First Published: Workers Viewpoint, Vol. 4, No. 23, December 26, 1979.
Transcription, Editing and Markup: Paul Saba
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In an article two issues ago, “Boston: Party/Masses Punch Out FBI, Communist Workers Party Grills FBI Boss” (November 19, 1979) we made some serious errors in reporting. This was due to misinformation and misinterpretation of other information in the course of communication. Many of the statements in the article were not true, and objectively underplayed the high political consciousness and sentiment of the students. Such mistakes can mislead the masses and cause the Party to lose credibility. In the future, we will strive to avoid making similar mistakes. If mistakes were made we’11 print the corrections as soon as they are indentified and the true facts obtained. Below is a more accurate account of what happened in Boston.
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Angered by the murder of the Communist Workers Party 5 in Greensboro on November 3 and by the racist attacks on Afro-Americans in Boston, students organized a vigil on the Harvard University campus. A member and a friend of the Communist Workers Party, as well as other students, gave raps. After the march had passed most of the dormitories, the students found out that FBI boss Webster was speaking at the J.F. Kennedy School. (Prior to the march some students had tried to find and target the CIA office in Cambridge.)
Jumping at the chance, the students marched in that direction. 200 yards from the building, the demonstrators led by the marshals, charged the front door just as Comrade Cesar charged automatic fire to save others. In front stood ten FBI agents and campus cops who tried to scurry in the door. The students chanted “KKK shoots to kill, FBI foots the bill!” and locked arms to prevent the agents from getting in. These scums eventually got in, but not until receiving some swift kicks from the angry students who tried to follow them in. One cop smashed a student’s hand in the door, and an FBI agent was dealt a punch in the face in return.
The agents bolted the doors behind them. However, the students continued chanting for a solid hour, so loud and powerful that the FBI boss couldn’t go on with his speech. Finally, Webster had to let them in if they “kept quiet”. Inside the students demanded to speak. Webster sat down, and a close friend of the Party took the floor to denounce the FBI and the rest of the government agents who organized the assassination of our beloved comrades right to their faces. When the students were through, they left chanting.