Black History Month: take action for equality

This week begins African American History  Month. Black history is central to American and working-class history.  The Communist Party celebrates Black history in a number of different ways. 
 
Events:
The Communist Party hosts Black History  Month events across the country. This year is the 100th anniversary  of the birth of Henry Winston, former national chairman of CPUSA and  a leader in the working-class and African American freedom struggles.  On Feb. 19, a special tribute will be held to honor Winston. Professor  and political activist Angela Davis will headline the event, and it  will be livestreamed so if you can’t get to New York then tune in  online for this exciting Black History Month event.
 
Connecticut, Northern California, Chicago,  Wisconsin, Eastern Pennsylvania will also be hosting events. Information  on where and when will be forthcoming. 
 
Actions:
Black history, like American history,  is full of struggles for equality, democracy, economic justice, solidarity  and unity. Those struggles continue today in different forms. CPUSA  Black History Month events tie history with the present struggles. There  are ongoing actions and organizing for racial justice and equality,  including the 2012 elections and the imperative to defeat the far right/corporate  cabal.
 
Thousands of people fought and died  for the right to vote. And this year, the Republicans, in state after  state, have passed laws that disenfranchise millions of people. You  can take action. 
 
Colorofchange.org has a national action  campaign to expose the corporate dollars behind the vote suppression  laws. http://act.colorofchange.org/sign/alec/?source=coc_website
 
Taking action also means finding and  building on points of unity in the struggles of today. In this article,  “Whitewashing Black History” author Gary Younge links the struggles  of African Americans to the current battles taking place in Arizona  around immigration and the banning of Mexican American and other “ethnic  studies.”
 
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2012/feb/01/black-history-month-whitewashing?newsfeed=true
 
Interested in learning more about African  American history? 
 
The national theme for Black History Month this year is African American  women in U.S. history and culture.  Peoplesworld.org editors suggest  our focus be Black women and their contribution to the trade union  movement. 
 
Plus, there are many archived articles on Black history and  African American leaders in the people’s movements including the CPUSA.
 
Politicalaffairs.net is another resource  for in depth articles for Black History Month.
 
Please share these articles on Facebook  and other social media. 
 
Plus, check out http://www.africanamericanhistorymonth.gov/, which lists events hosted by the National  Parks Service, Smithsonian and Library of Congress. Check out your local  public library, too, they have Black History Month book selections and  events. 
 
One more reason to make sure our libraries  are funded!
 
Yours in struggle,
 
Teresa Albano
Co-editor PeoplesWorld.org

Source: e-letter from CPUSA