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Found this while researching the Green Party. I found it a very educational read, if somewhat dated. Has much changed since 2006? Also I found it most interesting that in 2004 the Green Party pursued a "safe-states" strategy to keep Bush, who was not openly aligned with the the KKK and didn't have black people thrown out of his events, from winning, but in 2016 when all that and more applies to Trump, they have shifted to a pro-Trump oppose Clinton everywhere strategy. http://www.leftturn.org/red-black-not-green-green-party-challenges-black-community a few excerpts: By: > Roger White > Date Published: > October 01, 2006 > > Black voters in the US are like all other voters here with one exception. > Many of our ancestors had to die for the right to vote for the lesser of > two evils. Naturally, we want our votes not only to count (no slam dunk) we > want them to make a difference. Because Blacks are not an electoral > majority in any state or nationally, maximizing the worth of our choices by > being a part of an electoral coalition that has a real chance to win power > is a priority. > > Black voters tend to register their anger and frustration at the political > status quo simply by not voting, not by supporting third parties. > > This wasn’t always the case. 100 years ago over one million Blacks, > primarily from the south and west, played a critical role in the rise of > the Populist Party—a mass based third-party movement that sought to hold > the northern industrialist establishment politically accountable for > dropping crop prices and predatory monetary practices. At first white > populist leaders like Tom Watson from Georgia advocated for racial unity in > the struggle against the railroads and the banks. But after a populist > split in 1896, Watson and other white party functionaries betrayed Black > Populists and either defected to the Democrats or sat silent as they and > white southern vigilantes reimposed white supremacy through > disenfranchisement and mob violence. Black populist leaders and supporters > were killed. We learned our lesson. This was the last time any multiracial > third party enjoyed support by the masses of Blacks. > The environmental, peace, and third world solidarity movements from the > 1970s and 80s, the grassroots of the US Green Party, has always represented > a policy majority and a cultural minority—a minority that Black activists > found it difficult to relate to. > What do white activists do when there aren’t enough dark people in the > room? Outreach. > > Set up a table at the public university in town. Pass out fliers for the > next meeting at the Saturday morning flea market. E-mail blasts to > activist- of -color list-serves. Whatever works. Problem is—that shit don’t > work. Moreover, white activists know that shit don’t work. But they get a > double bonus. They can pretend to be doing something “pro-active” to bring > in colored folks with the knowledge that few if any colored folks are > coming in—at least not to stay (they’ve been known to slip out right before > the vegan pot-luck). Multiracial organizing is not easy. Doing it in bad > faith makes it harder. > > Another problem is proximity. The Green Party is heavily influenced by > three main demographics—educated, urban, nonprofit activists; educated, > university town professionals; and well-to-do hippies in the exurbs. All > three bases of support have organizations and social networks that provide > the party with multiple, reinforcing contacts with potential recruits, > volunteers and leaders very few of whom happen to be Black. Although > environmental justice organizations like Project Underground and Green > Action have been doing great work in Black communities, the Green Party has > little institutional infrastructure there. The DC Statehood Green Party is > one of a few exceptions. > Furthermore, the party’s ties with the Black church, the hub of Black > political and social activity, are non-existent. Whether this is because of > old style party defense of political turf on the part of the Democrats or > the subtle contempt that some green progressives have towards religion, the > failure of the Party to build relations to this central Black institution > is at the heart of its failure to reach the Black electorate. > > Organizational inclusiveness can not be achieved by reaching out. It can > only be achieved by getting up, going to where the struggles for human > dignity and justice are being waged and fighting with the marginalized. > Clay Claiborne, Director Vietnam: American Holocaust <http://VietnamAmericanHolocaust.com> Linux Beach Productions Venice, CA 90291 (310) 581-1536 Read my blogs at the Linux Beach <http://claysbeach.blogspot.com/> <http://wlcentral.org/user/2965/track> _________________________________________________________ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
