Independent has abused us, set up a whole generation of black children to fail. When you look at the institutional racism in the education system, what happened to our children within it, then you're back to the issue that the British education system was meant for the working class children as a whole to succeed anyway. It's just one of the many elaborate instruments of control that the British state has set up Take also the Silent Night dispute. There's somebody here on the platform from the Silent Night strikers. It's important to note that 20 per cent of those strikers are black. You cannot disentangle the issue of class from issues of The other criterion for an effective alliance for socialism is that when people talk about allying with black people and allying with women what matters are aeeas not woras. Lel me tell you. words come cheap. 6 The other criterion for an never effective alliance for socialism is that what matters are deeds not words. Let me tell you, words come cheap. 9 T've been to so many meetings in the past 18 months and seen white men on and women Theon agonise and tell o go on about black peopk that they're on your side. COLIN ROACH push comes to shove winite men in the party have resistant to letting go of power forms miners' wives, talk about the struggles in South Africa. (I have always noticed how white people love black people th easy, it's deeds nitty-gritty interplay of the day-by-day labour movement I have to say that the absence of deeds has been noticeable.
school governors those parties are putting on the schools on their area. Look But when at the al c whatever else they This worst enemies.
munity. very keenly.
Militant. Again he's Photo: STEVE MANSFIELD posed to because you're run They say to us:
shown they're extremely Liverpool 's easy for people to stand on pla about the plucky nost when we're far away.) Words ar way that matter.
Look at the numbers of black people actually active in parties claiming to be left. Look at the number of black number of black councillors. from white men on the left about the importance of more women in parliament, what has been the result?
It's deeds not words that count. We don't want your gifts, we don't want your protestations of solidarity -want practical actions that show white willing to actually I've tried to talk about what sort of alliance and what sort of socialism. finally I'd just like to say a word about OUT the Labour leadership. When Mr Kinnock became leader of the party there might people thought 'at least under him we're going to win the next general election' I must say, as a leadership to win us the next election Kinnock has disappointed even Kinnock made a point of coming out openly against black sections: two years ago, before conference had even debated it. He seems to have no idea how that looks to the wider black comNot everybody in the black community agrees with black sections as a tactic, but everybody knows that the struggle between Labour • Party black sections and the leadership is a struggle between black people trying to make their presence felt and white people. Everybody knows what that struggle is about. The black community follows it Kinnock's line on black sections, his opposition to black people, and now the expulsion of Amir Khan in Sparkbrook-Birmingham, just to put it in its crudest terms, this on. cannot help the party to win the support of black working people. It's actually standing in the way.
Let's take Neil Kinnock and the gone out of his * the Militant tendency.
I'm not a supporter of Militant, I'm op In on the issue of women's organisation.
But when I go canvassing as a Labour councillor in Paddington people don'1 say: 'We're not going to vote for you by the Militant. 'We're not voting for you because you are all the same.
When Kinnock attacks sections of the party who, at the end of the day, are fighting for socialist policies - when he attacks Militant and the Lambeth and councils, wien ne puts himself in opposition to some of the most progressive currents in the party above all when he makes a virtue of no being accountable to the party - he is pushing our chances of winning the next election further away. The only we will convince working people that we're not all the same is if we ac tually implement the policies which we "Black people don't have the luxury of asking can we win? We know that not only are we going to win but that prepared to ally with us on our terms are welcome to same."
Let's sav what that is. It sonin. next election, and to win it at any price If socialism is that price, he's prepares to pay it.
All I can say is this: as a black person I don't have the luxury of asking that kind of question. Black peopte know that for us nothing will do except the transformation of this society. We don't want a racist society managed more humanely. That still locks us into position _ as a sub-strata of the working class. We cannot stop short of anything other than a total transforma tion of this society. A transtormatior talk about the struggles in when we're far away. 9 economically, a transformation socially, and a transformation of the Labour We know that not only are we going to win but that we're going to keep on mignting unt we win. Inose wao are prepared to ally with us on our terms -and our terms are respect for us to organise autonomously, our terms are class politics, and our terms most of all are deeds not words — those people are welcome to join in our fight.
It is a fight we canol run awa from. It is a fight we can not equivocate It is a fight that will continue because we know that we will see vic tory - and not just in electoral terms We will see victory in terms of transfor ming this labour movement, because we can settle for nothing less. we're going to keep on fighting until we do. Those join our fight.!
has politicised a generation 'DEFEAT' IS a word that women from the mining communities never use explained BETTY HEATHFIELD at the session on lessons of the miners' strike. There's no time to rest, she said. Get up off your behinds and join us again. The message was loud and clear: Women Against Pit Closures are still fighting side by side with the national union.
it's appropriate
----- pull-quotes -----
"It's easy for people to stand on platforms and
South Africa. I've always notices how white people love black people the most