Marx, White Supremacy, and the Left

There is a saying, “The white man’s water is colder.” That saying references how within white supremacy, white people’s pain, white people's ideas, and white people's creativity are more real than non-white people’s.

In many progressive circles when you bring up anti-Black racism you’ll often hear it dismissed as a "symptom."

There is a subconscious idea that anti-Black racism isn’t real.

It usually follows with a parroted paraphrase of Karl Marx: Racism is a symptom of capitalism. We need to work on ridding the world of capitalism.

For some reason when white, Latino, and Black people (because even non-white people participate in this) say this they don’t realize how stand alone racist it sounds.

It is a white racial framing of history.

According to the book "White Racial Frame" by Joe Feagin, white racial framing is the master frame of any thought, idea or belief that is viewed from the historical narrative of whiteness.

Most people do not understand the context in Karl Marx's "racism is a symptom of capitalism," was stated or the history of the man who came up with the theory. The idea was from is taken from his 1847 essay “Wage Labor in Capital.”

Marx father converted from Judaism to Lutheranism to escape one of the oldest forms of racism, antisemitism. And though Marx was Jewish he had some very antisemitic writing. As there are Black people who want to believe that racism  can be behaved away with respectability politics there are Jewish people who truly think that if they just changed their name and agree with antisemitism, that antisemitism will go away.

Oppressed people often make up logical reasons for their oppression and they often like to imagine that the basis of their oppression is something they can control, even the great and troubled ones, like Karl Marx.

According to Plater Robinson’s book “Deathly Silence, Everyday People in the Holocaust” anti-antisemitism, which is racism, can be traced back at least to 72 A.D. when the Romans expelled the Jews from Palestine. During the Crusades before the Christians killed the Muslims in Israel they killed the Jews at home first.

These events are clearly long before the existence of capitalism and disrupts Marx entire theory on racism.

Jewish is a manmade category.

Black is manmade category.

Both are valid categories in the present era.

Capitalism isn’t a tree with racist, homophobic, classist, and sexist leaves.

A better analogy is weaponry.

Racism, classism, and sexism are all equal weapons to oppress people. They are EQUAL oppressors. Classism isn’t more valid, because it is the only one that directly impacts white, cis-men.

The real disease isn’t capitalism. And the problem isn’t even a disease. The problem is a irrational killer, in cultures viewed through the white supremacy’s lens, the killer’s name is oppression.

Oppression is carried out with various violent weaponry.

Oppression occurred during the era of the monarchy, continued on with imperialism and exists now within capitalism.

One of the newer weapons is the anti-Black form of racism. An older weapons is anti-antisemitism. An even older weapon is sexism. Newer weapons are always more efficient weapons, but any weapon can kill you if you know how to use it correctly.

The weapon of racism may have initially been used just for hunting purposes, so only dangerous during hunting i.e. in relationships when Black people are poor and white people are rich.

Currently the weapon of anti-Black racism is used for all kinds of purposes. I’m not poor yet I experience racism.  Anti-Black racism  has moved beyond its initial point and if you can’t see that, it’s because you’re probably not acknowledging your white racial framing of history.

A person of any race can have a white racial framing of history.

Many people argue that race is a manmade concept. That is not real.

What isn’t a manmade concept? Sexism is manmade. Homophobia is manmade.  Poverty is a manmade concept. War is a manmade concept.

Should we not discuss those either? Is ending war a pointless conversation, because the root of it is capitalism and money? I doubt many in progressive circles would shut down the war conversation to discuss capitalism.

If I took a gun and shot you in the head, because of an imaginary fight I got in with you in my own head is my action not something that should be discussed?

The implication when you imply racism is a symptom of capitalism means that you assume that racism is actually rational.

Racism is simply a quicker way to make money.

Racism is validated by cognitive dissonance. Anti-Black racism is validated by the white racial frame. That filters everything from art, to culture, to history from the white supremacy perspective. It even filters people’s  pain. Anti-Black racism isn’t real, because Black isn’t real. Black people aren’t real people.

That’s what saying racism isn’t real is saying.

