NET7 BOUNDARIES go. 3

July 1979

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I TEN YEARS OF THE REPUBLIC OF NEW AFRICA 1

II AFRO-AMERICANS: THE "THIRD WORLD" AT HOME 5

III MYTH OF BLACK PROGRESS 14

IV THE HOMELAND 27

V ALMANAC ENTRY 32

VI A HISTORY OF AFRO-AMERICA 34

VII MARXISM AND BLACK LIBERATION 67

VIII SOME QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT BLACK LIBERATION 82

i

:

Send printed material to=

H. Martin

Box 2761

Dartmouth East

Nova Scotia, Canada

B2W 4R4

Send letters to:

Q. Smith

Box 102

Lakeside

Nova Scotia, Canada

BOJ 1Z0

-1-

I

TEN YEARS OF THE REPUBLIC OF NEW AFRICA

(This section consists of an abridged version of a televisionscript screened in the year 2009.)

It may seem hard to believe that thirty years ago many people had

never even heard of the idea of establishing our Republic of New Africa

and of those who had, only a few took it seriously. But today, in *

2009, we celebrate the tenth anniversary of the founding of the RNA and

it seems the most natural thing in the world.

The great majority of our 72 million Afro-Americans assisted in

the birth of our state in 1999, but it took events around the world to

bring about this great day in our nation's history. Today's program

picks up the-story in 1980.

Over the previous decade (the 1970's) the economic gap widened

between Blacks and whites in the old U.S. Accelerating trends toward

automation produced growing unemployment (60% among young Blacks).

After the temporary boom created by the U.S. aggression in Vietnam, the

economic position of Blacks deteriorated rapidly. Life in New York,

Jp^

^s

-2-

Chicago, Los Angeles and other large cities of the U.S. North and West

became more difficult for Black people. The Sixties had seen open rebel

lion but in this period a sort of lull set in bringing with it a decline

in the token sums that governments spent to "assist" urban Blacks. The

business boom in the ghettos was confined to the abortion clinics and

street drug trade.

With these conditions repelling them, a small but growing number of

Blacks responded to the pull of cultural and historic ties to the South

where a few jobs were opening. In the early Eighties, those who relocated

went mainly to Atlanta, Birmingham and other cities and their motivation

was mainly economic. There were some, for example the members of the

"Republic of New Africa", who advocated a return migration to the rural

South as a step toward political independence. But in this period the

oppression of Afro-Americans followed its deadly course "quietly"; events

had not yet made the idea of independence widespread. Because the

imperialist system with the U.S. at the top appeared invulnerable, carry

ing out independence for our own country seemed but a dream. The crises

which befell the U.S. in the mid-1980*s brought the dream into the realm

of reality.

U.S. economic domination was promoting increasing resistance from

nationalist forces outside the major powers. The U.S. economy was weak

ened first by rising oil prices and then by the high price paid to end

the OPEC oil embargo of 1985. When several African governments propped

up by the U.S. defaulted on their loans, major New York banks had to be

bailed out by the federal government. It was against this backdrop that

the Federation of Azania (formerly South Africa) took its dramatic step.

Influential patriotic Azanians reacted to long-standing U.S. interference

supporting earlier white domination. Their statement supporting indepen

dence for the Black Belt and Puerto Rico and the return of the U.S. South

west to Mexico broadcast the program of the RNA worldwide.

From this point, the movement for independence gathered new impetus.

Among the most valued recruits to the RNA cause were the Black veterans

Jp^

J0^\

-3-

of U.S. "counterinsurgency" fighting In Central America and Asia.

These men realized that the U.S. could not "learn a lesson" from its

partial defeat in these wars just as it had not "learned" from Vietnam.

When the necessity of protecting U.S. supplies of raw materials and

U.S. investments again forced military action abroad, they wanted to

be ready to exploit the opening for* Afro-American liberation.

Like all freedom fighters, the Black military had much to learn

at the beginning. Urban rebellions in the North were isolated and

destroyed. After holding out longer, early attempts at setting up

rebel bases in southern rural areas met the same end. Turning for

support to the communist countries, Black leaders received advice

instead: "Ally with the white workers in the U.S.; they hold the key

to revolutionary change". With these words Russia and China turned

their backs on the infant Black liberation movement. For in reality

U.S. whites were bitterly opposed to Black independence; they showed

their true feelings by idolizing the Army officers who ordered the

heavy tank fire which destroyed a large part of the Black ghetto in

Detroit. Those few whites who supported the Black cause had either

to kepp silent or leave the U.S. The billionaire families of the U.S.

and their government were determined to hold onto the Black Belt at

all costs. As long as the U.S. was able to concentrate its forces

against them, Black fighters were able to make little progress.

It was the nationalist movement in Brazil which gave the Black

army its first victory. Starting in northeast Brazil with a substantial

Black population, the nationalists developed an alliance with the

Indians of the Brazilian Amazon region, in which U.S. investment

was growing explosively. Greatly concerned, the U.S. government began

to commit troops to Brazil and U.S. casualties mounted. Events in

Brazil were closely studied by Black leaders and foreshadowed the close

link which developed between Afro-Americans and Native Peoples in the

old U.S. These ties had deep roots in Black history going back to

the Seminole Wars (1836) in which the U.S. forced the Seminoles to leave

-4-

Florida to end their support to runaway slaves. Allied with the Native

People, Black officers set up a secure base area in northern Florida's

inaccessible swamps.

Against this backdrop, Black officers began to plan their historic

raid on Jacksonville. From their base area in the Okefenokee Swamp,. Black

troops swept into the city, timing their attack to coordinate with "dis

turbances" in the Black neighborhoods. Escaping to their base area, the

Black forces and their allies established their ability to operate and

exist in the home of U.S. imperialism.

