radical america - vol 8 no 6 - 1973 - november december

8/8/2019 Radical America - Vol 8 No 6 - 1973 - November December

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RICL

AEv l. 8, n . 6 $1.00


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ICLE

November-December, Volume 8 Number

RACISM AND BUSING IN BOSTONAn Editorial Statement

CLASS STR GGLE AND E ROPEAN NITYGuido V ale

IMMIGRANT WORKERS AND TRADE NIO SIN THE GERMAN FEDERAL REP BLI

Stephen Castles and Godula Kosack

SOVIETS A D FACTORY OMMITTEESIN THE R SSIAN REVOL TIONPeter Rachleff

Cover: Black students boarding a b s after s hoo at S thBoston H gh S hoo . Ph to Ken Kobre, Bost n P OENIX

i e M e y D ie i Jim eeMi el Hi A le Hu e im K D K l Jim O ie

e ey i y Qui e y Ti e

A i i ul u le e Du i M i be m Me i M i M M N i i e e S eil R w

b m S ei

RADICA AM RICA ubli e bi m y O. x 82, C mb i e M u e 2 4 Sub i i e $5 pe ye $

w ye $12 ee ye wi p mp le $1 pe ye . D ublee i i u i ee i e u e 4 % e uc im c e i e i e m e c pie e m y e

i me b i

Sec Cl e p i M c u e i im ili ice .


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Racism and Busing in Boston

n i r S te t

Don t Blame Me, I m From Massach setts was a bper st cker that appeared n the only state that voted forMc overn n 972 That slogan has an ron c r ng nowca se some of the people who voted aga nst xon are engag ng n organ zed and s sta ned rac st attacks on Bton s black people. S nce the open ng day of schoo on Stember 2, rac st attacks have come n several orms c d ng the ston ng of b ses carry ng black st dents and beat ng o two blacks by mobs n So th Boston In the black ho s ng project at Col mb a Po nt tenants responto v olent wh te attacks by arm ng and organ z ng or de ense To co nter th s the pol ce occ p ed CoPo nt

The b s ng o black and wh te ch dren to rel eve ramba ance n the Boston schoo s has nally been won


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a eca e of concerte Schoo Committee opposition to improvements in the e cation of b ack chi ren ow in a ition to contin e obstr ction by the Schoo Committe

a serio s prob em is eve oping in the form of organizeopposition to b sing in many of Boston's pre ominant ywhite working c ass neighborhoo s.

A tho gh De ocratic Party emagog es ike City Co nci or Lo ise Day Hicks an Schoo Committee ChairmJohn Kerrigan have promote racist po itics we cannot

n erestimate the eep seate we organize q a ityracism among arge n mbers of white working c ass peopin Boston Un ike other cities where whites a nche viob t rather short ive emonstrations against b sing theopposition to esegregation in Boston has been mobi izefor severa years on a b ock by b ock basis in pre ominant y rish So th Boston an other sections It wi b angero s force to conten with for some time to comeThe racist sc m of the earth K K x K an an azi Par

organizers have come to So th Boston sensing the potentia for a t rn towar s fascismBeca se white working c ass peop e have been prominen

in the racist attacks it has been iffic t for some sociaists to exp ain racism witho t re cing the prob em to onein which either the corporate e ite is manip ating workingc ass peop e by provoking racism or to one in which thrace baiting po iticians of the o Democratic machine arewhipping p racism to a vance their own po itica fort nesWhi e both of these are partia exp anations they miss threa point White working c ass racis is not imp y q estion of ba i eas being p t into peop e s hea s by racist emagog es nor is it simp y a q estion o the r ic ass manip ating workers into racist positions here isa materia basis to white working c ass racism in Bostonan e sewhereWhite working c ass peop e oppose integrate e catioas a way of efen ing their materia a vantage over b acksMost white working c ass peop e are against b sing whitchi ren to b ack schoo s beca se in a racist society b acschoo s are poorer schoo s Many white working c ass pep e are against even vo ntary b sing of b ack chi ren t

white schoo s beca se they fe r that i b ack st ents com


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in thei neighbo hoodschools will be allowed to dete io ate in va io s ways . Some people in Boston s white woing class have chosen to help blacks fight disc im na ioby joining the st ggle of blacks fo eq ality. Many othehave chosen to defend seg egation by attacking the blackst ggle fo eq ality in ed ca ion he th st of he movement that has c ystallized his fall is to keep blackpeople in thei place in seg egated schools in ghe tho sing and in the lowest paying obs.

he q es ion of neighbo hood schools is not the iss e

Boston White wo king class pa ents have in so e casechosen to send thei child en some distance o at end pdominantly white pa ochial schools o even to speciaBoston wide p blic high schools. B sing is not eally iss e beca se schoolchild en have been b sed back anfo th ac oss the city fo some ime o is the iss e onecomp lsion. School itself is comp lso y eg la a teance is comp lso y, a ce tain c ic l m is comp lsoB sing is no mo e fo ced than any of these othe aspecof schooling

he iss e is acism and it is w ong to shift the debataway f om i at his time o a g e now abo t the edtional val e of b sing o of comm nity cont olle schoove s s in eg ated schools wo ld be to eq ivocate I w ong to avoid the is s e by a g ing abo t he me its

va io s hypothetical alte natives options to he cb sing plans do not now exist fo most black pa ents iBos on While we do not call fo integ ation we do opfo ced excl sion and seg egation of blacks and othe mino ities we s ppo t thei ight o integ ation eithe agoal o as a tactic to sec e eq ali y. It is also w ong avoid he iss e by emphasizing the poo q ali y of whschools in Boston Howeve poo thei q ali y the ebeen an o ganized acist at empt o at ack black childat ending these schools

While he se io s p oblems with this pa tic la b siplan a e the fa lt of he co t and the obst ctionist SchCommi tee we hink i is w ong o see b sing as a class plot he achievement of b sing is in fact the esof a long st ggle Boston blacks have waged against seg e

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o ga a o s led b he S hool Comm hav fo a h ma al v g

PO C CO O OF RAC S BOS O

h d v lo m of bla k s o fo b s g a ds g h of h o os o o b s g wh woa eas m s b s e h o ex of a evolv g sov s a e eso es o o l d a o b a d ho s g ma k s as w ll. h b gg s ggle bwag d ov d s g ega o s l a l a of a la glo ge s ggl ha has ake la w h Bos os obled ol al o om

Al ho gh ew gla d l d h a o d sd g he a l 9 h e Bos o ema d

om al a d f a al e e S was o a d s al h f s mm g a s so gh

bl se o h o gh he D mo a a o age

ha d velo d h a l h a d lo sl o af obs h b ld g ad s a d l gs h o gh ex l s o a AF o s

B a s Bos o d d o b ome a ma o d s a h bla k m g a o o h o h d g o

was m h s all ha was o h s Ala e of os o ld a bla k m g a o o Bos

b e om a able o ha of o h o he ss ll o s e a ela vel small o o o of h

o % A d of o se bla ks have s ff ed seve el l m d ob ma ke . a k g d s al jla k g a ss o obs o ed s o s bla k w s k fo ea s se v e o a o s a d o he

al jobs. U l k ea l e mm g a s o abl he Iwe e o able o se e gove m jobs wh h s ll

a la ge e age of he s wo k fo e oweveos o ld a II a Bos o bla ks have slowl p ov d he o a o al os o b ga g fs a e jobs b omm g o he w s b ba jobs

d s a d b ga g a foo hold Bos o 's eva e s o al se o Bla k wome a e

m o a he s hos als a d o a lesses la ge se e a al labo fo

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Blacks have eve worked the r way to some of the better pay g d str al jobs trad t o ally dom ated by wh

otably meatpack g where o e of the c ty s few CIo s developed the 93 's Altho gh b ld g trade

were st ll off c ally segregated thro gh the 9 s, a fblacks worked the r way to some crafts

Th s black progress tho gh rather l m ted has evetheless fr ghte ed ma y wh te workers who ma ta thejobs thro gh the old patro age mach e (c ty workers whcollar a d bl e collar or the old excl s o ary A FL oespec ally the b ld g trades Wh te workers st ll emporta t adva tages over blac workers Altho gh theproport o of blacks creased a y occ pat o s betwe

95 a d 97 the black wh te wage d ffere t al dcha ge over these years 97 as 95 black woear ed o ly abo t two th rds what the r wh te co terparear ed F rthermore ma y jobs rema ed closed to blacks

cl d g most of the best pa d co str ct o jobs jobpol ceme a d f reme a d pper level wh te collar pot o s

Wh te work g class people Bosto s most segregatareas have also ma ta ed a relat ve adva tage over black

the ho s g market. Rac st real estate age ts a d dcr m atory ba kers that red l e ghetto d str cts hapreve ted blacks from mov g to areas l ke So th BostoHyde Park a d West Roxb ry where ma y work g claspeople ow the r ow homes Blacks have also bee kepo t of the poorer wh te work g class sect o s where mopeople re t rooms three decker apartme t b ld gs oprojects Altho gh the wh te te a ts these poorer sect o s s ffer from re t go g g la dlords a d poor c ty sev ces they have ot s ffered early as m ch as blacks

e a ts the worst wh te ho s g projects have sev ole ce to keep blacks o t beca se they bel eve that thprese ce of blacks or P erto R ca s w ll ca se ho s g be eglected eve f rther For example last year wh teyo ths So th Bosto s D Street Project shot a d k lledblack tee ager who l ved w th the o ly black fam ly tproject S bseq e tly the several P erto R ca fam l esthe project were l terally dr ve o t As bad as the D Streeproject s ts wh te res de ts bel eve that t co ld get w