Hijacking race conversation with the “real reason” is capitalism just proves that racism has nothing to do with capitalism, because even within anti-capitalism circles the white man’s water is still colder, even if he’s Jewish.

To the great Aretha Franklin. - Rest In Power!

Upholding Human Rights: Condemn Family Separation and Detention, Act Now - July 2018

Drafted by the People of Color Commission, approved by the National Action Committee

In the most strident terms possible, the Socialist Party condemns the reprehensible separation of families at the United States border by the Trump Administration.

This blatant violation of human rights, justified by a xenophobic, far-right immigration policy, flies in the face of human compassion as well as all ethical and moral standards. The United States government’s lack of basic humanity is evidenced by the fact that the separation of families has been compared to Nazi concentration camps and the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War Two.
We demand the immediate reunification of all children stolen from their families through this inhumane policy.
We demand that the United States Congress immediately enact legislation to reverse and permanently criminalize this family separation policy.
##

We demand the complete demilitarization of borders and equal citizenship rights for all people.

While the act of separating families has ended, the legalized abuse inflicted upon undocumented families has not. As was the case under the Bush and Obama administrations, undocumented people can still be held in detention for months without the right to due processand without basic amenities like safe food and hygiene facilities. This policy includes families with children.

President Trump has defined these actions as a “zero tolerance” policy. In response, we declare and reaffirm our zero tolerance towards this country’s inhumane treatment of immigrants and the hatred, oppression, and lies peddled by President Trump and his administration.

Fighting to keep families together is crucial but we cannot stop there in the fight for freedom from capitalism. In that spirit, we encourage you to join the Socialist Party’s efforts to organize against ICE and the Trump Administration.

The People of Color Commission Re-issues Statement on the Unequivocal Support of Immigrant Rights

The Trump Administration’s calculated and deplorable decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy is yet another assault in a long litany of hate against the Immigrant community. The People of Color Commission of the Socialist Party USA reiterates our Party’s steadfast commitment in support of people of color.

The Socialist Party USA recognizes the intimate link between racism and capitalism and demands the elimination of all forms of discrimination in housing, jobs, education, health care, immigration, etc. We are committed to the creation of a pluralistic society that defends and promotes a multicultural/multiethnic presence in both the public and private spheres.

The Socialist Party is committed to the eradication of racism.

Owing to our uncompromising support of people of color regardless of their US documented status, the Socialist Party strongly condemns the ICE raids that have been taking place and are currently taking place in the United States.

Our country continues to profit from the labor of immigrants, from the high tech sphere of Silicon Valley to the agricultural fields across America. The reality of the immigrant community in the labor force is one of long hours with below minimum wage pay or wage theft, no benefits, no health insurance and yet they contribute to the wealth of our communities.

The Socialist Party is committed to the rights of communities of color regardless of an individual’s birthplace, religions, education, socio-economic class or documented status.

The Socialist Party will work collectively with grassroots groups, nonprofits and civil right law organizations to ensure that the undocumented community's rights are not violated, that deportations stop immediately and that a clear path to full citizenship is granted to people who live and work in the United States, a path that does not require military service.

The Socialist Party defends the rights of all immigrants to an education, health care and full civil and legal rights and call for the following:

• Defend the rights of all immigrants to education, health care, and full civil and legal rights.
• An unconditional amnesty program for all undocumented people.
• An end to the privatization of prisons and detention centers.
• Support of refugees and aiding them in relocation, providing assistance, etc.
• Providing asylum to those who need it.
• Full citizenship upon demonstration of residency for six months.
• Oppose the militarization of the United States/Mexican border, and an increase in the service budget instead of the "military" budget of the INS.
• Oppose the imposition of any fees on those receiving amnesty.
• Call for an end to the use of "secret evidence" in deportation hearings, a ban on all immigration detentions and military tribunals, and full due process and habeus corpus rights in U.S. courts for all non-citizens on U.S. territory or in U.S. custody.
• Demand an end to police raids in areas where immigrants congregate. End to the privatization of detention centers.

The war on immigrants must end now.