The resulting clampdown by the U.S. government produced drastically

worsened conditions for Blacks. Further open anti-Black organizations

flourished among whites. These conditions, together with the limited

successes of Black arms produced a mobilization of Black manpower. Break

ing out of the ghetto trap, urban Blacks began to see in Black liberation

a positive goal, worth fighting for. And in 1990, Brazil won its final

victory over U.S. troops. The new government established itself as a

center for the theory and propaganda of anti-U.S. efforts. With support

from France, Germany and Japan, Brazilian anti-imperialists headed a

world-wide boycott of the U.S. From there it was only a short step to

war—war that led to Brazilian troops landing to cut off New Orleans as

the Black Army struck the city from the north and east; war that saw a

growing alliance between the Black Army, Native Peoples, Mexicans and

Puerto Ricanss and finally, in 1999*, the founding of the Republic of

New Africa.

-5-

II

AFRO-AMERICANS: THE "THIRD WORLD" AT HOME

A Long History of Genocide

During World War II, the German fascists preached and practiced

genocide against Jews, Poles, Russians and many other peoples. But

a look at history and current events shows that genocide was not born

with Hitler nor did it die with the defeat of Nazilsm. Europeans set

the precedent for Nazi genocide by their attacks on Africa, Asia and

North and South America. Today the U.S. leads the other imperialists

in making genocide a reality faced daily by millions, but unlike the

German fascists, the U.S. imperialists try" to conceal their genocidal

policies with protestations of bringing democracy.

-Directly under the gun stand the Afro-American people captive

within U.S. boundaries. They are the descendants of survivors of the

most destructive slaughter in history; estimates of the number of

Blacks billed during slave trading range from 60 to 200 million.

It was German fascism killing at Buchenwald, Auschwitz and Warsaw.

^ But now it is U.S. "democracy" killing Blacks in Attica, Jackson State,

-6-

the New York abortion clinics; the U.S. which dropped atom bombs on Japan

and napalm on Vietnam, the U.S. at My Lai, the U.S. backing other

Nigerian peoples against Ibos and Israel against Palestine; U.S. -investors

who paid for the slaughter of the Amazonian Indians.

All these threatened peoples possess land, oil and other valuable

products desired by the U.S. and other imperialist powers.. Their fight

for real independence, control of their own land and resources, represents

the main progressive force in the world today; U.S. imperialism is the

main oppressor of the world's peoples.

Like other trends in society, genocide develops from material con

ditions. Germany before, and the U.S. now, conduct war to gain and

extend control of valuable land and resources. Fascist and democratic

forms of imperialism both use genocidal methods to accumulate wealth

owned by others (land in the U.S. South, money and property of the

European Jews). Genocide is a conscious plan when the peoples involved

pose a direct threat to control by their physical presence or armed

resistance. It occurs as a result of imperialist domination of the world

market under which land is used, not to provide necessities of life for

its people, but for imperialism's profits. Inevitably the oppressed peo

ples are forced into contradiction with imperialism. Their defence fromgenocide is control of their own land and thus destruction of imperialism,

especially U.S. imperialism.

How does the U.S. whites' reaction to genocide compare with the

wholehearted support the Germans gave fascism? Again, the material conditions are more similar than not. Bribed by the promises of "the goodlife", Germans committed genocide. The greater bribes afforded by U.S.imperialism caused U.S. whites to call for bombing Hanoi and invasion ofArab countries to break the oil embargo. What differences there arebetween U.S. Boy Scouts and Hitler Youth exist because U.S. imperialismis in a dominant positon, where Germany was seeking to break the dominanceof France, England and the U.S. As a result the U.S. is more flexible

-7-

and employs a democratic facade, preferring at times to use more

indirect methods of control.

This article focuses on the Afro-American people. We argue that

self-determination for Blacks will require political separation-

land and power in the U.S. Black Belt; that the Afro-Americans' steps

toward self-determination represent an important part of world-wide

opposition to U.S. imperialism. The alternative to nationhood is

genocide. All who wish to improve the world have a stake in preventing

such an alternative. Further, revolutionaries must realize that by

challenging and breaking the imperialist-drawn boundaries of the U.S.,

Afro-Americans and their allies will contribute to the theory and

practical strength needed to destroy U.S. imperialism.

National Oppression and the Drive for Raw Materials

Today's world economy depends heavily on petroleum. Petroleum

m^ production and distribution reflect how the sides are drawn up in the

world. The people of the U.S. are but 5% of the world population, yet

they consume one-third of all crude petroleum produced with whites

taking more than their proportionate share. Africans export oil on a

large scale from Nigeria, Libya and Angola; their consumption is verylow. And oil is but one among many valuable commodities derived from

the rich land of Africa and turned to the benefit of imperialism.

At present, imperialism is on the offensive in Africa; the

imperialists are striving to consolidate and extend their considerable

control over the continent. But the imperialist system operates world

wide. As the leading power, the U.S. exemplifies the features of

imperialism. Sixty billionaire families are at the center of the

financial empire which controls the largest U.S. multi-national corporations and banks. These, in turn, dominate the U.S. economy and government. - To run the U.S. economy requires great imported supplies of

petroleum, copper and other raw materials. The greatest portion of

-8-

U.S. profits comes from operations outside the U.S. and particularly

from raw materials.

Most of the raw materials come from what is euphemistically termed

"the Third World"; "oppressed nations" is a more accurate term. The

basis of national oppression is export of raw materials to the U.S. and

to other "developed" (imperialist) countries. As they are consumed byU.S. industry, the raw materials promote profits for U.S. imperialists

and higher living standards for all whites. Unable to use their own raw

materials and. dependent on the U.S. for industrial products, the oppressednations cannot develop independent economies with whatever payments theyreceive for raw materials, as the example of Iran under the Shah shows.

Looking at most oppressed nations, one observes that large numbersof people have been driven off the land. Massive unemployment and povertyresult. The governments depend on the U.S. for military support andsupplies, and food in many cases, and are deeply in debt to U.S. banks.

At the urging of the U.S. government, World Bank, IMF and other imperialistagencies, the governments promote population control aimed at "surplus"population which has become a "liability" in an economy geared to rawmaterial export. This amounts to genocide in practice.

