First Published: The New Worker, Volume 1, No. 1, June 1969.
Transcription, Editing and Markup: Paul Saba
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Where did the United Front first come from and how was it developed? First of all, the United Front (M-L) was organized in Watts wider the leadership of Robr Mwahanjuki. The first name of the group was the Radicals. The main function of the group developed by Robr was to strengthen the working peoples ideological and political understanding concerning U.S. Imperialism, the system, the police, the schools, and the many other problems facing the people of Watts. It was pointed out: that in order to understand these problems one must be well educated. Therefore, the first thing taught by Robr and his comrades was the English language.
Due to the constant educational work of the CPUSA (M-L) with their leaflets and newspaper, the “Peoples Voice,” certain material of theirs fell into the hands of Robr. Robr, seeing that the line projected by the CPUSA (M-L) was one of helping the proletariat, the most oppressed and exploited sections of the working class, a working relationship was established with the Party. The new name of the mass organization became the United Front (M-L).
From it the second line of leaders was recruited to the Party. Certain individuals were included on the editorial board of the People’s Voice for training. From this mass Party organization which was developed on an anti-imperialist basis in Watts among, the Negro national minority the Red Guard units developed. This was rapidly developed through December and January of 1968.
In the latter part of February 1968, a split occurred in the United Front (M-L). The split was due to the internal conflicts of the members because of the low ideological and political level of understanding present within the mass organization.
What happened after the split? Many brothers and comrades went on studying Marxism-Leninism on their own. Still others tried to stay active by joining such groups as the Black Student Alliance, the Black Student Union, and the Black Panther Party. The objective results that came from the split are negatively many brothers and comrades thought that Marxist-Leninist thought was only an abstract dogma and not a guide to action, and positively, many brothers and comrades obtained a better grasp of Marxist-Leninist thought and remained even more firm in their proletarian stand. Many saw the concrete need for revolutionary, political direction which embodies the real needs and interests of the working class and knew that they would have to present a clear cut line of struggle for the total and complete defeat of US Imperialism. Was the split really a major setback to the Party? No. because we learned from our mistakes and became that much stronger in our proletarian stand against US Imperialism. As Mao Tse-tung has stated, If a man wants to succeed in his work, that is to achieve the anticipated results, he must bring his ideas into correspondence with the laws of the objective external world; if they do not correspond, he will fail, in his practice. After he fails, he draws his lessons, corrects his ideas to make them correspond to the laws of the external world, and can thus turn failure into success; this is what is meant by failure is the mother of success and a fall into the pit, a gain in your wit’.”[1]
On January 24,1969, at the funeral of Alprentice “Bunchy” Carter, the Deputy Minister of Defense for the Black Panther Party, several members of the old United Front (M-L) and the CPUSA (M-L) happened to meet and fell into a discussion. During that talk it was arranged to meet at a later date to discuss the problems and mistakes that had occurred in the United Front (M-L) and the Party. After long hours of discussion at that meeting it was agreed that a new United Front should be formed and reorganized. It was formed to supply an anti-imperialist organization and movement that could provide a basis for the leadership of the people of Watts and of the nation in the fight against US Imperialism. More importantly, it was agreed that there was a lack of a Marxist-Leninist Party to provide the basis for the political and ideological leadership of the masses. Without such direction, a mass anti-imperialist organization could not be successful nor could an anti-imperialist United Front successfully carry out the struggle. What must be the basis of the political line for such an organization?
1. The United Front must firmly and without reservation fight for the complete destruction of US Imperialism. This means that our brothers and comrades in Africa, Asia, and Latin America must be completely supported in their struggle against US Imperialism (e.g. the Vietnamese, Arab, Congolese, and Dominican people).
2. The United Front must fight for the equal rights of all national minorities and nationalities in America and resolutely oppose all forms of discrimination.
3. The United Front must fight for the right of self-determination for the Negro nation in the south (black belt) and the Puerto Rican nation. This means to support the right of national liberation for the Negro and Puerto Rican nations which includes their right to secede, federate, or amalgamate.
4. The United Front must resolutely oppose all agents and lackeys of US Imperialism. There must be no joint actions with the political and ideological agents of US Imperialism; the modern revisionists: (CPUSA), the Trotskyites (SWP), their conciliators, the Progressive Labor Party (PLP), nor with the direct expression of imperialism; the Democrats and Republicans, whether liberal or conservative, black or white. It is impossible to oppose and defeat imperialism by collaborating with its agents.
5. The United Front-must support the struggle of all working people for their emancipation from Imperialism!
1. It must carry out the widest possible education of the people to its program.
2. It should seek to educate the people culturally and in practical matters of their interest.
3. It must help to train the people in their active defense. It must take an active hand in training its members in self-defense and assist in the formation of Workers Armed Defense Groups.
The United Front should concentrate its organizing among the most oppressed and exploited sections of the working people, especially among the areas of the Negro, Mexican-American, and Puerto Rican national minorities; It must encourage the broad participation of wide sections of the people.
Who Should Be Encouraged to join the United Front? The membership should be open to all working people who endorse and support its program.
The Communist Party USA Marxist-Leninist seeks to foster the development of the; United Front precisely to further the struggle against US Imperialism and to bring about its destruction. We call upon all our members and sympathizers to actively assist in the formation and development of the United, Front nationally and to carry the line of the Party to the masses.
[1] Mao Tse-tung, Selected Works, Vol. I, “On Practice,” Foreign Languages Press, Peking, 1965, p. 296.