Forward in struggle,

The People of Color Commission of the Socialist Party USA

##

Statement from the People of Color Commission on the Unequivocal Support of Immigrant Rights

[Adopted by Commission on March 3, 2017 and by the National Action Committee on May 15, 2017 ]

Following the recent reported uptick in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids against the immigrant community and in particular the Latino immigrant community the People of Color Commission of the Socialist Party USA reiterates our Party’s steadfast commitment in support of people of color.

The Socialist Party USA recognizes the intimate link between racism and capitalism and demands the elimination of all forms of discrimination in housing, jobs, education, health care, immigration, etc. We are committed to the creation of a pluralistic society that defends and promotes a multicultural/multiethnic presence in both the public and private spheres. The Socialist Party is committed to the eradication of racism.

Owing to our uncompromising support of people of color regardless of their US documented status, the Socialist Party strongly condemns the ICE raids that have been taking place and are currently taking place in the United States.

Our country continues to profit from the labor of immigrants, from the high tech sphere of Silicon Valley to the agricultural fields across America. The reality of the immigrant community in the labor force is one of long hours with below minimum wage pay or wage theft, no benefits, no health insurance and yet they contribute to the wealth of our communities.

The Socialist Party is committed to the rights of communities of color regardless of an individual’s birthplace, religions, education, socio-economic class or documented status.

The Socialist Party will work collectively with grassroots groups, nonprofits and civil right law organizations to ensure that the undocumented community's rights are not violated, that deportations stop immediately and that a clear path to full citizenship is granted to people who live and work in the United States, a path that does not require military service.

The Socialist Party defends the rights of all immigrants to an education, health care and full civil and legal rights and call for the following:

• Defend the rights of all immigrants to education, health care, and full civil and legal rights.
• An unconditional amnesty program for all undocumented people.
• An end to the privatization of prisons and detention centers.
• Support of refugees and aiding them in relocation, providing assistance, etc.
• Providing asylum to those who need it.
• Full citizenship upon demonstration of residency for six months.
• Oppose the militarization of the United States/Mexican border, and an increase in the service budget instead of the "military" budget of the INS.
• Oppose the imposition of any fees on those receiving amnesty.
• Call for an end to the use of "secret evidence" in deportation hearings, a ban on all immigration detentions and military tribunals, and full due process and habeus corpus rights in U.S. courts for all non-citizens on U.S. territory or in U.S. custody.
• Demand an end to police raids in areas where immigrants congregate. End to the privatization of detention centers.

The war on immigrants must end now.

Forward in struggle,

The People of Color Commission of the Socialist Party USA

##

STATEMENT FROM THE PEOPLE OF COLOR COMMISSION IN SUPPORT OF BLACK AUGUST

The People of Color Commission of the Socialist Party USA believes that now is the time to be very clear and intentional about our stance on mass incarceration, detentions and deportations in this country. We know that the commodification of human beings by the prison-industrial complex is one of the ways capitalism manifests in state violence. As people who are dedicated to ending all forms of state violence, the People of Color Commission stands in support of the work of all of the coalitions around the country who are engaging in the necessary work of prison abolition and agitating for the removal of the slavery clause in the Thirteenth Amendment of the Constitution. We understand that removing this clause is the only way to truly outlaw the enslavement of people, who are disproportionately poor people of color, in this country. Our Commission supports the actions planned across the nation for Black August, and we add our voices to the call to destroy the prison-industrial complex in the United States and to end US imperialism outside of our borders.

Black August was begun to honor the lives and sacrifices of the San Quentin Six: George Jackson, Jonathan Jackson, Khatari Gaulden, William Christmas, James McClain, and Ruchell Magee, the only member of the San Quentin Six to survive the San Quentin Uprising in August of 1971. After the rebellion, brothers held in lockdown honored the fallen comrades. These brothers wore black armbands, studied revolutionary works, fasted, and abstained from radio, television, alcohol, drugs and the prison canteen for the month of August. They focused on physical training, political education, self-sacrifice, and other forms of resistance. Today, Black August is a time for Black people to reflect on the history of resistance throughout the African Diaspora, and to engage in moving the work forward. It is a remembrance of freedom fighters and is worthwhile for anyone engaged in the work of Black liberation to study.