Self-Determination Is the Goal

To oppose U.S. imperialism, oppressed peoples will have to demand

the right to self-determination, to control their own land and raw

materials under a government independent of the U.S. Often, the U.S.answer is genocidal military attack as in Vietnam. There, U.S. imperialismfought to preserve the imperialist-drawn border which created in southernVietnam a preserve open to imperialist plunder. The NLF and North Viet

namese fought to drive U.S. imperialism out of their country. Vietnamwas reunited but the peace terms dictated to Vietnam by its pro-U.S."allies" in Russia and China left the U.S. free to drill for oil offthe coast.

In the case of Vietnam, the old imperialist border divided one

nation leaving part under the control of a government dominated by the U.S.

-9-

{ In other parts of the world, boundaries drawn by imperialism include

oppressed nations within the borders of imperialist states. Examples

are Northern Ireland in the U.K., Puerto Rico and the Black Belt in the

U.S. A third function of imperialist borders is to place one oppressed

nation under the domination of another which is temporarily more firmly

under the imperialist grasp. Examples are Bengal in Pakistan (before

the founding of Bangladesh), Biafra in Nigeria, and the Lunda people

in Zaire. While the specific imperialist uses of borders call for

different tactics from different oppressed nations, the common principle

for all anti-imperialists must be the right to self-determination, the

right to secede from states created by imperialism.

War in Zaire

In Zaire, for example, several imperialist countries control cobalt

(2/3 of world production), uranium, and other vital materials. France3

and Belgium have investments in Shaba province estimated at $25 billion.

0^ Despite this wealth, the people of Zaire are poor; illiteracy and infantmortality are high, income and life expectancy, low. Its government

headed by General Mobutu receives economic and military aid from imperial-4

1st powers and owes $3 billion to imperialist banks and governments.

Most of Zaire's mineral wealth lies in Shaba in land rightfully claimed

by the Lunda people who backed the invasion by their compatriots in

Angola.

French and Belgian imperialists sent troops to secure Shaba for

the Mobutu government and to insure their uranium supply remained in

imperialist hands. Inter-imperialist rivalries between France and the

U.S. mean that France cannot rely on continued uranium supplies from the5

U.S. and Canada. The U.S. has more sources of uranium and so provided

only limited support for Mobutu.

The press trumpeted outrage at the killing of a few hundred whites

working for imperialism in Zaire but said little about the far greater

number of Blacks killed by the French and Belgians. We believe the Lunda

jp\

-10-

people will"remain subject to economic oppression and military attack

until Africans are able to drive the U.S. and European oppressors from

Africa and redraw the boundaries confining them. The role of the -imperial

ist powers in Zaire added one more genocidal crime to their record.

The World Scene and Marxism

On a world scale the contradiction between imperialism, presently

headed by the U.S., and oppressed peoples striving for national liberation

has marked world history since colonialism began. From the viewpoint of

the present historical era, the contradiction must be resolved by the

destruction of imperialism. Until they are able to challenge U.S. domina

tion successfully, the oppressed peoples faCfe the alternatives of slow

destruction from poverty and population control or more rapid demise

through military attacks.

Our view of history reflects our use of the philosophy of dialectical

materialism and a reconstructed version of historical materialism. Devel

oped by Marx and Engels, this philosophy views the world as constantly in a

process of change through the development of the internal contradictions

in society, and principally economic contradictions. Despite our use of

dialectical and historical materialism we are not Marxists for we hold

that Marxism cannot provide a reliable compass for national liberation.

Marxism is based on the labor theory of value which holds that labor

alone is the source of profits and wealth. Land contributes nothing to

value in the Marxist framework. We argue above it is mainly from the

land of Africa, of the Black Belt, of all oppressed nations that imperial

ism derives its profits. To the contrary, Marxist economic writers focus

on the exploitation of factory workers in the West. The political result

is a call to class struggle. In its best days, between 1917 and 1945,

Marxism-Leninism contributed real support to national liberation which

it saw as an important, but secondary, ally of class struggle and the

Soviet Union. After 1945, the national independence forces moved to

the front lines against imperialism. Under economic and military

.JPN

jP^

-11-

pressures from the U.S. and relying on a flawed theory in Marxism, Russia

and its camp have turned into supporters of the status quo, allies and

imperialist rivals of the U.S.

Their economic and military power (representing over a quarter of

the world population) make Russia, China and their allies a major force

retarding the independence of Africa, the Black Belt, and all oppressed

nations. The theory of Marxism does far more damage than the combined

propaganda of USAID, the U.N. and the World Bank. Speaking in the name

of revolution, and associated with progressive past events in Russia, China

and Cuba, Marxism represents accommodation to world domination by U.S.imperialism.

Marxism at Work in Africa

We illustrate this thesis with reference to the role of Russia and

Cuba in Africa. Foreign interference in Africa is an old story. It goes

back to ancient invaders, to Alexander the Great. In modern times,

European colonial powers have committed genocide on a vast scale. As

opponents of imperialist control of Africa, our concern is that the Russ

ians are talking about revolution in Africa but playing an imperialist role.

Russia controls the Cuban economy and pressures Castro to side with

Soviet imperialism against other oppressed nations in Africa. In some

parts of Africa, Russia openly opposes the demand for self-determination.

In supporting Ethiopia, for example, Russia backs the attack on Eritrea.In Angola, Russia and Cuba provided military support for forces oustingthe Portuguese colonialists. Angola's oil may one day flow to the SovietUnion strengthening it against the U.S. On the other hand, the Russianshave strengthened present U.S. control of oil in Angola. Under Russianinfluence the government of Angola allows Gulf Oil to operate in the enclave of Cabinda.

African liberation forces may be able to take tactical advantage ofU.S. and Soviet rivalry, but Russia is now an imperialist country

-12-

oppressing Georgians, Tartars and others within its own borders. It can

not be a long-term ally of any oppressed people. It cannot defend the

right of Angolans to decide whether their oil is used by Angolans' or sold

abroad. Russian and Cuban actions create illusions about possibilities

for permanent advances in the oppressed nations without destroying U.S.

imperialism. Castro made the following response to U.S. demands for Cuba

to retire from Africa; "We don't ask that you pull your troops out of

the Phillipines, Korea or Western Europe." In other words, rather than

promoting the defeat of U.S. military forces, Castro accepts U.'S. mili

tary occupation of other countries.

