Our Black Shining Prince

43 years ago, Malcolm X, the "greatest Muslim of American birth" as some have referred to him, was struck down by an assassin's bullets. Today, in remembrance of his important contributions to our struggle, we recall the words Ossie Davis spoke at his funeral.

Here—at this final hour, in this quiet place—Harlem has come to bid farewell to one of its brightest hopes—extinguished now, and gone from us forever. For Harlem is where he worked and where he struggled and fought—his home of homes, where his heart was, and where his people are—and it is, therefore, most fitting that we meet once again—in Harlem—to share these last moments with him.

For Harlem has ever been gracious to those who have loved her, have fought for her and have defended her honor even to the death. It is not in the memory of man that this beleaguered, unfortunate, but nonetheless proud community has found a braver, more gallant young champion than this Afro-American who lies before us—unconquered still.

I say the word again, as he would want me to: Afro-American—Afro-American Malcolm, who was a master, was most meticulous in his use of words. Nobody knew better than he the power words have over minds of men.

Malcolm had stopped being a Negro years ago. It had become too small, too puny, too weak a word for him. Malcolm was bigger than that. Malcolm had become an Afro-American, and he wanted—so desperately—that we, that all his people, would become Afro-Americans, too.

There are those who will consider it their duty, as friends of the Negro people, to tell us to revile him, to flee, even from the presence of his memory, to save ourselves by writing him out of the history of our turbulent times.

Many will ask what Harlem finds to honor in this stormy, controversial and bold young captain—and we will smile. Many will say turn away—away from this man; for he is not a man but a demon, a monster, a subverter and an enemy of the black man—and we will smile. They will say that he is of hate—a fanatic, a racist—who can only bring evil to the cause for which you struggle! And we will answer and say to them:

Did you ever talk to Brother Malcolm? Did you ever touch him or have him smile at you? Did you ever really listen to him? Did he ever do a mean thing? Was he ever himself associated with violence or any public disturbance? For if you did, you would know him. And if you knew him, you would know why we must honor him: Malcolm was our manhood, our living, black manhood!

This was his meaning to his people. And, in honoring him, we honor the best in ourselves. Last year, from Africa, he wrote these words to a friend: My journey, he says, is almost ended, and I have a much broader scope than when I started out, which I believe will add new life and dimension to our struggle for freedom and honor and dignity in the States.

I am writing these things so that you will know for a fact the tremendous sympathy and support we have among the African States for our human rights struggle. The main thing is that we keep a united front wherein our most valuable time and energy will not be wasted fighting each other.

However we may have differed with him—or with each other about him and his value as a man—let his going from us serve only to bring us together, now.

Consigning these mortal remains to earth, the common mother of all, secure in the knowledge that what we place in the ground is no more now a man—but a seed—which, after the winter of our discontent, will come forth again to meet us.

And we will know him then for what he was and is—a prince—our own black shining prince!—who didn’t hesitate to die, because he loved us so.

A Sober Assessment of the Palestine Solidarity Movement

Anti-Racist Action (ARA) called a rally for last Wednesday in the center of campus. We intended to commemorate and celebrate the recent breakout from Gaza, where Palestinians, in an instant, overturned and forever changed the status quo in the region. Make no mistake. The breakout from Gaza is an innovation in the struggle for Palestine the like of which we have not seen for quite some time. This innovation reflects a string of creative breakthroughs by the Palestinian people in the struggle for their freedom. Let us briefly review.

In November 2006, hundreds of women marched on a mosque where Israeli Defense Forces had trapped Palestinian militants[i]. They dressed the militants in women’s clothes and snuck them out hidden within their numbers. IDF forces fired on these women, and two paid the ultimate price for their resistance. And yet, these women defied all odds, and all consequences, in defense of their brothers and in defense of each other.

Weeks later, Gazans prevented air strikes against the homes of two Palestinian militants when, organized through local mosques[ii]. Within minutes, hundreds of people had gathered in the house and on the roof, Israel called off the attacks, and Israel’s promised “death from above” was averted.

