100th Anniversary
Special Recognition
Response by Joelle
Fishman, chair, CT Communist Party USA
Thank
you so much for all the love and respect, it is very moving and
humbling. I am very proud to be the standard bearer for recognition
of the 100th anniversary of the Communist Party. But it is not about
me, it is about all of us. Each and every one giving what they can
and becoming stronger and better in the process.
One
of the things that pulled me into the Communist Party was the people.
There was no other place that was multi-racial, and multi-cultural.
There was no other place that had the strategy and tactics to take a
principled stand and at the same time to build the unity necessary to
win. There was no other place that was like extended family caring
for each other, listening and learning from our experiences together,
in the quest for a better world.
So I
want to deeply appreciate all of the comrades all of the friends all
of you who have stood up and are standing up together in the face of
hate, racism, bigotry, family separation, in the face of extreme
exploitation of workers and planet and attacks on the right to
organize and the right to vote -- the right as Singhbe Pieh said TO
BE FREE.
There
is so much in a 100 year history. I was wondering what to cover in a
few minutes . I could never have imagined as a young woman, joining
the Communist Party in its 50th year, that I would be standing here
today having participated in half of its proud century of struggle.
I
could never have imagined the tremendous challenge we face in this
moment when all that has been won and all of the future is on the
line. And I am so appreciative that at a time like this the
Communist Party is part of the political landscape with it's vision
and legacy of building worker power, unity and solidarity.
In
essence, the Communist Party understands class struggle as the motive
force for change. Our country's beautiful, diverse working class of
all races, nationalities, genders and ages is the heart and soul of
moving the arc of history toward justice.
The
Communist Party has been demonized throughout our history. The C
word is the victim of tons of fake news. The reason is pretty
simple: With a vision of equality, a vision that those who create
the wealth make the decisions, the 1% has everything to lose, and the
working class has everything to gain.
So
tearing down anti-communism and red baiting is not just about the
Communist Party. It is about raising up the entire movement for
social justice and realizing what is possible if we join together.
Red
baiting, racism and union busting are all tools of the boss. They all
keep workers divided and afraid. They have to be fought together
because an injustice to one is an injustice to all.
In
1974 I was drafted to run for Congress on the Communist Party
ticket. We coined the slogan "People before Profits". The
program to stop plant closings, for publicly owned utilities, equal
education and ending the war in Vietnam got a lot of traction.
Some
people said, "If you run as a Democrat you would win."
Even though I was not elected it was a winning campaign in a
different way -- we were building a movement and breaking down the
fear that held people back from engaging on their own behalf. After
running five times, in 1982 our People before Profits campaigns were
credited with changing the political climate. Instead of a war hawk
businessman, voters in the 3rd District elected a legal aid lawyer.
In
the early years Communists led many massive movements for social
security, unemployment compensation, unionization of industry, voting
rights, opposing lynchings and jim crow segregation, fighting fascism
in WW II, standing against white supremacy and for equality. Al
Marder and my mother Edie Fishman, who are here today, were part of
that.
I
would like to reflect on some experiences from the second fifty
years, as significant and momentous as the first. Opposing Apartheid
in South Africa, winning the freedom of Angela Davis, building
industrial concentration and organizing new sections of workers,
building Communist Party neighborhood clubs, defending the rights of
immigrants, LGBTQ rights, marching against nuclear weapons and for
conversion to peacetime production, coalescing with labor against the
Iraq war through Connecticut Opposes War, building coalitions to tax
the rich and cut the military budget and for jobs for youth, jobs for
all.
We
defied those historians who falsely claimed that capitalism is the
end of history. How could capitalism be the end of history when
there is so much hunger and homelessness in the land of plenty?
In
the 1980s in Hartford Brian Steinberg organized weekly door to door
distributions of the People's World in neighborhoods of the racially
and nationally oppressed. Ordinary families became engaged and
continue to this day. This laid the foundation for many people's
victories. We appreciate you Brian.
