Communists on Campus (1970, sound)

foreign ERS of the Nationwide Youth Organization that calls itself SDS students for a Democratic Society it has more than 300 chapters on the college campuses of America its national and local leaders in convention here at the Chicago Coliseum June 1969 take the major credit for the rioting mob actions takeovers and burnings on college and university campuses throughout the nation this has been fine it's been quite willing to talk about I will talk about socialism anywhere in the streets and send it anywhere you know I'm Mike clonsky National Secretary of SDS and this is Bernadine going into organizational secretary communist faction making a big Power Play for SBS [Applause] I guess there is are there Communists in this organization sure man there's a lot of time you'll see when you come in and listen you hear people talking you you can judge for yourself whether they're communist or not there are communists in the organization there's no doubt about that uh there are also liberals in the organization CS is not during the school year and it's going to start up again in the fall and if they have to worry about whether we're going to be in streets in the fall we're going to be on the streets and in every institution in this country from now on we're going to replace capitalism with socialism this is the national revolutionary conference for a united front against so-called fascism bringing together students for a so-called Democratic Society the Black Panthers and other revolutionary student and working class youth at the Oakland California Auditorium July 18th through the 20th 1969. the underlying purpose of the meeting was to further Lenin's emphasis on exploiting youth to advance communism he said youth will decide the entire struggle both student Youth and still more the working class you the next voices expose the Communist nature of the conference and are from Top representatives of the Black Panthers the young Patriots SDS and the Communist Party USA who were featured on the program the synchronized sound film was not obtainable for this program but because what the revolutionaries are saying is so vitally important to America's security we are presenting their taped voices which are properly identified later in the film representing the Black Panthers we're gonna fight some capitalism with some basic so socialistic programs fight imperialism with proletarian internationalism [Applause] practice we need an understanding of Monsters Learning his principles so that we may put our knowledge into revolutionary practice representing the young Patriots a gun on the side a revolutionary Society people means solidarity and socialism representing the Black Panthers representing SDS come back on the campuses this fall and hit them harder than they've ever been hit before the struggle that is going to ultimately defeat United States imperialism is going to be an international struggle it's going to be an armed struggle there's going to be a struggle that's going to have to take place in the third world against U.S imperialism and in the mother country against U.S imperialism we must be clear on how the final struggle will be waged and we must be a part of that struggle students students must be opening up the campuses to the working class must be going into the working past communities becoming part of the proletariat I must be getting ready for arms struggle representing the Communist Party USA we want a redirection of U.S foreign policy from one which seeks to destroy the National Liberation struggles of the peoples and to contain and roll back socialism a U.S foreign policy that boycotts and blockade South Africa and supports and trades with and encourages the Revolutionary Republic of Cuba yes they are communists their mission proudly proclaimed the violent overthrow of the democratic system and yet our nation seems unbelieving even unconcerned many newspapers television commentators and Educators call these young revolutionaries dissidents the problem they say is simply one of student unrest but are these voices voices of mere Descent of mere student unrest or of sedition and revolution [Music] [Applause] thank you I am Walter rates Judd this film is presented by the National Education Program Searcy Arkansas to inform and to impress upon American citizens who love their country the true nature and the true magnitude of those forces linked to World communism that are working within our nation for its overthrow we do not challenge freedom of dissent on college campuses or anywhere in America we acknowledge the existence in colleges and universities of broad areas for improvement and we support efforts toward changes beneficially affecting the future of American Youth this documentary is devoted to an entirely unrelated movement for change a movement of Revolution which openly declares its purpose to be first the destruction of our American educational system then our economic system and finally our system of government let the revolutionaries themselves tell it like it is in this film communist on campus this is Mark Rudd June 1969 elected national leader of SDS at this National SDS convention at the Chicago Coliseum this is Mark Rudd April 1968 at Columbia University New York City Rudd had been named chairman of the SDS chapter at Columbia after returning from a three-week tour of Cuba where he visited Fidel Castro we have closed down four University buildings three of which have you usually have classes we've had Mass meetings of 800 and 600 people respectively what do you think will be the outcome of this do you think that you'll get all those six demands isn't anything negotiable here what'll be the outcome um we think that that we will win our demands we think we're in a we're in a very strong position in fact we think this is probably uh well very strong position uh we think we will win our demands sympathetic to you now say they're annoyed because I would say that that we now have more support than any group has on about any political issue has ever held on any at any time we have the McCarthy group the uh which has 650 members is behind us certainly there are people from off campus