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f bla o pa sh speak g e a s move he a sm of hese wh e e a s does o esul

f om a ha ed of o wh es he e s also a ma e

o h s a sm hese poo wh es a e ma g laeffo s o defe d he ela ve adva ages ove blao p eve he sp ead of ghe o l ke hous g o dhe e ghbo hoods h s d e ly pa allels he

of wh e e ghbo hood s hools a d he opposbus g wh e s ude s o bla k ghe o s hools whbee del be a ely egle ed ove he yea s

he bad hous g s ua o Bos o has bee oby he u ba e ew l demol o wh h bega hI des oyed al l of he mul e h es d a d m

he a ally m ed ou h d bo h low e d s w ped u ea ly all of owe R bu y wh h use

he e e of he bla k ommu y U ba e ewal owhe he old pa o age ma h e was deposed a d ew gove me pol a s appea ed who would ass

ap al s ead of y g o bleed fo a es aM hael u ley d d du g h s mayo al y he old mlos ou o he ew pol a s who oday a e ep esMayo h e o he y level bu he ma h e sa

sh a d al a e ghbo hood s o gholds f om uewal. also p ese ve some ela vely low e h

hese e ghbo hoods wh le s m la hous g was be

s oyed mo e m ed se o s of he y whe e h e o lo ge had pol al powehe pos o ld a I subu ba za o e s f

seg ega o of he hous g ma ke he a ea heope ed he subu bs o ma y wh e wo ke s bu aes a e ompa es a d ba ks helped hese wo k gsubu bs ema as l ly wh e as he weal hy subu s90 of he bla k popula o he me opol a eg

Bos o a d amb dgeo k g lass moveme o he subu bs a ele a

he 940's a d he aga he 960 s w h heme of l gh dus es a d esea h ou f s alo1 8 Bu a la ge umbe of wh e wo k g lass peop

ema ed w h he y l m s of Bos o o omg ow g umbe s of bla ks a d pa sh speak g peops a e jobs poo hous g a d l m ed s hool fa

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n early October, Massachuset s Governor Sargent called in 3 statetroopers. He e a con n en marc es fro South Boston H h Sc oo

o Ga n J n o H c oo P o o: Ken Kobre os on PHOEN IX


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Bosto has eve had a s g f ca t tax base Old t es, text les a d shoes, developed outs de Bosto whp vate, tax f ee st tut o s mult pl ed w th th

he the I sh pol t cal mach e took ove the c ty do ld a I Ya kee f a ce cap tal sts espo ded wf eeze la ge scale bu ld g wh ch lasted u t l u ba

ewa bega the 960 s Howeve u ba e ewal to c ease the c ty's tax base to the exte t that c ty se

ces mp oved substa t ally Mea wh le, subu bad ew mo e taxpaye s out of the c ty Today, Bosto 's m

opol ta a ea has a much la ge pe ce tage of subudwelle s tha a y othe c ty the cou t yBosto sha d p essed taxpaye s, clud g ma y wo k g home ow e s who have ema ed sect o s l kePa k a d est Roxbu y suppo t c ty se v ces that explo ted by a c eas g umbe of subu ba commu

e c ty wh tes have a good deal of ese tme t agm ddle class subu ba tes who use the c ty s se v ceescape ts f ust at o s, otably bus g Howeve thse tme t of the subu ba tes' class p v leges has otm shed the host l ty towa d the c ty s black peopstead of eally attack g the ma y obv ous p v leges u ba tes e joy, ma y wh te wo k g class people sattack g the favo s blacks have allegedly ece ved fthe gove me t a d p vate st tut o s of va ous

h le t s t ue that blacks have fought fo fede al astate jobs w th c ea g success a d that some blawe e able to set up the ow fo ms of pat o age th oa few of the fede al pove ty p og ams the s xt es, tdevelopme ts fa led to compe sate fo the exclus o blacks f om the best pay g blue colla a d wh te coljobs the c ty u the mo e blacks have ce ta

d splaced a y wh te wo ke s o the fede al o state lelet alo e o the c ty level, whe e black people a e all bexcluded f om the thousa ds of obs st ll d spe sed bypat o ag mach e As a esult blacks get much wt eatme t tha wh tes whe t comes to c ty se v ces, pas a esult of the fact that the pol ce, f e, sa tat ost eet epa depa tme ts, as well as oth age c es,st ll staffed almost exclus vely by wh tes

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Bu s no eas er o onv n e wh e work ng lap e ha bla ks ge poorer y serv es han s v n e hem ha bla ks are no ak ng any more advanof welfare han poor wh es In an e onomy of s ar e jobs;r s ng axes ren s and food pr es; de l n ng y seand de er ora ng s hools any ga ns made by bla k peono ma er how l m ed are v ewed as a hrea by moswork ng lass peop e And when he only organ za onsrepre en hese wh es are ex us onary raf un ons

he demagog remnan s of an old pa ronage ma h ne,

resul s ha he fears and frus ra ons of many whwork ng lass people are urned n o organ zed ra sh le he ra s mob l za on led by ma h ne po

uses odewords l ke for ed bus ng and ne ghborhos hools , s lear ha more s nvolved han s hoosegrega on The ra s mob l za on develop ng n

s also a defense of mpor an ma er al advan ages whworkers s l enjoy over bla k workers n he r ppled pl al e onomy of Bos on

TH BLACK TRU L A AIN T R ATION

Ra sm emerged as a major for e n he pol of ea on n Bos on n he early 960 s In 960 a num

people upse w h he worsen ng ond ons of he Bs hools formed C zens for Bos on ho l Pr ma wh e group w h an el e profess onal embersh pgroup d d nvolve some younger eaders of he bla k ommun y The C zens group ran four and da es for

hool Comm ee n he fa l of 96 . I s wo whda es won and s wo bla k and da es os Ne henor s n e has here been a bla k member of he hooCom ee Also n he ear y 960 s he du a onm ee of he NAACP r ed o ge h Massa husem ss on Aga ns D s r m na o MCAD) o bo h rand r ze he ex s en e of de fa o segrega on Bos on s hools Bu he MCAD refused o do so n

sa d ha ra al segrega on was no a problem s hoo s The NAACP on nued o push for he re ogn

of de fa o segrega on In he fa of 96 r ed0


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c ssfu to d scuss th p ob m w th th up nt nchoo s.In th sp ng of 96 th t z ns g oup th NAA

OR a comp t d stud s of th Boston schoo s that c t ca of th d facto s g gat on n th c t . hg oups b gan to suppo t ach oth 's wo k. h n n th NAA P cam out w th a mo d ta d po t whqu st d a pub c h a ng b fo th choo omm tt

omm tt and v n Lou s Da H cks f st ct dto k p po t cs out of ducat on and not t d nta fo of d s g gat on was conc ato and s t up a

ng fo Jun .At about th sa t m a g oup of b ack and wh t ghts act v sts th Massachus tts dom Mov m

was o gan z ng a d monst at on n suppo t of c v wo k s n B m ngham who w b ng b uta z d m ngham Po c h f Bu onno ompos d

b a s and ad ca s who had o gan z d p ck t n

Woo wo th s as pa t of a nat ona bo cott th Massas tts dom Mov m nt ca d fo a on da bo cth schoo s to p ot st th poo ducat on that b ack cd n w c v ng. But as wo d got a ound about p ans dwa d B ook th n tat Atto n n a

ov no nd cott P abod nt v n d to stop th dst at on h won a p om s that th bo cott wou d nh d f th choo omm tt was spons v at th h

h h a ng was h d Jun 96 , and d ff nw ab to p s nt th c t c sms of th schoop pa d ts and th comm nts docum nt d th nt s of d facto s g gat on. OR and th t z ns g

mphas z d d ff nc s n xp nd tu s fo p domb ack and p dom nant wh t schoo s and docum ntc m nat on aga nst b ack t ach s and adm n st ato

of th n n p dom nant b ack m nta schooov c owd d fo nstanc on schoo w th a capac690 had an n o m nt of 04 , and anoth w th a caof 00 had an n o m nt of 6 4 h av ag cost p

n Boston's m nta schoo s was $275 47, but a g b ack d st ct th av ag was $2 05,

anoth t was $22 9 As of 96 , th had n va b ack p nc pa n Boston and th had b n on


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black ad strator.O ly 40 o the 2000 eache s we eblack.

The NAAC P prese ted ourtee de a ds . The st ocalled or ed ate publ c ack owled e t o the exe ce o de acto se re at o " h le the School Co tack owled ed so e proble s esult o de ac o sere at o a a or ty re used to a ree w th the bald stat

e t tsel . Because o the u w ll ess o the SchCo ttee to ack owled e de acto se e at o the boyctook place o Ju e 9 96 . About a uarter o the bls ude ts stayed out; ove hal o he u or a d se orschool stude ts boycotted. ollow the boycott here weatte pts to co o t the School Co ttee at s eeta d there was p cket at the Co ttee head uar eThe respo se o the School Co ttee was to p opose thaa co ttee ore represe tat ve o the black co u tybe se up to study the uest o . A b rac al co ttee wse up but be o e lo ts black e bers u t say

d d ot wa t to be U cle To s As a esult, the SchoCo ttee was orced to call a other eet but w thutes t was avelled to a close by H cks because a a

o ty o the BSC re used to d scuss de acto se e aP cket co t ued throu hout the all

The su er o 96 saw the develop e t o clea tra s e ce o the part o the a o ty o the School Co

t ee Dur th s e H cks cha ed her l e a dlate t rac s co duct a v cto ous e elect o pa that all. O all the ca d dates, she ece ved the votes. S ce 96 race has bee the pr a y pol cal

the Bos o schools

THE RAC AL I BALANCE LA

eb ua y 964 the e were at o w de o e day co s o the schools to p o est he poo ual ty o educ

or black stude ts I ew Yo k a d other c t es hu dreo housa ds o stude ts s ayed out or he day Ove 2suppo ted he boycot Bosto , a d a y o hem atte

eedo schools tha had bee se up or he day. Th s bco t,alo w th mo e o mal p essu e led ove o


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body to call o a blue bbon comm ttee to studyd sc imnat on in the state's schools Th s study was p esented Ap l 965 It ound that o 55 schools n the state that

p edominantly black 45 we e n Boston It also stated th s mbalance was ha m ul to both black and white chd en The ndin s we e accepted by the succeed n ono John Volpe, the eate Boston Chambe o Commeand the Cathol c A chdiocese o Boston (Ca d nal Cushad been a membe o the comm ttee). Its ecommendtions inc uded two way bus n o both black and white sdents, and su ested that the e be le islative act on

Volpe p oposed le islation to deal w th de acto seation and the Racial Imbalance Law was enacted n Au965 Racial imbalance was de ined as a at o betw

nonwhite and othe students in public schools wh ch sha ply out o balance with the acial composition o thsociety in which nonwhite child en study, se ve and woThe Law ave the state the powe to di ect school commit

tees to come up w th plans o dese e at on, to eviewevise those plans, and to withhold state unds i necessato en o ce its decisions The Law speci ically stated, howeve , that dese e at on plans could not involve busin stdents outside o thei school dist icts thei pa ents o

ect d In othe wo ds, the Law demanded dese e atbut unde cut the most e ect ve sho t te m solut on

