"Herman Cain, Booker T. Washington, and Barack Obama"

by Bob Avakian, Chairman of the Revolutionary Communist Party, USA

Revolution #248, October 23, 2011


Herman Cain, the "Black conservative" candidate for President, calls to mind Booker T. Washington. Washington was promoted as a "responsible Negro" by the powers-that-be—and was actually the darling of open, aggressive white supremacists—during the period of Jim Crow segregation and Ku Klux Klan terror, because Washington insisted that Black people should not fight their oppression but should work to "better" themselves by accepting and working within their horribly oppressed conditions. Cain today, in this era of New Jim Crow and supposedly "colorblind" oppression, is treated as a serious political contender, and is a favorite of the—yes, racist—"Tea Party," because Cain acts the part of a 21st century Minstrel Show clown, posturing and proclaiming: that he made it all by himself...that America is the greatest country, and there are no racist barriers, no racist oppression to be angry about...And if you don't have a job and aren't rich—blame yourself.

And then there is President Obama, who uses his "blackness" to help enforce and "justify" the "modern-day" enslavement of the masses of Black people, along with the deepening divide between the haves and have-nots, the violation of the environment, the robbing of the future from the youth, the wars, torture and assassinations, and other abominations carried out by the ruling class of this country, and its machinery of violent repression, death and destruction, all around the world as well as "at home."

From Booker T. Washington to his "successors" today...from second-class servant of the system to actual or wannabe commander-in-chief...it's all about perpetuating a capitalist-imperialist system based on exploitation and oppression—committing countless crimes against humanity.

The masses of people, and humanity as a whole, must and can do better.

Re Newsweek: The REAL Revolution and Bob Avakian on the 4th of July

Yesterday, Newsweek’s feature story was on The New Revolutionaries and it featured many of the reactionary populist movements as well as the Revolutionary Communist Party’s efforts. That this was their feature story on the 4th of July gives at least a glimpse of how much the very legitimacy of the U.S. system and functioning of capitalism is coming into question.

But some things need to be made clear. All those populist movements they featured – from the Tea Party folks to Michelle Bachman to Rush Limbaugh and beyond – are all defenders and upholders of this system of capitalism-imperialism. They have a lot of beef with Obama and some of the recent policies and approaches he and others in government are taking to rescue this system (the bank bail-outs, the healthcare legislation, the only-slightly-less-fascist approach to immigration, etc.) BUT they are defenders and upholders of the same system of capitalism-imperialism that Obama is the chief representative of. The Tea Party and other populists may want to change things drastically, but they are not about changing things fundamentally.

Besides, Obama is no socialist or communist!

But, we – the Revolutionary Communist Party and many who are joining with it to build the movement for the REAL REVOLUTION – are! And, you should be too!

Meet the leader of the real revolution, Bob Avakian. And check out this clip where he breaks down what this country is really about.



Then, especially if you have the day off for this so-called holiday (the 4th of July) which is really about celebrating genocide and slavery and imperialist domination of the planet – take ten minutes to spread this around (through email, facebook, twitter, etc.) to everyone you know!

As it says in the RCP’s recent Message and Call:

“We do not need to be sacrificing even more to ‘rescue’ this system. This system needs to be swept aside…its crimes against humanity stopped cold…its institutions dismantled, and replaced by ones that empower people to build a new society free of exploitation and oppression.”


We need a REAL REVOLUTION – and a whole DIFFERENT SYSTEM. As this Message and Call goes on to say:

“It is this system that has got us in the situation we're in today, and keeps us there. And it is through revolution to get rid of this system that we ourselves can bring a much better system into being. The ultimate goal of this revolution is communism: A world where people work and struggle together for the common good…Where everyone contributes whatever they can to society and gets back what they need to live a life worthy of human beings…Where there are no more divisions among people in which some rule over and oppress others, robbing them not only of the means to a decent life but also of knowledge and a means for really understanding, and acting to change, the world.”