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AUGUST '''25, 1
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'1
Wb t is tbe role of electoral
politics in tbe struggle for
Black liberation and the crea
tion of a new society?
Thi question a hotly
. debated within the BI ck
liberation movement in the
60s and 70 and remains a
topic of considerable discus-
ion tOday.
Though there i a a school
of tbought among Black
political activist which dis
mis e electoral poli tics as
"reformi ttl nd u cles , my
own perspecti ve is th t c lee
toral politics can and should
be n integral component of ,
o the struggle for new ociety.
The critical requirement is
tbat B) ck electoral strategies
be grounded in the politics of
ociety transformation. And
electoral politics must be util
ized in tandem with non-elec
toral trategies, not a a
ubstitute for non-electoral
trategies.
In-the polit
ical empowerment
war hops in th Black Po cr
Conference' in th 6 ' nd at
the C ngre of Afri an
People in 1(70. Blac ac-
tivists labored to h mmcr out
bro conscnsu on th role
of electoral politics within the
Black liberation movement.
Th . c concepts ere I ter to
find there ay into the
deliberations of the ational
Black Polilical Party.
n ST A 0 "�()R": O. T
. electoral poli tics hould be
seen a, vehicle to expose the
contr diction and the un
wor ability of the sy tern to
the masse of African
American . .
Political education. there
fore, hould alway be a vital
function of elcctroal politic.
Secondly electoral politics
ac
uJd be a stimuJ to
bilize aDd 0'1 ize 81 ck
people roUDd i a
itiatives of co em to the
African ncan community.
Tbi mobilizatioD/organiza"
tion should incl e tbe crea-
tion of perm lit structure
to control t e politics of
African American com-
muni ties t ers hich
will hold elect 0 )Cia) ac
count ble.
LAC EL CT tn offi
cats hould be expected to
educate the people about the
contradictio in t sy tern
net erve catalysts to foster
the developme t of Blac
political organization 'tbin
the African erican Com
munity.
Finally, BI elected offi-
cials at all level hould uti 1-
ize their positio to promote
the progre and development
of Black people by maximiz
ing the delivery of goods, er
vices and benefits to the Black
community.
Rcalizi ng th t the present
'J_ tcm i inherently incapable
or deliv . I enou h to meet
I . nee 0 ttie peep e on ah
equitable basi • BI c elected
official hould push the sys
tem up in t the II. 0 to
spca '. in or r to demon urate
the nccc ity for t economic
and political re tructuring of
the y tem.
Electoral politics. to func
tion mo t effectively for
African America • must be
in pendent.
Some theori °t 0
pendent Blac politic dvo
care BI . do not p rticip te
in t two m jor politic 1 par
tie .:
I reject i notion·. too
narrow and tactically in
Flexible. Independent. in my
judgement, means that
MICHIGAN CfflZEN
H
Western Michigan Bureau: 175
P.O. a 21 HllJO rlMW.
(811)
PUb/ish8r: C .......
Editor: T
Office M •
CorreaponcIenIa
e
African American must have
a wide range of poli tical op
tions available and the
power/capacity to exercise
tbo e options free of external
control by the Democratic or
Republican Partie or any
other party or force external to
the Africa American com
.munity.
Black elected
officials at all
levels should
push th sy tem
up against the
wall ... to
demon trat the
.- n c ity tor;
the conomic
'and political
restructuring of
the sy tem
Independent 'means that
Black people arc free to rna c
political deci. ions and
cboic
tercst anJ a
which reflect:
Indeed my contention i
that' African Americans need
to develop and suo tain a clear
inside - outside. Iralegy in
term of electoral politics.
African American' in ide
the Dcmocnic and Republican
partie. should be cornrniucd
to Iorcin the two major par
lie� In he as pro zrcs i 'e a�
possible on those issue» that
arc of vital concern to l�e rna. -
sc of Black people', other
minorities. poor and working
people. That should be the
princip I mission of BI- ck
people in the Democratic and
�------
I •
vanci
I
•
•
A
Republican parties. I I
Jesse Jackson, for example,
used both his 1984 and 988
presidential campaigns to ur
sue tbat mi ion and Jackson
ba posuioned bis Rainbow
Coalition in ide the
DemocraticParty to cont nue
tbat struggle. A similar force
is needed inside the
Republican Party.
