02/24/2025
Black folks and people of color are under attack in Trump’s America. Through a number of anti-DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) Executive Orders (14173, 14151, 14148) and statements along with a concentrated battle against alleged “anti-American ideologies,” Trump’s administration is hammering hard at federal programs and policies meant to protect the most historically vulnerable peoples in the country. With an administration moving so head-spinningly fast that we at the Red Phoenix are not entirely sure if Black History Month is still federally recognized, we thought it essential to remind our comrades that the historical and ongoing struggle for Black liberation and racial equality are near and dear to the cause of socialism and communism, and that it is every revolutionary’s duty to recognize and uplift the voices and legacies of Black radicals throughout time.
Next year will mark 60 years since the founding of the Black Panther Party and 57 years since the founding of the Young Lords Party. With the threat of fascism lurking over our shoulders, we must remind ourselves that socialism, communism, and so-called radicalism are central to the Black experience, particularly in the United States. In every theater against injustice throughout history, Black folks were there and Black radicals were leading the charge for a better world, a more equal and just world.
Oliver Law was the first Black man to ever lead a racially integrated military force in the history of the United States, and he did so as a communist alongside his brothers and sisters of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade in the fight against fascism. Walter Cobbs was a Lincoln Brigadier. Thomas Page as well. Whether it’s in the streets of Oakland, the valleys of Jarama, or the beaches of Normandy, we have fought on the front lines as part of our radical heritage.
We must continue to carry and pass the torch of revolution, liberation, and equality that was first lit by our enslaved ancestors and passed along through the Civil Rights Movement and the larger International Communist Movement to the present day. And, as we take this month and every month of our lives to recall the experiences of those who came before us, we have to come to see that almost all of our most dear forebears in the struggle were socialists, communists, or at least sympathetic to the goals of the socialist ideologies.
When asked during an interview in 1964 which economic and political system he preferred, Malcolm X answered, “all of the countries that are emerging today from under the shackles of colonialism are turning towards socialism.” W.E.B. DuBois said upon Stalin’s death, “Joseph Stalin was a great man; few other men of the 20th century approach his stature… As one of the despised minorities of man, he first set Russia on the road to conquer race prejudice and make one nation out of its 140 groups without destroying their individuality.” Paul Robeson sang the praises of the Soviet system and Comrade Stalin on several occasions. Our visions for a planet free of racial prejudice, segregation, xenophobia, anti-Blackness, and white supremacy align entirely with those of communism – with our victory we will see a world where Black people are seen, always first and foremost, as human beings.
A last note on the Soviet system under Stalin, here is the USSR’s policy on racism per the Constitution:
"ARTICLE 123. Equality of rights of citizens of the U.S.S.R., irrespective of their nationality or race, in all spheres of economic, state, cultural, social and political life, is an indefeasible law. Any direct or indirect restriction of the rights of, or, conversely, any establishment of direct or indirect privileges for, citizens on account of their race or nationality, as well as any advocacy of racial or national exclusiveness or hatred and contempt, is punishable by law."
Meanwhile the United States didn’t even fully abolish slavery, as the 13th Amendment states, “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime where of the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States.” Our country’s private prison industry is thus an industry of slave labor. The struggle continues.
Despite the attempts of the capitalist ruling class to whitewash our history, we cannot fail to realize that our goals for self-determination for Black Americans and African-descendant peoples around the globe have always been intrinsically tied with the final success of communism internationally. Under the capitalist system of exploitation, racism, and class divisions, we can never hope to truly see any form of racial or ethnic equality between different peoples because it is to the benefit of the capitalists and imperialists to divide us through artificial differences of color or nation or ethnic background. Regardless of our ancestry, we are all exploited by capital as members of the working class and each individually represent the international proletariat, destined to transform the world into one where no person has to wonder when their next meal will be, where they will sleep for the night, whether or not they can afford medical care, or whether they will be a victim of a hate crime or systemic racialized violence.
The wisdom of Comrade Fred Hampton rings truer than ever in these treacherous times:
"We’ve got to face the fact that some people say you fight fire best with fire, but we say you put fire out best with water. We say you don’t fight racism with racism—we’re gonna fight racism with solidarity. We say you don’t fight capitalism with no Black capitalism; you fight capitalism with socialism." (“Power Anywhere Where There’s People,” 1969.)
The Black radical tradition calls for us to look inwards at our history of freedom fighting and anti-imperialism. Let us look to our Amilcar Cabrals, our Claudia Joneses, and our Fred Hamptons, and decide whether or not we want to forsake our children to the horrors of the past or pay homage to the legacies of our fallen comrades and ancestors to bring forward a new day of equality, prosperity, and socialism. Happy Black History Month, comrades! Every month in America is Black History Month because Black Americans helped create this nation and every day are working to bring it closer to a land of true liberty and democracy.
