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NEWS & LETTERS, July-August 2010
Black/Red View
by John Alan
50-year N&L legacy alive today
Editors' note: John Alan turns his column over to Robert Taliaferro, who sent the following greeting to the News and Letters Committees 2010 Convention.
When I was first introduced to News and Letters Committees (NLC), it was based on a discussion regarding my thoughts on an N&L article about political prisoners. The results of that discussion were published in N&L. The life-long association with NLC began shortly thereafter, when I was sent to a privately run CCA prison in Tennessee.
Twelve years later NLC has become not only a source of theory and practice, but family. We mourn the loss of Mary Joan, yet celebrate the vision of Raya and those of us who have kept that vision alive. Though leaner, we have become stronger. It saddens me that some are no longer a part of NLC. It saddens me that, with such great potential, we lost a lot of our comrades to simple pride and arrogance, rather than looking at the much larger reason for our existence...
DUNAYEVSKAYA'S VISION STILL STANDS
Yet with that sadness comes a joy that after 50 plus years, the vision of Raya in the formation of a Marxist-Humanist relationship with the world by way of News and Letters Committees still stands. There is a joy that a person such as myself, incarcerated, can still be given a voice to express an opinion, an idea, a belief, and for that thought to be taken seriously. There is a joy that a Black man of a certain age can still learn so much more about the world around him, especially those issues that might have been outside of his comfort zone, all through the pages of N&L. It is a special thing to be able to contribute to the universality of human thought through the expression of views that are published in an honest and diverse forum.
As a journalist and former editor, there were times when I might not agree with a particular editorial slant. I have always been impressed that N&L -- especially now -- welcomes those opposing views.
FREEDOM IN THEORY AND IN PRACTICE
Not everyone will understand the difference between Hegelian thought and the thoughts of others. I know that I certainly don't. But, I do understand freedom, fairness, and justice. I do understand that all peoples have an inherent right to be free from abuses while corporations glean billions of blood dollars from those who must suffer. I do understand that the extirpation of rights without viable due process of law is immoral, and unjust. I do understand that women have a right to govern their own bodies.
I do understand that the fundamental principles of freedom give the right to all peoples to choose their own lifestyles and to live freely and happily as long as it is just. I served as a soldier during the Vietnam Era to ensure that such Constitutional rights would not be tainted. I believe that still, perhaps even more through my years of association with NLC, and the outstanding women and men who form its cadre, and I would defend anyone who would be abused.
To me, Marxist-Humanism is about that defense, about that justice, about that pursuit and protection of rights and freedoms, and understanding the needs of the GLBT community, women, and people of color not only in this country, but around the world. The mandate of who we are states rather elegantly, "We participate in all class and freedom struggles, nationally and internationally… We do not separate mass activities from the activity of thinking."
It is this revolution in permanence that I lend my hand, mind, spirit… This is something one gains when one reads N&L or speaks to a comrade. We must be able to accept and absorb both support and criticism with equal aplomb.
THE FUTURE REVOLUTIONS
Most of all, we must remember that though we walk in the shadows of those before us, Raya, Charles, Felix and so many others who created templates for us to follow, that must be living and breathing avenues to create change for our time, and for the revolution's future that is now entrusted to us as comrades, friends, and the extended family of NLC.
Raya's legacy extends far beyond the walls of the room where you now meet. It extends to prisons in Wisconsin, Texas and California; it extends to the factories of Egypt and Vietnam; to the streets and villages of Kosova and Palestine; to the minds, hearts and souls of women around the world. Some of us are better at explaining the theory, others are better at organizing, and still others are better on the front lines of the struggle, storming the ramparts as Terry once shared with me, per a thought of Raya's.
The bottom line is that we are all integral parts of the struggle for freedom around the world and each of us has a place in that struggle under the umbrella of NLC. It never occurred to me 13 or 14 years ago that I would be explaining the difference between communism and Marxism to a Ph.D. from Pitt, or explaining Marxist-Humanist thought to a young Muslim from the inner city, but that is a privilege which my association with NLC has helped perpetuate.
Though I never met Raya when she was alive, I certainly have a better understanding of the world in which I live because of my association with NLC, and many of you within this room today.
--Robert Taliaferro
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