IN STORES NOW!

Setting the Record Straight  

In the Sixties and Seventies many thousands of young, idealist revolutionaries entered the working class with a vision of bringing about transformative change in U.S. society. Many, such as the author of Fighting Times, were in the Revolutionary Union (RU), while others belonged to diverse communist organizations. These determined young men and women who dove into the chaotic, desperate unknown shared a common core belief: the capitalist system, by its very nature, has to bleed the world to survive.

Many from the RU successfully created rank and file fight-back organizations that sought to democratize and rejuvenate moribund unions and build a class-conscious solidarity movement, such as Miners Right to Strike Committee in mines or Locals Opposed to Concessions in auto. A central plank that united these efforts was an unyielding commitment to opposing the oppression of people of color and women both in the workplace and in working class communities.

Unfortunately, the annals of history have buried the experiences of these young rebels who worked on assembly lines, in post offices, in mills, in garment factories and in mines. Their years of valuable experiences have rarely been documented for future generations.

Today, history IS repeating itself; capitalism cannot feed the poor, heal the sick, bring equality to Black and Latino people, or withdraw imperialist armies ensuring world capitalism’s “right” to exploit other countries.