this is a number of our demands our substantive demands about the gym involve Community issues and our demands about the institute for defense analysis analyzes involves um involves issues worldwide issues and and the question of support for Americans pop for the United States foreign policy SDS leader Mark Rudd later admitted his demands at Columbia were a hoax and a pretext quoting the National Review November 5 1968. let me tell you Rudd said we manufactured the issues The Institute of Defense analysis is nothing at Columbia just three professors and the Jim issue is bull it doesn't mean anything to anybody is SDS Mark really interested in Colombia or is it just a stepping stone are you concerned with something much bigger than Colombia why did you use Colombia or did you use Colombia I say that that neither is true or both are true so what it is is a a um a training ground or not only a training ground but one one that has immediate relevance the Columbia University confrontation according to its SDS leader Mark Rudd was a training exercise and the goal the Takeover by violence of the United States SDS leader Mark Rudd wrote Grayson Kirk the then president of Columbia University quote you called for order and respect for authority we call for socialism Rudd's SDS group and rap Brown student Afro-American Society paralyzed the university brown one of the leaders of the student non-violent Coordinating Committee has agitated All Over America the black students of Columbia University joined by a few members of the black community have been in Hamilton Hall for 56 hours more than that now the brothers in here maintain that they will stay here until the university is willing to talk on their terms and we are going in the community of Harlem and boasters support down there so we're going to let Colombia know that if they don't want to deal with the brothers in here they're going to deal with the brothers on the street April 20th 1969. it was parents week at Cornell often many parents stay at Street Hall in the heart of the campus some had already moved in and got evicted when black students decided to occupy the hall the blacks were demanding the usual things black studies amnesty and such their demands were met and they came out it was then everyone realized the black students were armed during the occupation They carried at least 17 rifles and guns when they left the hall campus police didn't try to take the guns away from them they were allowed to keep them in their dormitories it is still not quite clear who won at Cornell but the black students and the tactics of armed occupation did not lose we returned to the Oakland revolutionary conference we hear the chairman and co-founder of the Black Panther Party and one of the organizers of the united front against fascism Bobby seale who was also a defendant in the Chicago conspiracy trial until given a jail sentence for persistent disorderly conduct in the courtroom and we are going to create an American Liberation Front Bobby seale wants to set up an American Liberation Front to parallel for example the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam the Hanoi sponsored Vietcong with the Communist North Vietnamese they have thus far murdered or maimed hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese civilians and over 300 000 American soldiers trying to help keep southeast Asia from communist subjugation Mass Graves have been found and uncovered near Hawaii South Vietnam disclosing over 2 000 bodies most of them in civilian clothing many of the victims were bound and executed while some were undeniably buried alive South Vietnamese who managed to escape the atrocities said the victims who were mostly teachers policemen minor government officials farmers and some soldiers were made to dig their own Graves the Black Panther Party we've been accused of that quite a bit Bobby seale didn't reply to the accusation that the Black Panther Party is a part of the world communist apparatus but his minister of information Eldridge Cleaver a top voice of the Black Panthers speaking from communist-dominated Algiers to which he had fled set the record straight and I quote we are a Marxist leninist party and implicit in Marxism leninism is proletarian internationalism David Hilliard Panther Chief of Staff added quote Marxism leninism and socialism must be the goal of the revolutionaries who seek to destroy the American system there were many top Communists featured on the program with Panther chairman Bobby seale one of them was this next speaker the leading theoretician and strategist of the Communist Party USA Herbert aptaker I deeply appreciate the honor speaking here this evening for me the honor is multiplied since J Edgar Hoover has denounced this meeting's Main initiator the Black Panther Party as quoting without question the greatest threat to the internal security of the country [Applause] if J Edgar Hoover condemns something it must be good and FJ Edgar Hoover condemns something in terms of great severity then it must be very good indeed to be attacked by the chief cop of America is a magnificent tribute May the Black Panther Party in the future continue to Merit the Daya tribes issuing from his foul mouth this is the daughter of Herbert aptaker self-admitted communist batina aptaker at the University of California at Berkeley in the fall of 1964 with Mario Savio shown here Latina organized and was one of the leaders of the so-called Free Speech movement the beginning of the disruption successes for the Communists on American campuses she is quoted as saying she has that in mind to spearhead a student Revolution which will hopefully lead to what she calls the erosion of the democratic form of government and eventual establishment of kremlin-like leadership in the United States she has herself boasted and I quote we will if necessary take over the college campuses in this country if our demands are not met the Free Speech movement leaders were flown to other major university campuses on a well-planned and well-financed speaking tour here at their arrival in New York City they were met by the Press yeah the uh the tour was arranged um uh the speaking part of an ecologist