The history of the Congress of Afrikan Peoples/Revolutionary Communist League (M-L-M) is a revolutionary history. It is a history of the contemporary Black Liberation Movement as well as the contemporary anti-revisionist communist movement. It is the history of the development and fusion of these two movements, and represents an advance towards that goal. That is its most important lesson.
Throughout the course of the development of the CAP/RCL, one thing that always remains clear is that it was an organization committed to the task of making revolution in America, of changing the basic structure of this society. From the early years with the call for Black Power and Black consciousness, to the struggle to link the Black Liberation Movement to the revolutionary struggles on the African continent and throughout the third world, to the struggle to organize the working class and unite the movement for Black freedom with the struggle for socialist revolution, it has been a revolutionary history.
It is reflective of the struggles of the Black masses for revolution. The development of CAP/RCL is living proof that the struggle for Black liberation will not be confined to reforms. It will not be stopped within the confines of the American capitalist system, but will continue to strive for real liberation.
It is also reflective of the twists and turns that the revolutionary movement must go through as a part of its process of development. It reflects the struggle for revolutionary truth, discovered through struggle. And so the various ideological trends and tendencies that CAP/RCL was influenced by, from the Kawaida doctrine of Ron Karenga to the dogmatic and mechanical “Marxism” of the so-called “Revolutionary Wing,” should be seen in that light. It was a search for revolutionary truth. The fact that CAP/RCL was able to develop past certain negative influences and break with them shows the strength of the mass movement itself. It shows the ability of the masses to fight through all of the various obstacles in its path and continue to march forward on the revolutionary road.
In the course of its history, CAP/RCL made many errors. But these errors must be viewed in the light of the developing struggle for revolution. Certainly, the overwhelming aspect of the development was positive, and at each step overcoming the errors added to the strength of the organization. In the course of its development CAP/RCL made many friends. And in some cases the errors that were made alienated some of these friends. The summation and study of the history of the organization has helped to put that, too, in its proper perspective and hopefully many of those people will be able to understand what has happened and contribute to the further development of the organization and the movement.
The struggle of CAP/RCL to contribute to making revolution in the United States, and becoming a Marxist-Leninist organization engaged in the process to build a new revolutionary communist party, holds many lessons for the overall movement. The dynamics of the Black Liberation Movement and the anti-revisionist communist movement are somewhat revealed in this history. The importance of the many communist activists who came out of the Black Liberation Movement as well as the other national movements must be upheld as being of major significance to understanding the U.S. revolution. This history is a tool towards that end.
The summation of the CAP/RCL history was of major importance for the comrades of CAP/RCL in order to draw out its years of valuable experience. It is also of major importance for the entire communist movement in understanding the relationship between the Black Liberation Movement and the struggle for socialism.
Hopefully this history will also be used by Black Liberation Movement activists as a tool for summing up other aspects of the Black Liberation Movement of the last 20 years, and drawing lessons from the experiences of other Black Liberation Movement organizations and tendencies. This is a major step towards having a deeper grasp of the revolutionary process of development in this country and moving forward.
The struggle to unite the RCL and the League of Revolutionary Struggle (M-L) shows again the determination of revolutionaries to unite and actually make revolution in America. It is an important and historic step in the process of building a new communist party. The method used to unite the two organizations also shows that principled unity can be achieved between Marxist-Leninists. The similarities in the history of the two organizations show the strength of the national movements as a part of the revolutionary struggle in this country, and the determination to link together those movements and the overall struggle of the working class for revolution.
The history of the CAP/RCL is a revolutionary history. It is a history of the contemporary Black Liberation Movement as well as the contemporary communist movement. It is the history of the struggle to fuse these two movements and represents an advance towards that goal. It is now a part of the revolutionary history of the League of Revolutionary Struggle (M-L), and we move forward enriched and strengthened by it.