Like the Russians, the Chinese leaders seek their own advantage in

Africa. Huang Hua, Foreign Minister of China, flew to Zaire during the

revolt last year to meet with Mobutu. His communique criticized Russia

for backing Angolan support for the rebels of Shaba and said nothing

against French, Belgian or U.S. imperialism.

In brief, we argue that while the Soviet Union, Cuba or China may be

tactical allies for certain African peoples for a limited period, as part

of the status quo they are mainly enemies. This fact, and the lack of a

strong international movement among the oppressed peoples, contribute to

the strength of imperialism and make the world situation temporarily unfavorable for national liberation.

Closer to Home—the Black Belt

Land is essential for independence. Extending and proving our thesis

for U.S. Blacks requires several 3teps. We will show that the Afro-American people are an oppressed colonial nation whose relation to U.S.

rulers is, in essence, the same as Zaire's. Self-determination means

land and political independence in the Black Belt. The alternatives denythe identity of oppressed U.S. Blacks with oppressed Africans.

We take integration as an example. Proponents of integration as anideology see Black oppression as a question of relations between Blacks

-13-

iP^ and U.S. whites. They ignore the fact that U.S. whites give nearly unani

mous support to U.S. imperialism, support bought with high living stan

dards financed by pillaging oppressed nations abroad and within U.S.

borders. Blacks cannot at the same time be an oppressed people and share

equally with U.S. whites in the fruits of their own oppression. As a

theory, integration denies the existence of either U.S. imperialism or a

separate Afro-American nation. We support the right of Afro-Americans

to make and win limited demands. But a program based solely on integra

tion is a dead end.

The ultimate basis of Black power can only be control over land.

This truth is the basis for a program of land and political power in the

Black Belt. It provides a practical guarantee of the rights of Blacks in

the ghettos of the U.S. North and West who are presently threatened by

government programs for population control which feature pressure for

abortions and sterilization. Representing an independent republic with

allies around the world and supported by a Black army, the Black ambas-

m\ sador and consuls will be a real force to protect Blacks outside the

South.

Every nation is different but land is the universal. It is our view

that land will be the basis for Black liberation as it is for the libera

tion of all oppressed peoples.

* * *

1. Statistics come from The World Almanac, 1979. pp. 113, 114, 442.

2. Ferdinand Lundberg, The Rich and the Super-Rich. Lyle Stuart, Inc.,New York, 1968.

3« Manchester Guardian Weekly. Vol. 118, No. 22, May 28, 1978, p. 6.

4. Manchester Guardian Weekly, May 28, 1978, p. 6.

5. Manchester Guardian Weekly, May 28, 1978, p. 6.

6. Atlas World Review. Vol. 5, Mo. 5, May 1973, p. 19.

-14-

III

MYTH OF BLACK PROGRESS

Many U.S. whites are convinced that Afro-Americans have achievedsocial and economic equality.1 Many go so far as to claim that Afro-Americans enjoy preferential treatment over whites. They conclude that"privileges" for Afro-Americans should be taken away. Living conditionsof U.S. Blacks have historically been much worse than those for whites.We will show that, contrary to widely-held white opinions, this gap in thelast few years has actually been widening as Black living conditions havedeteriorated steadily while whites have gained in many areas. More importantly, we will discuss the serious consequences for the Afro-Americanpeople.

The Economic Gap

Unemployment—The official U.S. government unemployment rate forBlacks in 1968 stood at around 7%; by 1977 it had risen to around 13%, anincrease of 6%. White unemployment, by contrast, stood at about 3.5% in

^ 1968, compared to about 6.5% by the end of 1977, an increase of 3%.2

/r*™>

-15-

While white unemployment actually decreased from 1976 to 1977, Black unem

ployment did not. That trend continued into 1978. In June of that year,

for example, unemployment among white men plummeted to 3.4%> while for

Black men the rate was 11.9%, a difference of 8.5% and a 3*s-to-l Black-

to-white ratio. In that same month, 37.1% of Black teenagers were unem

ployed, essentially unchanged from the previous month, whereas 11.6% of

white teenagers were unemployed, down substantially from 13.8% the pre

vious month. The absolute difference in teenage rates was 25.5% for3

June, and the ratio was about 3.2 to 1, Black to white.

The government figures fail to reflect the "hidden unemployed",

i.e., those who are not employed and have given up looking for jobs; the

official figures are not a true depiction of unemployment. Black people,

denied jobs because they are Black, lacking skills whites have acquired,

competing with ever-increasing numbers of unemployed and dissatisfied with

menial and degrading jobs, comprise a much larger percentage of the "hid

den unemployed" than whites. By including the Black "hidden unemployed"

among the "officially" unemployed, we obtain a revised Black unemployment4

rate of 25% for 1977, including a 60% rate for Black teenagers.

Poverty—In 1975, 8.1 million Afro-Americans were officially below

the poverty level; in 1976, the most recent year for which we could obtain

figures, that number had jumped to 8.3 million, an increase of 200,000.

The official number of poverty-stricken whites, on the other hand, dipped

from 17.8 to 16.7 million, a decrease of 1,100,000 for that period. In

addition, the number of Afro-Americans below 125% of the poverty level,

i.e., in "near poverty", officially increased by 200,000. The corres

ponding number of whites declined by 1,900,000. Although the number and

proportion of poor families headed by white women fell sharply from 1975

to 1976, the number of poor families headed by Black women rose from

1,000,000 to 1,100,000. In particular, 71% of Black families headed by

unemployed women were impoverished in 1976.

Income—In 1970, the median Black family income was 61% of white

family income*. By 1976, the figure had decreased to 59%.