by students for Democratic Society you see this as an issue that will be affecting other campuses or is this a specific problem in your own School no I think that this will in the near future begin affecting other campuses Hall leader of the Communist Party USA emphatically declared and I quote we've got the W.E.B Du Bois clubs the student non-violent Coordinating Committee and the SDS going for us today he could include the Black Panther Party and a dozen or so others on December 28 1966 at the University of Chicago this student peace program committee made up of student and faculty leftists met in answer to an appeal sent out by communist Bettina apthicker for a nationwide student faculty strike the house committee on Un-American Activities reported and I quote the proposal for the Nationwide student strike was completely communist in origin the aim of the dominant communist element in these movements is to undermine the United States promote a communist Takeover in Vietnam and the general advance of world communism unquote the group with the largest representation at this conference was SDS one of the principal speakers of the conference the initiator of the idea for a nationwide student faculty strike and the author of this book big business and the American University was batina after the curve well the Communists running this conference there's a temporary steering committee which consists of 15 organizations plus four people from the preparations committee the organizations include SDS the National Student Association the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee the southern Christian leadership conference the young socialist Alliance the Du Bois Club the Chicago peace Council who are the hosts of this conference and so forth kind of decisions do you expect to see out of this conference well I don't want to preclude anything that the conference is going to decide I don't want to make a statement that then sort of binds people to it but I would say that the purpose of the conference is to discuss the possibilities of a nationally coordinated student mobilization in the spring against the war and in particular on the issues of the draft on the issue of University participation in the war effort for example War research CIA research and so forth that had done on campuses and that's the purpose of the conference and one would hope although it's not certain I'm going to discuss it some form and some some kind of nationally coordinated protest you just heard communist batina aptaker dictate the issues in 1966 which to this day are being used by the Communists to Rally often on campus dissidents militants and dupes to accelerate their drive for the violent overthrow of our country we have a message from Eldridge cleaver to all the people in the united front against fascism and the message is this right on this is Eldridge Cleaver convicted felon a fugitive from the California Penitentiary he is one of the top leaders of the Black Panther Party Idol and hero of the Revolutionary new left here in the pages of the Black Panther Party newspaper Eldridge Cleaver speaks out to his comrades in the U.S a message from his hideout in communist Cuba at another time he emphasizes the importance of Destruction on the college campus he writes and I quote the most Sensational and explosive places are being centered and focused more and more on the college campuses and on high school campuses We Must Destroy their institutions from which they derive their power we have to destroy the present structure of power in the United States we have to overthrow the government and the only means possible is violent overthrow this is the voice of the Black Panthers repeating the Communist Party Line giving the words to the actions of today's Stormtroopers the new inter-organizational secretary of SDS Jeff Jones announces SDS politics it's the feeling of SDS the fight is being waged on the campuses when is wage solely on the campuses is a fight that can end up only on the campuses that's not where we're at at all that's not where we as an organization of young revolutionaries are trying to move the student movement are trying to link it up with the working class movement as the primary key upon which we're trying to build our movement organizations like the Black Panther Party the other revolutionary International proletarian revolutionary organizations in this country we say people have been oppressed and colonized by imperialism and fascism have the right to get into those institutions and by doing that are going to change the class nature of those institutions and are eventually going to lead to shutting down those institutions until we've destroyed capitalism I present to you tonight women combating fascism now we didn't put them up here for nothing here they are and I introduce you to Marie Walker Johnson heretofore women have been thought of as merely being content to remain in a prone position well thing think what they used to be sisters and brothers the people who will be speaking on this panel has not been chosen because of their revolutionary rhetorics they were chosen because of their correct practice she's armed with correct theory and practice none other than Owen's sister Roberta Alexander Huey P Newton said that we have to limit our be possible between the movement and make our concentration upon the enemy this is correct our sisters are struggling and participating in our political education classes our sisters more and more taking a leadership role we have sisters who can shoot they can shoot as well as brothers they're not sitting home with the baby they're out there they got their babies with them they're out there in the community out there doing field work and it even goes down to the sexual levels you know whether or not the women are supposed to do so and so for the cause of the Revolution Etc and the sisters of the Black Panther Party and I hope the sisters of the rest of the movement of the rest of the united front against fascism follow the example of the Vietnamese women the people to the people right off the revolutionaries cry all power to the people the people want the people will take but the people they refer