In Red Papers 2, published in late 1969, the Revolutionary Union stated that we “. . . recognize that the Black liberation struggle is both a national question and a class question . . . We recognize (that this is) the key to understanding the dynamics of proletarian revolution in the U.S.”
Because we recognize that this is the key question which must be solved by communists in the U.S., this entire issue of Red Papers is devoted to dealing theoretically and practically with “national liberation and proletarian revolution in the U.S.”
As the major theoretical article states, we are concentrating in this Red Papers on the Black liberation struggle and its overall relation to the workers’ movement “because the Black liberation struggle has been the most advanced struggle in the U.S. since World War II, has delivered the greatest blows against the enemy and developed the greatest material basis for an entirely new level of working class unity.” At the same time, we recognize the importance of the other Third World struggles in the U.S. (One of the work summations, in this issue centers around work among Chicano people.)
The first article deals with some of the questions involved in building the new multinational revolutionary Communist Party of the U.S.; the second article deals with the major theoretical problems surrounding the national question and describes in detail the development of the Black nation and national liberation struggle. The three work summations are based on the experiences of RU members or friends close to the organization. Each work summation is a product of collective discussion and summing up. They were selected for this Red Papers on the basis of lessons learned and their potential value to others doing similar work.
We don’t try to cover every aspect of the national question in this Red Papers (for instance, communist work in Black petit-bourgeois organizations; or the special problems faced by Black women, particularly Black women workers). We are still a young organization and our practical experience, gained over a short four years, is still relatively limited. We encourage others who read this Red Papers to send us their comments and criticisms based on their own experience and study. We have much to learn, and, at the same time, we hope to contribute some understanding through our theoretical efforts and practical experiences described in this Red Papers.