Communist Party (Marxist-Leninist) (USA)
Encyclopedia
The Communist Party was a Maoist political party
in the United States
.
when SDS split apart in 1969. Michael Klonsky
, who had been a national leader in SDS in the late 1960s, was the main leader of the CP(M-L).
The October League came out of the Revolutionary Youth Movement II grouping in the SDS split. During the early 1970s the OL took positions that were at odds with most of the US Left including opposition to Gay liberation
and support of the Shah of Iran, whose regime they saw as a bulwark against Soviet social-imperialism
. The OL established influence within some of the established civil rights organizations, including the Southern Christian Leadership Conference
and the Southern Conference Educational Fund, which had been under the influence of the Moscow oriented Communist Party USA
. In late 1975 they organized a "National Fight Back Conference" which drew 1,000 participants and was attended by representatives of the August 29th Movement, the Congress of Afrikan People and the Marxist-Leninist Organizing Committee of San Francisco. They also had a youth group called the Communist Youth Organization.
In June 1977, the October League transformed itself into the Communist Party (Marxist-Leninist), with Klansky as chairman and Eileen Klehr as vice-chairman. The CP(ML) was recognized by the Communist Party of China
as their de facto fraternal party
in the US. Klonsky and Klehr visited Peking in July 1977 and met with Hua Guofeng
. Longtime Black communist Harry Haywood
who had become a CP(M-L) member, also visited met with Chinese leader in June 1978. Also in 1978 the editor of the CP(ML) central organ The Call, Daniel Burstein, made an eight day tour of Khmer Rouge
ruled Cambodia, then a Chinese ally. He visited Phnom Penh
as wall as Siem Reap, Kompong Thom, Kompong Cham and Takéo provinces and had an interview with Ieng Sary
. In an op-ed he wrote in the New York Times he claimed that there was no evidence of genocide, claiming that that was part of a propaganda campaign orchestrated by the régime's enemies. He did concede, however:
In early 1980 the CP(ML) condemned the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan
and called on President Carter to give aid to the Afghan forces opposing the Soviet, end its arms embargo on China and refrain from selling the USSR any "strategic materials". They also saw the Mariel exodus
as evidence that the USSR and Castro had "betrayed" the Cuban Revolution
.
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
History
The Communist Party (Marxist–Leninist)'s predecessor organization, the October League (Marxist-Leninist), was founded in 1971 by several local groups, many of which had grown out of the radical student organization Students for a Democratic SocietyStudents for a Democratic Society (1960 organization)
Students for a Democratic Society was a student activist movement in the United States that was one of the main iconic representations of the country's New Left. The organization developed and expanded rapidly in the mid-1960s before dissolving at its last convention in 1969...
when SDS split apart in 1969. Michael Klonsky
Michael Klonsky
Michael Klonsky is an American educator, author, and political activist. He is known for his work with the Students for a Democratic Society, the New Communist Movement, and, later, the small schools movement.-Political activism:...
, who had been a national leader in SDS in the late 1960s, was the main leader of the CP(M-L).
The October League came out of the Revolutionary Youth Movement II grouping in the SDS split. During the early 1970s the OL took positions that were at odds with most of the US Left including opposition to Gay liberation
Gay Liberation
Gay liberation is the name used to describe the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender movement of the late 1960s and early to mid 1970s in North America, Western Europe, and Australia and New Zealand...
and support of the Shah of Iran, whose regime they saw as a bulwark against Soviet social-imperialism
Social-imperialism
Social-imperialism is a Marxist expression, typically used in a derogatory fashion, to describe people, parties, or nations that are "socialist in words, imperialist in deeds"...
. The OL established influence within some of the established civil rights organizations, including the Southern Christian Leadership Conference
Southern Christian Leadership Conference
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference is an African-American civil rights organization. SCLC was closely associated with its first president, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr...
and the Southern Conference Educational Fund, which had been under the influence of the Moscow oriented Communist Party USA
Communist Party USA
The Communist Party USA is a Marxist political party in the United States, established in 1919. It has a long, complex history that is closely related to the histories of similar communist parties worldwide and the U.S. labor movement....