The
Hartford comrades helped win a civilian review board, helped organize
the hospital workers union 1199 in Hartford and Waterbury, helped win
a history making strike at Colts firearms, served in various posts
during the tenure of the great Mayor Carrie Saxon Perry and replaced
the Republican minority on City Council with People for Change and
then Working Families Party.
In
New Haven, our Winchester Club grew out of the Committee to Free
Angela Davis.. In the 1979 strike Craig Gauthier engaged community
and labor support that forced the company to settle. He ran for union
president but didn't win. The boss told the white skilled workers not
to elect a Communist and an African American. Craig ran again. This
time he talked to the skilled workers first and convinced them that
their lot was with the rest of the workers in the plant, not with the
boss. He won that election and Victory Lodge 609 IAM became a strong
force in the shop and community.
These
early experiences were drawn upon in many strikes and organizing
drives across Connecticut from Pratt and Whitney to Circuit Wise to
healthcare workers to Local 34 at Yale which broke ground as the
first clerical union at a major private university. Now New Haven
Rising has taken this to a whole new level, developing Black and
Latino leadership while demanding Yale Respect New Haven.
When
Ronald Reagan destroyed PATCO airline pilots union, workers in the
Communist Party across the country helped create "fresh winds"
coming out of the repression and union busting of the 1950's. Scores
of train cars and buses from Connecticut traveled to Washington DC
for Solidarity Day to uphold workers' rights. It was the first such
mobilization in decades.
Ten
years later Bridgeport was the first city in the country to go
bankrupt. Communists in the labor movement helped organize a march
with Jesse Jackson to "Rebuild America - Keep Hope Alive."
I remember wearing a sign "Tax the Rich" during the entire
week walking from Bridgeport to Hartford.
Tax
the rich was a unifying slogan that led to the Coalition to End Child
Poverty. How outrageous the richest state had the highest child
poverty. We called for a 2% tax on the portion of income above
$250,000 for children's needs.. Union and community groups signed on.
They were tired of being pitted against one another in the various
Governors' budgets. That struggle continues to this day.
Youth
poverty led to scores of young Black men tragically killed in street
violence. The YCL helped form New Elm City Dream and brought the cry
for Jobs for Youth Jobs for All to the newly elected Board of Alders,
many were union leaders. This contributed to the jobs pipeline
victory from Black and Latino neighborhoods to permanent employment
at Yale.
We
came together statewide for the Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride. Large
immigrant led May Day marches were organized out of the Peoples
Center. These actions helped build broad support for the drivers
license, access to student loans, the Trust Act, and now direct
action to stop deportations.
These
very People's World Amistad Awards have been a part of building
worker power, unity and solidarity. In 2010 John Olsen, then CT AFL
CIO president, accepted the award. He made national news on right
wing TV for "accepting an award from the Communists." John
was very clear: "They walked with us on every picket line. I am
proud to accept the award."
Today,
we are challenged to stand up together as never before to stop the
dangerous anti-democratic attacks at home and abroad led by the
Trumpites and demand basic human rights:
health
care is a human right
housing
is a human right
quality
equal bi-lingual education is a human right
living
wage jobs with a union is a human right
an
end to mass incarceration is a human right
an
end to gun violence and police misconduct is a human right
immigration
is a basic human right
gender
equality is a human right
a
sustainable and peaceful environment and world is a basic human right
voting
is a basic human right
We
have many voices, and one struggle.
As we
build a growing resistance to defeat cruel and vicious Trumpism the
"triple evils" of capitalism described by Martin Luther
King Jr -- greed, racism and militarism -- are in clear view for
everyone to see. It's time for something better. People around the
world are rising up for their own destiny.
Impeach
Now or Dump Trump in 2020 is our immediate mission, but it is just
the beginning. Our society needs to be restructured with a Green New
Deal to address climate change with public works jobs, guaranteed
income, healthcare and investment in front line communities instead
of war.
Yes,
the Communist Party agrees that socialism's time has come. Those who
create the wealth should decide the priorities.
In
the words of the great poet Langston Hughes:
I
been starvin' too long,
Ain't you?
Let's go, Revolution!
People,
Peace and Planet before Profits. (chant)
