Democrats, middle-class left find common ground in 2020

Vol. 84/No. 30 - August 3, 2020
Strike by hosiery workers at Strutwear Knitting Co. in Minneapolis in 1935-36, one of militant struggles that built industrial unions in 1930s. Middle-class left dismisses as useless lessons of previous working-class battles in which workers transformed their conditions and themselves.

As the presidential election looms closer, liberals, anarchists and other middle-class radicals are seeking to put their political stamp on the Democratic Party, which they see as their party, and its program and the candidacy of Joe Biden. And they…


Columbus voyage to Americas opened door to social progress

‘Discovery of roads of the world was clouded by the enormous crime of conquest’
Vol. 84/No. 29 - July 27, 2020
Folding-screen mural painted in 1976 by Mexican painter Roberto Cueva del Río depicts meeting between Aztec ruler Moctezuma II and Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés some 500 years ago.

Over the Fourth of July weekend, a statue of Italian-born seafarer Christopher Columbus, the first European to discover the Americas in 1492, was pulled down and thrown into the Baltimore harbor. Another, presented by Italian-Americans to the city of Waterbury,…


Scientific approach to opening of ‘New World’

Vol. 84/No. 29 - July 27, 2020
Reproduction of a painting of Genoa, Italy, in 1597, by Cristoforo Grassi. Genoa was a key European port at the time of Columbus’ voyages. Opening of Americas paved the way for the rapid development of capitalism in Holland and England, while holding it back in Spain.

The approaching 500th anniversary of the European discovery of the Americas has given rise to a widespread debate on the significance of this event and the colonization of the continent which followed. In the accompanying interview Cuban minister of culture…


Class struggle road to women’s emancipation

Vol. 84/No. 28 - July 20, 2020

The fight to defend women’s right to choose whether to have an abortion is a necessity for women’s emancipation and the line of march of the working class as a whole. The majority sentiment for this right, still the case…


A working-class road to expand rights for all the oppressed

Court ruling muddying biological sex and ‘gender identity’ endangers gains won in struggle
Vol. 84/No. 27 - July 13, 2020
1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, part of powerful Black-led working-class movement that overthrew Jim Crow segregation. Another product of this struggle was new Civil Rights Act passed the following year that outlawed employer discrimination in hiring, firing or promotion based on “race, color, religion, sex or national origin.”

An article in last week’s issue of the Militant — under the headline “Supreme Court: Job Discrimination for Being Gay, Transgender Is Illegal. Ruling Includes ‘Poison Pill’ Against Women’s Rights Fight” — was wrong. It erroneously implied that the June…


Oberlin College appeal tries to turn criminal into the victim

Vol. 84/No. 26 - July 6, 2020
Allyn Gibson Sr. talking with children outside his Oberlin, Ohio, store. Appeal of court decision against Oberlin College officials deepens race-baiting smear campaign against Gibsons family.

Perpetuating their smear campaign against the Gibson family who own a small bakery, Oberlin College asked the Ohio Court of Appeals June 5 to overturn a 2019 jury verdict finding the college and Dean of Students Meredith Raimondo guilty of…


Alan Harris: 65-year leader of the communist movement

Vol. 84/No. 25 - June 29, 2020
Alan Harris and his wife Connie played a decisive role in the struggle to establish modern communist party in the U.K. Before moving there, Harris had been a leader of the communist movement in Canada. Above, Harris, front center, marches at 1987 miners’ gala in Mansfield. Right, Harris promotes Militant and Malcolm X, Black Liberation, and the Road to Workers Power at London 2010 protest against social welfare cuts.

LONDON — “Alan Harris was a proletarian party-builder,” said Jonathan Silberman, organizer of the Central Committee of the Communist League in the United Kingdom, welcoming people to a gathering here May 31 to celebrate Harris’ life and political contributions. “Alan…


Frank Gorton built communist movement in Canada, UK, US

Vol. 84/No. 24 - June 22, 2020
Frank Gorton, far right with bullhorn, was union spokesperson in 1969 demonstration for wage parity between skilled, unskilled workers at Raleigh bike factory in Nottingham, England.

MONTREAL — The political activity and contributions of Frank Gorton, a 56-year cadre of the world communist movement, were celebrated here at a May 31 event sponsored by the Communist League. Gorton dedicated his life to building communist parties in…


Cheryl Goertz: 55-year cadre of the Socialist Workers Party

Vol. 84/No. 23 - June 15, 2020
At 1968 Young Socialist Alliance convention Cheryl Goertz has lunch with Ray Dunne, a central leader of Teamsters union battles in Minneapolis in the 1930s and of the SWP.

ATLANTA — A meeting to celebrate the political contributions of Cheryl Goertz, a 55-year cadre of the Socialist Workers Party, was held here May 30. Participants came from Atlanta; Greensboro and Hayesville, North Carolina; Miami and Plant City, Florida; Carrollton,…


Truckers deliver demands to White House, end DC protest

Vol. 84/No. 22 - June 8, 2020

WASHINGTON — Three weeks after truckers parked their rigs by the U.S. Capitol May 1, they ended their national protest calling for an end to brokers slashing their rates and for elimination of government overregulation. An estimated 500 to 1,000…