The Global Class War Tendency left the SWP in early 1959. Although they would later abandon Trotskyism,[citation needed] in their International Workers Day issue (no. 3) of their new periodical the group proclaimed: "We are THE Trotskyists. We stand 100% with all the principled positions of Leon Trotsky, the most revolutionary communist since Lenin". The nascent group appears to have organized as the Workers World Party by February 1960.[8] At its inception, the WWP was concentrated among the working class in Buffalo, Youngstown, Seattle and New York. A youth organization, first known as the Anti-Fascist Youth Committee and later as Youth Against War and Fascism (YAWF), was created in April 1962.[9]
The WWP began publishing Workers World in 1959. The newspaper has been a weekly since 1974.
During the late 1960s and 1970s, the party was involved in protests other causes, including "defen[se] of the heroic black uprisings in Watts, Newark, Detroit, Harlem" and women's liberation. During the Attica Prison riot, the rioters requested YAWF member Tom Soto to present their grievances for them. The WWP was most successful in organizing demonstrations in support of desegregation "busing" in the Boston schools in 1975. Nearly 30,000 people attended the Boston March Against Racism which they had organized. During the 1970s, they also attempted to begin work inside organized labor, but apparently were not very successful.[12]
In 1980, the WWP began to participate in electoral politics, naming a presidential ticket as well as candidates for New York Senate, congressional and state legislature seats. In California, they ran their candidate Deirdre Griswold in the primary for the Peace and Freedom Party nomination. They came in last with 1,232 votes out of 9,092. In 1984, the WWP supported Jesse Jackson's bid for the Democratic nomination, but when he lost in the primaries they nominated their own presidential ticket, along with a handful of congressional and legislative nominees.[13]
In July 2018, the WWP experienced another schism in which one of its oldest branches, the Detroit branch, resigned from the organization along with several other branches to form the Communist Workers League.[17][better source needed]
Associated organizations
The WWP has organized, directed or participated in many coalition organizations for various causes, typically anti-imperialist in nature.
The International Action Center, which counts many WWP members as leading activists, founded the Act Now to Stop War and End Racism (ANSWER) coalition shortly after the September 11 attacks in 2001 and has run the All People's Congress (APC). The APC and the IAC in particular share a large degree of overlap in their memberships with cadre in the WWP.
In 2004, a youth group close to the WWP called Fight Imperialism Stand Together (FIST) was founded.[citation needed] In 2017, the FIST website shut down.[18]
Ideology
The WWP describes itself as a party that has since its founding "supported the struggles of all oppressed peoples". It has recognized the right of nations to self-determination, including the nationally oppressed peoples inside the United States. It supports affirmative action as necessary in the fight for equality and it opposes all forms of racism and religious bigotry.[citation needed]
The WWP has maintained a position of supporting the government of North Korea. Through its Vietnam-era front organization, the American Servicemen's Union (ASU), the party endorsed a 1971 statement of support for that government. The statement was read on North Korea's international radio station by visiting ASU delegate Andy Stapp.[19][better source needed] In 1994, Sam Marcy sent a letter to Kim Jong Il expressing his condolences on behalf of the WWP on the death of his fatherKim Il Sung, calling him a great leader and comrade in the international communist movement.[20] Its later front groups, IAC and formerly International A.N.S.W.E.R., have also demonstrated in support of North Korea.[21]
Iraq
When the WWP was playing a role in organizing anti-war protests before the invasion of Iraq in 2003, many newspapers and TV shows attacked the WWP for supporting Iraqi president Saddam Hussein.[22][23][24]
Belarus
The WWP signalized support of Alexander Lukashenko during the Belarusian protests in 2020. They accused the protest movement of being "counterrevolutionary" and supported by the "fascist Maidan movement and the U.S. imperialism", while praising President Lukashenko for maintaining some socialist-oriented politics, rejection of privatization and keeping the Soviet state symbols.[25][26][better source needed]
Election results
The WWP has participated in presidential election campaigns since the 1980 election, though its effectiveness in this area is limited as it has not been able to get on the ballots of many states. The party also has run some campaigns for other offices. One of the most successful was in 1990, when Susan Farquhar got on the ballot as a Senate candidate in Michigan and received 1.3% of the vote. However, the party's best result was in the 1992 Ohio Senate election, when the WWP candidate received 6.7% of the vote, running against a Democrat and a Republican.[27][better source needed]
^In 1984, Gavrielle Holmes ran in place of Larry Holmes in some states.
References
^"Workers World Party: Who We Are". Workers World Party. Archived from the original on October 15, 2023. Workers World Party is a revolutionary Marxist-Leninist party dedicated to organizing and fighting for a socialist revolution in the United States and around the world. With branches around the U.S., WWP develops militant organizers in every struggle, from anti-racist and immigrant rights to labor, anti-war and anti-imperialist struggles.
^Lawrence, Ken. "Roots of the Workers World Party". libcom.org. This stance in turn meant playing down to insignificance polemics against Stalinism, while seeking leadership of the class through exemplary action. The Marcyites remained uneasily as a faction within the SWP until the USSR's military invasion of Hungary in 1956, which they supported and the SWP denounced. Depending on whose version you believe, the Marcy-Copeland faction either left (Marcy) or was expelled (Cannon), and formed Workers World Party in 1957.
^Carlson, Peter (15 December 2002). "The Crusader: Ramsey Clark Was LBJ's Attorney General. Now He's Busy Denouncing U.S. 'War Crimes' in Places Like Iraq, N. Korea. How Did That Happen?". The Washington Post.
^Cooper, Marc (29 September 2002). "A Smart Peace Movement is MIA". Los Angeles Times.
^Gitlin, Todd (14 October 2002). "Who Will Lead?". Mother Jones.
^Corn, David (1 November 2002). "Behind the Placards: The odd and troubling origins of today's antiwar movement". LA Weekly.
^Swenson, Kyle (July 28, 2010). "The Commies Next Door". Cleveland Scene. By 19, he was a member of the Workers World Party, one of the largest communist groups in America.
^Butters, Chris (December 17, 2021). "Signaling left, turning right: The "radicals" rebranding populism". Communist Party USA. During the 2000s and early 2010s, Maupin was a figure in the Workers World Party and a regular fixture at anti-imperialist conferences and events.
^Bowens, Tyneisha (March 16, 2008). "FIST member defends socialism". Workers World. Workers World Party. On the side of socialism was Caleb Maupin, a member of Fight Imperialism-Stand Together (FIST).