BLA PARENTS CREATE NE PRO RA S

A te the passa e o the Law, the e was a lull n actit es d ected a ainst the Boston School Committee In pthe e was a wa t and see att tude iven that the state nohad the le a powe to move In pa t the e was a lullbe

cause o the decl n n st en th o the NAAC P a teea ly 960's But the e was not a lull in activ ty a ound ucat on w thin the black comm nity itsel As ea ly as the No the n Student ovement (NS ) and a numbe ochu ches n the Roxbu y a ea set up a te school tutop o ams These p o ams we e be un in a numbeNo the n c t es n the ea ly 960's by the NS , a that o med to suppo t black civ l hts activities in

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S ns pa n ed on Sou h Bos on h School he n h be ore bus nbe an ho o Ken Kob e, Bos on OEN X

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Sou h and o deal wi h he proble s of se re a ion ande uali y in he Nor h In he space of wo years abou s uden s ade use of he pro ra s se up by NS and

churches Beyond he help ha he s uden s receivedac ivi ies provided an arena wi hin which so e of he Nleaders ained skills and reco ni ion; oday any of for er leaders of NS in Bos on have beco e leaders ofBos on s black co uni y Ano her resul of he upro ra s was ha hey provided a place for paren s o

o e her o ee one ano her and o discuss he eional al erna ives open o heIn he fall of 965 Opera ion Exodus be an Ellen Ja

son a paren a he ibson School or anized a boycoclasses o pro es condi ions in he school This wassa e school described in DEATH AT AN EARLY A E bJona han Kozol who had been fired he previous sprindra a ize heir boyco he paren s ook advan a erecen decision by he School Co i ee The School C

i ee had ins i u ed a new pro ra called he Open roll en P li " whereby paren s could send heir chdren o a school ou side heir ho e dis ric if here wspace for he in ano her school Subse uen ly he cohave reco nized ha his does no work o relieve schse re a ion even if a lar e nu ber of black paren s akuse of i whi e paren s do also akin heir children o

black schools and sendin he o whi e schools huscreasin se re a ion Bu wha ever he lar er resul sopen enroll en he paren s who were boyco in he son School found ha heir children were oin o beschools Takin advan a e of he new policy hey dec

o con inue sendin heir children o he o her schoolsof his rew Opera ion Exodus a priva ely or anized bin plan ha involved in i s firs year over 400 blackden s oin o sch ols ou side heir own dis ric sschools did no pay for his; hence he pri ary ac ivi y

he paren s in Opera ion Exodus beca e ha of fund rain They held bake sales ade con ac wi h suburban erals and in one way or ano her raised he $1200 o $needed every week o keep heir children oin o beschools

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A ter uch work the pare ts wo publ c u d to cotra sportat o costs Th s per tted urther expa s opeak w th about 00 stude ts 969 70 The year Operat o Exodus dropped to about 70 stude ts aother opt o s beca e ava lable

Bus alo e was ot e ou h The stude ts volved cou tered var ous k ds o d scr at o So e schoo

strators re oved desks a d cha rs so they could ar uethat there was o roo or a black stude t but would havthe replaced whe a wh te stude t appl ed There wa

so e phys cal se re at o o blacks w th the schoolsat t es they were stuck the backs o classroo s However desp e d scr at o the rece v schoo

e eral success o Operat o Exodus pare ts elt thech ldre were s aller classes a d lear better

creased the pressure or ore busThe ollow year ( 966) a other volu teer bus pa was be u by older establ shed l berals the blac

co u ty work w th suburba l berals o the var oschool co ttees K ow as the etropol ta Cou c Educat o al Opportu t es ( ETCO) t bused black de ts ele e tary throu h h h school ro the c ty tothe wealth er suburba schools Today there are about2 500 stude ts volved a d there are te appl cat o s every ope ETCO L ke Operat o Exodus E

wo ederal u d a d a ou dat o ra t so that the pare ts or the suburba co u t es have to bear thecosts o the pro ra The Bosto School Co ttee d d attack the pro ra because t d d ot a ect Bosto s whschools

the w ter o 965 66 so e pare ts w th ch ldretutor pro ra s at Roxbury's St A s Church bed scuss the poss b l ty o start the r ow schoolwere soo o ed by so e pare ts ro the bso SchoThe roup spl t over the role o outs de pro ess o als awhether the school was to be or the e hborhood or othe lar er co u ty The spl t ollowed alo class lw th the sl htly poorer pare ts ro St A s avless pro ess o al lue ce a d ore local e phas s T

bso School pare ts ope ed the New School or Ch ldw th a pro ess o al sta ear ood salar es th

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Ann s paren s opened he Ro bury Co uni y Schoo wewer ou s de e per s paren s so e i es servin as ea

ers, and ore o a nei hborhood avor Bo h o he h

raised housands o do ars hey a on wi h Ro bhird b ack co un y ree schoo he H h and Pree Schoo s ar ed n 96o a ord ounda on ran

o 500 000 and 5 000 ro a roup o oca ouno e her hese hree schoo s have been por an in Bo

as a ocus o suppor and beyond Ro bury have been aba rac ibera s and innova ve educa ors because he

n and earn n s y es encoura ed h re are seen s oe s

hi e os peop e ac ve a h s i e were n he en s roups he B ack Pan her Par y was se in Bos on as in o her c es, a ree break as pro rach dren In so e o he poorer housin pro ec s in he

he Pan hers ed hundreds o chi dren be ore schooeveryorn n A hou h hey did no ain as uch suppor

Bos on as in o her c ies he r pro ra served as a owh ch was picked up by o her roups nc ud n so e schoo s wh ch were sha ed in o iv n break as s

Opera on odus CO, and he ree schoo s provsevera a erna ves o he ne hborhood pub ic schooa nu ber o b ack s uden s Bu he overwhe in ao b ack s uden s re ained n schoo s ha were run dpoor y a n a ned under s a ed and under supp iene wave o pro es s ca e ro w hin hese schoo s

PAR N S AND S UD N SORGANI SCHOOL BOYCO S

Be ween he a o 96 and he spr n o 97

or s uden s or an z d boyco s or wa k ou s in a nu bschoo s or ns ance, on he irs day o schoo in o 96 a roup o paren s a he G bson Schoo de a

ha he new y appo n ed pr nc pa resi n She re uparen s c a ed he schoo as he r own and ns a eown pr nc pa hen he paren s were ocked ou o s

he ne day hey ook he r ch dren o a nearby coy cen er and were o ned by severa eachers who

7


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helped s ar he gr up. The eachers were ired bua d he pare s ra a libera i sch l ha las ed a c hs I s ar ed wi h all 600 he s udesch l a d eve a er w hs harass e bysch l icials wel are depar e e c., here were

childre wh se pare s re used le he g backGibs . S e he we he New Sch l r Chis e we i ETCO r Opera i Ex dus The GibSch l has ge era ed s uch pare i v lve e becaui is e he w rs sch ls i B s Bu here

b yc s a d pressures r pare s a her sch ls well. r i s a ce a w he u i r highs i Rpare s g ge her de a d ha black head as erapp i ed. They were success ul eve h ugh he app

e s k place ly a he las e righ be rbegi i g sch l i he all 96 .

These pressure gr ups a d b yc s were rga iby exis i g gr ups i he B s c u i y The NAwas weak i B s a his i e, a d he Urba League lacked a base Ra her hese b yc s were rga i edi dige us gr ups a d i lue ced by he a i al gr wblack libera i a d black a i alis gr ups a d ide l gi

I he high sch ls he i i ia ive was ake by he s ude s he selves by heir pare s r

hr ugh 97 here were sp radic b yc s sch lblack high sch l s ude s. They r ed black s udegr ups wi hi he high sch ls a d sl wly rga i edl sely s ruc ured u i black s ude s he Blackde i . These b yc s were like he earlier es ar ed by a ew s ude s bu ce u derway gai i g supp r I 96 r exa ple a s ude was susp

r E glish high sch l by he pri cipal r weari g

dashiki a vi la i he dress c de Black s ude s w u i ed by s e whi e s ude s. Si ilar b yc s curred sp radically r he ex w years

I ebruary 97 he Black S ude i rga ici y wide b yc pr es racial segrega i isch ls They walked u a d prese ed ive de a ds

he Sch l C i ee ) recrui black eachers 2 ) recblack guida ce c u sel rs; ) c issi a i depe des udy racial pa er s i he ci y s sch ls 4) e

8


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rass e t b a st d ts a d 5 ra t a esty tstri i st d ts J Cra e air a t e SC ittee a ed t e SU state e t t a dis , a

s a t e SC ade essi s e stri e ai eattai its de a ds b t i t er ways it ear y w a rdea a y b a st de ts t exp rie e i r a ia ied w t a d t s pp rt r t e St de t biC ittee; t ey e d p b i eari s a d t y e e s pp rt r w ite st de ts w we t t stri FrApri ti t e e d s i J e it was a b a

st de t b y tt wit b a s a d w ites pr testi t e raa d p r diti s t e s s

CO UNI Y CON ROL OF H SCHOO S

O t t e ity s s t e pare t b y ttst e st de t b y tts a d t t e ati a i terest

ity tr ity tr s s bea iss e i st . t e 7 a d 7 S Ce e ti a pai s a a w a a d e ber t e C

ist Party Patri ia er Ly s ra a tr p at r A t t e C P did t a e a si

wi i st e era y r i R b ry i partier Ly s did we I t e irst e e ti s e p e

5 tes a d a st w ; i t e se d s e ra s ess y b t sti did we i R xb ry At irbers t e SU were t a ti e i er a pai ; b t

eir stri e e ded a d s e was ear y a be ter a ter ata a y t e t ers s e pe p e i t e SU w r ed

er.e s ess er Ly s a pai s did t s

t e e d er r ity tr Fr t e e70 s t r t t e e e ti N e ber 7 it wway t at b a pare ts s t t a e t e s s. C

ity r as a s bee s pp rted by ay r Keite, a ibera De rat, a d a y t e w ite pr e

si a s w are a s a er t ta e wer away r tS C ittee A ariety ity tr pwere ted i t is year's pri ary e e ti s. I t e N

e ber e e i s t e ters were i e a i e 9


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ti i with the School Committee or doi w y with cre ti sever l comm ity committees d ivi powto the yor s o ice The pl w s de e ted overwhei ly, d the BSC w s ret i edI rch o 9 2 while some bl cks were worki comm ity co trol ro p o bl ck p re ts s pported the NAAC P e l De e se d d c tio d broc se i st the BSC i Feder l District Co rt to ch llethe co ti ed d i cre si se re tio o the schooIt w s this c se th t i lly res lted i the J 2

decisio by J d Arth r G rrity Jr i which he ordered th t the School Committee be the i st st e school de e re tio i September 9 It h d bee cl

or t l st two ye rs th t G rrity wo ld decide i vor the pl i ti s d th t he wo ld order dese re tiodoi so he w s ot t ki p rtic l rly co r eo s stb t w s ollowi the lo ic o Norther school dese retio c se th t h s bee est blished i the p st ew ye

