Black-Nationalism against the Working Class

Black nationalism is often portrayed as a step forward, as being a revolutionary form of nationalism. To the left it represents a culture of resistance. Black-nationalism in the U.S. is usually equated with the Black Panther Party and the Nation of Islam. These political currents have often postured as liberators of the people they claim to represent. As Internationalists we must affirm that no nationalism is revolutionary or even progressive.

The Black Panther Party (BPP) drew heavily on popular ideologies of guerrilla warfare and Maoism. Their party discipline is cited verbatim off page 255 of the quotations of Chairman Mao. They borrowed from the Stalinist baggage that crippled the movements of the 1960’s. Chinese "Communism" was one of the BPP’s main influences, its’ papers regularly cited the opinions of Chinese and North Korean state-capitalists. This party that called itself "the Vanguard Party of Revolutionary Internationalists" at the same time would also say that " the developing countries have every right to claim nationhood, because they have not exploited anyone. The nationalism of which they speak is simply their rightful claim to autonomy, self determination and a liberated base which to fight the international bourgeoisie."(The Black Panther Leaders Speak. p. 75). They reveal a poor understanding of Marxism, one twisted by the Stalinist and Maoist state-capitalists. Eldridge Cleaver wrote that "On the subject of racism, Marxism-Leninism offers us very little assistance. In fact, there is much evidence that Marx and Engels were themselves racists. Historically, Marxism-Leninism has been an out-growth of European problems and it has been primarily preoccupied with finding solutions to European problems."(The Black Panther Leaders Speak p.75)

There is in the writings of the Black Panthers a fatal inability to see through their own misconceptions and through the lies of the state-capitalists. They juxtaposed reformist demands such as their free breakfast program for school children with revolutionary sounding hyperbole.

Leon Trotsky in his conversations with his supporters put forward the right of African-Americans to "self-determination" which he thought would help articulate a policy that would successfully draw black militants into the fold of the SWP-USA (Trotsky on Black Nationalism and Self Determination. p.71-79). This never happened.

Rodney Carlisle traces the history of black-nationalism in his book, The Roots of Black Nationalism, back to the movements of freed slaves of the early to mid-nineteenth century. The early nineteenth century saw the Toussaint L’Overture’s war for the independence of Haiti and the creation of the first African-American republic. At the time it was a positive step forward for Haitians. In the United States however black-nationalism reflected the frus-trations of an oppressed people rather than a culture of resis-tance. Throughout the nine-teenth and twentieth centuries in the United States self-pro-claimed leaders used the frustrations of African-Amer-icans in dozens of movements that never found a single unified expression. From religious movements of black-judaism, to Father Divine or the Nation of Islam, these movements of the black nationalists fed off of what was never truly a "culture of resistance". At first these movements were often sup-ported by wealthy whites who wanted to get rid of a growing population of freed slaves(Carlisle, Rodney p. 45) .

The supporters of black-nationalism today in the Nation of Islam (Inc.) are drawn mostly from the ranks of the middle-classes of African-Americans who feel that they have a responsibility to hear Louis Farrakhan (Lincoln, C. Eric. The Black Muslims in America. Wm. B. Erdmans Publishing Co. Grand Rapids, MI.. 1994. p.271) .

All black nationalists in this country have done is to feed off the legitimate frustrations of an oppressed people. In this respect they are little different from the "leaders" of the black-liberal-Christian persuasion. As a tendency it never once did any more than attract attention for the purpose of glorifying a few leaders. When James Carr (one of the "Soledad brothers") broke with the Panthers over their nationalism, he got shot. When Malcolm Shabazz broke from the Nation of Islam, he too got shot. On the other hand nationalism has made Louis Farrakhan a very wealthy man.

In 1989 a three day riot broke out in Washington D.C. over the shooting of an immigrant from El Salvador, the press spoke of it as a black riot. When it was, in fact, a multi-racial outpouring of hostility. The same thing was repeated after the Rodney King riots in 1992. The Hispanic community had grown sick of the INS breaking down their doors and deporting people, Rodney King’s videotaped beating was the last straw. It did little to advance revo-lutionary consciousness. Leftists were left to assess what occurred after the fact. These events did not exhibit any of the features of a race based "culture of resist-ance" but were easily taken as a pretext by the ruling class to impose martial law. In the same manner the militant hyper-bole of the Black Panthers was used as a pretext to destroy them. Since those riots, the Nation of Islam has used the opportunity to involve people in a "million man march" to draw attention to himself and win the favor of the ruling class, who quite often approve of his message of black capitalism and self-reliance.

Nationalism of oppressed peoples does two things, it enriches a few leaders at the expense of their followers and it achieves nothing in the way of real gains for the people they represent. When those who would-be revolutionaries are able to break away from this backwards, obsolete nationalism, they will be capable of realizing their revolutionary potential as a part of true internationalist revolution.

1) The Black Panther Leaders Speak. ed. Heath, Louis G. Scarecrow Press, Inc. Metuchen, N.J., 1976.

2) Carlisle, Rodney. The Roots of Black Nationalist. National University Publications. Kennikot Press. Port Washington, N.Y. 1975. p.45

3) Lincoln, C. Eric. the Black Muslims in America. Wm B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. Grand Rapids, MI. 1994.

4) Leon Trotsky on Black Nationalism and Self-determination. Pathfinder Press 1978.