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AUGUST '''25, 1
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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