Published: Conference Transcripts and Resolutions, Second National OCIC Conference, 1979.
Transcription, Editing and Markup: Paul Saba
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I. The OC endorses the National Minority Conference held in June of this year. Given the lack of development around the question of racism in the anti-revisionist movement, the development of an independent planning committee for this conference was correct. The planning committee correctly identified the OC’s 18 points and commitment to the development of a single center for the anti-“left” tendency as the proper basis of unity for the conference. It was also correct for the conference planning committee to select participants on the basis of its knowledge of the historic and current work of individual national minority Marxist-Leninists; an open conference would have posed difficult problems of logistics, security and finance. Finally, we reject the charge that it was sectarian to demand genuine commitment to a single center on the part of all participants.
II. The conference represented a real success in carrying concrete developments in the U.S. party-building movement to national minority Marxist-Leninists. The conference agenda centered around four important points: (1) the centrality of party-building – identifying the primacy of the theoretical struggle in party-building, the retarding role of “left opportunism and the OC as the correct form during this period; (2) the special tasks of national minority Marxist-Leninists in party-building; (3) racism as the central obstacle to multi-national unity in the communist movement? and (4) the role of sexism in undermining the contributions of national minority women. The OC strongly supports the high level of unity reached by the conference participants on these important points.
III. The conference process also served to expose important weaknesses in the struggle against racism within the OC’s ranks. It showed that many OC groups seriously underestimate the capacity of national minority comrades to grasp communist theory leading to a tendency to restrict the role of minority Marxist-Leninists to participation in mass struggles and organizing the minority communities. It also showed a failure on the part of OC groups to assume their political responsibilities with national minority Marxist-Leninists; many groups assumed that the sole obligation for introducing the OC, it is goals, and development, rested on the planning committee. In addition, many OC organizations tended towards the view that recruitment was the primary way to resolve their lack of multinational composition; this view severely understates the Importance of building political unity with advanced minority comrades. Finally, the SC failed both to provide an overview on OC responsibilities around the conference and to follow up on several important criticisms of racist errors in relation to the conference.
IV. While the OC is generally in favor of a multinational process, racism in our movement will continue to necessitate exclusively minority forms in some circumstances. In order to undermine these present conditions of racism, the OC should utilize the gains of the national minority conference to the fullest degree possible. This means participating in the organization of local and regional forums reporting on the discussions at the conference. It also means circulating, studying and discussing the speeches delivered to the conference, particularly focussing on each presentation’s discussion of the role of racism in the communist movement.