For Black August 2017, coalitions around the United States will be engaging in various forms of political education and actions designed to mobilize around the removal of the slavery clause from the Thirteenth Amendment, and will be intensifying the demand for prison abolition in this country. The People of Color Commission is representative of the people most harmed by the prison-industrial complex in all of its functions.

The People of Color Commission of the Socialist Party USA stands in support of the work that is being planned and done to end the mass incarceration, detention and deportation of our people.

We call on socialists in our Party and elsewhere to learn about Black August and to get involved with the activities planned for August 2017 wherever and however possible. This is a historic opportunity to unite with the coalitions involved in the New Abolitionist Movement, and the People of Color Commission believes that this work is in keeping with our Party's principles.

If comrades wish to have additional information about the planned marches and about Black August, they can follow Millions for Prisoners Facebook page, Jail House Lawyers Speak, Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, Critical Resistance's information on Black August, and www.iamweubuntu.com.

Forward in struggle,

The People of Color Commission of the Socialist Party USA

[Photo credit from “Black August” – Art: Kevin “Rashid” Johnson, 1859887, Clements Unit, 9601 Spur 591, Amarillo TX 79107]

Remembering Lucius Walker

Pastors for Peace Founder Lucius Walker Dies at 80

And the Reverend Lucius Walker has died at the age of eighty. Walker was the executive director of the Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization and the founder of Pastors for Peace. A longtime advocate for ending the US embargo of Cuba, Reverend Walker took part in a number of annual US-Cuba Friendship Caravans to Cuba. Speaking to caravan participants in 2009, Walker called for a radical shift in US policy.

Rev. Lucius Walker: "We don’t consider Cuba our enemy, but rather our neighbor. And as people who are motivated by the great teachers of faith, we believe that we are to love our neighbors. That means we have to act contrary to US policy, which is an imposition of a blockade against Cuba to try to force it to do the will of the US rather than to pursue its own path towards a better world."

from Democracy NOW


***
IFCO Executive Director Reverend Lucius Walker Passed Away.

Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs

CUBA, September 8, 2010.- Reverend Lucius Walker, Executive Director of the Inter-Religious Foundation for Community Organization (IFCO), and Pastors for Peace´s founder passed away on Tuesday in New York.

Lucius Walker, beloved friend and comrade of the Cuban people, was the founder of Pastors for Peace which led 21 US-Cuba Friendship Caravans to Cuba. The recent caravan was carried out last July which brought humanitarian aid to the people on the island.

Lucius had celebrated his 80th birthday with his friends in Cuba which he characterized as his second home.

Pastors for Peace traveled to the island in defiance to Washington´s economic blockade against Cuba.

Pastors for Peace is an ecumenical agency whose mission is to help forward the struggles of oppressed peoples for justice and self-determination.

from Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs

***
Dear Friends in South Carolina,

We have lost a valiantly courageous, outspoken, warrior for literacy, justice, peace and universal human rights with the death of Rev. Lucius Walker, Jr.

Through his efforts as Director of Pastors for Peace and the wise
generosity of the Cuban Ministry of Health, there are, currently, two young men from South Carolina enrolled in the Latin American School of Medicine in Havana, Cuba, on full, six year scholarships. One is a second year Medical Student and the other is in his first year. Our goal is to increase this scholarship enrollment from South Carolina, both, in number and diversity.

In the near future, we will convene a memorial tribute for Rev. Walker in Charleston, SC, part honoring the annual Cuban Caravan visit, part as redoubling and rededicating of our outreach to young people in South Carolina to apply for the Medical School Scholarship Program, all with the central, underlying purpose of honoring the courageous life and continuing the purposeful work of Rev. Lucius Walker, Jr.

Presente!
Jim Campbell
Charleston, South Carolina

from the New Liberator

Free Troy Davis! Stop the Prison Industrial Complex!

by Billy Wharton, co-chair Socialist Party USA & Erik Toren, convener, People of Color Commission Socialist Party USA

Saving the life of Troy Davis has become a rallying point for anti-death penalty activists. Rallies, teach-ins and petitions have been organized throughout the US to stop the state of Georgia from carrying out the death penalty. Despite this grassroots campaign, a Federal judge recently rejected Davis’ petition for a new trial dealing a severe blow to efforts to secure his freedom.