JP\

-16-

The Housing Gap

Increasing poverty and unemployment and soaring inflation rates have

meant further deterioration in housing conditions for Afro-Americans for

whom inadequate and unsanitary housing have been the rule rather than the

exception. As their economic plight worsens overall, more Afro-Americans

must accept lower-rent, more unacceptable housing. "Urban renewal'* pro

grams in larger cities have displaced many Afro-American families from

their dwellings, thereby contributing to the housing crisis for Blacks.

Increasing numbers are taking residence in decrepit, unsanitary abandoned

buildings*without heat or plumbing. More Afro-Americans must double up,

living with relatives outside the immediate family, meaning increased

overcrowding. Since far fewer Afro-Americans than whites own their own

homes, they are at the whim of landlords who generally don't care about

the welfare of their tenants. Consequently, most Afro-Americans cannot

build equity with a private dwelling as can many whites. In recent years

the flight of businesses from large cities to suburbs has developed into

a trend. This has trapped Aijro-American employees who either cannot

afford to move or are not permitted by real estate practices to move where

they choose.

The Health Gap

A child born into a poverty family is twice as likely to diebefore his first birthday as a child born to middle-class parents.In certain counties in Georgia, 3 times as many Black babies aswhite babies die during the first 28 days of life....

In the U.S., if a poor child does live beyond his first year, hischance for dying before he is 35 is four times greater than thatof his non-poverty counterpart....

The incidence of preventable mental retardation among poor children is roughly twice that of children born into middle-class andupper-income families....

Hunger and malnutrition take their toll in the form of infantdeaths, organic brain damage, retarded growth and learning andincreased vulnerability to disease....

-17-

The National Center for Health Statistics has found that poorpeople have 4 times as many cardiac conditions as those in thehighest income group; 6 times as much arthritis, rheumatism andhypertension; 3 times as many orthopedic impariments, and virtually 8 times as many visual impairments.0'

Since Black people in the U.S. have always been the princiaal "poor"

segment of the country, we could substitute the word "Black" for the word

"poor" wherever it appears above. As we have shown, the number of poor

Black people has been increasing in recent years while the number of poor

whites has been decreasing.

The evidence we have just given shows deteriorating conditions over

all for Afro-Americans, especially compared to conditions for whites.

Although we have concentrated here on declining conditions, small numbers

of Black people have made some gains. But forces are at work to undermine

even those gains. The evidence indicates the status of Blacks in the U.S.

will continue to deteriorate. With automation looming as an important

0m\ economic factor, the imperialists and their white supporters will makesure of that.

Automation and Black Labor

Automation had its technological origins in the 1950's. If its

potential were fully realized, it would mean the replacement of human .

labor by machines on a large scale. In the U.S. by the mid-1970's, aftersome twenty years of research and development and capital investment in

automated equipment, serious effects of automation began to be felt, as

the unemployment statistics above indicate. We can expect continued development of automation in the future. As one economist explained, "Theevidence that we have is suggesting increasingly that the employment-displacing effects of automation, anticipated for the 1950's, are now beginning to arrive on a serious scale in the 1970's." He predicted that'the 1950's are likely to see a period of jobless growth or even of jobdiminution across the 'entire manufacturing sector of the industrialworld\ even if there is 'growth of output and in capital investment'".9

IP*

/0^\

-13-

Despite the statistics and the growth of automation, Harxists con

tinue to insist that the icperialists need Black labor. K. Baron writes,

::The ruling class ... needs Black workers ... Indeed, for that sophistic

ated gentleman, the American capitalist, the demand for Black labor has

btcome a veritable devil in the flesh.:' Baron and other 2iarxists uphold

these views because they believe Marx's labor theory of value which attrib

utes all value to human labor. .Today, h?weE£ir.___the imperialists derive

their^material wealth,mainly from products of land like oil and minerals.

Human labor is an Important component of value, but the main component is

land. Black labor^is increasingly useless to the impdrij.lists_.for pro

ducing wealth when machines or whites can rsplace it. 3y insisting that

Black labor is needed in the U.S., the Marxists are in effect assuring

people that the imperialists can't afford genocide against Afro-Amsricans.

People who believe this will be unprepared to combat genocide. In a

revolutionary guise, Marxists are disseminating pro-inperialist, ganecidal

propaganda. Sidney Willheln incisively expressed the prospect for Afro-

Americans in an increasingly-automated U.S.,

tfhen economic motives remove the Negro from employment, Americansociety thereby removes the Negro's social existence/ the whiteeases the Negro into worthlessness by depriving him of employment.The Negro is losing out because he is losing out in the technologicaldevelopment of American society, White America can, for the firsttime, easily bear the economic costs far implementing its racialvalues to the point of excluding ths Negro race.l"2

At one time, Black people were wanted in the U.S. insofar as their

labor produced great wealth for white slaveowners before the Civil War and

for white landlords and industrialists after. This has changed in recent

years, though. As the need for Black labor decreases, U.S. imoerialism

and its^whlte_s^porj:e_rs increasingly consider Blacks a burden" to thanas slacks in larger numbers must rely on government funds for subsistence.

As a result, the U.S. is moving towards solidifying white supremacy even

further and taking away what little the Afro-Arasricans have for subsistence

-19-

The Bakke Decision and the Tax Revolt

The 3akke decision by the Suprame Court is one step toward solidify

ing the legality of white supremacy. In that decision, the Court directed

the University of California to admit a white applicant to one of its

medical schools, ruling that preferring nembers of any one group for no

other reason than ethnic origin is discriminatory. In the short run, it

indicates the demise of even the small gains won in the last ten years by

Afro-Americans through the establishment of special quotas favoring them

in certain jobs or educational competitions. Afro-Americans cannot comp

ete against whites in industries or educational institutions almost all

owned and controlled by whites. Afro-Americans face more oppression as

whites, backed by the Bakke decision, uphold white supremacy in the guiseof opposition to discrimination.