. In late 1975 they organized a "National Fight Back Conference" which drew 1,000 participants and was attended by representatives of the August 29th Movement, the Congress of Afrikan People and the Marxist-Leninist Organizing Committee of San Francisco. They also had a youth group called the Communist Youth Organization.
In June 1977, the October League transformed itself into the Communist Party (Marxist-Leninist), with Klansky as chairman and Eileen Klehr as vice-chairman. The CP(ML) was recognized by the Communist Party of China
Communist Party of China
The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...
as their de facto fraternal party
Fraternal party
Fraternal party literally means brother party. The term refers to a political party officially affiliated with another, often larger and/or international, political party or governmental party....
in the US. Klonsky and Klehr visited Peking in July 1977 and met with Hua Guofeng
Hua Guofeng
Su Zhu, better known by the nom de guerre Hua Guofeng , was Mao Zedong's designated successor as the Paramount Leader of the Communist Party of China and the People's Republic of China. Upon Zhou Enlai's death in 1976, he succeeded Zhou as the second Premier of the People's Republic of China...
. Longtime Black communist Harry Haywood
Harry Haywood
Harry Haywood was a leading figure in both the Communist Party of the United States and the Communist Party of the Soviet Union . He contributed major theory to Marxist thinking on the national question of African Americans in the United States...
who had become a CP(M-L) member, also visited met with Chinese leader in June 1978. Also in 1978 the editor of the CP(ML) central organ The Call, Daniel Burstein, made an eight day tour of Khmer Rouge
Khmer Rouge
The Khmer Rouge literally translated as Red Cambodians was the name given to the followers of the Communist Party of Kampuchea, who were the ruling party in Cambodia from 1975 to 1979, led by Pol Pot, Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary, Son Sen and Khieu Samphan...
ruled Cambodia, then a Chinese ally. He visited Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh is the capital and largest city of Cambodia. Located on the banks of the Mekong River, Phnom Penh has been the national capital since the French colonized Cambodia, and has grown to become the nation's center of economic and industrial activities, as well as the center of security,...
as wall as Siem Reap, Kompong Thom, Kompong Cham and Takéo provinces and had an interview with Ieng Sary
Ieng Sary
Ieng Sary was a powerful figure in the Khmer Rouge. He was the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Democratic Kampuchea from 1975 to 1979 and held several senior positions in the Khmer Rouge until his defection to the government in 1996....
. In an op-ed he wrote in the New York Times he claimed that there was no evidence of genocide, claiming that that was part of a propaganda campaign orchestrated by the régime's enemies. He did concede, however:
The new government has had to deal with many forces that oppose the revolution -- former Lon Nol officials, as well as organized networks of American, Russian and Vietnamese agents trying to overthrow the Government. Such sabotage has undoubtedly been met with violent suppression. In the course of this, there may even have been some excesses, which no revolution is immune to.
In early 1980 the CP(ML) condemned the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan
Soviet war in Afghanistan
The Soviet war in Afghanistan was a nine-year conflict involving the Soviet Union, supporting the Marxist-Leninist government of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan against the Afghan Mujahideen and foreign "Arab–Afghan" volunteers...
and called on President Carter to give aid to the Afghan forces opposing the Soviet, end its arms embargo on China and refrain from selling the USSR any "strategic materials". They also saw the Mariel exodus
Mariel boatlift
The Mariel boatlift was a mass emigration of Cubans who departed from Cuba's Mariel Harbor for the United States between April 15 and October 31, 1980....
as evidence that the USSR and Castro had "betrayed" the Cuban Revolution
Cuban Revolution
The Cuban Revolution was an armed revolt by Fidel Castro's 26th of July Movement against the regime of Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista between 1953 and 1959. Batista was finally ousted on 1 January 1959, and was replaced by a revolutionary government led by Castro...
.