And now, just over a week ago, Palestinians have defied, indeed destroyed, an international border, and resisted both the “slow death” promised by Israel and the hollow promises of the bankrupt leadership of the Arab world. This incident demonstrates the international vision of the struggle for Palestine and its ability to transcend all borders. Witness the sticky position it has put the corrupt US lapdog Mubarak in: he has been forced to choose between shutting down the border to appease the US and Israel (what he would like to do) and keeping it open in solidarity with the Palestinians (what the vast majority of Egyptians would like him to do). Throughout the Middle East, Arab leadership has made similar compromises with Israel and the US. Syria, while currently a member of the “axis of evil,” was intimately involved in expelling the PLO from Lebanon in the ‘70s. Jordan struck a deal with Israel as Israel launched its “War of Independence” (read: war of terror against Palestinians aimed at expelling enough to create a Jewish majority). This deal entailed Israel promising Jordan control over much of the West Bank if Jordan kept its army (at the time arguably the strongest in the Middle East) out of any incursions between Arab forces and Haganah forces. The list goes on. In case after case, the vast majority of everyday people side with Palestine, while their governments collude with the US and Israel against Palestinians and, in Egypt and elsewhere, even against pro-democracy movements within their own borders. The current incident creates a unique opening for struggle throughout the Arab world where solidarity with Palestine is a decisive issue.

In spite of these innovations on an international scale, in the US, ARA experienced more of the same. We were disappointed last Wednesday that no one showed up to celebrate and commemorate this proud moment in Palestine’s history. However, rather than dwell on this incident, we seek to draw the necessary conclusions, and in doing so move forward with renewed energy. What does this incident mean for solidarity work in the United States? What can we who seek to do our part in the struggle for Palestine do here? First, we must soberly assess the strength of the current movement. From there, we can assess both the prospects for success today, as well as in the future.

The Palestine solidarity movement currently stands at perhaps an all-time low. This may seem a peculiar sentiment at a time when events are even today taking place across the country for “Israeli Apartheid Week,” and are being coordinated with groups around the world. This is a fine beginning, and in many countries around the world, these events are part of a growing Palestine solidarity movement. However, in much of this country, there exists no movement at all. In the limited places where such a movement does exist, it is torn by factionalism. Various groups quibble about strategy, tactics, even procedural questions.

ARA’s approach to these questions has been quite controversial. ARA has never turned away from a fight. We have confronted the Wayne State University administration and exposed its moral bankruptcy on many occasions. We have confronted and defeated our Zionist enemies as well. One particularly proud moment was at our rally last October, when we led our march right through our Zionist opposition, forcing them to get out of our way as we marched on the office of the university’s president demanding divestment.

Both among Zionists and among so-called Palestine solidarity groups, these tactics and our militancy have been vilified. We have had heated arguments with Zionists on the campus of Wayne State, and we have had heated arguments with the social workers and pallbearers of the movement many times. We remain undeterred. We take inspiration from the example of Malcolm X, who was much reviled in his own time for his uncompromising militancy. Today, he is remembered and beloved because of that militancy, which redeemed black humanity in the face of attacks by white supremacy. His uncompromising militancy was a key element in that redemption. Our own militancy is a tribute to Malcolm, one of the true heroes of American history. We remain convinced that in the current climate of racist attacks on Arab and Muslim people, as well as all Palestine solidarity activists, uncompromising militancy is the only response that allows us to maintain our own humanity. Any other response accepts the dehumanization these racist assaults attempt. Finally, while our militancy may not resonate today, we believe we are building a legacy for the future. Time will tell.

In short, the Palestine solidarity movement is currently very weak. It is torn by factionalism and divisions based on strategy, tactics, and similar issues. In reality, it is hardly a movement at all. It is a story of small groups of five, ten, sometimes fifteen people holding aloft the banner of Palestine at a time when few are interested in its cause. In the absence of mass participation, these small groups quibble over petty differences and concentrate more on what divides than what unites them. However, when a renewed and vibrant Palestine solidarity movement emerges, it will sweep away and submerge these differences. It will draw on the legacies of those groups whose politics resonate with its own, and it will resign the rest to the dustbin. It is therefore necessary to briefly survey the reasons why people are not moving in great numbers on the issue of Palestine. Several factors contribute to the lack of a sustained movement.