Most state governments, with the enthusiastic backing of the white

population, are promoting drastic cut3 in taxes. Carter's federal

budget for 1972 is smaller than 1978's, but military expenditures have

increased while social programs have been cut. Numerous surveys haveshown that the current opposition- movement to taxes is supported bywhites because they think it is a way to strike at Afro-Americans, espec-ia^v---those--3Il_wel^ Carl Holman, President of the National UrbanCoalition, points out about the California Proposition 13 to cut taxes:

That vote means layoffs, with minority workers who have least senioritylosing their jobs, it means curtailed services for poor people, and itmeans the crippling of affirmative action programs."13 White chauvinismis so strong that many whites will be indifferent when cuts in taxes bringdenial of the necessities of life to welfare recipients and others; manyother whites actively encourage a cutoff of necessities for Slacks.

Oppression and Dying

The white ruling class once utilized the Army, police and vigilantewhite hoodlums to lynch, murder, and rape Afro-Americans. Yet, as longas there was an economic need for Afro-Americans, these tactics were des

igned mainly to terrorize, not to eliminate, a whole people. Today, however, when the white U.S. society finds no more economic usefulness for

-20-

Afro-Americansj new methods of killing them much more effectively and on

a wider scale are emerging. The new methods are genocidal in nature, not

terroristic.

To avoid the prospect of future problems with Afro-Americans, imper

ialists sponsor "population control as a method to eliminate Black people

before they can grow and develop into freedom fighters. Through tne news

media, books, social workers, doctors> and "family planners", the imperial

ists try to convince Black people that their\ oppression will be relieved

if they are relieved of children. The imperialists' pro-abortion propa

ganda is gleefully disseminated by liberals, radicals and Marxists.

Doctors, social workers, and the courts use welfare aid as a tool to pres

sure Black women to seek abortions or sterilization. Other doctors have

tricked Black women and sterilized them on the pretext of performing other

procedures. The success of abortion and sterilization programs in Black

communities will mean fewer Black people in future generations and fewer

Black freedom fighters. It is easier for the U.S. government to kill

Elack babies in the womb than it is to fight revolutionary Black youths

or adults. That is why so many whites encourage abortion and steriliz

ation of Blacks.

According to U.S. government statistics, about 70% of U.S. whites used

some contraceptive method in 1973 and about 60% of U.S. Blacks. Of these,

11.6% of the white females had been sterilized, while 23.1% of the Black

females had been sterilized. For Slack wonen the rate increased from 14.4%

in 1J35 to IS.3% in 1970. The Blacl. abortion rate is also rapidly risingand twice that of whites (table)-. For every 1,000 live births in Washington,

D.C. and New York City in 1974, there were 1,115 and 1,138 abortions,

respectively, i.e., there were more abortions than births. Both Wash

ington and New York have large Black populations. Abortion genocide is

progressing at a rapid pace in the liberal northern cities. Whether 31ack

women volunteer for abortions or sterilizations or are forced into it by

welfare bureaucrats, the source of the pressure is imperialist oppression

and the result is the same—ganocide.

400-

35*0-

K 3004

^f 250

o xoo-

I-J

0- MMIH"

-21-

15

a—-4

^

^2

>r

^

BUCK

W/rtrrar

LEGAL ABORT/ON KA7I0.S, Of faCE, WiTED srATE5, /T72-W74-

TABLES

FROM

SEPT. i<n7

pp.169-JHO.

"3>

13 *~

yA

#

x,)<?li 1^13 \<*1+

legal fiGofirtioN /?/nEs; 8v (?/££, w/ted sr/rfcs, mz-ffl*

-22-

While abortion is killing Black fetuses, homicides are killing Black

adults at epidemic rates. In 1974, more than 6% of Black males and more

than 2% of Black females who died x*era victims of homicide. During that

year homicide was the fourth leading cause of death among Blacks, claim

ing more lives than all the infectious diseases combined, and exceeded

only by heart diseases, cancer and accidents (all of which Blacks suffer

in greater percentages than whites in the U.S.) If recent trends con

tinue, homicide will soon pass accidents as the third-leading cause of

death among Blacks, if it hasn't already. It was around the end of the

1960's that the homicide rate began rising sharply for 31acks. In 1355

the rate was 50.7 per 100,000 for Black men; by 1970 it had shot u? to

72.8, and in 1974 it was 77.9. By comparison, the rate for white mnles

was 4.8 per 100,000 in 1965 and 9.3 per 100,000 in 1974.15

Hundreds of thousands, even millions, of Afro-Americans are addicted

to drugs like heroin, methadone and morphine. Dr. William Corson, Com

missioner of the U.S. Presidential Crime Commission, estimated in 1971

that there may be up to three million heroin addicts in the U.S~, of

whom at least 80% were Black or from another oppressed nationality.

Dr. Mary Maroni, a white researcher, found in the early lJ70fs that 8% of

all annual income of the residents of Bedford-Stuyvesant, 3 large Black

ghetto in New York, went for the purchase of heroin.16 Translated intosocial terms, these statistics mean that millions of Afro-Americans are

suffering a living death uhile addicted and that many can look forward to

an early death from overdose, violence or malnutrition-related disease.

Hie Afro-Americans are victims of a deliberate program to promote narco

tics addiction within their communities. Imperialists and their organ

ized crime henchmen rake in the lucrative profits as government officials

and police at all levels in the U.S. conspire to deliver narcotics to

their Slack prey.

Death Toll

To develop some sense of the effect of oppression and genocide on

the Afro-Americans, we estimate the 1574 death toll attributable to

jpsss

Jp^v

-23-

certain of the genocidal phenomena just described:

Abortions There were roughly 534,000 live births of Blackbabies and 400 abortions per 1,000 live births.Death toll * 233,600.

Homicides The official number of Black males was about

12,000,000 and there were 77.; homicides per1C0,000 Black males.Death toll = 9,348.

Hypertension The hypertension-related death rate for 31acks was58.4 per 100,000 of population and 27.1 per 100,000of population for whites. The difference in rates,31.3 per 100.000 we will call oppression-related.Death toll « 7,512.