to are themselves The Conspiracy the revolutionaries the tiniest minority in our country seated next to Sister Roberta is not of a beautiful sister her name sister Carol Henry Lions demarcation have been clearly drawn between the Pig oppressant and the people these are negro children participating in the free breakfast program sponsored by the Black Panther Party these are some of the pages from the notorious black panther coloring book which was handed out to children attending a free breakfast program in a church in San Francisco this coloring book was dramatically exposed by the U.S Senate's McClellan investigating committee the coloring book teaches young Negroes to hate and kill policemen and incites them toward violence and murder and his comrade mouth chaison says fear no sacrifice amount every difficulty and when when to Victory I must remind you that there cannot be a successful struggle against fascism unless the broad masses of women are drawn into it down with the pig fascist Pig of person long live the people's Liberation struggle Long Live Huey P Newton and Elders cleaver all power to the people dare to struggle dare to win all five to the people to the people [Applause] right on the ideology the Bible of the Black Panthers and most of the new Left revolutionaries is that prescribed in their ever-present little red book entitled quotations from Chairman Mao sedum like to introduce to you sister Aura Williams Chairman Mao says that a revolutionary should have largeness of mind and he should be staunched and active looking upon the interest of the Revolution as his very life that's subordinating his personal interest to those of the revolution always and everywhere he should adhere to principles and wage a tireless struggle against all incorrect ideas and actions he should be more concerned about the party and the masses than about any individual be it mother wife or child and more concerned about others than himself only then can he be considered a true revolutionary you have a five-week-old daughter Kiana Malik who has been instilled with revolutionary principles this was inborn in her from revolutionary parents through practice in a revolutionary environment she was born revolutionary and will die one the first of a new generation whose Minds will not be conditioned by this power structure Victory to the people Victory Is Ours all power to the people and long live the minister of defense sister Marlene Dixon doctor of Sociology UCLA the radical women's Liberation movement was created by an international revolutionary movement and is part of it as a very great woman assassinated by the German government as a dangerous revolutionary Rosa Luxembourg once said the history of revolutionary struggle is a history of failure but you only need to win once and we shall all power to the people you have a telegram that I'd like to read to you it's from the Tokyo communist League dated July 19 1969. communist League Stands Strong solidarity on behalf of Japanese militants revolutionary workers and students we must together establish our proletarian dictatorship to combat and Destroy fascism imperialism our struggle should be a violent one to resist and destroy the violence of establishment power we proletari the brown Nations must form a practical link with the struggle for Liberation in the third world eventually to win in the struggle for World Revolution [Applause] our next speaker Spiel Marshall from the Black Panther Party Phil Marshall Don Cox Huey P Newton says the racist dog police must withdraw from the black community or face the Wrath of the Armed people the Black Panther Party has a motto it is a quote but chairman Maude say Tung of the Chinese Communist Party We Are The Advocates of the abolition of War we do not want war but War can only be abolished through word in order to get rid of the gun it is necessary to pick up the gun power to the people right on all the all the Panthers know where political power comes from here [Music] in an effort to create a stronger bond between students and workers a panel of ranked and file Trade union activists were featured on the Revolutionary conference program brother Kenny harston who is the director of the Black Panther caucus of UAW Tremont California and he's also very active brother Black Panther Party Kenny host what I want to say at this time is that uh the life and death struggle with reformism Will begin it has begun how this struggle will end will depend on how completely the masses Shake free of their present reformers leadership and put up militant resistance fascism will be our punishment tomorrow if we let past the hour of socialism thank you [Applause] clearly no reform or progress within the American system is sought the goal is total socialism communism next speaker will be Barbara bacon from the Revolutionary Workers Union in Richmond California Vietnam is the spearhead and the proof of that that imperialism is being driven into a corner that is on the defensive that is on the decline it's on the way out and we have to understand that the proletariat proletarian forces like the Black Panther Party already are taking the lead and forging a united front which will not only beat back fascism but can actually overthrow the imperial system now SDS and other forces that we work with is proposing for this fall a fall action around the war in Vietnam to revive the the united front against the imperialist war in Vietnam and to force the Imperial ass out and one of the key components of that must be working class organization and actions against the war in Vietnam do you ever ask yourself why we have had increasing trouble with discipline in our Armed Forces listen closely to determined of the American servicemen's Union and you will understand okay I'm gonna run down some stuff tonight about the GI revolts and rebellions that have been going on in the U.S army over the last year the organizing drive that we're undertaking the ASU was playing a leading role in this fight in this organizing Drive we have chapters of the American servicemen's Union on 60 large military installations in the United States and 40 overseas just as the Bolshevik party organized through