Clouds Blur the Rainbow
Encyclopedia
Clouds Blur the Rainbow: The Other Side of New Alliance Party is a non-fiction
report by Chip Berlet
, published in 1987 by Political Research Associates
(PRA). Berlet presents his view that Lenora Fulani
and her campaign manager and tactician Fred Newman
"use totalitarian deception to manipulate social and political activists, and describe Newman and Fulani's therapeutic approach, Social Therapy
, as "totalitarian cult
ism".
Berlet concludes that the relationship between the New Alliance Party
and the Social Therapy
practice of Newman and Fulani was "manipulative and unethical", and that "the NAP must be judged in the context of being a political movement that lacks clarity concerning basic moral issues involving personal and political exploitation."
Portions of the report appeared in an issue of the Marxist journal Radical America published in November 1988 under the title "Fiction and the New Alliance Party." The introduction by the journal's editors article noted that Fulani's New Alliance Party has attracted people "seeking something radical", but that the NAP had failed the journal's test for a "legitimate left organization", that NAP and its affiliates "were not just other legitimate groups with whom we must co-exist", and that the readers of the report who find anyone who is attracted to Fulani's NAP should "actively try to dissuade them from pursuing this course".
s, Eyes on City Hall, and in an essay in the 2002 book My Enemy's Enemy.
In citing Clouds Blur the Rainbow in a 2004 article, Doug Ireland of The Nation
referred to Chip Berlet as "Political Research Associates' excellent senior analyst". The same article criticized what the author referred to as "the ultrasectarian cult-racket formerly known as the New Alliance Party." The work is also cited by Dennis Tourish and Tim Wohlforth, in their book: On the Edge: Political cults right and left
. The Buffalo News
also cited the work in an article analyzing the New Alliance Party.
psychologist and political activist Lenora Fulani
. Fulani went on to garner a quarter of a million votes and became the first African American and first woman to achieve ballot status in all 50 states.
In a 1991 interview, Newman described the criticisms as "absurd" and the product of jealousies on the left, and claimed that the majority of social therapy clients don't involve themselves in his political activities. In the Boston Globe in 1992, Fulani claimed "the entire thing is a lie", and cited what she described as Political Research Associates ties to the Democratic Party.
Berlet's claims of cult
ism have been disputed by some of Newman's peers in the therapeutic milieu. According to British psychologist Ian Parker, "Even those [Newman and Holzman] who have been marked by the FBI as a 'cult' may still be a source of useful radical theory and practice. Like a weed, a cult is something that is growing in the wrong place. We would want to ask 'wrong' for who, and whether it might sometimes be right for us. We have no desire to line up with the psychological establishment to rule out of the debate those who offer something valuable to anti-racist, feminist or working-class practice."
by Fulani and Newman against the FBI and Janet Reno
. FBI documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act showed that the FBI had classified Fulani's New Alliance Party as a "political cult" which "should be considered armed and dangerous." A copy of Clouds Blur the Rainbow was amongst the items that were contained in the FBI files.
Newman, Fulani and the New Alliance Party challenged the FBI in the lawsuit, asserting the FBI "political cult" labeling had violated their constitutional rights, and was using private third-party organizations to evade federal guidelines prohibiting investigations of political organizations in the absence of evidence of criminal activity. In her ruling on the case, Federal judge Constance Baker Motley ruled that the "political cult" charge "could not be directly traced to the 1988 FBI investigation", and that "any stigmatization which NAP suffers could be traced to a myriad of statements and publications made by private individuals and organizations, many of which preceded the FBI investigation.
Berlet, while upholding the charge of cultism, was critical of the FBI, noting that FBI characterizations were "not a protection of civil liberties but a smear of a group." Washington City Paper reporter Kelvyn Anderson wrote at the time that the FBI investigation "sends a chilling political message: Groups outside of the political norm operate at their own risk and should expect state-sanctioned surveillance and intrusion into their affairs."
