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March 12th - 14th, 1969 the Student Strike at LACC
March 12^th marks the 50^th anniversary of the first day of the _Los
Angeles City College’s 3 day student strike
<http://cdm15115.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/LACCNP02/id/15817/rec/1>_.
In truth it was more coup d’etat than strike.
The Black Student Union, of which I was a member, along with its
coalition allies in the _Mexican-American Student Association
<https://www.peoplesworld.org/.../remembering-the-1968-east-los-angeles-high-school...>_,
the _Students for a Democratic Society
<https://www.britannica.com/topic/Students-for-a-Democratic-Society>_and
the _Viet Nam Veterans Against the War
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_Veterans_Against_the_War>_1.)
sealed building locks with liquid solder; 2.) created offside campus
distractions to slow the expected response of the LAPD; 3.) passed out a
thousand fliers explaining the reason for the action; and, among other
things , 4.) seized control of the school’s radio station and broadcast
appeals to the larger student community to join our strike and to meet
at the traditional campus free-speech area, the flagpole located
mid-campus. Prior to these events our coalition had swept_student
council in school elections
<http://cdm15115.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/LACCNP02/id/15765/rec/16>_.
The council voted to support the strike.
_The strike had been called
<https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED042453.pdf>_inprotest of the
LAPD’s brutal attack_upon the students of Carver Junior High School’s
BSU <http://ourweekly.com/news/2016/feb/25/search-fred-kawano/>_. At the
time, militancy among activists and the resort to violence on the part
of the policing forces were /de riguer/. But these things, to be
understood today, have to be situated historically.
In 1969 Blacks in America had survived almost exactly _250 years of
slavery
<https://historicjamestowne.org/history/the-first-africans/>_followed by
_100 more of third-class citizenship
<https://www.thirteen.org/wnet/jimcrow/stories_org_kkk.html>_. The
peaceful resistance of the Civil Rights Movement was giving way to the
active resistance and armed self-defense examples of the _Republic of
New Africa <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_New_Afrika>_led by
_Robert F Williams
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_F._Williams>_originating in North
Carolina, the _Deacons for Defense
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deacons_for_Defense_and_Justice>_of
Louisiana and the Black Panther Party across the country. The militancy
of the BSUs was part and parcel of that trend. But the line between
militancy and bullying is not hard and fast. Mirrored images, the two
blur themselves into each other.
How is it that we became what we opposed? Lynchings, beatings, police
dogs attacking, cattle prods and billy clubs had been unleashed time and
again upon peaceful protesters. The necessity of resistance, even armed
resistance, was undeniable. Force and violence yield only in the face of
counter-force and counter-violence. But these come concomitant with
hierarchy. And our organizations just so reflected the _hierarchical
structure of American society
<https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/26/health/boss-bullies-workplace-management.html>_:
Bosses and workers; men and women; military officers and _‘dog faces’
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dogface_(military)>_; whites and peoples
of color. Our organizations reflected that with a leadership cabal’s
authority over ‘foot soldiers’. Caricature sans character.
Unable to convince many in the student body. We took it upon ourselves
to make the choice not only for ourselves but also those who either
disagreed or didn’t care. Thus our seizure of the school was not a
measure of our strength but, indeed, of our weakness.
The Civil Rights Movement had left in its wake many martyrs slain and
more apostles of peace injured and/or jailed. Finally Blacks tired of
turning one cheek only to get slapped harder on the other.
Mexican-American activists were experiencing a similar awakening. There
was the grand _Chicano Moratorium
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicano_Moratorium>_that began in 1968 in
East LA (where the LA Times reporter covering the actions, _Reuben
Salazar, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruben_Salazar>_would later be
killed by a tear gas canister indiscriminately fired by the LAPD). And
the invasion and occupation of South Viet Nam with its attendant draft
hot-housed the growth of the SDS and the VVAW. These were the conditions
that culminated in the height of self-contradiction that was our strike.
Some would say I was a leader of the strike and heads turned when I
walked the campus. BMOC. Hubris.
Two events were the trigger that lit a long-burning fuse of
introspection that culminated not with a bang nor a whimper but in the
ice-cold calculation that is realization.
I hated cops and I detested apathy. Before the strike, I was crossing
Vermont just outside the school and there was a white older motorcycle
cop who spoke a kind greeting to me. I viciously turned spouting
profanities at him and calling him “pig”. Instead of the expected harsh
rejoinder, the cop teared up protesting “I am a Christian man. I try to
treat everybody well. I took this job to help and protect the poor and
the weak”. I went from 7 feet tall to 7 inches small.
The other incident took place on the first day of the strike and I,
along with 3 martial arts trained BSU members, was passing out fliers
about the Carver students. I approached a white girl but she refused the
flier saying “I don’t care about that”. I threatened “I should slap
you.” Time I said it, I knew I was wrong. With her was a well built guy
who said “If you do, I will break your arm.” This stopped me in my
tracks. But it wasn’t the threat to me, it was the courage that faced up
to me. Hearing his retort the other BSU members had quickly surrounded
him but I waved them off. If our actions could bring up courage and
resistance to that degree then there must be something wrong. It wasn’t
with our message, it had to be with our methods.
Eventually the full realization came: We cannot force. We cannot
‘buffalo’. We cannot bully. If we are to overcome our enemy, if we are
to change this miserable world, we ourselves cannot become that enemy.
JAI
3-12-2019
Here is a link to the _Collegian's coverage of the strike:
<http://cdm15115.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/LACCNP02/id/15817/rec/1>_
*
o
Page 1
JAI
*Final Thoughts*
Internally, I have not changed one bit since those times.
