U.S. history and the legacy of Malcolm X

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By KWAME M.A. SOMBURU When Malcolm X was assassinated on Feb. 21, 1965, the movement for Black liberation—nationally and internation -ally-lost one of its most capable, courageous, and totally committed leaders.

The physical body and keen mind of Brother Malcolm was eliminated forever by that brutal and cowardly act. However, he left a legacy of ideas and examples of integrity, courage, and commitment that we-his heirs-can learn from and build on.

It would be incorrect-and not in the true spirit of Malcolm—to treat him as an in -fallible "pope" who left a heritage of sacred ideas, to be learned, memorized, and adopted unthinkingly.

Malcolm, the man and his ideas, should be examined in the context of the social environment of this capitalist and racist society. The deeper awareness one has of the historical ronts and contemporary nature of this wriety-specifically from the viewpoint of the oppressed, but especially from a viewpoint that advocates revo -lutionary social change-the better one is able to appreciate and apply Malcolm's significant contributions to Black Liberation.

U.S. founded for white, rich men The U.S. government is now and has always been, a government that represents the interests of the rich. Fifty-five economically affluent white males, representing the interests of Northern capitalists and Southern slavemasters, met behind closed doors in Philadelphia in 1787 to discuss and draft a constitution.

That constitution was ratified in 1788 and 1789 by the former 13 colonies. It was designed to maintain the rule of the rich over their various subjects-poor whites, free Blacks, and women; to protect their varied types of property, including slaves; and to provide for the utilization of force and violence to maintain the status quo against domestic and foreign threats.

It provided for the protection of slavery and for a 20-year extension of the slave trade, a fugitive slave law, and a provision that three-fifths of the slaves be counted as the basis for taxation and political representation.

James Madison, twice president of the United States and considered to be the father of the Constitution, said in the Federalist Papers: "In framing a government which is in Oakland to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this. You must first enable the government to control the governed."

This government has proven the truth of that statement by its 200-plus years of suppressing slave rebellions, Indian accept the district's initial proposal, which included a mere 2-percent bonus for 198586. The determination and unity of the teachers caught the school district off guard, with over 90 percent of the teachers out of school at the beginning of the strike.

Community support was overwhelming throughout. The first week of the strike, school attendance dropped to 15 percent. In spite of the difficulties, parents kept their children home because they knew that Oakland was in danger of losing its most committed and best-qualified teachers.

Parent groups helped the striking teachers locate churches and other facilities to set up alternative schools. Angry parents spoke out in favor of the teachers at rallies and at school board meetings. Even after four weeks, with concern growing over lost uprisings, workers' strikes, protest demonstrations, and civil liberties. This suppression happened regardless of which ruling-class party was in power.

The first two great political parties in the United States were the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists. The Federalist Party represented the Northern merchant cap -italists, who wanted a strong federal government. The Anti-Federalists repre -sented mainly the Southern slavemasters and other sectors that feared a strong central government.

Under the strong leadership of Alexander Hamilton, the Federalists gained control of the new government for the first 10 years of its existence.

However, the invention of the cotton gin in 1793 enabled the Southern slavemasters to mass-produce cotton for the textile mills of the British industrialists. That economic outlet for cotton made them the financially dominant sector of the ruling group and gave them the power to defeat the Northern capitalists in the contest for political power.

Cotton was "King." In 1800, the slaveowners and their allies took hold of the reins of political power and held it for 60 years.

The Anti-Federalists became the Democratic-Republican Party, and then the Democratic Party in 1828. From 1828 to 1860, they won every national election except two, and controlled Congress most of that time. Every Democratic platform from 1840 to 1860 opposed all interference with slavery.

Frederick Douglass, the famous Black anti-slavery fighter, characterized the Democratic Party as being "a purely slavery party, a party which exists for no other purpose but to promote the interests of slavery."

Capitalists back slaveholders For most of those 60 years, the merchant capitalists were the dominant sector of the Northern bourgeoisie. Because they had highly profitable multi-million dollar business connections with the Southern (continued on page 11, in “S. African union federation champions workers' rights”)

class parents home.

The strike revealed to the parents that the education of their children was not a priority for Oakland's elected officials. Oakland's City Council declined to help settle the strike by making use of either the $15 million it has earmarked for Oakland's baseball team, the A's, or the $30 million it has stashed away to try to buy back the Raiders.

After four weeks of strike, it was clear that for both parents and teachers, the strike had become a question of a commitment to quality education in the public schools. And they were not deterred from this commitment.

The success of the strike was due to the unity and militancy of the teachers as well as to the overwhelming support of the community.