While the Party does express sympathy for the NOI on the grounds that the capitalist system in this country is responsible for the conditions in which a protest movement such as the NOI can arise, the Party insists, of course, that only under communism will the Negro have full freedom. As a result, the Party is circumspect and has rejected a policy of active cooperation with the NOI.
In contrast to the CPUSA position is that expressed by one militant Marxist group, the Progressive Labor Movement (PLM),[1] which follows a pro-Chinese communist line in this country. A leading figure in this movement, who was formerly in the CPUSA, stated after the Harlem riots of July, 1964, that the PLM was willing to work with any group in Harlem--Black Nationalist or Muslim included.
Several articles with a pro-Chinese communist slant appeared in "Muhammad Speaks" in 1964. These articles were undoubtedly published because the NOI considers the Chinese people to be "brothers," inasmuch as they also are non-Caucasian. One of the articles, prepared by Robert Williams, a Negro extremist who fled to Cuba to avoid prosecution for kidnapping and who, in his speeches and writings, advocates violence in civil rights efforts in the United States, described his visit to Red China. He stated that the "American of African descent, whether he understands enough to appreciate it or not, is very fortunate to have the support of the Chinese people."
- ↑ Name changed to Progressive Labor Party in mid-April, 1965.
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