The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1928-01-13

The struggle for the liberation of
the working classes in general and
Of the Negro race in America in par
ticular is, of course, at bottom the
same struggle. But great difficulty
faces both the workers because the
essential identity of the problem is
not recognized either by white work
ingmen or black.
Black workingmen are the heirs of
every effort which the white work
ing masses have made toward free
dom; the bestowal of universal suf-
frage; the shortening of the hours of
labor; the protection of women and
children in industry; the recognition
of the right to collective bargaining;
and all the rest of the victories more
or less completely won by the work
ing class movement. Through these
victories Negroes were emancipated
from slavery in America; partially
enfranchised; and given at least a
fighting chance for living wage.
On the other hand, all this story has
not been told Negroes and they are
not born knowing all about it, The
working class movement has seldom
attempted any intelligent propaganda
to let them know of the past strug
gle: the Negro home does not know
it and the Negro school does not
teach it. And to make the matter
worse, both white and black work
ingmen have come under the sinister
influence of the white employer.
Vicious Race Prejudice
The white workingman has swal-
lowed the white employers race pre-
JUDGE, lock, stock and barrel; SO that
he doesn't want to work beside Neg
roes; he doesn't want to live in their
neighborhood; he doesn't want any
body to think that he is as low as a
Negro!
The black workingman has taken
from the white employer different
set of beliefs but equally composed of
prejudices and assumptions. If he
hurts a job, he is told that the white
employer IS willing to employ him
but that the white workingmen will
not work with him and that his only
chance to work is to "scab" And
the difficulty is that this is largely
true. He finds the white working
men voting against his schools and
civil rights and excluding him from
his trade unions; and the white en-
ployer is not at all loath to let the
Negro know these facts in detail.
Subsidized Negro Schools
In addition to this and on the posi-
tive side, through the white employer
and capitalist, the Negro receives
many of the things which the City
and State backed by the white
workers vote refuse to give him: all
of the Negro colleges, most of his
secondary and high schools, large
part of the better school buildings,
have been the gift to him from white
rhilanthropfsts, and they stand as a
tremendous bride to make Negroes
hate white fellow workers and look
upon them as his enemies.
All this would be important if it
affected only the United States
where the Negro forms perhaps one
ninth Of the working class. But with
local differences all this is essen
tally true of the colored workers
throughout the world, and a majority
of the worlds workers today are
colored White workers are today as
yesterday voting armies and navies
to keep China, India, Mexico and
Central America in subsection and
being paid high wages to do this
while ''niggers" and "dagoes' and
'chinks" starve, slave and die.
United Action Imperative
What chance is there then for the
real liberation of any working class
until the white and colored workers
who now compete for each others
bread understand each other and
know the history of the labor move
ment? And what better medium is
there for understanding than periodi-
cals,-mcnthly, weekly and daily,
widely disseminated, which tell the
truth to both groups?