Davis has been on Georgia’s death row since being convicted of murder in 1991. There was no physical evidence in his case. His conviction rested entirely on the testimony of nine witnesses. In the time since the trial, seven of the nine have reversed or contradicted their court testimony, claiming that the police coerced them or used poor investigative techniques. The petition rejection will prevent these witnesses from speaking the truth in court and will put Davis back on road to execution.

A broad movement has developed around Davis’ case. It has brought together big-name politicians, religious figures and human rights organizations. More importantly, thousands of young African-Americans have organized and participated in demonstrations. Many have put on t-shirts with the poignant message, “I am Troy Davis.”

Davis’ case is about more than the death penalty. It’s about a criminal justice system designed to criminalize and warehouse poor and working class people. African-Americans face heavy discrimination in all parts of this system – from street level policing to the prison cells of death row. While African Americans comprise 13% of the US population and 14% of monthly drug users, they are 37% of the people arrested for drug offenses. On average, African-Americans face sentences that are 10% longer than whites. And, most gruesome of all, the chance of a black male born in 2001 of going to jail is 32% or 1 in three.

Capitalism needs this racial oppression to maintain a system based on the exploitation of the labor of millions and to protect the wealth and privileges of the elite. As a result, every day, people in our communities are denied the right to necessary things such as a good job that would allow them to be productive members of society. Some are forced into the low-wage service sector while others face a prison cell where they will likely work a sub-minimum-wage prison job.

As socialists, we support abolishing the death penalty. We also believe that the unjust persecution of Troy Davis calls for more than this. We join with other groups in the prison abolition movement such as Critical Resistance, in calling for an immediate end to the expansion of the prison industrial complex. Criminalizing and caging human beings will not make our communities safer or improve our quality of life. We believe that a democratic socialist society that guarantees people the right to work, to housing, to healthcare and to full civil rights is a viable alternative to the incarceration methods of late capitalism.

Troy Davis has languished for nearly two decades in Georgia jails. Now is the time to join with others to demand his freedom. And, in doing so, we call for the freedom of all the unjustly imprisoned and for a society that recognizes the humanity of all in order to improve the lives of all. We call this idea socialism.

Free Troy Davis!
Abolish the Prison Industrial Complex!
End the Racist Death Penalty!

Read more about the Socialist Party USA’s position on the criminal justice system:
http://socialistparty-usa.org/platform/civilrights.html

AltoArizona.com

Keep Updated on the national community actions against SB1070

Chuck D on the Fight in Arizona

by Dave Zirin -

Chuck D. The Hard Rhymer. The man on the mic for the most politically explosive hip-hop group in history, Public Enemy. With albums like “It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back,” “Fear of a Black Planet,” and anthems like “Fight the Power” and “Bring the Noise” along with the breathtaking production of the Bomb Squad, PE created a standard of politics and art. Perhaps their most controversial track was “By the Time I Get to Arizona” (1991) about seeking revenge against Arizona political officials for refusing to recognize Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday [Lyrics include: 'Cause my money's spent on The goddamn rent/Neither party is mine not the Jackass or the elephant.] Today, in the wake of Arizona’s draconian anti-immigration Senate Bill 1070, “By the Time I Get to Arizona” has been remixed and revived by DJ Spooky. Chuck D also recorded his own track several months before the bill was passed called “Tear Down That Wall.” I spoke to Chuck about the music and the nexus between immigration politics and sports.

DZ: Why did you choose to record “Tear Down this Wall?”

