The American SDS national convention held i Chicago two weeks ago ended in chaos and disunity as the result of a split between the Progressive Labor Party and the SDS Nationa Office. Progressive Labor (PL) is a highly organised aoist grou with 200il members. he SDS National Office C represents a loose grouping of people who hold bureaucratic positions. on the regional and national level, and whose politics are basically either third-world or black liberation oriented Ostensibly, the split between these two group took place over the question of the relationship of the women's and black liberation movements to the class war, and over the question support for the NLF and Ho Chi Minh. PL argues that the women's and black liberation movements must be viewed as secondar struggles having their basis in the class strugg Their slogan would be "black and white (ma and female) - unite and fight'. PL also argu that the NLF and Ho Chi Minh have betrayer the Vietnamese revolution and the anti-wa movement in the US by : SDS No and thei with the US (!!!). The SDS supporters, on the other hand, argue that whil the class struggle is ultimately of primar importance, at the present moment, both th women's and the black struggle can precedence over it, and that in fact, the mal white working class in the US at present oppres ses both women and blacks. The SDS NO gives full support to the NLF and Uncle Ho (There is also an important difference in life styles between the two groups. PL, as opposes to SDS, is anti-pot, anti-long hair, and anti-fun. However, these theoretical differences, impor tant as they are, mainly serve to justify the rea issue, a fight for control of SDS. PL, mainly because of its high level of organisation, ha been able to take over several important loc SDS chapters (San Francisco State, Harvard) and threatened to take over control of SDS nationally at this convention. (They had majority of the delegates, even though SDS nationally claims 100.000 members. SDS National Conventions are in no representative SDS local chapters. National Office, on the other hand. determined to keep control of the nationa organisation. When they found themselves potentially outvoted at the convention, they walked out and then expelled PL from SDS The expulsion will serve no good purpose reinforcing as it does recent anti-democrat tendencies in an organisation one of wh Treatest siren the moralyays been the e genuine democracy ("let decide"). However, in the long run the
DWARF Black Panther leader Huey Newton is still in Los Padres State Prison in California although he is now eligible for parole. His lawyer, Charles Garry, continues fighting the case and intends going all the way to the Supreme Court if necessary. Meanwhile, Huey Newton suffers in gaol: for six months now he has been without privileges as a punishment for refusing to work in the prison kitchens. He is locked in his cell for 21 hours a day and only allowed out for an hour after each meal. He is not officially allowed books.
Folkestone maintained its position as the most interesting town in the South by inviting three groups to create a street and beach happening on Sunday 6th July. Cast, The Agit Prop Players and The Bread and Puppet Theatre drew large enthusiastic crowds as they moved around the town finishing up in a church hall for a four hour feast of political theatre. There was no advance publicity but local holidaymakers and residents were attracted by the noise of the processIon. As OlIC organisers told the Dwarf "This kind of thing is worth a thousand political speeches".
Women's Liberation Workshop (Tufnell Park Branch) are making a film about the woman question.
Cas Smalley and her husband, two good Nottingham comrades have written pointing out some inaccuracies in our report of the marvellous action by Nottingham socialists against the Rhodesian Ambassador. It seems that the majority of the militants involved were not students but workers! Also, we described Johnny Subirosa as a student, which he certainly is not.
Brighton is bubbling, and that microcosm of capitalist contradiction on the South Coast is providing some interesting clues to a possible national trend over the next few years. Tores dominate the Council, and the Labour Party has just been annihilated in the local elections For the left, the last year has been one of unprecedented political activity. The University has seen racialists ejected, general assemblies, sit-ins, demos and exam boycotts. In the town - Brighton's first-ever May Day march, and an ittempted appropriation of exclusive Susses Square gardens: The Mole has surfaced, and Brighton Rents Project (condemned by Labour MP Hobden) has taken off and continues to expose massive housing exploitation. Seven families are now squatting. The fat cats who run the town are worried..