Lenora Fulani referred to the report in a public address in 2006, saying: "It was all a pack of lies – making false allegations of anti-Semitism and cultism against me and Dr. Newman. It was fairly vicious.". In an article on BlackElectorate.com, Fulani characterized the book as a "diatribe" written by "white leftists."
Non-fiction
Non-fiction is the form of any narrative, account, or other communicative work whose assertions and descriptions are understood to be fact...
report by Chip Berlet
Chip Berlet
John Foster "Chip" Berlet is an American investigative journalist, and photojournalist activist specializing in the study of right-wing movements in the United States, particularly the religious right, white supremacists, homophobic groups, and paramilitary organizations...
, published in 1987 by Political Research Associates
Political Research Associates
Political Research Associates , named and known on the Web as PublicEye.org, is a non-profit research group located in Somerville, Massachusetts.-Mission:...
(PRA). Berlet presents his view that Lenora Fulani
Lenora Fulani
Lenora Branch Fulani is an American psychologist, psychotherapist, and political activist. She may be best known for her presidential campaigns and development of youth programs serving minority communities in the New York City area...
and her campaign manager and tactician Fred Newman
Fred Newman
Frederick Delano "Fred" Newman was an American philosopher, psychotherapist, playwright and political activist, and creator of a therapeutic modality called Social Therapy.-Early life:...
"use totalitarian deception to manipulate social and political activists, and describe Newman and Fulani's therapeutic approach, Social Therapy
Social Therapy
Social Therapy is an activity-theoretic practice developed outside of academia at the East Side Institute for Group and Short Term Psychotherapy in New York. Its primary methodologists are cofounders of the East Side Institute, Fred Newman and Lois Holzman...
, as "totalitarian cult
Cult
The word cult in current popular usage usually refers to a group whose beliefs or practices are considered abnormal or bizarre. The word originally denoted a system of ritual practices...
ism".
Berlet concludes that the relationship between the New Alliance Party
New Alliance Party
The New Alliance Party was an American political party formed in New York City in 1979. Its immediate precursor was an umbrella organization known as the Labor Community Alliance for Change, whose member groups included the coalition of Grass Roots Women and the New York City Unemployed and...
and the Social Therapy
Social Therapy
Social Therapy is an activity-theoretic practice developed outside of academia at the East Side Institute for Group and Short Term Psychotherapy in New York. Its primary methodologists are cofounders of the East Side Institute, Fred Newman and Lois Holzman...
practice of Newman and Fulani was "manipulative and unethical", and that "the NAP must be judged in the context of being a political movement that lacks clarity concerning basic moral issues involving personal and political exploitation."
Portions of the report appeared in an issue of the Marxist journal Radical America published in November 1988 under the title "Fiction and the New Alliance Party." The introduction by the journal's editors article noted that Fulani's New Alliance Party has attracted people "seeking something radical", but that the NAP had failed the journal's test for a "legitimate left organization", that NAP and its affiliates "were not just other legitimate groups with whom we must co-exist", and that the readers of the report who find anyone who is attracted to Fulani's NAP should "actively try to dissuade them from pursuing this course".
Cited in secondary works
Berlet and Lyons cite the report in their 2000 work, Right-Wing Populism in America: Too Close for Comfort. The report is cited in Mandery's 2001 book on the history of political campaignPolitical campaign
A political campaign is an organized effort which seeks to influence the decision making process within a specific group. In democracies, political campaigns often refer to electoral campaigns, wherein representatives are chosen or referendums are decided...
s, Eyes on City Hall, and in an essay in the 2002 book My Enemy's Enemy.
In citing Clouds Blur the Rainbow in a 2004 article, Doug Ireland of The Nation
The Nation
The Nation is the oldest continuously published weekly magazine in the United States. The periodical, devoted to politics and culture, is self-described as "the flagship of the left." Founded on July 6, 1865, It is published by The Nation Company, L.P., at 33 Irving Place, New York City.The Nation...
referred to Chip Berlet as "Political Research Associates' excellent senior analyst". The same article criticized what the author referred to as "the ultrasectarian cult-racket formerly known as the New Alliance Party." The work is also cited by Dennis Tourish and Tim Wohlforth, in their book: On the Edge: Political cults right and left
On the Edge (book)
On the Edge: Political Cults Right and Left is a non-fiction book about political cults, written by Dennis Tourish and Tim Wohlforth.-Main points:...
