[PEN-L:2072] Re: An LBO-Talk exchange

["Charles Brown" <CharlesB@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

The following is a comment
on the dispute that
Louis Pro mentions below
________

I have been mostly on the
sidelines of this thread.
However, when a similar
dispute arose regarding
the Black Radical Congress
a while ago, I was in the
thick of it. Rakesh and
I really butted heads then.

Since then Rakesh and I
have become friends, though
we still disagree on the issues
common to the earlier dispute
and the current one.

Rakesh, of course, has
the right to say what he
has on this thread. However,
I noticed in reading this
thread that Rakesh is
casted to an extent
as representing "the" or
"a" Black point of view
in the dispute. This
is a substantially false
representation.

I feel responsible as
a Black LBOer to say
emphatically to those
LBOers who do not have
a lot of communication
with Black people that
the overwhelming majority
of Black people, in fact,
would disagree with what
Rakesh is saying on this
thread. No, not all Black
people are Black nationalists
 or Malcolm X enthusiasts.
But many are and of the
remaining they have varying
degrees of sympathy for
some dimension of Black
nationalism and self-determination,
without using that terminology.
Very, very, very, few have
an attitude like Rakesh's.
And of those who do,
a large percentage are
the new black conservatives,
like Clarence Thomas.

It is important for white leftists
to know this. We cannot
make the changes we must
make in our society and world
without white/black unity. But,
the path to that unity will have
to go through several steps.
And a first step will have to
be white people, ESPECIALLY
white leftists demonstrating
respect for the self-determination
of Black people. The first step
toward this unity will not be
that Black people assimilate
or "integrate" with whites,
abandoning black history and
culture. This is basically what
Rakesh is advocating by his
extreme anti-nationalism and
socalled radical integrationism.
Any white leftists who think
that is his effective strategy
are not living in the real
world.

I might add it is not
a Marxist strategy either.

In this vein, the issue arises:
but even if this is a fact, is it
good for the struggle and
the revolution ? I think that
is a way of saying it. But for
a white person or a non-Black
person to ask this is an
extraordinary disrespect and
disregard for the definite
conclusion of the overwhelming
majority of Black left and
radical leaders, intellectuals
and activists as to the
correct and most effective
strategy for radicals and
the masses. It is to
substitute one's judgement
for that of
of virtually all who have
any reasonable claim to being
spokespeople for Black people.
It would be an incredibly
arrogant disregard for
a people's self-determination,
not to mention the vast
majority of white radicals,
as represented by Louis Pro
and Ken Lawrence , et al.
here.

Some of the proof of what I am
saying is Rakesh's assessment of
the Black Radical Congress as
a bad strategy for the movement.
 The
BRC is clearly representative of
left black leadership as a whole.
Its occurrence and continuing
existence represents the thinking
judgement of literally thousands
of Black left activists. There is
no countercurrent comparable
to it in the Black community.

Similarly with the political
and cultural icon Malcolm X:
Frankly, any white person who
thinks they are going to act
in unity with any significant
number of Black leftists
(or people for that matter) ,
and do so with the ideas
and attitudes described by
Rakesh and those supporting
him here , anyone who thinks
that is (I am sorry) daft.

It really
wouldn't be such a big deal
in a way. You would be just
considered another typical
arrogant, racist white person. Black
people won't necessarily
tell you so to your face. But
you can be sure they will
be calling you a racist among
themselves. But it won't
be a big deal because that
is typical of their experiences
with white people. You
shouldn't think your being
left will get you some
special dispensation.

I am not saying this to call
white people on this list
names. I am saying this
because it is so true it
is not funny, and the only
hope I see for fighting
racism is unity with white
leftists in the first place. I
need you. I don't want you to
go into the black community
with such an off the wall
position, or we don't have
a chance.

I don't want to dis Rakesh
personally, but I would
do a disservice to this
list to not advise everyone
in this way.

Charles Brown



>>> Louis Proyect <lnp3@xxxxxxxxx> 01/12 11:17 AM >>>
(I recently unsubbed from LBO-Talk because Doug objected to my "tone". A
sectarian named Rakesh had gotten my dander up by labeling Malcolm X a
"fascist" and asserting that Malcolm had cut a deal with the KKK in 1961 to
call off protection of civil rights activists. As if Elijah Muhammed had
the slightest interest in promoting integration! Malcolm was there strictly
as Elijah's lieutenant. When I pressed Rakesh to prove this allegation, he
came up with nothing. One of the problems with the Internet is that false
allegations can be transmitted electronically.