Chuck D: I had done "Tear Down this Wall" four or five months ago because I heard a professor who works with my wife here on the West Coast speak in a speech about the multi-billion dollar dividing wall between the U.S. and Mexico, so, therefore, I based "Tear Down that Wall" on the policy of the United States border patrol in the states of Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas. I just wanted to put a twist of irony on it saying if Ronald Reagan back in 1988 had told Mr. Gorbachev to tear down that wall separating the world from countries of capitalism and communism, we have a billion dollar wall right here in our hemisphere that exists that needs to have a bunch of questions raised. Questions like: “What the Hell?” I wrote the song about five months ago and I did it coincidently, with all that’s brewing in the state of Arizona. Immigration laws and racial profiling is happening right here and I think the border situation, not only with the U.S. and Mexico but the U.S. and Canada, on both sides is just out of control. It's crazy.

DZ: You did "Tear Down This Wall," we have the DJ Spooky remix of "By the Time I Get to Arizona," and with your wife, Dr. Gaye Theresa Johnson, you wrote a syndicated column on SB 1070. What’s the response been to you being so out front on this issue?

Chuck D: Well the response is the usual, but I make it a habit not to look at any blogs, because I think the font of a computer gives as much credence to ignorance as it does to somebody who makes sense. So I try not to read those responses, because anybody can respond quickly. Back when people had to write letters it took an effort, especially if someone didn't have decent penmanship and handwriting. I try not to look at the responses. I try to do the right thing. I tell you this much, there is a rap contingent, a hip-hop contingent from Phoenix, who did a remake of "By the Time I Get to Arizona." I think that needs to be recognized because these are young people. The song is about eight minutes long. There's about 12 MCs on it, and they are putting it down. They are talking about how ridiculous this law is. They are speaking out against it and they are putting all the facts on the table, and they need to be acknowledged and highlighted. There is a stereotype about young people and young MCs [being apolitical]. They break it.

DZ: It’s remarkable how the original “By the Time I Get to Arizona” has been resurrected from the early 90's now that the struggle has picked up. Did you hear former NBA player Chris Webber before the Suns/Spurs game say, "Its like PE said ‘By the Time I get to Arizona.’”?

Chuck D: [laughs] My Dad told me about that, You know Chris Webber is the man. I wasn't tuned into TNT at that particular time.

DZ: He said more than that. He said, “Public Enemy said it a long time ago. ‘By the Time I Get to Arizona.’ I’m not surprised. They didn’t even want there to be a Martin Luther King Day when John McCain was in [office.]. So if you follow history you know that this is part of Arizona politics.’” So he brought it all together with Public Enemy at the center of it.

Chuck D: Unfortunately when it comes to culture, the speed of technology and news today makes things out of sight, out of mind. While these situations [the MLK fight and the immigration fights] are different, the politics of both things stay around like a stain.... Once again Arizona has put themselves into this mix. I don't know what the hell was on Gov. Jan Brewer’s mind or what contingent is behind her, but, you know, to make a decision like this and to be told to ignore the people who have been in this area on this earth the longest period of time. It just kind of resonates with me as being crazy.

DZ: Do you support an athletic or artistic boycott of Arizona until this gets settled?

Chuck D: Dave, you know I do. Artists and musicians can say we’re going to play Texas, El Paso, New Mexico, Albuquerque, and we gotta play L.A. But we’ll skip Phoenix, Flagstaff, Tucson and the like. But you know what this is really a challenge for: that’s Major League Baseball. You’ve got nearly a third of the players that are Latino. If they don’t stand up to this bill, they will actually be validating the divide amongst Latinos [between documented and undocumented immigrants]. At the same time they’ll also be lining themselves right into the stereotype of what an athlete is if they don’t speak out: a high priced slave that doesn’t say anything. And to me it’s beyond just boycotting the All-Star game. What are those Latino players on the Diamondbacks going to do? What are the players going to say who go into Arizona to play against the Diamondbacks? What are they going to say and what are they going to do? Major League Baseball has to step up. The NBA has very few players of Latino descent and [the Suns] are saying something. But Major League Baseball, if they don’t say anything, it’s crazy. The owners, the team, the league, and especially the players, whether they come from the Dominican Republic, whether they come from Venezuela, whether they come from Puerto Rico, they better step up. If they don’t step up, the music industry, at least from my area, we’re going to clown them. For us to speak out against this law, and basketball stepping up, and Major League Baseball not stepping up at all?! Come on now, give me a break. And I know a lot of the cats they live in the Dominican Republic or Puerto Rico or whatever, there’s like a trillion years difference between them and their high salaries and the average people living in the streets. They might build themselves a castle with a militia to protect them, but this is the time to unite yourself with the people and at least live in the legacy that [Major League Hall of Famer] Roberto Clemente set of uniting people just to protect against the nonsense that the other side can come up with. They need to know that it’s going to spread if they don’t come up and say something about it.