TH B S S H C TT

like oth r city school systems th t the prep red tocooper te with the co rt order the Bosto School Committee h s co ti ed to ct i hi h h ded r cist w y

o ti es i its e orts to oil p re ts d st te d edo i i ls i de elopi ood plhy h s the School Co ittee pl yed this role or the

p st dec de h t re the so rces o its power e willco ider these poi ts s well s how it h s perpet ted de p ed the p tter s o r ci l se re tio i the city how it h s worked i every w y it co ld to r str te thpl ow bei impleme ted

The prese t or i tio o the Bosto School Committd tes b ck to 9 9 whe it w s reor i ed by the St

e isl t re co trolled by Y kees The Co stit tio o Commo we lth o ss ch setts s with ll st tes

ives the st te the power to r t ch rters to cities ; it lsoives the st te the ri ht to review d l loc l l ws Te isl t re r led th t there be ive t l r e members l

o whom serve two ye r terms d th t they r s o0


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par sa ca d da e elec o s held odd uyears ha ever he or al hou h s o he Ya kees S a e Le la ure, he c y w de elec o s have he

r sh a d o her wh e ca d da es a d preve ed a yrom ever be elec ed

s heyday he r sh mach e could mob l ze suhrou h s pa ro a e power, a d he schools were a d

par o h s There are a a er al each a d aobs w h he schools here are he co rac s or b

a d repa rs he schools Over he years members o

School Comm ee have had rela ve a d l w whoworked a eacher or adm ra or he schoolss ev de ce ha he School Comm ee has ra sed h

r es or cer a obs a d he rece ved lar e campapled e rom people hose obs Te mo al d

ve or Comm ee member a d eachers are pre so buy cos ly cke s Thu eve w h o e hde o he c y paroch al schools, he school

had a mpor a ce ar beyo d s educa o al u c ohe e eral decl e o he mach e s ve e hav

able o re a co rol o he School Comm ee a lar er co ex he School Comm ee repre e

cal cap al s s he r res s a ce o a o al " caThe Comm ee hrou h such curre a d pa membeH cks a d Kerr a , has l ks o local real es a e a d b

ere s A small ow ers hey, a d he peoplreprese , do o have he cap al or urba re ewcheme , a d hey have opposed he a emp o he

ba k he ura ce compa e , a d he u vers y ama a ers o res ruc ure he c y O he o her ha duse rac sm as do he b ba k whe use ul o kehous pa er s clearly del ea ed by race Becau e o

wo way rela o sh p be wee school e ra o a e ra o , hey have used he schools o keep o o ly ou o he schools bu ou o cer a eche c y as wellThe Bos o School omm ee rasped o o he ss

race he Spr a d Summer o 1 963 as a pol cal po S ce he he oppos o o black dem

be er schools has bee , par a ploy o he par o a o c pol c a s o hold o o he r pol cal


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th ou h ac st popul s The School Co ttee and ts po te s pa t cula ly ho e owne s have fou ht a a nsdese e at n the schools because of the fea of whfl ht T e and a a n the BSC and ts suppo te s sco ed po nts n blast n the subu ban l be als who u

nte at on wh le not expe enc n t the selves Ra ches and de onst at ons have also otten suppo t f o

wh te wo k n class subu ban tes who want to defeat bunow to p event the poss b l ty of et opol tan bus nalso to keep blacks down n the hetto and out of the subu bs

HOW THE SCHOOL CO ITTEEIGHTS DESEGREGA ON

The School Co ttee has one about ts ac st bus nn a nu be of d ffe ent ways. ts e be s have used

c al slu s n the electo al ca pa ns o nstanc965 Co ttee e be Joseph Lee who happens toco e f o an uppe class Yankee back ound sa d tha

wh te ch ld en do not want to be t anspo ted nto schw th a la e po t on of backwa d pup ls f o unp ospeNe o fa l e who w ll slow down the educat onWh te ch ld en do not want la e nu be s of Ne o pu

f o unp ospe n Ne o fa l es sh pped nto the wh te schools And n the sa e yea Lou se Day H cksa d We have n ou dst today a s all band of aa tato s non nat ve to Boston, and a few colle e adwho have o ned n the consp acy to tell the people of Bton how to un the schools the c ty and the

S nce 965 when the Rac al balance Law was bcons de ed the School Co ttee has focused on busAt f st the NAAC P and the C t zens fo Boston Schden ed that they we e fo bus n e the But cks anothe s kept denounc n bus n as they s nsed the owpol t cal suppo t fo that ssue When the school supetendent wanted a no bus n p o a n the fall of to el eve ove c owd n n a black school by t ansfeso e students to a wh te school w th oo the Scho

Co ttee e ected the p oposal even thou h bus n


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o i e pu b k ti-bu n emo o on e ee o omSout Bo o i S oo o f of oo P o o Ke Kob eBo on HOENI


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pri cipal has eve appoi ted the pare t head o the or azatio

ith this close relatio ship to the school ad i istratio

the Ho e a d School Assoc atio has used school supplieduplicati achi es, aili lists, a d other aterial a di or atio to publicize a ti busi de o stratio s uther ore the School Co ittee has directed pri cipals touse the teachers , throu h their ho eroo classes, to actas co duits or i or i pare ts o a ti busi rallies ade o stratio s I at least o e i sta ce the stude ts wesupposed to retur otes ro their pare ts i they w terid s These otes were the passed ro the teachersha ds back to the pri cipal who would see to it that pare

ot rides to the de o stratioThe Ho e a d School Associatio is ow e tre ched

block by block or a izatio s i several white sectio s the city Usi pho e chai s a d word o outh the Ha d School Associatio s act as the or a izatio al basthrou h which hu dreds o people ca be tur ed out to deo strate withi hours ike ost co u ity based or a izatio s a d like ost or a izatio s co cer ed with schoola d childre the Ho e a d School Associatio s are predo i a tly co trolled a d ru by wo e i the ei hborhood

This all we have ostly heard about the Irish stro hold

o South Bosto South Bosto is a virtually all white arit ca have a ood block or a izatio without havi to skover or worry about the prese ce o black a ilies i thearea I Hyde Park a other area with a lot o racial vile ce this all, a d where the white ho e ow ers have voteoverwhel i ly or he racist ca didates the Associatiis ot as stro because o the prese ce o black a ilii the area ith the rece t decisio by Garrity that ex

all all o Bosto will be i volved i the i te ratio plthe Ho e a d School Associatio is ow or a izi i otsectio s There are ow ei ht a ti busi i or atio cters operati i areas o Bosto a d earby suburbsThese ce ters are part o the e ort to de eat i te ratioa d provide little other i or atio or i sta ce wpare ts pho e with a uestio about occurre ces i th

schools they are told that they were war ed that i te ra7


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t o would ot work a d they shou d keep the r ch ldreho e u t the bus pla has bee defeated.

the last year a u brel a or a zat o k ow as RO

(Restore Our Al e ated R hts) has e er ed. ROAR puforward the calls for otorcad rall es, de o strat o sboycotts etc Th s roup holds ts weekly eet theC ty Cou c l cha bers a d ay have bee or a zedLou se Day H cks ow a C ty Cou c llor to replacSchool Co ttee as the or a zat o al ce ter of a t b

act v ty case the BSC was e o ed fro tak these rac st ob l zat o s

The trate y of the Schoo Co ttee the Ho e aSchool Ass at o a d ROAR s to defeat the busa d they th k they ca w . There have bee a t burall e a d de o strat o s for years, but s ce last sprthere has bee a arked crease act v ty ebrua d arch there were lar e eet s to protest the buspla a d to or a ze prote ts a a st the Rac a balLaw H cks spoke at a eet South Bosto a d Ka spoke Hyde Park Apr thousa ds de o stra a st bus fro t of the State Cap to

O e of the few roups that ave co crete support to thedese re at o pla was the Bosto Teachers U o h

t d d ot do uch, ts leader h p supports the p acurre t leadersh p of the u o fact, s a refor r

that or a zed the fal of 1968 whe the BTU d d oport the teachers f red fro the bso Schoo . Now ol bera tha a y of the e bers of the u o the BT

eader h p has bee caut ous about co fro t the rase t e ts of the teachers.

th o y a odest effort by the BTU a d the co cer ebut or efforts of a b ack a d wh te refor roup calleC ty de Educat o Coa t o , the rac sts have bee

a force th s fall They be a the year w th a boycottthe schoo s wh ch kept overa schoo atte da ce dowthe who e c ty for several weeks By d Nove ber atteda ce was or a at ost schoo s espec al y at the e

e tary leve but at severa h h schools ot a y whstude ts are atte d Beyo d the boycott there have bweek y Su day ra l e w th ROAR speakers oca stat

rese tat ves, a d a oca popu ar rad o ta k show host 8


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rall es are planned to draw n support fro sect ons of thec ty to be affected next year. They a so draw support frowh te work n class suburbs any of whose res dents haonly recently oved out of South Boston or so e otherwh te or trans t ona area

CONCLUSION

In short the ssue n Boston today s rac s . It s n

on y the nst tut onal rac s of cap tal st job andhous narkets and the hypocr t cal rac s of the suburban l bera s who contr the state overn ent but t s also twell or an zed rac s of the Boston Schoo Co ttee a

ts wh te pet t bour eo s and work n class supportethrou hout the c ty e have tr ed to po nt out that the rac s of the Schoo Co ttee s a d rect outco e of thdec n n patrona e ach ne wh ch throu h var ous exs onary ethods s atte pt n to preserve the re at ve avanta e of wh te workers over black workers n Bostonshr nk n econo y.

