First Published: Unity, Vol. 2, No. 13, June 29-July 12, 1979.
Transcription, Editing and Markup: Paul Saba
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“Unidad! Unidad! Unidad!” (Unity!) The rhythmic hand claps and chanting by over 100 people provided an enthusiastic ending to the June 16 program in New York, celebrating the merger of East Wind and the League of Revolutionary Struggle (M-L). A similar, program drawing 50 people was held the next evening in Boston. East Wind, a Marxist-Leninist collective from Los Angeles, recently dissolved and united with the League. (See UNITY, May 4-17, 1979.)
The highlight of both East Coast programs was “Our Roots,” a 45-minute multimedia slide show on East Wind’s ten years of work in the Asian American and revolutionary movements. The slide show brought out East Wind’s extensive work in the anti-war movement, in organizing youth and students against drug abuse, in women’s organizing, and its work in the Asian American communities.
Speakers from the former East Wind and from the League’s newspaper, UNITY, pointed out the significance of the merger. The merger statement explained how the merger was achieved and described its impact.
“We have been able to unite at this time because we have built upon what we have had in common over the years, and struggled to resolve our political differences in a principled way .... United in one organization, we can contribute much more to the tasks of building a unified Asian movement, to lead the people’s struggle to overthrow U.S. monopoly capitalism, and to build a unified vanguard party.”
Yuri Kochiyama, a longtime revolutionary and friend of East Wind and the League, personally delivered a solidarity message at the New York program. Charlie Chin, a well-known Asian American singer, performed songs that he composed himself. One was called, “What a Beautiful Day,” a song that he wrote in 1973 for the West Side Collective, some of whose members later became part of East Wind.
The Boston program also featured fine cultural performances by local groups. A group of Asian and Black musicians and singers performed “Profits Enslaved the World,” a captivating song adapted from a revolutionary poem by Philip Vera Cruz – a veteran Pilipino farm worker and labor organizer.
At both events, question and answer sessions and informal talks after the program deepened many people’s awareness of the issues in the contemporary Asian American movement. Discussions addressed questions such as art and culture, community organizing, the woman question, and the movement in the Japanese communities for reparations from the U.S. government for losses during the World War II concentration camps.
A number of people commented on the League’s valuable work in the oppressed nationality movements, which shows that revolutionaries must boldly take Marxism-Leninism to the masses and unite with their progressive sentiments. People also talked about the importance of continuing to struggle to unite Marxist-Leninists in the U.S., and commented on the positive step represented by the merger of East Wind and the League.
Other educational programs on the East Wind merger with the League are planned for Los Angeles on June 23, and San Francisco on July 29.