DZ: Any final thoughts? Perhaps about Major League Baseball pulling the All Star Game out of Phoenix?

Chuck D: At the end of the day man, sports is really not that important compared to people living their everyday lives. Say you have a Major League player, and he happens to play for another team, or he happens to play for the Diamondbacks and he gets pulled over because people think he’s an illegal immigrant. Then all of a sudden that’s when the “ish” finally hits the fan? Come on. This is beyond sports. We want athletes to speak up because they have advantages. They have everyday coverage. They’re covered by a person that has a mic and a camera in their face, and this is the time to step up. Major League Baseball pulling the All-Star game out of Arizona should be the least of it.

***
Dave Zirin is the author of the forthcoming “Bad Sports: How Owners are Ruining the Games we Love” (Scribner) Receive his column every week by emailing dave@edgeofsports.com. Contact him at edgeofsports@gmail.com.

from the Edge of Sports




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Repeal Arizona's Anti-Immigrant Law

Passed by the Socialist Party USA People of Color Commission April 29, 2010

Socialist Party USA calls for the immediate repeal of the “Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act” (SB 1070) in Arizona. This law sanctions racial profiling and gives cover to the repressive actions of officials such as the racist Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Further, we call for an immediate moratorium on all police raids of immigrant communities; we demand the closure of the immigrant detention camps and an end to the militarization of the US-Mexico border.

Arizona has become the epicenter of struggle for the rights of immigrants. The state offers the clearest example of the abject failure of the current immigration policies in the United States. These policies rely on the use of force – ICE raids and the border police – backed up by an equally brutal labor discipline that traps the undocumented in low-wage dead-end jobs. The results are well known – the splitting up of families, the death and criminalization of migrants and a race-to-the-bottom for work conditions and wages. A 2009 mass march in Phoenix, Arizona led by young people who had been separated from their undocumented parents and families highlighted the terrible human costs of these systematic attacks on immigrants. SB 1070 seeks to take this process a step further by transforming Arizona into the equivalent of a police state where anyone with brown skin becomes a suspect. In response, immigrant communities and their allies, all across the country, are mobilizing to demand an end to the repression.

Such fervor has not, however, made it to Washington, where Democrats are preparing reform legislation that amounts to more of the same. Much like the recent healthcare reform, immigration reform has been watered down to suit the needs of Republicans and employers. This is no surprise since, as a candidate, now President Barack Obama never fully distanced himself from the Republican's positions on immigration: the border wall, more military presence on the border, and building more detention camps. Despite this, he still gained the support of mainstream immigration reform groups who slowed down a vibrant May 1st Immigrant Rights movement. The now disarmed movement was left without any commitments from Democratic candidates and with no plans to mobilize after the elections.

The current legislation under consideration will do little to address the problem. Bills such as “the Dream Act” of 2009, which would provide conditional permanent residency to a few immigrants who entered the country as minors or have “good moral character,” will not break the crisis in Arizona. Instead, such reforms attempt to paper-over the demands from immigrant communities in order to continue the cycle of militarization, repression and wage slavery.Socialists have something significant to offer to the immigration reform discussion. We call for an unconditional amnesty program for all undocumented people. This demand is based on our desire to create a world in which everyone will be able to move freely across borders, to visit, to work and to live wherever they choose. Amnesty will also allow workers, documented and undocumented, to begin to advance serious demands for wages and benefits. Amnesty will move us out of the current immigration crisis and towards a society based on freedom. Defeating SB 1070 is an urgent first step in this direction and the Socialist Party USA encourages our members and allies to join in this struggle.

¡No somos criminales, somos trabajadores internacionales!

¡Que viva la justicia y la dignidad de los migrantes unidos sin fronteras!"