The answers were always there, its just that their discovery was
hindered by the mantle of militancy. A militant slant that was
dictated by the conditions. It was a necessity. Niggahs had put up
with almost 250 years of slavery and a hundred more of 3rd class
citizenship. We could be drafted but many of us couldn't cast a
vote. We were Americans when they needed additional cannon fodder.
So the rejection signaled with the power of the fist (esp Panthers)
that we would no longer be beaten, jailed and/or lynched. I think a
good deal of the backbone that we developed came from revelations by
Elijah Muhammad with his paramilitary arm, the Fruit of Islam. These
were men who would brook no lynchings, insults and threats. Malcolm
came out the NOI. In response to and at the time of the battle for
voting rights in the South, Malcolm came out with the slogan, "Its
the ballot or the bullet".
Now the system resorted to the less militant wing, figure-headed by
King. Concessions were granted: the franchise, affirmative action,
the reversal of Plessy v Ferguson
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plessy_v._Ferguson> that was Brown vs
The Board ofEducation of Topeka, KS
<https://search.yahoo.com/yhs/search;_ylt=AwrWnLlLC4dcjGkAa.sPxQt.;_ylc=X1MDMjExNDcwMDU1OQRfcgMyBGZyA3locy1zei0wMDEEZ3ByaWQDUjcweUVWQkhTN1dVTEp2bzlkSHN3QQRuX3JzbHQDMARuX3N1Z2cDNARvcmlnaW4Dc2VhcmNoLnlhaG9vLmNvbQRwb3MDMARwcXN0cgMEcHFzdHJsAzAEcXN0cmwDNDUEcXVlcnkDQnJvd24lMjB2cyUyMFRoZSUyMEJvYXJkJTIwb2YlMjBFZHVjYXRpb24lMjBvZiUyMFRvcGVrYSUyQyUyMEtTBHRfc3RtcAMxNTUyMzU0MTU5?p=Brown+vs+The+Board+of+Education+of+Topeka%2C+KS&fr2=sb-top&hspart=sz&hsimp=yhs-001¶m1=dGFnWDEwNDI1MDctc2VhcmNoc2VjdXJlLHNlYXJjaHNlY3VyZSx2Ml8yMDQyNzI0MjU0NWMzNGVkOGQ5YTcxMzYuNjMxNzY1ODJfZmViMjA5NGNjMDg2ZTkxNjc5NzAyMDQ2NGJiYTdlMGIsVVMsY2EscGFsbWRhbGU¶m2=eyJzZXJwR2VvUmVkIjoibm8iLCJleHRUYWdzIjpbXSwiYnJvd3Nlck5hbWUiOiJGaXJlZm94IiwiYnJvd3NlclZlcnNpb24iOiI2NSIsImV4dFZlcnNpb24iOiJob3N0ZWQiLCJleHROYW1lIjoiU2VhcmNoIFNlY3VyZSIsImNsaWNrU3JjIjoieWhzX3N5biIsImNocm9tZVN0b3JlSWQiOiJTZWFyY2hfU2VjdXJlX2Nsb25lX1JobnhGSmZXQ3JAd3d3LnNlYXJjaHNlY3VyZS5jbyIsInNlbFRoZW1lIjoiIiwiZG9tYWluIjoid3d3LnNlYXJjaHNlY3VyZXByby5jbyIsImF1dG9TdWdnZXN0Q2xrIjoib3JnYW5pYyIsIm9yU3JjIjoib21uaWJveCIsImljZyI6IjAiLCJoZmV3IjoiIn0&type=type7070290-sv7-dGFnWDEwNDI1MDctc2VhcmNoc2VjdXJl-6354f87ec9d05394a832c004388ba078>
that outlawed segregation in interstate travel that were designed to
re-channel the motion of the Civil Rights Struggle back into
peaceful protest. But none of this happened until the advent of a
serious militant opposition.
Not all of the just above is demonstrative of a conspiracy amongst
the ruling class to grant concessions, elevate the harmless, so as
to isolate and/or Jail or kill the 'sore thumbs' sticking out.. But
this is why the system exists as an objective reality acting almost
as a conscious mechanism that only responds to stresses put upon it
by new ideas, newly recognized strengths.
Put simply, the gains we made were only accomplished when the left
hand, the militant sector, came into existence as more than just a
here sometimes, there at others, acts of rebellion Only when there
came the militant sector's organized force.
We had to adopt that posture (in truth, we were lambs in wolves'
cloak as the number of us compared to the police we killed) because
force only yields to itself. Not the pleas, not the prayers, not the
logic,not even the 'common sense' that _today_ has been felled by
Trump and his minions. Think about it: you got Billy Graham's son
praising a 'man' who thinks he can "...do anything. Grab 'em by the
pussy".
The truth is that this recent development shows the extent that a
large mass of white people will go to be 'white' again. When being
'white' meant something even if it exists only as an affirmed
negation: "I am not Mexican, I am not Muslim, I ain't no 'nigger'."
And they got guns and know how to shoot. And will shoot. Soon.
These are the most dangerous times since that time when we stormed
the heavens only to fall flat on our face. The major difference, and
here is the rub, is that in the '50's and '60's _we drove the
discussion_. Now all the energy is from the racists. They set the
stage. Openly announcing "Jews will not replace us". Still, these
monsters, inspired by Trump, the NRA, FOX 'News', podcasted and
Facebooked out , this poison flows. And all of this against their
own interests.
It is, once again, 'The World Turned Upside Down"
<http://militaryhistorynow.com/2018/05/29/the-world...>, which is
the tune the British sang upon their defeat by the colonials.
So, no, I ain't changed. Its just that reflection (and I cited two
real-time examples) dawns. Points the way out of the fog that is
Life. And reaches its way towards the universal that is understanding.
JAI
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