On April 25, over 100 people attended a socialism conference at Centro Autónomo in Chicago’s Albany Park neighborhood. Titled “Capitalism is Criminal: We Need Revolutionary Change,” the conference was hosted by the Party for Socialism and Liberation.
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Participants engaged in spirited discussions with panel speakers from morning until the late afternoon. The speakers included Jesús Rodríguez from the Venezuelan Consulate; Brian Becker, the National Coordinator of the ANSWER Coalition (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism); and United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America union member and Republic Windows and Doors worker Ricardo Caceres.
Bill Massey, a member of the PSL in Chicago and a veteran fighter in the struggle against racism, war and class rule remarked, “That a conference like the one today—with such a strong working-class orientation and so many young people from all over the Midwest—was organized in such a short time by a relatively new party like the PSL is very encouraging.”
For four weeks before the conference, members and friends of the PSL blanketed the city with outreach materials. Many people responded enthusiastically to outreach teams as they leafleted and spoke out on the streets to promote the event. The current economic crisis and the continuing U.S. wars for domination are leading many workers to question a system that bails out the banks and funds the Pentagon’s wars of aggression while workers are losing millions of jobs and homes through no fault of their own.
Over the course of the day, there were two plenary sessions and two major panels with lots of discussion. The main topics of conversation during the conference were the need to build a fight-back movement and the prospects for reviving the socialist movement in the United States.
Heather Benno chaired the opening plenary. The first speaker was Marquis Belton, a founding member of the Kent State Anti-war Committee. Belton spoke about the fight against racism and the systematic discrimination and violence suffered by oppressed communities under capitalism. He also talked about the absolutely central role the struggle against racism plays in the fight for liberation and socialism in the United States.
Jinnette Caceres, a member of the United Federation of Teachers and PSL member from New York City, talked about the struggle for immigrant rights and its connection with U.S. imperialism. Ricardo Caceres shared with the crowd his experiences with his fellow workers fighting Republic as well as Bank of America for their severance and vacation pay. He talked about how the unity between undocumented, immigrant and African American workers was a key to the success of their struggle against their bosses and the big banks.
The keynote speaker of the conference was the national coordinator of the ANSWER Coalition and one of the founding members of the PSL, Brian Becker. Becker talked about how the economic crisis exposes all the irrational contradictions of capitalism that can only be resolved by socialism. He called for the organization of working-class struggles like the fights to stop transit fee hikes and utility shutoffs that Justice First, an initiative of the ANSWER Coalition, is helping to wage in Washington, D.C.
The first major panel of the day was titled “Latin America: Revolution, Socialism and the Struggle Against U.S. Dominance.” Consul General Jesús Rodríguez informed the audience of the political and economic gains and progress of the revolution in Venezuela. Heather Benno talked about the struggle of the Bolivian people, led by President Evo Morales, against the ruling-class and imperialist aggression. Stefanie Fisher gave a powerful account of the continued revolutionary struggle in socialist Cuba and its struggle against the U.S. policies of counterrevolutionary aggression and economic blockade.
The second major panel, “The Struggle Against U.S. Imperialism During the Obama Administration,” started out with a talk from Suzanne Saba, who spoke about the Palestinian struggle for self-determination and the right to return to their homes. The panel also included a talk by Jeff Henry, who gave a presentation about the continued illegal occupation of Iraq and the Iraqi resistance to U.S. policies of colonialism and plunder.
The closing plenary asked the question: “Is Socialism Possible in the U.S.?” It was opened with a talk from Sean Pavey, a Harold Washington College student, on the lessons of the 1917 socialist revolution in Russia. Amanda Todd, a member of the American Postal Workers, Local 712 in Sioux Falls, S. Dak., talked about the role of unions in the struggle against capitalist rule.
Closing out the conference was John Beacham, ANSWER Chicago coordinator and a PSL organizer. He pointed out that socialism is not alien to the United States and that there is every reason to believe that the socialist movement can be revived—based on continued capitalist rule and the worsening economic conditions—through the efforts of dedicated and organized parties of socialist workers like the PSL.
More and more workers and students who are living through and observing the current economic meltdown in conditions for working people are beginning to realize that the system is criminal. They are looking for alternatives. Many are looking to join the fight for socialism. Now is the time to join together in struggle to raise the red flag of socialism anew.