The total death toll for these three categories only is 250,460 or

more than 1% of the entire official population figure. That one-year

figure approaches the total number of U.S. combat deaths incurred

during all of World War II.

In 1965 the Black fertility rate (the number of live births per

1000 women aged 15-44) was 133.9 compared to 91.4 for whites. The

difference of 42.5 was a worry to the imperialists. In only 10 years

they reduced the figures to 89.3 for Blacks and 63.0 for whites, a

difference of only 26.3. Although abortions were not the sole factor

involved, they certainly played a significant role, as the death figures

above show.

The effect of genocide is most striking not when we compare the

31ack death rate to the white one (since the average Elack age is much

lower) but rather when we compare birth rates. By currently relying

heavily on population control"1 genocide, the imperialists can pose as

humanitarians who allow impoverished peoples to rid themselves of an un-

needad burden. In truth, it is a very effective step toward killing a

whole people through attrition.

A Precarious Position

The two examples cited are signs of increasingly open anti-Black

activity in the U.S. As the Afro-Americans lose their economic

-24-

usefulness to the imperialists, their position in the U.S. becomes more

precarious. They are discarded by U.S. society, without jobs, forced onto

welfare, pushed into city ghettos with their myriad problems—bad housing,

lack of sanitation and narcotics addiction. The Bakke decision and the

growing 'anti-tax:i movements indicate that whites are moving to take jobs

and welfare away from Black people so middle- and upper-class whites can

keep the jobs and welfare money for themselves. Abortions, homicides and

drug addiction indicate that national oppression is beginning to mean .

national extermination for the Afro-American people. It is well-known

that the Native Peoples of North America., who were considered an economic

burden and an obstacle to progress by whites, were ruthlessly and deter

minedly decimated almost to extinction. There is no reason why U.S.

imperialism, after butchering hundreds of thousands in Vietnam, will not

try to treat Afro-Americans the same way.

About 55% of the Black population live in cramped quarters in north

ern city ghettos, surrounded by a hostile society that controls the food,

water and power supplies and can withhold them at any time. Large numbers

of Black people are either on welfare or unemployment or have government

jobs, they are at the mercy of local, state and federal governments when

those governments want to take away the sources of funds.

U.S. authorities at any level have no right to arrest or jail even

one Afro-American, yet large numbers of Afro-Americans are arrested and

imprisoned every year. In 1576, for example, over 2.1 million Afro-Amer

icans, almost 10% of the official population, were arrested. The compar

able figure for x/hites was only about 3%. Of the 2.1 million Blacks,

about one third were charged with serious crimes meaning long prison

sentences for those convicted. Only about one fifth of the whites

arrested were charged with serious crimes. Besides the disruption and

trauma incurred by 31acks through arrest or conviction, while incarcerated

they are totally at the mercy of the vicious anti-Black prison system in

the U.S. Attempts at protest within the prisons culminated in the

massacre at Attica.

-25-

Tne imperialists and most other whites would like the Afro-Americans

passively and peacefully to accept the fate in store for them. If Black

people sit idly by, their situation will continue to deteriorate, and

many will die. If, on the otherhani, they rebel in the cities as in

1968, they face reprisals by police and National Guard.

A Way Out

The situation, although difficult, provides hope. The best means

of stopping the destruction of the Afro-American people li'es in Black

control of their homeland in the South, defended by atBlack army. Tftien

Afro-Americans see an independent, Black-controlled Black Belt as a

viable and necessary goal worthy of struggle, much of the present frus

tration and violence will give x/ay to determined efforts at nation-

building.

* * *

1. See The State of Black America—1978, tfational Urban League,pp. 199-201.

2. Statistical Abstract of the U.S., 1977, p. 383.

3. The Hew York Times, July 3, 1978, p.24.

4. The State of Black America—1978, p.21.

5. Statistical Abstract of the U.S.. 1977, pp. 454-455.

6. The Stlte of Black America—1973, p. 29.7. Statistical Abstract of the U.S., 1977, table no. 726.

8. Phylon. June 1977,pp.194-196.

9. The Hew York Times, July 4, 1978, p. Dl.

10. The Heed for Black Labor, Harold Baron.

11. See New Boundaries, published by this author, March 1973.

12. Who Meeds the iiegro?, Sidney Willhelm, 1971, pp. 212, 213, -author's 'emphasis.

13. The New York Times, June 23, 1973, p. A12.

<?^

-26-

14. Statistical Abstract of the U.S.. 1^77, pp.62-63.

!5. PhyIon, December:1977. p.-400.

16« The American Heroin Empire. Richard Kunnes, M.D., 1972, pp. 83,85

-27-

IV

THE HOMELAND

While Afro-Americans without land or power suffer in the ghettos

north and south, what is happening to the land that is rightfully

theirs? We believe that the Black Belt belongs to the Afro-American

people and it is the main thing that U.S. imperialism wants from them.

The U.S. exploits the land of the Black Belt as it does all

oppressed nations, that is, the agricultural and mineral resources

are taken to enrich U.S. giant corporations and all U.S. whites. Raw

materials mostly flow north but even when they stay in the South theyremain in white hands. This section will show how U.S. ^0wanew

depends^on Black Belt land.

Agriculture and Raw Materials

Agricultural products were the main source of super-profits in

the past when Black Belt cotton was a vital raw material for industryin England and New England. Today minerals, especially, oil, are of

-28-

primary importance. Agriculture in the 31ack ;5elt is no longer essential

to the white nation; however, likeUnited Brands' plantations in Central

America (and to a much greater extent) Black Belt agriculture is a big

money-maker and adds luxury to whites' diet. There are 120 million acres

of farmland in the Black 3elt with a total value in 1975 of $60 billion.

In comparison, the total assets of the world's largest financial corpor

ation (Bank of America) were also $60 billion, so it is easy to see that

agriculture in the Black Belt is not just peanuts.

