Vol. 78/No. 15 April 21, 2014
April 21, 1989
It would be hard to overstate the importance of what was accomplished when hundreds of thousands of people marched on Washington April 9 to defend the right of women to decide whether or not to have an abortion.The demonstration was a learning experience — above all, for those who participated. Fighters for abortion rights met unionists, students, Blacks, Native Americans, and many others who agree about the importance of defending abortion rights.
They found out more about each other’s struggles, such as the strike at Eastern Airlines and many other fights against attacks by the employers and the government on democratic rights and living standards.
More than ever before, the defense of abortion rights is an indispensable part of defending the democratic right of privacy.
April 20, 1964
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Clifton DeBerry, Socialist Workers Party candidate for president, stimulated a real discussion on socialism and civil rights among Fisk University students during his campaign visit here.The discussion got right down to brass tacks when a student asked: “Are you running as a Negro, as a socialist, or just trying to prove a point?”
DeBerry replied that he was running as a Negro who had learned from experience what it means to live in a ghetto, to be segregated and discriminated against.
As a result of his experience in the civil rights and labor movements, he had learned that capitalism is the root source of Jim Crow and that the most effective way to fight Jim Crow is to make it part of the fight against capitalism and for socialism.
April 21, 1939
Some 320,000 soft coal miners are out on strike in the Appalachian region. Since April 1, pits and shafts from Pennsylvania to Alabama have been idle. Almost continual conferences have been held for over a month in New York City between the operators and representatives of the United Mine Workers of America, but both sides declared up to April 17 that the negotiations were “hopelessly deadlocked.”The contract, which expired on March 31, provided for a 35-hour week and a daily basic wage of $6 in the north and $5.60 in the south. A miner would consider it a miracle, however, if he earned an average of $1000 during the year.
The miners, with the splendid discipline and courage for which they are famed, have shut down every mine tight as a drum. To date the strike is pretty near 100 percent effective.
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