by talking about quanty education Tor all - Diack and white but Inis Is Tunda mentally the ideological justifiction of apartheid - separate development.
Unfortunately, some far left groups have fallen hook, line and sinker for this cosy argument. Maoist groups which have come out with 'revolutionary' slogans against busing hade only aided the racists and confused white workers who wished to struggle against racism. Their failure to back Susing has led to an accommodation to racism. The demand for improved eaucation tor all is oniv meaninotul tor the struggde against racism if it is combined with a firm stand in favour of busing.
Other racist forces have not been so subtle. The overall coordination committee against busing is an organisation called ROAR (Restore Our Alienated Rights). A systematic campaign of intimidation has been carried out under the auspices or mis anti-back anu-samic oreanisation. The National Association for the Advancement or coloured reople nas nac its nead quarters bomped. school buses containino triantened Diack kids are stoned White thugs drive through the heart of the black community. The school board deliberately encourages and fuels this Tacisi Ine Ku kiux kian nas aso made a brief but telling appearance. Hundreds of people attending a rally heard the Klan's National Director tell them: The real issue here isn't education ..... issue is niggers." To cheers he concluded: "If you don't believe that little white girls should go to school with a bunch of apes - loin tne kian and nelp us Tiani race mixing.
But attempts at self-defence by the black community against racist attacks have been stamped on by the police. George Meany, President of the AFL-CIO, nas deciarea Tor Dusing Dur reruses to back the mass mobilisations that would lend any meaning to his words.
Equally, many leaders of various black reformist organisations have actively Sabotaged mass actions tnat could start to put the black community on the offensive. The cancellation of what was to have been a major demonstration against the racists on 24 April was brought about by a denial of support from black leaders concerned at the poss Die erects or such a mobilisation on the presidential elections. Time and again this leadership has preterred to encourage reliance on supposed "progressive' tendencies within the Republican and Democratic Parties rather than countenance any independent mass action.
Only the Trotskyists of the Socialist Workers Party have consistently fought for such mobilisations on the issue combining support for black self-defence with a call tor tederal troops to entorce busing in Boston on the model of White racists attack black lawyer Theodore Landsmark NOTES today.
Letters Red Weekly 1 July 1976 strengths and weaknesses or tnat period