U.S. whites get the benefit of cheap oranges, peaches, tobacco and

sugar. Soybeans and corn are the biggest crops in the Black Belt today;

these animal feeds prop up the high-protein diets of U.S. whites, re

leasing "surplus" wheat for uses other than domestic consumption. Sold

abroad to boost U.S. export earnings and to play the politics of hunger,

surplus food is used to make oppressed nations dependent on U.S. supplies,

giving the U.S. government a powerful lever for population control and

other objectives through threats to cut off food supplies.

Just as cotton fueled the textile industry of England and New England

which kindled the fires of world trade and conquest, so today oil more .

literally fuels and lubricates imperialist industry and trade.

The U.S. does not have enough oil, importing over 40% of its usage

which causes a huge deficit in foreign trade. Further, domestic supply.

comes mainly from the 31ack Belt, the Mexican territory of the Southwest

and lands of Native Americans in Oklahoma and Alaska. Production in

the Black Belt is growing faster than in the Southwest. In 1978 Exxon

announced a fifty-million-barrel discovery twenty-five miles from the

mouth of the Mississippi. A spokesman said, "This rates among the best3

oil and gas discoveries made by Lxxon in recent years."

Oil production does not require much labor (one employee per4

$100,000). The descendants of slaves and sharecroppers whose labor was

so valuable in the past are now seen only as a threat to imperialist

-29-

control of the .Black Belt. Oil fuels the farm machines that took the

sharecroppers' jobs.

Other important minerals in the Black Belt are coal, phosphates,

stone, clay,zinc, bromine and sulphur. Arkansas produces 90% of U.S.

bauxite (aluminum ore). This will become more important when supplies

are cut off from Jamaica, Guyana and other oppressed nations. The

total value of Black Belt minerals in 1975 was around $13.9 billion.

Conpare this to the total exports of Chile, $1.2 billion, and Venezuela,

$5.6 billion, whose copper and oil are known to be of importance to

U.S. imperialism.

Geopolitics and Geoeconomics

The Black Belt is a vulnerable area for U.S. imperialism in part

due to its geographical position so near the heart of the beast (Wash

ington, D.C. is right on the border). Further, the economy of U.S.

imperialism has been so intertwined with the oppression of *he Black

Belt from the very beginning that it is unlikely to survive a separation

for very Ion?;.

There are a number of places in the world that are so strategically

important that the U.S. considers them places to be held at great cost

whether they are profitable or not; Israel is an important example.

None, however,_is as important as the Black Belt. Imperialist strate

gists have contingency plans for abandoning Israel in favor of reliance

on Arab compradores, yet there is no plan for abandoning the Black Belt

or the land stolen from Mexico. The importance of the Black Belt is

reflected in the number of Army, Navy, Air Force and liarine bases

located there. Even if the Black Belt contained no oil or agricultural

land, the U.S. would consider it a key area to hold, for today as in

the past the Black Belt is a base area for attacks on other countries.

The units that the U.S.had on alert to intervene in Zaire were the 32nd

Airborne Livision at Ft. Bragg, north Carolina and Marines at Parris

Island, South Carolina. Also important is Ft. Polk, Louisiana, main

-30-

-infantry training center for the Vietnam war. These counterinsurgency units

threaten the Black Belt itself.

The rivers and ports of the Black Belt have been important for

extracting raw materials. However, they are also important to the North

for its international trade. U.S. imperialism has built highways, rail

roads, airports and ports to take advantage of the military and economic

features of the Black 3elt geography; many were built with Black labor.

Under imperialist control, these facilities threaten those who would

liberate the Black Belt. However, once they are won they caa be a great

asset. The same may be said for all capital investment in the Black Belt.

As Afro-Americans are driven out of the Black Belt in larger numbers

imperialists feel safe allowing capitalist development there. From 1940

to 1960 the percentage of Afro-Americans in the Black Belt population fell

from 24% to 20.9%. Over the same period the 31ack Belt's percentage of

total U.S. value added in manufacturing grew from 15.7% to 20.1%. The

percentage of new capital expenditures was even greater, reaching 25.6%

in 195C. Today, the newspapers are full of stories of the booming Sun

belt. Is all of this good for the Afro-Americans? tie must remember that

when U.S. whites wanted to build their economy on land owned by Native

Peoples (Indians) they started shooting and driving them onto reservations.

The obvious fact is that almost all of the capital in the Black Belt

belongs to whites, "riot only is there foreign (U.S.) ownership of oil

rigs and factories as in other oppressed nations, but foreign ownership

extends right down to the corner grocery stores. The 31ack bourgeoisie

is confined to a few areas such as funeral parlors and a few Insurance

agencies and car dealerships. Total taxable property in the Black Belt

is $360 billion. Any reasonable allowance for 31ack ownership still

leaves over $300 billion in foreign investment.

Far more than in the oppressed nations outside U.S. borders millions

of whites are bribed with land in the Black Belt. *7hether it be house lots,

-31-

farms or plantations Black Belt land is something that imperialism will

not give up easily.

Millions of other whites go south to enjoy the climate and other

attractions. Disney World is the number-one tourist destination in

the world. Tourists spend $5 billion annually in Florida, another

billion in Louisiana and hundreds of thousands in the other states.

This money should be going to the Afro-American nation if it wishes

to admit tourists at all.

The above shows that the land of the Black Belt is extremely

valuable to U.S. imperialism.

The next section will further illustrate the value of land by

discussing its importance to the future of the Afro-American people.

* * *

1. Statistical Abstract of the U.S., 1977, p.679. Figure comprisestotal of Virginia, I'aryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia,Florida, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana.

2. CBS Almanac 19 76, Hammond Almanac Inc., iiaplewood, K.J., p. 176.

3. new York Times, June 27, 1978.

4. Statistical Abstract of the U.S., 1977, p. 556.

5. Statistical Abstract of the U.S.? 1977, p. 746.

6. CDF Almanac 1975, pp. 488,645.

7. Marshall R. Colberg, Human Capital in Southern Development 1939-1963, Univ. of North Carolina Press, 1965, pp. 12, 73, 35.