Consequently... REPRESSION: May "obstruction" . one comrade beaten up, then put on two assault charges. June 16: 6 students fined 6450 for drug "offences": June 26: Bighten words wile in contro decide to withdraw (illegally) students guilty of "misconduct outside the academic "feld". Most councillors rant about University and rents actions. But Councillor Riley produced the most succinct analysis: Not only were recent troubles due to students with outsize social consciences", the Communist Cold War is aiming at the instability of this socking to undermine the teaching STUBERT thought". And illor Cristofoli added, "students should imed because there was a backlash cation from the public".
Roy Guest's pop proms at the Albert cently with Adrian Henri e in a ritual chanting of Enoch Powell" Plus Led i the most amazingly seen in this town се проп that the Stones were a non-conformist, rebellious, even a revolutionary (ho-ho) group. Not any more, folks. Their whole scene on Sunday was unbelievably cosy. Sam Cutler licked the Park Authorities arses till he hardly had any tongue left, and gave us the latest estimate of the number in the audience like an ITV executive drooling over the TAM ratings.
The fact is, it doesn't matter how many people were there, because nothing happened. Certainly nothing happened that will make any difference to all the people who trooped home that evening to face another week of boring work. But the Underground's capacity for self-delusion is apparently endless, and no doubt there are thousands who still think that pop-music (whether free or not) is going to make some sort of significant difference to their lives. See our article on pop inside this issue of the Dwarf to find out how wrong these people can get.
Horrible historical howler in our last issue. The Black Dwarf founded in 1817 finished in 1824 not 1874 as printed. Also we left out of the list of quotes from the old Dwarf this very important slogan:
Peaceably if we may Forcibly if we must.
The first group of workers to challenge the government's shady deal with the TUC were the ten Lucas lavatory girls, supported by their male counterparts.
The Lucas women walked out not for equal opportunity but for equal pay with the men at Lucas doing the same job; no mucking about, they wanted the f4 which would put them on a par. And the peculiar logic of the effects of their strike vindicated their demand. For if the lavatory attendants were important enought to bring about a total stoppage of the Lucas plant, then they were, and are, damn well important enough to receive equal pay with their male counterparts.
The TUC sledgehammer came down, and the women went back to the lavatory, their case referred to the TGWU conference.
August 16th. marks the 150th Anniversary of the most important occasion in Manchester's working class history the Massacre of Peterloo. Dragging its feet the Tory Town Hall is printing a soggy pamphlet. But Manchester comrades are to remember the event with a reenactment in Piccadilly Park with speakers and folk-singers to draw the necessary parallels between 1819 and 1969. Dwarfs of Manchester! Remember the role the original Dwarf played in 1819. Make certain the Massacre is never forgotten! Help in the organisation of this event by attending meetings at Manchester University Union, 8p.m. Thursday.
Workers at Punfield Barstow Ltd., Westmoreland Road, N.W.9., have been protesting the management about their conditions and pay since February. Met by complete and cynical indifference, they finally staged a sit-in at their machines on June 11th The management which had been so slow to consider their demands was suddenly quick on its toes. The police were called in, and the workers were kicked out of the factory Since then 42 Indian workers have been locked out Only 8 blacklegs still working, but production has been maintained by the hiring of scab labour from outside the factory. (Firms like Manpower have been approached to do the dirty work).
Lonelions at the factor are almost medieval. The workers get one tea-break in an 11-hour day. There's no sickness benefit scheme. there's no canteen facilities. The workers formed a union 4 months ago, but the EUSECICIE refused to recognise the shop-steward.