. The Buffalo News
The Buffalo News
The Buffalo News is the primary newspaper of the Buffalo – Niagara Falls metropolitan area, and the area's only daily newspaper. It is the only newspaper owned by Berkshire Hathaway.-History:...
also cited the work in an article analyzing the New Alliance Party.
Responses by defenders of Newman
Defenders of Newman note that the report was published and distributed during the 1988 Presidential campaign of MarxistMarxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
psychologist and political activist Lenora Fulani
Lenora Fulani
Lenora Branch Fulani is an American psychologist, psychotherapist, and political activist. She may be best known for her presidential campaigns and development of youth programs serving minority communities in the New York City area...
. Fulani went on to garner a quarter of a million votes and became the first African American and first woman to achieve ballot status in all 50 states.
In a 1991 interview, Newman described the criticisms as "absurd" and the product of jealousies on the left, and claimed that the majority of social therapy clients don't involve themselves in his political activities. In the Boston Globe in 1992, Fulani claimed "the entire thing is a lie", and cited what she described as Political Research Associates ties to the Democratic Party.
Berlet's claims of cult
Cult
The word cult in current popular usage usually refers to a group whose beliefs or practices are considered abnormal or bizarre. The word originally denoted a system of ritual practices...
ism have been disputed by some of Newman's peers in the therapeutic milieu. According to British psychologist Ian Parker, "Even those [Newman and Holzman] who have been marked by the FBI as a 'cult' may still be a source of useful radical theory and practice. Like a weed, a cult is something that is growing in the wrong place. We would want to ask 'wrong' for who, and whether it might sometimes be right for us. We have no desire to line up with the psychological establishment to rule out of the debate those who offer something valuable to anti-racist, feminist or working-class practice."
The report and the FBI
The report also figured in a 1993 lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New YorkUnited States District Court for the Southern District of New York
The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York is a federal district court. Appeals from the Southern District of New York are taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (in case...
by Fulani and Newman against the FBI and Janet Reno
Janet Reno
Janet Wood Reno is a former Attorney General of the United States . She was nominated by President Bill Clinton on February 11, 1993, and confirmed on March 11...
. FBI documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act showed that the FBI had classified Fulani's New Alliance Party as a "political cult" which "should be considered armed and dangerous." A copy of Clouds Blur the Rainbow was amongst the items that were contained in the FBI files.
Newman, Fulani and the New Alliance Party challenged the FBI in the lawsuit, asserting the FBI "political cult" labeling had violated their constitutional rights, and was using private third-party organizations to evade federal guidelines prohibiting investigations of political organizations in the absence of evidence of criminal activity. In her ruling on the case, Federal judge Constance Baker Motley ruled that the "political cult" charge "could not be directly traced to the 1988 FBI investigation", and that "any stigmatization which NAP suffers could be traced to a myriad of statements and publications made by private individuals and organizations, many of which preceded the FBI investigation.
Berlet, while upholding the charge of cultism, was critical of the FBI, noting that FBI characterizations were "not a protection of civil liberties but a smear of a group." Washington City Paper reporter Kelvyn Anderson wrote at the time that the FBI investigation "sends a chilling political message: Groups outside of the political norm operate at their own risk and should expect state-sanctioned surveillance and intrusion into their affairs."
Lenora Fulani referred to the report in a public address in 2006, saying: "It was all a pack of lies – making false allegations of anti-Semitism and cultism against me and Dr. Newman. It was fairly vicious.". In an article on BlackElectorate.com, Fulani characterized the book as a "diatribe" written by "white leftists."
External links
- PRA PublicEye.org has an online version listed by chapter.