No shortcuts in democratic socialism

Bertha Lewis CEO of ACORN (and the founding Co-Chair of the New York Working Families Party) and Dan Cantor, Executive Director of the NY Working Families Party spoke alongside Joe Schwartz on the last day of the 2010 Young Democratic Socialists Conference (blogged about my last post, Be Concrete on Concrete).

Ms. Lewis started out her speech applauding the audience. “I give you all a hand because saying I’m young and democratic and a socialist is a good thing to do; and no light thing to do in this time.” And then she fervently began: “We are in it right now.” “This is for real;” alluding to the sentiment of Jim Crow, the McCarthy era, and internment camps that waffles in the air.

“Economic crisis. What crisis?” Ms. Lewis loudly asked. “We have always been in a crisis,” she said, “this is NOT NEW.” While this may be a crisis for them, we have always been in a crisis if we are poor, working class, and/or people of color, Lewis explained. Moreover, Lewis questioned how the global corporations can still have lots of money and give out big bonuses (let alone a bonus). “How blatant do they have to be?” she asked. This is “one instance where size does not matter” for no bank or corporation should be giving or receiving bonuses. Moreover, Lewis wondered aloud how Hollywood continues with a straight face to be such a large industry; and went on to call all these practices insane.

Thus, Ms. Lewis urged us to knock on doors, and do less marching, believing, and asking: “that is advocacy, not organizing,” she stated. She also urged us to not depend on the kindness of strangers (e.g. foundations, philanthropies); and that when one has to soften what they are doing to beware. And to work on building an organization that is self-sufficient and gets into real battles. Politically speaking, Ms. Lewis called for a third party in government (and not for tea).

Ms. Lewis believes that the next real battle coming in the United States will be around immigration; whereby, immigrants are getting ready to be a “minority majority.” And as we are “getting ready to have a majority planet of color,” this is how the “fear of the black planet is being played out today.” ‘The face of immigration needs to be blacker than it is,’ proclaimed Ms. Lewis. “Second and third generation blacks here in the U.S. are not marching with other [more recent immigrants]. They need to say I am an immigrant too.”

Thus, I asked Ms. Lewis “how I, as a white woman, could help fuel this renewed black movement that she spoke of.” Ms. Lewis passionately responded, “Organize white women, black people need to organize themselves. Keep it simple and organize what you know and then join together, which will just make attacks stronger. This is how you help us and we help you.” She added a last piece of advice, “Challenge those talkin’ smack.”

Mr. Cantor then spoke about the 12 year old Working Families Party of New York (WFP-NY). Mr. Cantor promotes the WFP-NY because it a “unique and powerful way to make non-violent change. The WFP-NY is an example of a fusion voting system, where two parties (a minority and a majority), run on the same candidate (e.g. Obama running as both a Democratic and WFP-NY nominee). Mr. Cantor believes that if one “really wants power one has to scare not influence the influentials.” He also wanted us to understand that there are “no shortcuts to doing the work that we do.”

Mr. Cantor, Ms. Lewis, and Dr. Spivak (who spoke for the final Plenary) all affirmed the importance of language. So with Mr. Cantor’s urging, it is time we think critically about new terms and language as eloquent and simplistic as the “living wage;” but at the same time, be careful, do not get stunned by the “paralysis of analysis” (Ms. Lewis’ words) and go out there and organize!