source of bitterness is ine . In theory a worker gets an extra ır (on top of a meagre 6/6d. basic) number of parts set by gure is 1,7 170 parts). cheated out 1101112S red the The route of the march had been kept a closely guarded secret, many potential demonstrators were reduced to phoning. Scotland Yard or politely approaching Black Marias. As it turned out, most enquiries were fairly well treated. Practically all the ingredients necessary to make a really useless demo were present with a vengeance. The route too long, organisation too ad-hoc, militants who should have been there must have left for comfortable holidays or unable to leave their glorified siminars, and the degree of coherence of many of the people present sadly in doubt. The trouble with ad-hoc organisations is that they do not inherit a mobilisation ability. On each occasion they have to reconstruct channels of communication with the Left. On Southern Africa there is no shortage of well meaning sympathisers willing to work endless solidarity committees organising too many demonstrations, but what they lack is any militant base to provide cadres to mobilise effective demonstrations. I ne need permanent channels is patently obvious. Had the RSSF been a more credible organisation it may have been in a position to provide such an agency. This would have eliminated some of the sheer destructive in-fighting which takes place when the task gives the liberation movements a decisive say on the vocabulary of mobilisation without sufficient regard to the situation in this country. A VSC style of mobilisation must be undertaken rare and highly selected occasions. Perhaps it will grow out of the October mobilisations being planned universities.
The police are still doing their damndest to put one on us. In our first year they have made four Office searched and papers seized on the pretext of a smudgy molotov cocktail. No charge 2. December 1968 A street seller, Joe Farthing, arrested under the indecent advertisement act for selling a paper containing the word motherfucker Magistrate Edward (*I'm just trying to keep up with the times") Robey. Dismissed the case.
3. May 1969 Several visits made to the office and the home of a member of the board about P.C Pulley of Notting Hill Gate. Criminal libel threatened. No charge. 4. And now the latest attack. On Tuesday, 8th July, Det. Inspector Batchelor and Detective Collins arrived at the Dwarf office with a long list of roneoed questions (at the end of one of them were printed the words "formal when they gave us the caution: at this rate they will soon be policemen). The questions concerned this item in our events diary.
Read it and see if you can spot the offence.
JUNE 16: Comrades are asked to note Oswald Moseley's Union Movement rally take place at Laurie Hall, Romford Market, Romford on June 16, 7.30 p.m. Moseley's fascists have started a campaign with rallies throughout Britain - Moseley himself and other leading fascists will be speaking at Romford Many national and local organisations have pledged their support for counter-demonstration on the same evening; if counter-demonstratos will try to break it up.
Get it? Well the police say that the words "try to break it up could mean that the Dwarf incited people to go and cause trouble. There certainly was a punch-up and it seems that it was the police who got out of hand. Sixteen EDITORIAL BOARD Tang An. bob kowinone DESIGNERS Liz Greenham. Mike Lesley.
CIRCULATION AND ADVERTISING David Kendall DISTRIBUTION John Weal of discussing everyone Liberation. Ine aug reverently as Michael X spe of the blacks, of their their centuries-long submission came to the subject of women, the in chaos for an hour and a half. discussion on the topic seemed impossible. men reacted with maddeningly superiority "There is a problem and if we all keep calm about it we (meaning the men) can solve it (for you). Or, more commonly. with a barrage of lewd sarcasm.
In view of this, it is not surprising that some women's groups aim solely at the woman - to get her thinking about the family economic unit, her sexuality, the abuse sexuality in advertising. But of course this not enough. The liberation of women demands the equal liberation of men. It cannot deny men's existence and simply reverse existin social values.
The revolution is apparently anywhere except here and any time except now. Sure women must fight for equal pay. But when it came down to a discussion on the people that room there, it was just not on. The individual is not prepared to explore his own consciousness, to look at the person sitting next to him, and discover what his attitude to that person really is, the nature of the man's the nature ot the SHOTSOE arrests were made and several people were hurt.
After the meeting the local branch of the Amalgamated Engineering and Foundry Workers' Union issued a statement of censure against the police for their behaviour and against the Havering Council for allowing the hall to be used by Moseley's Fascists.
Once again the police have threatened u und once again we sit waiting to be charged Let's hope they hurry up. The Black Dwarf would be proud to stand in the dock alongside the working men who fought the battle of Romford Market.
Mr Ben Cohen. Chairma Havering Anti-Fascist Comm hardingClive Goodwin, John Hoyland, Sheila Rowbotham, Mitchell, Fred Halliday. Anthony Barnett, Vinay Chand Mike Newton, Ruth Prentice. Agitprop Publicity Group