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    Johnson Friedman Harlem Communism

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    9 views3 pages

    Johnson Friedman Harlem Communism

    Uploaded by

    Ethan Ridings
    Johnson Friedman Harlem Communism

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    of 3
    HOWARD JOHNSON A Communist in Harlem November 16, 1979 A leader ofthe Young Communist League in Harlem i the 1950, fhe Som remained a filtime cade wat he Uc the Commit partyin the 19508. When [joined it was] as ial ofa sudden my if had been taken ‘ou ofa smal box and I had plugged into the entre globe interaton- aly. Because in a very short space of time I had perticipated in ‘demonstration around Ethiopia, you know, shouting, picket signs “Get Mussolini out of Ethiopia”. Inameditely my life took on a new dimension that reminded me of some novel Thad read as a tensger ke Jack London's Martin Eden and his whole description of what socialism ws to him. So fas, you ‘now, geting out ofthe books and beginning to lve life that I had sways dreamed of—being in contact withthe world. So it was really a ‘very pgperfl experience. Very power... ~The it thing that impressed me about all te party members that I came in contact with was the range oftheir conversation and ‘heir interests. They seemed tobe informed about everything that was joing on, They could talk about music. There was » Marxist analysis ff music. They could tall about art. There was Marxist analysis art, They could talk about the international sitation, Tae meaning ‘and significance of eollectve security, They wore so wel informed, ‘Tonsoni asked about the party's goal of overthrowing the government) 1 iat ok on twa. at a an acon erzmzatn, ‘le wes righ int tn tha wer: ein regard a ubveron of the giver, I rgd tw fod ‘for me and for other blacks... : 5 eli ate Bey Mam ded Bhiopla, The Wester demo ‘uo eg te Unied Sen tote yes on gn saa ‘Sel Tee Arey Commi pty ae pad he te oe ‘Staci Sosa wpa a be ies ea oa a0 owe ons an ‘The job struggles, The campaigm against Jim Crow and baseball. Putting people who had been evicted by the City Marshall back in thelr Buildings. Uh, the interracial actives that they developed... 1 remember organizing youlh inthe Harlem Vocational School in 1880, fod publicizing the fact thatthe black youth inthe Harlem Vocational ‘School were not really geting raining fo jobs... By 1943 there were fourteen hundred members ia the party, conganized in cubs, sections, and all of them, the majority of them ‘were activists who could be called toa demonstration (orl ta mobi Tzaion. We would picket stores that were discriminating. Ob, the most famous was the Empire Cafeteria, which dnt employ Black— ‘ght in the mile of Harlem, 125th Sneet and Lenox Avenue. And the police tried to break up our picket nes. But we finally won and aot lacks in there, Can you imagine? The police trying to prevent ‘blacks rom picketing, or Backs and whites from picketing o get jobs {or blacks in cafeteria in Harlem. Most ofthe black intllectas joined the party because they ‘were attracted toi forthe same reasons that Twas Tt eas one organ ation that was relly dong something, that was there. That was Pick ting that was demonstrating, that was geting Jobs for blacks i this ‘union and that unioa—especially the unions where thre was let leadership, ike the frsiers union, the united elecical workers union, suto workers, the hotel and restaurant cub employees union, Leal 8 ‘These were under Communist leadership. ‘Doksom respond oa question about Kees in the part) 1 did't see recruiting people into the party t turn them iato «ei puritans You know, why join a movement that wast having any fun? Well cxme into the party at atime that it was attempting to change that grim look, what some of us call the Communist Internstionl Took We came in alter the Seventh World Congres, which pu for ward a broad line to make fends with everyone that was agunst wat and fascism, even if they didnt understand the party ine And the Young Communist League dd more in terms of puting that ste into Iie than the part. So my early taining inthe movement was a part, ofthe Young Communist League. ...We put on a musical at ove of ‘the national convention called “Socialis to Swing” And there was ancing in, swinging, and we took a song thal was popular—Ella Fiugerald was singing it widh Chick Webb's band—caled “ATsket ue 1 wom or aN con ‘A-Tasket.” And we wrote antifascist word toi “A ik Hitler in a casket. ussolini, sence: Her in casket Andel hat mea, Mosul and hs hence DAVID FRIEDMAN A New York City Schoolteacher in the Party October 23, 1979 Friedman’ experiences ‘ened he Commas arty he a, Hh inl why eee My father wat anol tine soli. 1 My ie soa guess when he came fu Hssi—many jens did who led in the Lower Eas Stee brought with them a socialist tradition. ... And ven T Es ewe the Solis party mas ri act. hh ake hen very el noni he Sr And Piey and Sry nigh tere looking Yo spears on fur corm and nae a Seber eas speak sake. at ‘was only a kid, an adolescent, but I remember sen {0 ther ik soa the oppreon. Aa I knew fm my eo a Perr sca eatin od 1 a's ang wih erga erro. Aad 1 ued en ye ‘pester And my ater wc to read the Sot seme “in other words, hese were feted teachers most, brand sew teachers as [aay etn hs Hr sehoas were ended coded x place where you th wo ‘much abou he ay of education“ An oad the eat (Mle ‘sm ramon a 1 1» my atedon the extensive nature ofthis phenomenon ee ol seagate textos we had, some of them were “lrg gens ot they were filing apart know there were shops $e nade teria tries wih prataly no eqe- eth, ld rundown bangs tat sl had outside tolls. et warp inte nin that wanted 0 del with these sues Beng them before the Board of Edveaion and to mobize pa sat rrollae eter ede union fo try to change these conan

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