In fact the k nd of rac s that holds center sta e r hnow s or an zed rac s n several of Boston s whwork n class ne hborhoods Because these ne hborhosuffer fro h h une ploy ent poor hous n and ou

school n t has been te pt n for l bera ournal stseft st roups al e to expla n a way wh te work n crac s as a product of ower c ass frustrat on bac

ash" or an pulat on of var ous k nds But t s wroexp a n rac s away by ro ant c z n the ethn c pr deco un ty sol dar ty of ne hborhoods l ke South Bost

wh ch n fact conta n real d v s ons) or by resort nconsp racy theory that expla ns away rac s as a frustrated response to a rul n class p ot n the for of bus n

e have tr ed to show that bus n s n fact the resof a deter ned c v r hts dr ve fou ht on a nat ona and an e ual y deter ned dr ve wh ch Boston blacks ha

aunched for better educat on on a oca level The racres stance to the b ack batt e a a nst schoo se re at onno dfferent fro the on o n f ht to keep blacks out ofwh te ne hborhoods w th decent hous n or to keep Thrd

9


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orld worker ou o level wh e co lar a d collar job

Bo o h re a ce ha bee mob

rou h e rem a o e o d pa ro a e mach ee ed by appe da e l ke e Bo o Schoo Commal e l ke e exclu o ary A L cra u o . a ard ou de e e o he rela ve pr v le e worker over black worker The e pr v le e are m

ca he area o ob a d ou hao bu rac leader real e ha c oo a

re a ed he black w l ave wo a mpor a a a u o al ed rac m a d w l have ou precede

A hou he o d pa ro a e mach e a o mupower ce Curley me ll repre e ho de e e a a b ack e croachme o he wo Bo o , o e re a ed c ool ob a

ac eT e Ya kee cap al c a a er ou ly cu he eco om c power o he o d mac e over hea d he bera Ke edy w o e Democra c Pdepr ved o co derab e power e c y

edera over me A a re ul he mach e co rer ob ha ever be ore a me ropol a area wu emp oyme a d a per od o h la o

eader o he o d mach e o ab y he Bo o Sch

m ee po have re or ed more a d more ope y oed rac m a a mea o da b ack we e wha co ro he o d mach e ha ove

p b c ac e he c y o Bo oB ha o cour e bee a boo o e e dema

eader o he old mach e; ha e ab d hem o wh e pe bour eo e o e c y w h ar e ecwh e work cla arou d a de e e o he var o

er a be e e re a o ha pre erved or hemrac pol c a k ow ha he de e re a o obu he r ba e a u ca e a au wob ack w l wa e or e ua y job a d hou

A o a he e rac po c a co rol Comm ee hey w be ab e o ma a cowork c a ppor by d pe pa ro a e o

avor predom a y wh e choo b he 30


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e ce o he Schoo Co ee s be hre e ed byous bl ck roups who h ve he suppor o l ber l polle ders C y H ll d he S e House I c

do o o he De ocr c P r y by he l ber l wby h e C y H ll, Gover or elec Duk k s hHouse d Ke edy sh o y orce he old

ch e pol c s o ke so e k d o or A Nor her D x ecr ove e o h s sor led by H

d Kerr , would prob b y pl y r h o he hhe pro o sc s A er c P r y wh ch d d u e

work cl ss d s r c s o Bos o dur he l s elI y c se, he de e o bus would s re hebele uered School Co ee d s r c s e ders

e se y d would here ore prolo he ex s e ce oo d p ro e ch e y wh e work c s

u es The le Bos o hou h o l r e, hso e ro ds work cl ss co u es where power o he o d p ro e ch e h s broke dow

he le h s bee o lly s c se reke Sou h Bos o where he ch e s s ll s ro

he ps o u e cl ss o s sThe de e o bus wou d be uch ore h de

o he l es hrus bl ck people h ve de o prove ec o ; would lso be ser ous se b ck o he s ru le s he k d o r c s wh ch d v des h

cl ss ur her ore he p e e o o buso e e s o bre k dow por or o seo s v c ory o o y or he b ck s ru

e u y bu so or he work c ss s ru e ors o ll he bre kdow o se re o r se

poss b l y o bl ck wh e cooper o or be er edu phe o e o h h s re dy occurred ore e r

sec o s o he c y I c , here s re dy de ce o show h he bus o wh e ch dre bl ck he o schoo s h s resu ed prove e s w

hese schools wh ch b ck p re s were ever ble ch eve he p s I o her words desp e he o

proble s w h h s bus pl , does cre e so e lposs b l es or prov educ o c l esb ck d wh e s ude s

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The blow busi s ikes a Bos o s dual sys e o ca io also aises he possibili y o he ul i a e de e

he old pa o a e achi e a d i s ove ly acis leaship Al hou h Hicks a d Ke i a a d o he s o hhave eceived uch a io al publici y o la e (so e o

ui e avo able) hey have ailed o ul ill hei p os op busi This p o ise alo e has accou ed o uc

hei poli ical appeal i ece yea s A d hei polo u es will p obably su e i he lou because ohei ailu e o keep his p o ise ac Hicks K

a d o he poli ical leade s o he old achi e have ecesu e ed de ea i hei ca pai s o hi he o iceAl hou h i is di icul o be op i is ic abou he

e e ec s o he busi c isis i Bos o , he opoi s should be o ed he acis de e de s o sehave su e ed a a o de ea ; he powe ul De ocPa y has bee se iously div ded a d dis up ed; a d, i po a ly he solida i y o he black co u i y i

o has o ced p edo i a ly whi e co u i y o aoups o deal se iously wi h he issue o acis o

i s i e a d has e cou a ed so e se e s o he leo a ize wha should be a i po a a io al obilizaa d de o s a io a ai s acis i Bos o

Neve heless he i media e e ec o he busi has bee o i c ease e sio be wee black a d whi e we s i his ci y The e is o way o de y his No hecalls o black whi e u i y a ou d educa io al de a db oade poli ical de a ds will e ase his ac . hi e cis i Bos o is a deep sea ed a d well o a ized p

o e o a d i will o be up oo ed easily. The o ly o wo ki class u i y i Bos o a d o he se

ci ies lies i a di ec assaul o se e a io i all

o s a d i a o a ized de e se a ai s he acisacks which se e a io os e s

Ji ee a d Alle Hu e o he RA edi

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TI a u 40 Ca a a 5 AB

THIS MAGAZ NE s an independent soc al st journal report ng on educat on, culture and pol cs n Canada. Spec a

mphas s s g ven to a cr t cal look at school and teach ngthe org zat on of teac ers the struggle for Canad an tradeons and the po t cal economy of Canada's resourcesOur cultural sect on ncludes analyses of mass culture nCanada d scuss on of t e Canad an f m ndustry boore ews photography grap cs and poety

SUBSC IB !Plea e s nd m ub crip o f :

o 1 ye S4.00 (O S4 50 Ue S 10 00 O !3ye S 1 00 U

e $ 7.00 ( / ye S 1 9 00 LAll titu t n S6 00 foye

I d t nd h t THI MAGAZ NEwillb b i"hedS Xi e

l ame _

A dres \. _

City P v te_ P t o __

S nd to: TH S M G ZINE56 Esplanade SI ., Suite40Toronto OntarioM 5 l A B

Pl a en o e a chequ or money order

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Cl ss Struggle ndEurope n Un

INTROD CTION

Gu

Cap al s devel p e as always ad a cycl cal ualper ds f expa s a d devel p e are f ll wed by pe

ds f c rac f pr duc e pl y e , a d e s. Dur t e pas ce ury, cr ses ave f ll wed

a er w rea re ular y Bu e c urse f seve y years , s ave bec e re c plex

T s ce ury pe ed w a per d f expa s f la ser us cr s s w c ccurred ar u d 0 T e , f ll wed e s ser us cr s s w c cap al s dev

e as ever k w . T s was f ll wed, al s es er c u r es, by e years f s a a I ee f a y ec s s b ur e s as well as Marx swe are w e pa a ew w rld cr s sMa y c rades ave r ly p ed u a ur ex

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nat on o the cap tal st has been l ted not c enou h and un late a These c t ues a e vathey st ess the act that ou analys s o the c s s a

ake e e ence to the nte nat ona s tuat on o undates how nt ns c the c s s s to cap tal st develoo expla ns eve yth n n te s o the st u le betweep o eta at and cap tal w thout tak n nto account the all s tuat on n wh ch th s st u le s p od ced In tha we can say s that we a e so y that ou c t cs hav

one u the on the path towa ds a pos t ve cont buta d n the analys s o the c s s a top c about whevolut ona y e t n Italy and elsewhe e needs a eat

o cla cat onOn the othe hand the e s a way n wh ch these c

ay ss the po nt ent ely and beco e the excuse oeal d splay o oppo tun s towa d the class st u le

a e th nk n o those who n the explanat on o thetend to co p etely d s e a d the wo k n c ass o atto educe t to the bou eo s concept o wo k o ce sthe exp anat on o the c s s s based st ct y on tat on o the labo a ket Th s esu ts n the total dpea ance o the ve y concept o wo ke s' autono y w

eans st o a l autono y o the laws o cap tp oduct on but also has a ate al base n the expe

n the h sto y and n the soc a elat ons wh ch l

va ous secto s o the p oleta at hence wo ke s o y s an nd spensable e e ent n expla n n capdevelop ent and cap tal st c ses nc ud n the dyno the labo a ket

But et us p oceed w th o deThe p nc pal uest on s not so uch to expla n

the e a e c ses but athe to expla n why they no lonhave the e ula ty o yeste yea why o exa p

ast twe ty seven yea s have been a ked by an al ocont nuous expans on nte upted only by no ecewh ch ha dly eve had a loba a n tudeTH CR S S O AM R CAN MP R A SM

In the a te ath o the ast wo ld wa cap ta s w th n the a ewo k o a un ed wo d a ket un

36


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hegemony of the Un e Sta e . The colon al em re wmantle an re lace by neo colon al t om nat

Ja an an the c or an anqu he nat on of Euro e

en e en rely on the U S for the r e elo ment. Tom nat on of he U S wa exten e o the en re ww hthe exce t on of the U S S R an the coun rEa tern Euro e o uch a o n that the no on of

er al sm an ha of he un y of the worl marke becn erchangeable for many eo le.Th ng were not he ame before he Secon Worl Wa

