To End Racism, We Must Defeat Capitalism

By Chairman Shaka Zulu

“Show me a capitalist and I’ll show you a blood-sucker.” That’s what Malcolm X said. He also said: “You can’t have capitalism without racism.”

The rise of capitalism was marked by the transcontinental slave trade—the sale and trade in captive Afrikans. Amerika was built on the genocide of the indigenous people and theft of their lands and the forced labor of dark-skinned people stolen from their homeland. Racism is a byproduct of this history but the whole monopoly capitalist world economy is built on the exploitation of the dark-skinned majority by the monopoly capitalist ruling class.

This is not the way things have to be. The alternative is a socialized global economy where the majority rule. This is not only in the interests of dark-skinned people but of humanity as a whole. Malcolm X predicted: “I believe that there will ultimately be a clash between the oppressed and those that do the oppressing. I believe there will be a clash between those who want freedom, justice, and equality for everyone, and those who want to continue the system of exploitation. I believe there will be that kind of clash, but I don’t think that it will be based on the color of the skin.”

As Bobby Seale expressed: “You don’t fight racism with racism, the best way to fight racism is with solidarity.” This was a foundational principle of the original Black Panther Party. It is at the heart of the struggle to continue the legacy of the BPP and carry it forward in the 21st Century. The New Afrikan Black Panther Party is committed to fighting both capitalism and racism. We are committed not only to resist but to defeat both of these evils.

This requires we develop a new globalized perspective and build a worldwide united front against capitalist imperialism as well as racism and police state repression. We believe New Afrikan people in the U.S. need to play the vanguard role in building this united front. But it is fundamentally a class question. As the Chinese leader Mao Tse-tung expressed on the occasion of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in April of 1968:

“The Afro-American struggle is not only a struggle waged by the exploited and oppressed Black people for freedom and emancipation, it is also a new clarion call to all the exploited and oppressed people of the United States to fight against the barbarous rule of the monopoly capitalist class. It is a tremendous aid and inspiration to the struggle of the people throughout the world against U.S. imperialism and to the struggle of the Vietnamese people against U.S. imperialism. On behalf of the Chinese people, I hereby express resolute support for the just struggle of the Black people in the United States.“

“Racial discrimination in the United States is a product of the colonialist and imperialist system. The contradiction between the Black masses in the United States and the U.S. ruling circles is a class contradiction. Only by overthrowing the reactionary rule of the U.S. monopoly capitalist class and destroying the colonialist and imperialist system can the Black people in the United States win complete emancipation. The Black masses and the masses of white working people in the United States have common interests and common objectives to struggle for. Therefore, the Afro-American struggle is winning sympathy and support from increasing numbers of white working people and progressives in the United States. The struggle of the Black people in the United States is bound to merge with the American workers’ movement, and this will eventually end the criminal rule of the U.S. monopoly capitalist class.”

In 1970, Huey P. Newton, the Minister of Defense of the original Black Panther Party laid out his Theory of Revolutionary Intercommunalism in a speech at Boston College. This theory still holds validity today and forms the basis of the revolutionary ideological-political line of the New Afrikan Black Panther Party and the United Panther Movement it leads. As Chairman of the NABPP I urge all of you to check out our Party and join the UPM. We have a world to win!

DARE TO STRUGGLE, DARE TO WIN!

ALL POWER TO THE PEOPLE!