JACKSON GIVES UNEMPLOYED PUSH INTO SLAVE LABOR

By Gail Elberg

International Worker, 1975

WASHINGTON, D.C., January 15-About 2,500 people gathered on this cold, frosty Wednesday afternoon to march around the White House seven times, demanding more jobs and their "silver rights" by pressuring Congress to pass the Hawkins-Humphrey Bill. The demonstrators were mostly black men, women and children. Many were from PUSH (People United to Save Humanity), the organization which sponsored the march. Others, "independent" of an organization, were there because they wanted to do something about the threat of the deepening depression. Also present was the usual impotent display of the American left.

A strong delegation of IWP cadres intervened.

Jessie Jackson, head of PUSH . coordinated the demonstration in several cities around the country and led the demonstration in Washington D.C.

Jackson is an opportunistic anti-working class leader. The demonstration on Wednesday encapsulates both the groping state of toiling humanity crying out for leadership, and the manipulation of liberal fascists (of whom Jackson is one among many) who are attempting to lead the class into demanding their own self-destruction.

Jackson is a 32-year-old Baptist Minister who with the open help of Mayors Richard Daley and John V. Lindsey and International Harvester, Bell and Howell, Sears and Roebuck, Continental Illinois Bank, General Foods, and who knows who else organized PUSH after being thrown out of Martin Luther King's Southern Christian Leadership ship Conference (SCLC)-for scandalous "improprieties"-by King's predecessor Ralph Abernathy. Since Martin Luther King's mysterious assassination, Jackson has been striving to take King's place as the top national civil rights figure. His main effort in PUSH since 1973 had been to put pressure on major corporations to force them to sign economic agreements to put more blacks to work and to place money in "black" banks. Many of the agreements fell through because Jackson did not have the organization or the muscle behind him, assuming his intentions were not completely fraudulent to begin with. In fact, it turns out in practice that Jackson's well-funded operation was merely herding black workers into non-union slave-labor jobs, for large corporations who call themselves "Equal Opportunity Employers."

In the case of the Chicago construction industry, PUSH spearheaded a drive against the construction unions-taking advantage of their traditional racism. Promised training, jobs and funds never materialized for his followers, however, while the unions were largely crippled.

The Reward of Prayer

The entire march had an unremitting religious aura to it. The day of the march, the 15th of January, commemorates the birthday of civil rights leader Rev. Martin Luther King-now dead six years. Jackson spoke for about five minutes. The "talk" had no political substantive content. Instead he led the marchers in repeated chants of "I am somebody. I may be on welfare, but I am somebody," psychologically arousing the oppressed, hurt, humiliated egos of the marchers-egos which have been both created and then beaten down by the system of bourgeois capitalism. This meaningless demagogical technique has a subtle crowd-control effect, taking peoples' minds off the real issues-the lethal workings of capitalism going fascist.

After Jackson's talk, while the demonstrators got ready for the march around the White Horse, a choral group sang Christian hymns.

Alongside that conjuring up of a pacifist illusion of dignity instead of satisfaction of human material needs, Jackson made hollow references to securing "our silver rights" now that civil rights-he assured us-had been safely won. This hollow appeal reflected the tarnished ethic of bankrupt capitalist relations.

The march was tightly controlled by a noticeably large number of PUSH marshals-and plenty of cops; on horses and on foot, in uniform and undercover. The marshals and police were in close radio communication at all times, and worked smoothly together. The religious aura coupled with an almost military discipline urged by marshals created a docile crowd-as if waiting to submit to slaughter in quiet obedience.

Hawkins-Humphrey Bill

The most widely displayed sign at the march called for the passing of the Hawkins-Humphrey Bill. Most of the marchers-including those carrying the signs-were not informed by their leadership as to what the bill was about. The proposed legislation in fact, calls for massive public works programs for the unemployed, i.e., non-unionized jobs at slave labor wages. The bill guarantees a job for every person able to work. If there are no jobs through the private sector the government will guarantee a job. The type of job would be dependent on the needs of the community and the skills of the unemployed.