The worl marke wa e nto colon al em rehere of nfluence an he two worl wars were unlea

w th a ew to ng the worl among the fferener Th s not to ay tha m er al m canno chanform once aga n In fac nce the en of he Secon WWar Amer can m er al m guaran or an n rumencoun er re olu on on a lanetary scale ha uffere

er e of re er e wh ch ha e weakene uncon eom na on. The major blow aga n m er al m hafrom he l bera on truggles of tho e eo le who ha

fought or are ll f ght ng o e ca e from t omCh na Korea an orth V e nam, Cuba the re t of Inch na an all tho e coun r es of A a Afr ca an LAmer ca where arme ruggle aga n m er al m or er of the ay

THE APPEARA CE OI TER IMPERIALIST CO TRADICTIO S

St ll ano her factor en to weaken the unconte e hgemony of Amer can m er al sm the law of he une

e elo ment of ca al m wh ch ha allowe Ja anWe tern Euro e a much greater rate of econom c growth

han he U. S an wh ch ha loo ene u he relat onubor na on of ho e countr es to he U S economy

mo f ca on of worl equ l br um n art counteance by the o en ng of the So e an Ea er Eurocoun r e o he worl market Th o en ng u

n ally benef te We tern Euro e an Ja an w ll more an more o benef the U S a alrea y beg

o a en. 37


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I a t o , we ca e tab h that the m t of ter e e o e wor ari e a ort of ub m er a

at the hea of wh ch we f tate ke I a, Ira ,Afr ca, Braz I raeto whom are crea g y e tru tethe ta k of ter at o a re re o wh ch the U Smer y u ertook t e f. It ece ary ot to exaggethe m orta ce of th e o ut o , for the e cou tr e

t tota y ubor ate to the U S e erthe eat o are beg g to create a embryo c ro uc

mach e ca ab e of g g them a certa auto omy

m er a t om at o art cu ar y fa orab e et me of cr to break the bo of ubor atThe curre t urfac g of a ter m er a t co f

ow co cer exc u e y Ja a a the We ter Eurocou tr e (though com et tor w th each other) o the ha a the U S. o the other; moreo er t ma

t e f a ery art a ma er The cr of the t o a mo etary y tem o oubt the mo t e aex re o of th ce for year the free c rcuof the U. S o ar ha beethe mo t ta g b e e e ce othe u ty of the ca ta t market Other ex re othe crea g te f cat o of tra e war the

um g of f fty year ago ha g e way to rect ub e by the State) a the trugg e for the co tro

ma u at o of atura re ource the ca e of e

re ource , the be t exam e of cour e the o co war' re e t y u erway)But to the exte t that the e three a ect grow a fourt

a ect w emerge a more m orta t t tg e to co quer ew tra e out et . Dur g the a t quace tury, commerce a fore g e tme t were more more co ce trate the a a ce ca ta t cou tr ethe exte t that the atter o o ger offer out et for ex a

o , the co que t of ew market go g to become a eath que t o for the m er a t bourgeo e

The ery o b ty of ter m er a t arme eem therefore ot a ab ur a t m ght ha e be

the a t We ha e a rea y ee a rough ketch of thcerta co f ct wh ch, Afr ca a the M e E

to co f ct ffere t m er a t tere tIt certa y wro g to take the e te e c e for 38


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com l he fact The a earance an har en ng of thnter m er al t confl ct t ll embr on c

THE CO TRADICTIO S BETWEEPROLETARIAT A D BO RGEOISIE

In the th r lace m er al m ca ab l ty of facto the e ntegrat ng force coll e w th the cla gle n the m er al t countr e them el e

In the Sthe mo t m ortant fact of all that Amercan m er al m eem to ha e been nca able of n o

n a ma e way the Amer can roletar at n a long ware re on Th un oubte ly the V etnam war grcontr but on to the e elo ment of worl re olut on Sother actor weaken Amer can m er al m from w tThe ncrea ngly contra ctory e elo ment of Amer cca tal m ha rogre ely e r e the rul ng clathe r control o er the beha or of large ector of the

Amer can roletar at the o calle marg nal tuthe unem loye an the un erem loye rac al m nor t ewho are not marg nal e by chance ee ng that they co

t tute n many ca e the heart of the Amer can workcla

On the other han the low an controlle nflat on whcharacter e o t war econom c e elo ment ten toto become a menace to e elo ment The nee wh ch xfoun to control r ce an wage n or er to a e rof

how how much the cla truggle threaten Amer caeconom c e elo ment an how recar ou the oluta o te for gett ng out of the rece on of 97

In the re t o f the a ance ' ca tal t worl the exct onal o t war econom c growth wa ba e on the ca

t cla ucce n u re ng the cla truggleha ex lo e ur ng an after the war Th u rewa ra an eff c ent n Ja an an Germany; t chance that thank to the oc al eace thu ly conquere

the e two countr e ha e been able to atta n the h gherate of econom c growth In France an Italy where thework ng cla ha ma nta ne a tronger relat on h

t m l tant tra t on econom c growth ha been low

an by no mean accom l he In Br ta n f nally39


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the Labour Party largely uccee e n con n ng (channl ng) the cla truggle to the le el o local lant econom c e elo ment ha mo e at a rate barely abo

tagnat on le el .The 1960 mark a turn ng o nt all o er Euro e rate o growth low own an wage beg n to u h uto the etr ment o cor orate ro t . In France an Itath turn ng o nt n t ex re on n the ma

al o worker truggle But e en n tho e counwhere oc al eace not tem orar ly a ecte (Germany be ng the key exam le the m act o the e chanrelat on o orce between the bourgeo e an the rotar at on the mechan m o e elo ment equally

At the ame t me the relat on between the Euro ebourgeo e an Amer can m er al m ha e gra uallgun to change Pre ou ly Euro ean econom c e eloha been ulle along by Amer can e elo ment W ththe Euro ean rul ng cla e not c ng t r ght away

echan m o e elo ment or Euro e an Amer ca beto enter nto con l ct n certa n area . Gaull m wa ta nly the r t ol t cal ex re on o th con l ct.

act that ntere t u now abo e all other the ollowthe na cent con l ct between certa n ector o the Eu

ean bourgeo e an Amer can m er al m ha e or g n n a mo cat on o the relat on o orce b

the bourgeo e an the roletar at n Euro e wh chbeen bu l ng u throughout the 1960 Caught betweemenace o a new worker o en e n Euro e un er

erent c rcum tance than the o t Worl War II truggan a com lete ubor nat on to Amer can m er al

the Euro ean bourgeo e orce to look or t owno autonomou m er al t e elo ment Thu the ement o nter m er al t r alr e arallel an

equence o the cla truggle between the roletar at athe bourgeo eEU OPEA ECO OM C DEVELOPME TI THE POST WO LD WA II PE IOD

The o t war er o ha been marke by a ery h

rate o econom c growth throughout the ca tal t worl40


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n ac ual y h s mean he real za on of ncome e en where hey ha no been off c ally a o e Bu

ng from he 1960 s h ngs began o change hroughouro e n some cases as n I aly) un er he rec reof m l an workers' s ruggles n o her cases as nlan ) w hou he nee of one s ngle hour of s r keTheeconom c effec s howe er ha e been he same hecome ol c es off c al or no ) ha e broken own a

or on of na onal re enue es ne for wages hascrease e erywhere a he ex ense of rof s of he

ac y for self f nanc ng an of he ra e of accumulself Th s has no been ue o a hal n he nflux workers n o he labor marke ; on he con rary n

ery years mm gra on began o ake on g gan cro orons The reason mus ns ea be seen n he consol

( ue o ol cal reasons) w h n he labor marke ofa r gh com ar men sone labor marke for he mm -gran workers ; 2 ) one for he na onal work ng class3 one for he new ranks of he na onal' role ar ahas resul e from he ex ans on of he e uca onal sec

I mus be o n e ou ha hese hree sec ors arn com e on w h one ano her; an e en f hey

woul har ly be a erfec ' com e on Hollan rohe cleares exam le s nce was he only coun ry

off c ally a o e an ncome ol cy In Hollan f

han en years hree hun re housan refugees from ex colon es of In ones a ha ke he labor marke lhus allow ng he ncome ol cy o func on Whe

feas (for he bosses an for he soc al emocracy) o er he hun re s of housan s of workers brough n fI aly an Turkey were no enough o re crea e he or gs ua on Du ch wages sl u war s w hou e en for s r kes an mm gran workers wages followe same course Th s resul e n he break own of he n

ol cy.TH EE ABO MA KET

In general erms h s s wha ha ene : hemm granwork ng class wen on o occu y obs n he hea es

ors such as bu l ng cons ruc on roa cons ruc4


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m n ng or the mo t egra ing one in ector uchotel re taurant an ublic er ice . A the ame timhowe er thi cla became a large majority in tho e ec

tor where on account of international com etition ex loitation i much more inten e ( e a embl line job in auto in u try an in mo t of the machine in u trie Ba we ha e een, the e are al o the ro elling ector othe whole o t war Euro ean economic e elo ment meant therefore, that the Euro ean bourgeoi ie foun it-

elf force to lace the mo t elicate art of it ro ucti ea aratu e in the han of a working cla whic it canncontrol exce t through the har he t re re ion an olice

ur eillanceSince the immigrant worker are a ma which ex an

an contract with relati e ea e the fluctuation in em-loyment which characterize the ca itali t cycle were ab-orbe rimarily by thi ector of the working cla thi

allowe the national working cla e to conquer o

thing like a right to full em loyment, which accor ing tall the i iot of worl ocial emocracy woul re re enthe great ictory of the working cla e in the o t war

erio But thi wa not the only gain of the national woing cla e they were al o free from the hea ie t, irte t mo t egra ing an lea t kille job t i on the bof the e two element that a link coul be forge betweenthe ocial emocracy an the national working cla eTo be ure thi link wa more a con equence than a eliberate lan, an re t rimarily on the i i ion createwithin the working cla a a whole

