From The Archives-The Struggle To Win The Youth To The Fight For Our Communist Future-90 Years of the Young Communist League 1921-2011
 

 

Logo Of The Communist Youth International

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Markin comment on this series:

One of the declared purposes of this space is to draw the lessons of our left-wing past here in America and internationally, especially from the pro-communist wing. To that end I have made commentaries and provided archival works in order to help draw those lessons for today’s left-wing activists to learn, or at least ponder over. More importantly, for the long haul, to help educate today’s youth in the struggle for our common communist future. That is no small task or easy task given the differences of generations; differences of political milieus worked in; differences of social structure to work around; and, increasingly more important, the differences in appreciation of technological advances, and their uses.

There is no question that back in my youth I could have used, desperately used, many of the archival materials available today. When I developed political consciousness very early on, albeit liberal political consciousness, I could have used this material as I knew, I knew deep inside my heart and mind, that a junior Cold War liberal of the American For Democratic Action (ADA) stripe was not the end of my leftward political trajectory. More importantly, I could have used a socialist or communist youth organization to help me articulate the doubts I had about the virtues of liberal capitalism and be recruited to a more left-wing world view. As it was I spent far too long in the throes of the left-liberal/soft social-democratic milieu where I was dying politically. A group like the Young Communist League (W.E.B. Dubois Clubs in those days), the Young People’s Socialist League, or the Young Socialist Alliance representing the youth organizations of the American Communist Party, American Socialist Party and the Socialist Workers Party (U.S.) respectively would have saved much wasted time and energy. I knew they were around but not in my area.

The archival material to be used in this series is weighted heavily toward the youth movements of the early American Communist Party and the Socialist Workers Party (U.S). For more recent material I have relied on material from the Spartacus Youth Clubs, the youth group of the Spartacist League (U.S.), both because they are more readily available to me and because, and this should give cause for pause, there are not many other non-CP, non-SWP youth groups around. As I gather more material from other youth sources I will place them in this series.

Finally I would like to finish up with the preamble to the Spartacist Youth Club’s What We Fight For statement of purpose:

"The Spartacus Youth Clubs intervene into social struggles armed with the revolutionary internationalist program of Marx, Engels, Lenin and Trotsky. We work to mobilize youth in struggle as partisans of the working class, championing the liberation of black people, women and all the oppressed. The SYCs fight to win youth to the perspective of building the Leninist vanguard party that will lead the working class in socialist revolution, laying the basis for a world free of capitalist exploitation and imperialist slaughter."

This seems to me be somewhere in the right direction for what a Bolshevik youth group should be doing these days; a proving ground to become professional revolutionaries with enough wiggle room to learn from their mistakes, and successes. More later.

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90 Years of the Young Communist League 1921-2011

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Author: YCL Webmaster

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Ever since January 2nd 1921 when the YCL was officially made an above-ground organization it has been involved in some of the most important struggles in American youth and labor history. From struggles against child labor and legal lynchings even up to the recent integration of the military with the repeal of DADT the YCL has been on the right side of history. When people attacked us as radicals when we opposed segregation and Jim Crow we knew we were right in our convictions. When we were attacked as trouble makers when we circulated the petition to allow Jackie Robinson to play in the Major League we knew we would be proven correct. Time after time the YCL has held contraversial positions that are criticized as radical or heretical in their own time but when they are viewed through the scope of history they are the voices of reason in an insane world. The American people may still have some prejudices when it comes to communism but when asked about any of the major campaigns we have been a part of over our now 90 years they would side with the communists every time. Try asking a retiree about social security or medicare. These were assaulted as communist plots to destroy our country and now they are some of the most popular government programs in history. This whole year we will be making a special series of articles about the YCL's history and significant members and victories. So now where do we stand? 90 years later we still stand for peace, good and available jobs, a free education system from pre-school on, a just and nationalized healthcare system, a final death blow to racism, equal rights for all citizens regardless of age, gender, sexual orientation, race, religion or disability and of course a socialist U.S.A. These demands still seem radical after all these years but we know that they are worth a fight. We've lasted through oppression both at home and abroad, McCarthy, the red scare and much more and we haven't backed down yet. We can only hope that you also have a long view of history and will continue to be with us on this next 90 years of struggle. Thank you for all your support in these last 90 years and we look forward to fighting along with you in this next era and have a happy New Year of victory and ease.