The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1932-09-26
PARTY LIFE
PARTY LIFE
Fight White
ChanVi1liSr11
in WeSt>Pa.
By CARL PRICE

W of the hidden, concealed variety,
has shown its head more openly
in the Pittsburgh district recently.
The district convention of the Par
ty added more Negro comrades to
leading positions in the general
Party work (three full time Sec
ton organizers in West Virginia,
Allegheny Valley, Hill, Pittsburgh
city sections, full time union or
ganizers, etc. and added capable
Negro comrades to the leading Par
ty committees CBen Carruthers on
the secretariat of the Party, four
Negro comrades on the district
buro, etc. This served to sharpen
the struggle against white chauvin-
ism within the Party ranks.
In the New Kensington (Alle-
gheny Valley section) where Com
rade Howard Robinson was recent
ly elected section organizer Of the
Party, a special meeting of the Sec
ton committee Of the Party dis
cussed, this question and dragged
out into the open the crassest forms
Of white chauvinism.
rOMRADE Robinson had wanted
" to attend the unit meeting of
the Party in an important min
ing town. The sub-district organ
izer of the NM.U. said that the
local comrades" did not want
Comrade Robinson to come to the
meeting because it would mark
them as Communists to have
Negro organizer visit the town. But
this argument, which the sub
district organizer accepted and APP
proved was shown in the section
committees discussion to be not
the real basis of the objection to
Comrade Robinson's doing his work
in G. First, a Negro worker is
no novelty in a mining town;
second, Negro organizers of the
N.MU. had regularly visited c.:
third, Comrade Robinson pointed
out that he had eaten and slept
with comrades in both mining and
steel company towns, as well as
worked in them, and no objections
we're raised and no increase in the
terror resulted The real reason
for this objection was concealed
resistance to Negro comrade be-
ing in charge of the Party work
in this section. The section COM
mittee correctly decided that Com
rade Robinson should attend the
unit meeting together with other
members Of the section committee
end discussion take place on
struggle against white chauvinism."
NEGROES AMONG NEGROES"
At this same section committee
meeting another Party member OBJ
iected to Comrade Robinson as
section organizer of the Party,
openly stating "let Comrade Rob-
inson work among his own people
and we will work among ours"
When questioned this Party mem
Der explained" that he had meant
that we needed foreign Language
organizers to work among the vari-
Gus nationalities, explained" that
he only wanted Robinson not to
neglect the Negro workers, but it
was quite clearly and openly stated
that it is not good idea to put
Negro comrades to responsible gen.
era1 Party work but instead they
"can be more useful working am
Ong Negroes. This, of course, is
white chauvinism in its crassest
form and is an argument for the
admittance of Jim Grow methods
in our Party, an argument against
fighting white chauvinism in prac-
tice, in the daily life of the work
ers and in their daily struggles.
White chauvinist tendencies crop
ped up in the N. M u. national
board meeting held recently when
even one leading organizer attempt
ed to explain" advocacy of Jim
Grow dances. In the Western Pa.
district of the N.MU., the district
buro of the N.M.U. was undecided
on one particular dance, and refer
red it to the Party district buro
for decision, without making any
definite recommendation. The ma
tional board of the NM.U. took de-
cisive action against this white
chauvinism.
In the Coverdale section rotten
white chauvinism appears among
the leading section comrades, in
Guiding organizers of the NM.U.
and the Party, when the Party sec
ton organizer Ga Negro comrade)
married white woman. Some
comrades somehow felt this was
immoral" began a campaign a.
gainst both the section organizer
and his wife, raising other issues
against these comrades, but based
on the crudest form of white chau-
vinism. The Party secretariat had
to state categorically that this
campaign must cease, that runors
being spread against these COM
rades were untrue, and pointing
out the white chauvinist base of
this attack.
In Washington, the secretary of
the Workers Ex-Servicemen's
League organized a Jim Grow
dance in the name of the WE.SL.
The District Buro of the Party is
now organizing a mass trial of this
Party member in Washington, with
a member of the secretariat per-
sonally responsible.
THE growth Of open white chau-
vinism in the Pittsburgh district
is apparent. Immediate education
of the Party membership as to the
boss character of these tenden-
cies is burning necessity. In the
NMU. and the steel union, no
struggle for the special demands
o. the Negroes Is being carried on
mr. hoe haar carriod or, Tho nro