the Soviets in 1917 against the Czar and the oppression in Russia the American serviceman Union is organizing Soviets within the U.S imperialist army the only line that's going to lead to Victory the only line that's going to lead to Victory and revolution is a proletarian line in the army and they know that whoever can command the allegiance of the rank and file troops that command is going to be decisive in Revolution or counter-revolution and right now the American servicemen's Union is building an army within an army a worker's militia inside the U.S army and along with the Panthers and others we're going to make that Revolution how are the people we are going to wind this session up tonight with national committees plural to combat fascism many wants to talk about how can we create the new party the new Mass People's Party the new Workers Party what have you or however you want to phrase it I think you should phrase it yes we should create a party the Black Panther Party says yes you damn right we need to parallel an American Liberation in front of America and we say that needs to be done and we're saying that we have some guns to deal with fascism but let's start with the community controller police if you don't want to deal with the guns let's start dealing with the community control of police petition let's move it let's defend the political prisoners power to the people on September 5th 1969 Angela Davis after being hired as a philosophy professor at UCLA first admitted she was a member of the Communist Party USA now I think that the real reason that they're firing me is not only because of my membership in the Communist Party but because I have tried to involve myself as much as I could in the Black Liberation struggle in this country I worked with snake with the Black Panthers and with the BSU when I was a student down in uh UCSC the University campus at San Diego I think we have enough trouble on campuses the woman is an admitted member of the Communist party she also in her letter to Chancellor young indicated that she felt that the only way we could bring about the social change that's necessary today is through violence and militancy I don't think we need that on campus the vice chairman of the black students union of UCLA admitted and I quote many black leaders to whom black people look as symbols have been connected directly or indirectly with a Communist Party the UCLA figure most instrumental in hiring Miss Davis last spring was Professor Donald kalish chairman of UCLA's philosophy Department Kaylee's since 1965 has been extremely active in the anti-vietnam war movement anti-police activities and a variety of other causes agitated by the Communists Professor kalish has boldly declared many of the young people I work with regularly belong to this branch of the Communist party that branch of the Communist Party to progressive labor which is probably far to the left of the Communist party I'm farther left the Communist Party what kind of civilization is being offered by Communists and other leftists would it be better than that which we now have this is a vitally important question millions of American Youth are being courted and beckoned agitated and incited to take violent actions against the American system to throw it all overboard but for what what is to be the replacement the best the revolutionaries can point to are the China of Mao sudung the North Vietnam of hojimin the Cuba of Fidel Castro the Soviet Union of Lenin what have these totalitarian dictatorships brought to their people have they brought the promised Democratic freedom and the economic Paradise for the workers they have not instead they have established dictatorships over the proletariat the working people rather than of the proletariat and in the highest developed communist country the Soviet Union living standards are still about one-fourth of the American Standard the new Left Revolution missionaries have accused you the people of the United States of being fascist by dictionary definition fascists subscribe to a highly centralized system of government which exercises absolute control over its people imposing strict censorship and suppressing all opposition is this a picture of the United States or of red China North Vietnam Cuba and the Soviet Union and its satellites the fascios we have to fear and unite against are SDS Black Panthers and old Communists who demand a totalitarian system you see there is very little difference between communism and fascism they are both totalitarian systems which share and officially prescribe all-embracing ideology which has a supposed answer for everything a correct attitude toward every aspect of human existence the people who will be speaking on this panel they were chosen because of their correct practice with correct theory and practice the red book is my Bible gun is my staff Chairman Mao says he should adhere to principles and wage a tireless struggle against all incorrect ideas and actions and as comrade Mount says the Black Panther Party has a motto it is a quote the chairman might say Tom of the Chinese Communist Party the young revolutionaries want to destroy our educational system but they don't tell us that in communist countries the state dictates and directs the education of its youth according to what it believes are the needs of the state there is no such thing as special privilege for the education of minority groups and many black students brought to the Soviet Union from Africa have quit and returned to their homes in disgust because of the Discrimination practiced against them no group should be allowed to plunder Riot and terrorize our educational institutions and impose its will upon a majority of students who go to colleges to study and learn will it take a national disaster of monumental proportions before the public wakes up to the Enemy Within now operating with impunity must the free Society allow itself to be destroyed because of the very freedoms it defends for the students of this land and for all of us understanding and finding ways to expose neutralize and overcome the Communist threat is not a political issue it is a matter of national survival ities [Applause] [Music]