Under this liberal facade, which has even been referred to by an aide of Sen. Humphrey as the "Magna Carta for the American working people" lies the systematic looting of the working class. For where will the money for the programs come from? The money will come from increased deficit spending, and deficit spending means looting the working class.

Capitalism is bankrupt and capitalists do not have available capital to invest in real production. The jobs available are not jobs that will increase real production (production of goods and services that will build a healthy, creative workforce).

Congressman Conyers-a Democrat from Michigan and a member of the Black Caucus in the House-has been overwhelmingly in favor of the Hawkins-Humphrey Bill, and has been proposing amendments for its expansion. Conyers is a close friend, for many years, of Jessie Jackson. A congressional aide told an International Worker reporter that, "Jackson's organizing has a significant impact and stimulus to the likelihood of it passing!" Jackson's organizing the class to demand that they be given slave labor jobs at non-union wages.

IWP Organizers Stopped

IWP organizers were at the March supporting the poor employed and unemployed people's demands by bringing a class-for-itself analysis. Organizers distributed leaflets exposing the liberal fascist ploy of Jackson and asked employed and unemployed people there to begin working for human-not the capitalists'-survival. The leaflet, 3,000 of which were distributed, ended with:

It's Up to You

Who is going to lead you out of this depression? Who will put food on your children's table in the coming years? Nelson Rockefeller? Leonard Woodcock? Jesse Jackson? Or, as 'people's man' Rev. Jackson says, small businessmen rallying behind a 'spiritual regeneration?' But you need food and productive jobs, not black-capitalist or white capitalist hustles and vague promises of a heaven on earth!

It's you, together with thousands and millions of other unemployed and unorganized workers, welfare recipients, pensioners, and trade unionists who must lead the struggle to end this depression-to begin producing for human, not the capitalists' survival.

For a Nationwide Unemployed League!

After the marchers made their third trip around the White House, an IWP organizer stood on a stone structure and spoke through a bullhorn to the people there. Supporting the employed and unemployed people's demands for decent lives, he implored them to see that the public works jobs being called for are nonproductive slave labor jobs that will not expand and develop humanity. He urged them to understand that to survive in this historical period of capitalism turning to fascism we must demand full productive jobs at union wages, no WPA jobs, and halting of war production. Instead, he pointed out, the cities must be rebuilt and food production increased to prevent starvation around the world.

Hundreds of people listened intently as the IWP organizers brought reality to the march. One young marcher got on the stand with the IWP organizer and spoke in support of class-wide intervention. A few minutes later the PUSH marshals were there, speedily demanding that the IWP organizer get down. The support of the demonstrators immediately dissipated; they jeered and booed in support of their anti-working class leaders. The IWP continued to organize until the marshals called in the cops and the IWP organizers were threatened with arrest. Opportunism is always ugly. But Jackson's opportunism is particularly disgusting for its appeals to the most backward narrow sentiments of his constituency . pacifism, nationalism and churchism. One of these 'isms' were ready on many participants' lips to steer them clear of socialist "outsiders." "This is a movement for black people . We don't want any violent people here . This is a peaceful demonstration . You weren't invited . What about Jesus?," etc.

The Left Again

Of course the usual group of left demonstrators in their motley display of American left impotency were there: Socialist Workers Party, Congress of United Labor Action, Progressive Labor Party. They provided no leadership to the working class. They attempted to show their support for the poor oppressed class, by quietly marching with demonstrators seven times around the White House!

At this time of unparallel crisis in world history, Jackson works to organize the class not to "SAVE HUMANITY" but to "ENSLAVE HUMANITY!" We support the class by never compromising truth for the sake of appearance. The class must know who Jackson is.

We of the IWP support the poor, oppressed, employed and unemployed people's right to free productive human lives. We support the class by bringing reality to the class. We support the class by providing leadership, by teaching.

The choice before us is Socialism or Fascism! We can and will build international Socialism. We support every man, woman and child on that march by demanding that all join with us in fighting for international socialism.