La tly a growing rtion of the new rank of the na-tional roletariat which ha e entere the labor marketha e gone through formal chooling, thu fin ing an outletin the e er ex an ing occu ational ector uch a clericaltertiary or in any ca e ector which are not irectly ro-ucti e Ma e ucation ha become the great carrot th

o t war reformi t ca itali m ha offere the roletariatin exchange for uffocating it a iration towar a real

ocial emanci ation In thi en e it ha functione areal in trument for the formation of a roletarian ari -tocracy who e e elo ment ha arallele the allocatio

of the hea ie t an mo t angerou job to the new arm3


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he r reg ons and are ed o he off c a organ za oabor mo emen s much more marked han he one exng n I a y be ween ha sec or of he work ng c as

ed he s rugg es s nce 969 on he one hand and hng c ass wh ch s ed o he re s on s rad onbecame burned by he h s or ca defea of he off c amo emen

Here are some of he fac ors wh ch accen ua e h s ds on n con nen a Euro ean coun r es

F rs y here s he anguage rob em wh ch by no means b u deres ma ed for re en s commca on among workers a he mos mmed a e and s onous e e . In many an s he assemb y nes are reaers of Babe where workers from he mos ar ed naa es are m xed so as o underm ne any oss bcommun ca on among hem

Second y he rob em of mob y fur her agghe anguage rob em. n s mos recen form em g

s founded on a con nuous workers urno er de beraanned by he bosses so ha he mm gran s erres dence wou d ne er as more han wo or hree yeor a bes e en when em gra on n o es a f namen s akes he form of a rans ory s ua

s a so rue n I a y among he younger mm gran wBu wh e n I a y s s arge y due o he of he abor marke n he coun r es of Cen ra Euromob e charac er of mm gra on s ur osefu y encouraged and of en made com u sory by he bosses an

he go ernmen Imm gran abor ower can hereforeex o ed o he max mum w hou he coun ry ha

hese workers ha ng o bear he cos of he r soc a gra on. Hence he emergence n many Med erranean Afr can coun r es o a new y e of ro e ar an for who

er od of em gra on and wage abor n ndus ry con y a frac on of h s fe. Th s henomenon s of hees m or ance and be d scussed aga n be ow

Th rd y here s he rob em of ega nequawh ch mm gran s are sub ec hey do no ha e h

o o e hey do no ha e ca ' r gh s wh ch wa e hem for exam e o ho d mee ngs o form a

ons o carry on ro aganda of en hey do no e e45


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c l r ght n the en e that hey are the object otant ur e llance an of an o re e att u e by the

ernment hat ho t them wh ch e r e them of emo t formal an hony bourgeo bert e nathe e re tr c e mea ure ncrea e mm grant wobecom e the object of a real la e tra e a the new

ort of recent year ha e borne out. Often the mmigranworker not e e a free wage earner but rather a r

la e at the mercy of the bo e who can count on the fucollaborat on of the go ernment an of ar ou o ce ra

et All th oe not contra ct the e ence of caex lo tat on for h tor cally ca tal m ha hownt me that t can make u e of a e labor more than of wage labor. Th o nt worthy of con erat onc ally when one alk of the fa c t zat on of Eu

oc ety After all the fference between a az agerana neoca al t Wohnhe m, or between a Frem arb

r oner of war) an a Ga tarbe ter mm grant) ta n y not a har a t may a ear on the urface

When ewe n the framework of he Euro ean tuathe a ance charac er of the cla trugg e n Italycome more e en Clearly the fac or n o e are but one n art cular ha aye a key role th ththa ha occurre n Italy between the new mmwork ng cla an he more tra t onal work ng cla

former ector a a major rotagon t of he trugglence 1969ha been a real ma anguar .e t olate t elf from he re t of the work ng cla but o

contrary tran m t e to t the ex er ence an the ocontent aroun wh ch ra eOut e aly where mm grant worker trugg e

certa nly no been lack ng th l nk ha not occurre taneou ly an no h ng can lea u to a ume that the t on of the mm gran work ng cla can be o ercome taneou ly. Th may ex la n why the mm grant workcla ha foun t enormou ly ff cult to u h t trbeyon a certa n o nt

Th o nt ery he ful n attem t ng a mater alanat on of the fference ex t ng an wh ch ho

be gnore ) between the Ita an re on t workerment an the Euro ean oc a emocracy or e en th4


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a n m of he French C P The theor t of thC P ha e alway tr ed o ex la n th d fference n

cterm e n term of the art cu ar h tory

c rcum tance out of wh ch the I CP leader h emergedTh ex anat on ha been uncr t ca y acce ed by French German and Ita an re ut onary comrade

n our ew he ex anat on mu be ought e ewhehe fact tha n the Centra Euro ean countr e the rofou

d on w h n the work ng c a ha made he o fgan za on of he worker mo ement the con c oum n trator of ca ta t dom nat on wha e er thede-o ogy ta n t or oc al democrat c ) wherea

he greater un y and combat y of the work ng c are en ed the C P eader h from a um ng h

ent re y

THE EUROPEA SOUTH

There another e emen o ana ogy between the Itauat on a we know and the Euro ean ua owhole The funct on ha the Med terranean coun r e c ud ng Southern Ita y) and the or h We tern Afr can co

r e are ncrea ng y ay ng for Euro ean ca tale o ment m ar to tha wh ch Southern I a y

for he or hern ndu tr a reg on that of a huge re

o r of labor ower Of cour e one canno u h th anoo far It rue that the underde e o men of thog on or e en of ho e wh ch are form ng n Central Ero e a way he roduct of ca a t de elo mennot he re due of a re ou tua on In fact th

ng of labor ower de cr bed abo e certa n y one of a n form a umed by the re at on of econom c de en

ency of one reg on on he other But there howea ery fundamental d fference n the fact ha he South a

he orth of I aly belong o he ame na on ate whGreece S a n Yugo la a or Turkey not o ment on Segal qu e a d fferent h ng from France GermanySweden Th d fference can be een mo clearly n

nternal relat on be ween ector of he bourgeo en ance he Pre den of the Ital an Re ubl c a

an bo who undoubtedly ha ayed and lay h47


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n organ z ng the un er e elo ment' o h home cle wh le t woul har ly be ble that a Greek gen

woul become re ent o the Bun e re ubl kNonethele th analogy qu te al to hel cthree un amental roblem ) There houl be no llu

that mm grat on tran tory or con unctural' n chter Th woul be tantamount to bel e ng that ca t

e elo ment n Italy coul go on a ter ha ng ent bacthe South the three m ll on or o roletar an who habeen ragge to the North ur ng the a t twenty e ye

Th o nt houl be ob ou . Yet many comra e angan zat on n the Euro ean le t cont nue to gnore roblem an kee on talk ng o the work ng cla or

contra ct on between bourgeo e an roletar at otween roletar at an re on m etc a the e l on or more mm grant worker not ex t or a were a mere tran t onal henomenon e o o any coquence 2 When one re lect on the Ital an go ernm

outhern ol o the o t war er o a well ak n o oc al trat cat on t ha generate one o

ze that th ol cy ha been ctate by the necema nta n ng an un nterru te low o labor ower towthe n u tr al ze reg on an the ole o e eloL kew e one can ee the e ort a t an uture mthe m er al t countr e o Central Euro e towar mta n ng the Me terranean ba n an North A r ca n ao un er e elo ment o a to n ure a con tant

mm grant labor rom the e countr e ) But the to nt o un amental m ortance Twenty e yea

em grat on ha e ra cally change the oc al tructurecharacter the content, an e en the oc al rotagonthe cla truggle n Southern Italy The (geogra h cal)

b l ty o the mm grant work ng cla art cularly a t ew year ha become the ma n eh cle through wthe ex er ence the att tu e an the con c ou ne

mm grant work ng cla ha e n the actor e o Ecoul be ro agate an become u e throughout thec al abr c, thu becom ng the collect e her tage o

roletar an who ha ne er ha a rect ex er ence o tory work The ru t on o the tra t onal oc a

48


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e e he fac ha f a ega an n I ag an en y g ea e f ee f c cu a n n Euw ke f he na na e . h n

ua n n I e an e y u na ng. A hby a na na wh ch ef ec e b u g

n, he ugg e f he I h e e a gef a a ce wh ch ha eache e en

n .The e a e any eg n n he Eu ean Ec n c

un y wh ch n a bab y w ay a he ce f ec n c n eg a n acce e a e .

e en ha he ce f e a a za n by e g a n w be g ea e n a ea uch a Eu e an he n Af ca (Eu e' ab ewh ch a e u e he e en b un a e f heTh w ean, n effec , he c ea n f a e an

u a e e e a y wh ch w be he f uf ce f he e u n n Eu e n a n

we ha e a ea y cu e ( .e. he g an c a , he na na e a a , an he c acy').

CO C USIO S

The Eu ean ha a ea y begun. I affec

e y echan u n wh ch he wa ec n cen e e . Tw e e en ha e been e ec a yna e : n he ne han , he e a c

e a f a ew k an n a cu a he nc eacu e f U S ca a wh ch ha e ec e

n Eu e by b ck ng e e en On he he ab a ke ha cea e func n a a

f ce n he way n wh ch he Eu ean b e ha n he wa e In e gene a e , en a cau e benea h h Eu ean c a e heh e wh ch h ugh w h g ea e we gh an c n

an c a n a he c un e ha e be n I a y.

Bu he Eu ean c n aca a h c' ne. Thu ng c a can e c e n fac h ugh

50


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en ' ob ec ve an ex er ence of ho e ruggleou he whole of he Euro ean role ar a .

I mu be o n e ou f nally ha n he con

Euro ean ua on he em o of he cr n I aa he roce of role ar an un f ca on ha been exra Bu I aly no an lan n he m of aworl one can har ly conce ve of he evelo men orevolu onary roce n I aly ex en ng o he e

ower exce n he con ex of a har en ng of hean of a ra cal zat on of he cla ruggle hroughouro e. The fu ure of he cla ruggle n I aly he verof he I al an role ar a an ma vanguar ar

o he evelo men of he Euro ean oc al cr . Irue ha o ay I aly he weake l nk' n he

ca al ower al o rue ha h cha n caexce n he face of much ronger en on wh ch

hen lace he re of Euro e n he ame con on aWha he I al an role ar a an vanguar mea re re en for he re of he Euro ean role a ome h ng el e. Though n feren an omewha

er con on he four ba c com onen of he Erole ar a are all re en n I aly. The h ory of

mu ual rela on h n he face of a grow ng ra calof he ruggle an of he har en ng of he cr haan ex er ence full of le on .