First, it is impossible to overlook the racist climate of the United States with regard to Arab and Muslim people since 9/11. This climate has been produced by the active engagement of both the United States government and racist Zionists. The government has rounded up thousands of Arab and Muslim men on the flimsiest of pretexts, and in some cases even placed agents provocateur[iii] to entrap them, and sent them to prison and Guantanamo, all so it can trumpet victories in the so-called war on terror. The fact that many of these convictions have been overturned[iv] and thrown out due to shady dealings on the part of cops, prosecutors and federal agents illustrates the flimsiness of many of these charges. In addition, Zionist advocates for Israel such as Alan Dershowitz, the plagiarizing and disgraced Harvard lawyer, Daniel Pipes and his Campus Watch organization and Abe Foxman and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), have ensured that support for Palestine is criminalized and Palestine’s advocates are run out of the academic community[v] and in some cases the country[vi]. All these actions have been met by the notable inaction of most of the left, which, plagued by its own conservatism and anti-Muslim racism[vii], has also failed to intervene on behalf of Palestine. The left has consistently refused to take up the cause of persecuted Palestine solidarity activists and everyday Arab and Muslim racism. In addition, where the left is perhaps most active, in anti-war activities, Palestine is either ignored, or debate about including it is stifled by Zionists within the anti-war movement.

Second, and perhaps most decisively, the Arab and Muslim community is a house divided against itself. Take for example an upcoming event in metro-Detroit. The event, entitled, “Weaving Our Community: Dispelling Myths and Stereotypes of the Muslim Community,” is hosted by none other than the ADL![viii] The same ADL is rumored to have encouraged the FBI to begin the investigation of the Los Angeles 8 that resulted in a twenty-year fight to remain in the United States for eight innocent Palestinians whose only crime was support for the cause of Palestinian liberation[ix]. The event features prominent members of the Arab-American community speaking about the affinities between Jewish and Muslim folks, but considering who is hosting the event, one can guess what affinities the event will highlight. Far from an alliance based on a firm opposition to Israeli colonialism and apartheid, the event will feature Muslim sell-outs trying to convince the rest of the community to accept Israeli apartheid and colonialism. They will even be trying to convince us that we should join the military, the FBI, and the CIA, alleging that our presence within such institutions will end the racism they practice against us. Fat chance. The same lie was preached during the ‘60s to black folks following the civil rights movement, and here we are, black folks occupying the highest positions of power in the country, and black folks still living in squalor in the inner cities, the victims of racism throughout the country. And to top it off, even with the addition of black folks, these institutions continue to practice the same racist policies from a generation ago against Arabs and Muslims today.

This event highlights the key tension within the Arab and Muslim communities, simmering just below the surface. This is a tension between the conservative middle-class leadership in our mosques and community centers, and the youth growing up increasingly disenfranchised, subject to more and more vicious attacks, and increasingly unwilling to compromise with racism. Much of this leadership stresses the compatibility of Arab and Muslim civilization with the imperialist project in the Middle East. This leadership posits itself as “good Muslims” as opposed to those barbarian hordes who oppose Israeli colonialism and apartheid. It seeks to teach their communities the benefits of an alliance with the white supremacist politics of the United States throughout the world. However, racist attacks on Arab and Muslim communities teach a different lesson, and young folks are beginning to realize that they must choose between an alliance with white supremacy or rejecting it in favor of multiracial solidarity with all people.

At Wayne State, this tension plays out with the dual aspirations of students. Many see what is going on in Palestine, in Iraq, and even in Guantanamo and sense that the American Dream they are promised is a fraud. And yet, there is a great deal of pressure within the community to aspire to become a doctor, a lawyer, a dentist, or anything else that ensures status under capitalism. We need only consider the story of any of our cousins, brothers, or sisters that have chosen not to follow this path to know the truth. While those that reject this dream wholesale may be considered outcasts and freaks within the family, they are often the most consistent anti-racists, and the most principled in rejecting the evils of imperialism throughout the world.

In short, what is required is a wholesale reckoning within these communities. This reckoning is happening on the lower frequencies. Aunties are beginning to speak out against patriarchy. Sisters are getting jobs and moving out on their own or with other sisters who reject these values and seek to form their own communities based on their own values. Both brothers and sisters, in ones and twos, are rejecting this lifestyle altogether. These folks are laying the basis for this future reckoning, and speeding it along its course.

