les black community against abolition and rate-capping as well as the support the black community gave to miners' dispute has been enhanced by the fact that the in terms of local government is perceived as naving identified itself with the struggle of blacks.
for their handling of the situation in Liverpool towards their own black community is a classic example of the way they misunderstand it. They really aren't in a position to lecture black or white activists about black sections, about the unity of the working Collection for miners at Notting Hill Carnival.
what the miners were fighting for.
But also there was a willingness on the part of the miners to learn from the experience of the black community, in terms for exampie or organising commanty defence. They were prepared to learn lessons from the experience of the black community, and they were prepared they had a lot to learn. That's something for a white working organisation, look to blacks for leadership.
It didn't end there. The influence of miners and the mining community was THE VIEWS of the Militant tendency on the question of racial oppression in general, Labour Party black sections in particular, well-known by now. What is more surprising perhaps is that they have the nerve, after the Liverpool council fiasco with the black caucus, to spell them out for But that is exactly what their anti-black section resolution does.
Militant's resolution stinks of the sort of British chauvinism that is rife in the labour movement. The sort that ensures Party and the trade unions controlled predominantly white-male hierarchv that has always existed that never operates with the interests of uniting movement divided by race and sex mind. The sort, in fact, that plays into the hands of the Tory bosses who welcome a bureaucracy doing their own divide-and-rule dirty work for them.
Black people, say Militant, will only if they al c convinced it will carry out policies that tackle the problems they face. Quite true. But. in a white-dominated black snouid people make sure this happens? The Militant answer is simple: rely on the whites who think they're socialist concessions to the ideology of British imperialism.
They argue the same basic case against black self. organisation -selfactivity Incy argued against women: 'wait till the revolution. dear. then we'l make sure you're alright'.
As ever, they completely fail to take up the notinsignificant question of how to bridge the gap bet. ween what exists and where we want to be. That gap simply won't be bridged unless black people - and women, and all the other people who are oppressed under capitalism have a real say in how to change society therests or interests of the working class are objectively opposed to the interests of capital. There are infinitely more working class people an advanced capitalist country like Britain than there are ruling class. One 01 the why this sheer weight of numbers doesn't change things is because the ruling class have been tremely effective in dividing WUlAIIE persuading them that they are competition with each other for the resources of society.
Racism powerful tool in capitalism's armoury but it's powerful because sections of the white work ing class are persuaded, in a word are racist and no amount of moral exhortation by self-righteous sects changes the facts.
Only by united action between black that than any white so-called socialist who al gues otel wise.
By arguing that "diviSIons along lines should never be allowed to enter the movement', Militant square the circle. They simultaneously ignore the tact that such divisions do exist are, in fact, fundamental to the disunity of the labour movement imply that hack demands what creates the divisions.
This is nothing other than a racist argument. The of their party conference resolution.
Black sections are out, because ther will provide 'the gateway to a comfortable few' Parliament and town halls have, for decades, provided comfortable career for white men - if women and black carcerists get in on te act then the worst you can say is that nothing changes.
In fact black sections are not that at all. They are a way of ensuring that Labour's black CHICCI tatives are accountable black people believe that black representatives will improve their national and local lot, and that they can have a say in electing them by participating in the Labour Party and its caucus of black members, then they going make damn sure that the black representatives they fight to elect
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join the