The grow ng ru ha Euro ean bo e how I al an mm gran clearly n ca e he r fear of er ence an of he rofoun effec can have for he

of Euro eI eem unl kely ha he forma on of new role

vanguar n he re of Euro e can occur n he on aneou ' manner a n I aly : he bo e are al

on he aler an moreover he con on a we avare more unfavorable.

To u he ex er ence we have accumula e ur ng hre year of cla ruggle a he o al of he ean revolu onary lef of cruc al m or ance for

forma on of he e vanguar Bu we mu al o reall le our heore cal elabora on ha ke ace wwork an our ex er ence an how gn f can h

lu onary re n b l y wh ch fall u n u no onl5


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res ec he I a an s ua n u a s w h res eEur ean s ua n as a wh e

The n erna na de a e n a C n nua mus aserve ha ur se

GUIDO VIALE has worked with Lotta Continua (an Italianrevolutionary organization) since it was formed in 96 .Hehas written many articles for their daily paper, including thisarticle which originally appeared in November 97 .BR UNO and JUD Y RAMIREZ, of the Canadian NEWS ET-TER om Toronto, translated the article.

CORRECTIO TO VO UME 8 UMBER (CLASS STRUGGLE I BRITAI )

A y gra h ca err r reversed he mean ng he sen ence n age 8 Re err ng he s rugg es wand n n wh e w rkers, sh u d read, Ins ar as gr u s d m na e rad na y w ay ng j s e

n n n un n zed sec rs and g vernmen su r ed serv ces he r m ancy s eas susce e

r m se a s c a c n rac

3


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RACE & CLASS (F m RACE)J f h I f R R

R ceused to be an academic jou al hat abstracted and explainedaway the s ial reality of oppressed peoples, using he languagemethodolo and cultural bias of the oppressor

Now R ce Classis opening its pages to rad cal intellectualsespecially those from Third World countries whose scholarship ste s

om and is addressed to he need o combat racism and imperialismnot least in their own discip nes

Recent issues have included articles on: Imperial sm and archaeology;T ade unions and immig ant wo kers in Weste n Germany; Revolutionin the Gulf; Radica ism and change in he West ndies; Fascism nBritain; Demys i cation of Tibet; Analysis of classes in South Africa;Decolonisation in Vietnam.

Quarterly 5.50 or $15. 00a ear1 50 or $4 00 single copiesD b by I f 2 - P

"A v h p d w h du

J KozEDCE NT R I C M AGAZI N E deals with changes - educational,socialTopics li ke I ndoch na today; Amer ca's wo k ng c ass sex sm"open c ass ooms f ee U 's, and new attempts at creating eall ive education. Plus extensive l ist ngs o change promot nggroups and resources.

o n i P.O. Box 85 Eugene, O regon 974I 'd l ke a year's subscrip ion o E DCENT R C :o Paymen s enc osed ($6 fo individ a s,$10 o ins i ions)o B me o a subs p iono En losed is $ for a samp e opy

na m e __________

add ess

ity s a e z ip _ _


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Immigra t Workers a dTrade U io s theGerma Federal epublic

S h a G dul s kRE IMI ARY REMARKS

The manuscr of he resen ar c e was com ee ruary 974 was wr en un er he nf uence

m or an e en s n he summer an au umn of 1 97wa e of s r kes n wh ch mm gran workers aye or ar an he s o ng of a or recru men o Gn o em er, os ens y ecause of he o cr s s

a year a er has ecome o ous no on y hae en s are n erconnec e u a so ha hey re re

urn ng o n n Wes German mm gra on o cycom-

e e or ar a an on mm gra on of workers (55


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from members of the European Community) is likely to bea long term feature of German economic policy. Why hasthe importation of labor so long a major factor in WesGermany 's economic expansion ceased to be necessaryor profitable to the capitalis class ?

In brief there are two main reasons. First the WestGerman economy is coming in o the phase of stagflation"which has been characteristic of the U S.A and Britain forsome years already. Seasonally ad usted unemploymen isat its highest level since the early fifties while the infla-

tion rate hardly drops below las year ' s peak Any mea-sures taken to ease unemployment will increase the rate ofinflation thus further eroding the already much reducedinternational competitiveness of West German products.(A drama ic example of this is the fact that Volkswagen isconsidering building a plant in the U S A because wagerises in Germany and changes in international exchangerates now make production costs lower there than at home )The need for new immigrant labor is herefore likely to besmall in the near future

Secondly the economic and political advantages of cheapimmigrant labor have declined in recen years. One reasonfor this is that the competition between Germany Switzerland France Sweden etc for workers during the boomyears of the mid sixties forced concessions with regard to

family entry and social provisions which have necessi atedsocial investments. To avoid misunderstandings : immi-gran s still have far worse condi ions than most indigenousworkers and many necessary social facilities are no provided, but he old situa ion of bringing in masses of singleworkers who could be housed in old shacks is no longertypical so that the cost differences between immigrant la

bor on the one hand and indigenous labor or labor savingrationaliza ion measures on the o her are much reduced.In addition and here we see the connection between t es rikes of 1 973 and the stopping of immigration he immigrant workers are no longer willing to pu up with theworst forms of exploitation. Strikes agains low pay andactions such as ren strikes, house occupa ions and dem-onstrations against bad social condi ions have made i clear

o the capi alists that along with the immigran workers5


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hey ha e mpor e a new po en a or oc al conke he German worker he mm gran ha e no

hrough he u y ng proce o a c m ann m an con ro hrough oc al emocra c par y a

on bureaucrac e They are o en prepare o ake man ac on. The bo e ear ha he park may gn

h her o pa e German prole ar aThe mm gra on op comb ne w h he rece

a rea y e o a arge re uc on n he number o gran worker nce he la year al hough an exac

no ye a a ab e. A n 1966 he bo e are abpor a large propor on o unemploymen hu re uc no-c al con l c a home A he ame me rac care u e o wh p up eel ng aga n mm gran a en on rom he real cau e o he econom c

De p e he e change nce he comple on o he mm gran labor w ll rema n a major ac or n he Ger

economy or he ore eeable u ure an he argumen

hypo he e ou l ne below ma n a n he r a yS C an G K. Oc ober 19

I TRODUCTIO

S nce he m le o he x e We German caha been runn ng n o ncrea ng cul e wh

uce w ngne o make econom c conce on work ng cla . The re u ha been a gra ual mo e aw

rom he apa hy charac er c o many worker ur nper o o he econom c m rac e 949 6 ) an crea e n cla con l c A peak n h e elopme

he uno c al r ke mo emen n 1973 A new h mo emen wa he lea ng ro e p aye by mm

worker n many r ke In ome ca e hey le he or e en ruck a one, n o her hey ac e a a ca aac or e where German worker were al o m l an .

he m ancy o he mm gran worker crea e an pre ng prob em or he ra e un on lea er hor er o un er an he e an he mea ure wh ch r

rom hem wo que on mu r be an ere1 . Wha unc on oe he emp oymen o mm

7


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worker have for We t Germ n ca al m an wha chge have here been n h func on over the a f

ear ?

2 What the genera func on of the tr e un onWe t German ca a m an what he r ec f c fn regar to the mm gran ec on of he roletar at ?After th we w ll e cr be the ac ua c of the o nce the beg nn ng of the recru tment of he forabor an hen cu o b e reac on of mm

worker towar tra e un on o c

THE U T O O MM GRA T LABORI WEST GERMA CAPITALISM

The em o ment an u er ex o ta on of un erlege grou n mo t ca a t coun r e for exam

heb ack n he U S A an South Afr ca the ruram gran n I al a Ja a an he mm gran wor

a o t al l We ern Euro ean countr e ha two mafunct on1 The u em lo e ma e form an n u tr al re e

arm wh ch u re ure on wage hu he ng tothe rof rate h gh

2. The work ng c a l t accor ng o race naal or area of or g n 1

The un er r v lege t on of one ect o of he wng cla com emente b he omewhat be er

of another ect on L ke the wh e n he U S A aAfr ca the n genou worker We ern Euro e ehave certa n r v lege be ter work ng con onh gher a The ma me a he off c a ro agan aratu an the e uca onal em ee e he work ng c a b rea ng na ona m a racor er t ga n the co aborat on of he r v ege ecthe work ng cla n o re g the o her The r

he creat on of a bor ar ocrac re are o efena aren econom c an oc a ecur b be ra ng cla ere t Th weaken the abor movemencr m nator leg a o ( n German the Au an er

ore gner Law of 965; n Br a he197 Imm gr -

on Ac ) e e v a c v a o ca r ght58


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ea y un er ege ec n he w rk ng c aee en he The u e an ex erna r re gn re er e army bec

nece a y r he ca a n We Germany aher c un r e . un9 hree her ab r urce

were a a ab e u re u e n wage , kee ng uan a w ng he ng a ng ex r e b m kn

ec n m c m rac e The e were he a ge numbunem ye crea e by he c a e he az wa

my n 945, he e en m n ex e ee n he e P an he S e n n an Czech

en he war an hree m n re ugee m hDem c a c Re ub c The r ab r h r age n bu ng an agr cu u e n he m ea era ab r ecru men agreemen w h a y

k n wa ma e a h me.The em ymen mm gran w rker wa n

gar e by em yer un n an g ernmen a a rary mea ure Bu by he beg nn ng he x e

ng me c ab r e e e ha been ab be , he re ugee m Ea Germany ha e , an

c me a aren ha ur her n erna re er e ( u am gran , n ye em ye w men c u n be

an a ec ab e ex en . a na za n an hemen e a e y ab n en e me h

uc n by ca a n en e me h we e n

e e u c en ma n a n he g w h an cne We German n u y. Ca a began ( hr ugh an e c en a e rec u men y em) ber w ker r m he un e e e ar Eu e an m Turkey. n h way hey were ab e

en ra wage g w h n he un k e an emca eg e

By he m x e he em ymen mm ge ha bec me an e en a a We Ge man euc u e By19 here we e 3m n mm gran w

e (n c un ng e en en )Bu he g e nmen c n nu em ha ze ha mm g a n wa n a e mane

Ge many, n e a mak ng he c au e n h u ng ch hea h ac e

a ea y nece a y The em ye ega e h

radical america - vol 8 no 6 - 1973 - november december

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