Given the active attacks by the government and Zionists; given the tacit support through inaction of much of the left; given these unresolved tensions within decisive communities, it is clear that the prospects for victory are limited. What, then, are the prospects for the future? Where do we begin?

When examining the prospects for the future, we do well to consider the remarks of two people, Ehud Olmert and, once again, Malcolm X. Let us begin with Malcolm X’s speech, given over forty years ago in Detroit, “The Ballot or the Bullet.” Such a landmark speech deserves far more commentary than we can currently include, especially given its relationship to the current electoral charade, but that is fodder for another day. For now, we must simply consider the advice Malcolm gave to his audience regarding what each of them could do to further the black liberation struggle. “Join any organization,” he said, “that has a gospel that’s for the uplift of the black man.” “If the NAACP is preaching black nationalism,” Malcolm said, “join the NAACP. If a church is, join that church. If a civic group is, join that civic group.” We in ARA believe that the struggle for Palestine should begin with that first step: join any group committed to the full decolonization of all of historic Palestine. Join any group that demands an end to military rule in the West Bank and Gaza. Join any group that calls for an end to Israeli apartheid practiced against all Palestinians. Join any group that demands equal citizenship for all Palestinians and the return of all refugees. Join any group that actively and courageously pursues these ends.

If we were to end our lesson there, however, we would be poorly served, for Malcolm continued. He continued by saying that “when you get into that organization, and you see it pussyfooting or compromising, pull out of it because that’s not black nationalism. We’ll find another one.” The same goes for the struggle for Palestine solidarity. If you get into a Palestine solidarity group, and it is not doing all those things, pull out of it, because that is not Palestine solidarity. It might be bake sales, endless meetings, a bunch of people united in wearing keffiyehs but divided on everything else, but it is not Palestine solidarity. Again, if people are lighting candles and mourning like a funeral when one of the Palestinian people’s proudest moments has occurred, leave that organization. Join another.

In this way, we will begin to build toward a future where the Palestine solidarity movement is truly a force to be reckoned with. We will begin to build a powerful grassroots movement for our freedom. I say our freedom because if you are in solidarity with Palestine, if you are vocal about justice in Palestine, and if you actively pursue divestment from universities, companies, churches and other organizations, you will quickly find that you have as much freedom as you are willing to fight for. Or as little.

Malcolm X offers much for those of us involved in this struggle. But what might Olmert offer those of us seeking the liberation of Palestine? Hasn’t he committed himself in every action and word to the very opposite? Of course he has. But as we know, occasionally a nugget of truth slips past the mental censor of the Israeli mind, such as the occasional reference to Israeli nuclear weapons that aren’t supposed to exist. At the recent Annapolis “peace” conference, Olmert let slip one of those insightful nuggets, which explains both the recent histrionic attempts to settle the situation in Palestine in favor of a “two-state” solution as well as pointing our own way forward. “If the two-state solution collapses,” Olmert said, “and we face a South African-style struggle for equal voting rights, then the state of Israel is finished.” This comment reflects the knowledge that there is an entity called Greater Israel that governs 5 million Palestinians with some or no political rights. It reflects the anxiety within Israeli society caused by the continued failure of all initiatives to resolve the conflict within the strictures of an apartheid solution. Finally, it shows that a unified political movement of all Palestinians is a powerful vision for the future of the movement.

Olmert has given us our task: rather than wringing our hands about ’48 Palestinians vs ’67 Palestinians; rather than worrying about which parts of Palestine are occupied and which are not, or which are colonized and which are not; rather than splitting hairs about to what extent apartheid Israel resembles apartheid South Africa, we must state our case boldly and simply. All walls must be dismantled, all people must return, all of Palestine must be free.

We shall leave the details to the future reconciliation campaign following the demise of Israel.

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[i] http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/6112386.stm

[ii] http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/6164666.stm

[iii] http://www.democracynow.org/2007/1/10/police_entrapment_in_terror_case_nyc

[iv] http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2004-09-01-terror-doj_x.htm

[v] Perhaps the most notorious of these cases was the recent denial of tenure to Norman Finkelstein at DePaul University in Chicago. Other academics targeted by the Zionist thought police include Nadia Abu El Haj at Barnard College, and Joseph Massad at the Columbia Univesity.