Periodicals
- The Call Oct. 1972-March/April 1982 (Published in Bell Gardens, CaliforniaBell Gardens, CaliforniaBell Gardens is a city in Los Angeles County, California. The population was 42,072 at the 2010 census, down from 44,054 at the 2000 census.Bell Gardens is notable for being one of only five Los Angeles County cities to permit casino gambling...
to Aug, 1975, thereafter in Chicago) - Class Struggle spring 1975-? (Originally published in Bell Gardens, # 2 (summer 1975) published in Paramount, Cal.Paramount, CaliforniaParamount is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. According to the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 54,098 down from 55,266 at the 2000 census...
, thereafter in Chicago
Books and pamphlets
- Statement of political unity of the Georgia Communist League (M-L) and the October League (M-L) Los Angeles: October League, 1972
- Women hold up half the sky Los Angeles, Calif: October League (Marxist-Leninist), 1972
- Study of the woman question October League (M-L). National Women's Commission., 1973
- Unity statement Bell Gardens, Calif: The Call, 1973
- Building a New Communist Party in the U.S. Bell Gardens, Calif: October League (Marxist-Leninist), 1973
- Lenin's Teachings about the Party. by Vladimir LeninVladimir LeninVladimir Ilyich Lenin was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and communist politician who led the October Revolution of 1917. As leader of the Bolsheviks, he headed the Soviet state during its initial years , as it fought to establish control of Russia in the Russian Civil War and worked to create a...
Bell Gardens, Calif: October League, 1973 - For Working Class Unity and Black Liberation: Resolution of the Second Congress of the October League on the Afro-American People's Struggle. Bell Gardens, Calif: The Call, 1974
- Communist work in the labor movement. Los Angeles, Calif: October League (Marxist-Leninist), 1974
- Unite to fight back! stop the fascist tide! Bell Gardens, Calif: October League (Marxist-Leninist), 1974
- Revolutionary Union: opportunism in a "super-revolutionary" disguise Bell Gardens, Calif: October League (Marxist-Leninist), 1974
- For a revolutionary position on the Negro question by Harry Haywood Bell Gardens, Calif: October League, 1975
- Constitution of the October League (Marxist-Leninist) Chicago: The Call, 1975
- Black women's liberation is a component part of black people's liberation. with the Black Women's United Front [Calif.? : s.n., 1975
- Chicano liberation : resolution of OL's third congress. Paramount, California: October League (M-L), 1975 (Most of Class struggle, #2, Summer 1975)
- The struggle for Black liberation and socialist revolution: resolution of the third national congress of the October League (Marxist-Leninist) [Los Angeles, Calif.?] October League (Marxist-Leninist), 1976
- Puerto Rican people are rising up [Chicago : Liberator Press], 1976
- The two superpowers: main enemies of the people of the world: interview with Michael Klonsky, Chairman of the October League. Chicago: October League (Marxist-Leninist), 1976
- A communist view: building class struggle trade unions. Chicago: October League (Marxist-Leninist), 1976
- The struggle to free Gary Tyler Chicago: October League (Marxist-Leninist), 1976
- Women's liberation: a communist view [Chicago, Ill.?]: October League (Marxist-Leninist), 1976
- Documents from the founding congress of the Communist Party (Marxist-Leninist): political report, program, constitution: adopted June 4, 1977 Chicago: October League (Marxist-Leninist), 1978
- The crisis in steel: a selection of articles from The Call Chicago: October League (Marxist-Leninist), 1978
Further reading
- On the October League's Call for a New Communist Party: A Response by the Proletarian Unity League. New York : United Labor Press, 1976
External links
- Wildcat at Mead a film produced by the October League
- Lessons from the Collapse of the Communist Party (Marxist-Leninist) by Carl DavidsonCarl DavidsonCarl Davidson is a former student leader of the new left of the 1960s, serving as a Vice President and National Secretary of Students for a Democratic Society. From 1968 to 1976, he worked on the Guardian newsweekly as a writer and news editor. Born in 1943, he graduated with a B.A...