out to Grenada, come out to Cuba, come out to Nicaragua, and see for themselves. So that they can understand what is happening and as a result be in a better position to appreciate what is going on in this part of the world.

Let me add just one final thing. That is to say that we, without intending to be disrespectful, would very strongly recommend to the Black movement in America the importance of developing the firmest and closest links with the white working-class movement and the white progressive movement. Our feeling certainly is that in order to win that struggle inside of America, it’s extremely important that all progressive forces get together and wage a consistent fight against the real enemy. Don’t spend time fighting each other, debating trivialities. That’s something I think is important and that I would like to get across in the message.  
 
 
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