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Black Lives Matter may have begun as a civil rights movement, but was quickly co-opted by “trained Marxists.” Here’s the plan for using BLM to push Marxism on America in the words of Eljeer Hawkins, a member of Socialist Alternative. He writes (abridged):
We have entered a new phase in the struggle against racism and capitalism in the United States. “Black Lives Matter” (BLM) started after the death of Trayvon Martin and then became a protest movement.
The BLM banner is a powerful affirmation of the humanity of black workers, poor and youth.
To go forward, this movement needs to connect racism, police brutality, and economic demands. For the most effective protests, we need coherent, independent and united organizational structures focused on mass action with a clear program.
Marxists cannot be light-minded about slogans. We must seek to raise consciousness, stand out as a pole of attraction, and win people to our banner but also to connect with current moods in different sections of the working class. We must do all of this while pointing towards challenging capitalism and various aspects of its domination.
Our program is rooted in the experience of the working class and the oppressed. Genuine Marxism and internationalism will speak to the far thinking elements in the movement.
The movement today is led by youth of color, and socialists must continue to encourage that development while still actively engaging in the battle of ideas to take the struggle forward.
Marxists advance the need for working-class unity that is multi-racial, democratic, accountable, and politicized, learning the lessons of the historic radical black freedom movement.
The BLM movement opens a new powerful chapter. The previous radical black freedom movement always had powerful anti-capitalist, socialist, and internationalist currents.
Today black and Latino youth are increasingly open to the ideas of socialism and Marxism. Let’s engage this movement with confidence.