Ultimately. however,
African Americans cannot
rely on the two m'Jor parties
to champion the struggle for a
ne society. Hence African
American progressives must
lead the way in developing an
outside strategy.
There i an urgent need for
an indpendent third force or
inde en nt party which cna
ither endorse or uppor can
didates of the two major par
tie or more import 9t1 a
force which can support or
run progrc ive independent
candidates at all level .
oThe
literacy
program
lIy Keit o. iii 0
A. an educator. one of tbe
hig ligbt of attending thc a
tional New p per 'Publi hers
50th Anniver TV Convention
in Chicago wa the oppor
tuni ty to learn more about the
po ilion of the 'African
American and Pan African
pre with regard 0 thi
Coali ion
Co tin 0 ed' fro P e 4
clas. or poor. Onc quarter of
N.:w York' Chinatown
� population in ) 980 was below
the poverty level. And for
middle income Asians, they
frequently confront problems
experienced by middle cia
Blacks. Mo t Asian
profe sional compla�n about
tbe "glas ceiling" inside
corporation and academic
ins ti t ulions, limi ting tbeir
upward mobility into
admini tratlve rank .
The ".aff) uent.1
bardworki ng" Korean
hopkeeper , according to
Tat ki. have average
househoHJ income of
bet een S J 7 000 to $35 ()()()
annually, hardly ranting with
I
the idle rich. Wl)en
A in-American families �o
ou earn whites, this j usual y
becau e ihey have mo e
income- arner per.
hou hold.
The reality b hind t
image of .o-call
A ian-Amcrican affluence
that there i economic and
social' common ground wj th
other people of color. ThIs s
not to minimize the profound
difference in olanguag '0
cui ture and hi tory which
eperate the e group. But the
foundation for coalition
nevertheles exist.
I G Marable
or of Political
Science, Univer i ty of
Colorado. "Along the C()lor
Line- appears in over ) 70
newspapers internationalJy.
- . "
ICHIGAN CITIZE P. E I
Ron
D nl
WA TAGE.
POINT
struggle for a new SOCiety.
Developing an independent
force firmly committed to the
politics of ocial tran form -
lion and dedicated to utilizing
both electoral and non-elec
toral political strategies i r
guably the mo t cri tical
challenge faci ng the j nde- .
pendent Blac political move
ment at thi juncture in
history.
My own commitment is to
gather the experience of a
generation of political ac
tivi m a a ba i. for pi ying a
leading role in confronting
that chall nge.
Ron Doni l s ' s r ve a
Pre ident of th Institute for
Community Organizaiton and
De" lopment in Youngstown,
Oh o. He may be contracted Q1
o 746-5'747.
HIGHER
EDUCATION
nation' literacy ituation.
Thi. two part column take
a critical look at the WNPA'
po ition paper thai addr e
the impact of and. olution to
rllucracy - particularly within
U.S. Afri ancornmuniucs.
As mentioned prcviou ·Iy.
t 0. immediate concern th t
e have reg rding thi excel
lent po 'ilion paper are: J) that
the lcs than po itive intro
d uctory tone not over h dow
the ub tance of it deeper nd
p()�itive me 0 ge - with very
real 'olutions and 2) that U.S.
Afrkan publi ber, jour
n Ii t nd edu tors not di -
tance themselves from thi
effor ..
What follow are c ule
highlight Qf major cat gorie
of the po ilion p per long
with a few of our comment.
For detailed information
a oUI the NWPA Literacy
Progr�m. contact Dr. Ruth B.
Love Publisher 0 the
Caolifornia Voice (415) 39-
56831644-2448 ndlor Mr.
Erne t H. Pitt. Publi her of the
tlaued on P e 21