[vi] http://www.campus-watch.org/article/id/2980

[vii] http://www.leftturn.org/?q=node/124

[viii] http://regions.adl.org/michigan/events/

[ix] This allegation was reported in the article, “Constitution Trumps All for ‘House Bolshevik’ Einhorn,” appearing in the Los Angeles Jewish Journal in December 2007. In the wake of the dismissal of all charges against the L.A. 8 by judge Bruce Einhorn, the article has been pulled from the website at jewishjournal.com.

Greensboro, SNCC, and the Fight against Racism

Today is February 1st. For many of us, this marks the beginning of Black History Month, a time when we remember and seek to renew the struggles of the past. While we certainly celebrate our past, ARA maintains that every month should be black history month. Attacks on our communities persist, whether through outrageous rent and utility bills, sub-par schools in our communities, racial profiling in Detroit and particularly in the suburbs, where "Driving While Black" is a serious offense, or the stares and looks that constantly remind us that we are far from a colorblind society. In spite of the current state of affairs, we remain proud and assured of our ability to change the world through our committed actions. Every day is a chance to reflect on the proud political tradition of our people. From the Deep South to the intersection of Cass and Warren to Africa, the Middle East and Asia, we are one people struggling for justice. There is much that remains to fight for.

One key moment in the history of our struggle happened on this day 48 years ago, in Greensboro, North Carolina. Four young black men walked into a Woolworth's store, sat down at the lunch counter, and demanded service. When the waitress told them they couldn't sit at the counter, they refused to move. When the manager, red-faced and full of arrogance, told them they had to leave, they refused to move. When the police came, and an officer slowly beat out a rhythm in the palm of his hand with his nightstick, they refused to move. One of the young men, Franklin McCain, remarked that he felt relieved when he sat down, as if a weight had been lifted, as if we was alive for the first time. An elderly white woman walked up to them and patted one of them on the arm. "I'm disappointed in you," she said, and continued, "I'm disappointed that it took you so long!"

Many others had been waiting on the spark that emerged in Greensboro. The next day, instead of four, there were almost thirty students. The next, students filled sixty-three of the sixty-six stools at the counter. By the fourth day, hundreds of black students were taking part in the demonstration. Soon, the sit-ins spread throughout North Carolina, first reaching Winston-Salem and Durham, then spreading to Charlotte and Raleigh. By February 10th, the movement had reached most of the state, and by the next week, the spark the Greensboro four lit had spread throughout the South. All around them, young black folks and some anti-racist whites joined the sit-in movement, inspired by their newly-discovered power: their ability to challenge and defeat racism through collective action.

On July 26th, 1960, Woolworth's lunch counter was desegregated, but at this point, the challenge to Jim Crow had expanded well beyond Greensboro, and had even institutionalized itself with the forming, in April, 1960, of one of the most important organizations in the history of the Civil Rights movement, the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC, pronounced "snick"). SNCC would dominate the Civil Rights movement for much of the next decade, and its uncompromising militancy and bravery in the face of racist attacks made the young people who formed SNCC (many were in their late teens and early twenties) the stuff of legend. We remember their names today: Stokely Carmichael, H. Rap Brown, Bob Moses, Jim Forman, Cleveland Sellers, and even John Lewis.

SNCC established a reputation as the most uncompromising of Civil Rights organizations, and this had much to do with the youth of its members, their idealism, and their total rejection of racist American society. One of the original Greensboro Four once remarked that at the time, their attitude was, "Don't trust anyone over eighteen." Their rejection of racism was an attack on every previous generation that had accommodated and accepted it. All who refused to oppose it stood condemned in these young people's eyes.

So today we honor the legacy of the Greensboro Four, the sit-in movement it sparked, the organization and leaders that arose from that movement, and the lessons their legacy teaches us. Tomorrow, we continue their struggle.

For more information about SNCC and its history, check out Clayborne Carson's, In Struggle, as well as Howard Zinn's SNCC: The New Abolitionists.