First Published: Unity and Struggle, Vol. V, No. 1, January 1976.
Transcription, Editing and Markup: Paul Saba
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The Afrikan liberation Support Committee has represented for the Black Liberation Movement and revolutionary anti-imperialist struggle in general, a very progressive national liberation front, in the form of a broad support group for Afrikan Liberation, developing and spreading within the Black Liberation Movement a clearly anti-imperialist stance. It has rallied thousands here to support the cry of the genuine Afrikan Liberation Movements.
The effects of such struggle has raised the consciousness of the Black Liberation Movement to these struggles against Imperialism and National Oppression, to the point of successfully providing material support for these movements.
Some forces within ALSC have also made serious “left” errors which have caused many of the patriots to leave the front along with the rightwing reactionaries which in summing up the history and experience of ALSC points to a definite incorrect method of conducting political work and an incorrect handling of contradictions among the people within a united front.
But, in the main, as we stated (in our 1st Draft of General CAP Summation of National ALSC 1972-1975: see Unity & Struggle Oct. second edition and November first and second editions), ALSC represented the most progressive Black United Front in this country which was proven by the support work, marches, rallies, demonstrations, forums that have been done during this period from 1972-1975.
This three year period of unity and struggle, culminated in Washington, D.C., earlier this year, with local ALSC chapters and organizations putting forward proposals on the future of ALSC. This meeting ended with a call to disband led by the Revolutionary Workers League (ML) and a proposal for a continuations committee to discuss the future of ALSC, initiated by CAP. Supporting this latter move were the majority of voting locals who had submitted proposals that ALSC should be maintained. Later during this same meeting RWL compromised its position to the extent that it would be a part of the Continuations Committee discussions.
Since this meeting, the Continuations Committee has had several meetings one in Atlanta, to discuss proposals and critique the positive and negative points of each and put together one document that would serve as the outline of the historical development of ALSC as agreed upon by the committee. Leaving each organization free to sum up this experience independent of this process.
However, it seems some elements, as a general tendency, are not at all interested in seeing anti-imperialist work around Afrika go forward, but because of extreme sectarianism and empiricism, i.e., seeing only the needs of their formation and basing their policy on the narrow practice of their one group with small recourse to theory or others’ practice therefore one sided, serve as an obstruction to the support work that is needed to aid in the liberation of the Afrikan masses, which will only come about through opposition to superpower hegemony, unity of all the honest forces struggling for independence and liberation; by armed struggle not “peaceful talks” with imperialist butchers! RWL’s line of dismantling the ALSC is completely incorrect and can only be based on sectarianism and pragmatism. That is only looking at the needs of RWL as a developing formation and basing policy not on a balance of theory and practice, but only on their own narrow practice.
The struggles of the third world represent the main force combating imperialism, particularly the superpowers. The civil war in Angoia, now, has been caused by the Superpowers and their contention for world hegemony. But there has not been an effort by a united front of progressive forces in the USA to deal with this question and expose the reactionary collaboration of the revisionists, liberal bourgeoisie and bourgeois nationalists and fellow travelers and some honest force who all have united to support MPLA, who has been given more aid for the civil war against other Angolans from the Soviet Union than at any point during the war against the Portuguese colonialist! On the other side the U.S has sent the CIA plus 50 million to “help” the other side. But actually only to help themselves. It should be clear we need support work for Afrika and the third world, because they represent the main force combating imperialism and are the motive of revolution throughout the world. These are facts and we cannot fail to understand these facts and the fact that the two sharpening contradictions in the world today are the Superpowers vs. the Superpowers and the Superpowers vs. the Third World. For this reason we must consciously advance the coming together of the world united front against imperialism, and the combining of the class and national struggles inside the imperialist countries.
This work must also show the international connection and relationship between domestic crisis (e.g.. Economic Crisis, Unemployment, and Repression (S-l Bill) and link these to the international crisis of imperialism.
The last meetings of the Continuations Committee were held in New York and Baltimore both took up discussion of the history of ALSC the New York meeting dealing, specifically with summations of the Stages of Development of ALSC, it Gains, and Mistakes and Tasks.
In Baltimore we discussed the history again, and proposals that were represented and others still are to be represented at the next meeting of the Continuations Committee will be just prior to a national meeting of all ALSC chapters and any one else who wants to come to discuss the final proposal that is to come out of the work of the Continuations Committee on the future direction of ALSC.