Socialism gets a second wind

THE BAY Area was the magnet for socialists and activists from the West Coast and beyond as the second leg of the annual Socialism conference took place in downtown Oakland on the July 4th weekend.

More than 600 people gathered for the dozens of sessions on subjects ranging from activist movements today to the theory and history of the Marxist tradition, and the intense political dialogue continued inside and outside the sessions. Added to the attendance at the first stage of conference in Chicago two weeks before, more than 1,600 people took part in Socialism 2010.

As in Chicago, the centerpiece of the Oakland conference was a Friday evening panel discussion on "Breaking the Siege of Gaza."

Bay Area activist Paul Larudee described what it was like to be a part of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla that came under Israeli assault at the end of May, and veteran Palestinian rights activist Jess Ghannam set the new stage in the movement in the context of the international economic and environmental crises. They were joined on the platform by Wael Elasady and Sherry Wolf.

"It's clear that the movement in solidarity with the Palestinian people has reached a turning point," said Anthony Arnove, coauthor with Howard Zinn of A People's History of the United States and an editor with Haymarket Books, one of the chief sponsors of Socialism. "We feel fortunate that our conference, both here and in Chicago, was able to contribute to an international struggle to win justice for Gaza."

One of the sessions to kick off the conference was immediately connected to Oakland itself--a meeting on the criminal injustice system that focused on the case of Oscar Grant III, an unarmed Black man who was shot in the back by a BART transit cop in 2009 on a station platform only blocks away from where the conference was held.

After remarks by independent journalist Liliana Segura, the meeting was turned over to Jack Bryson, the father to two young men who were abused by police and detained on the station platform when their friend was shot. Bryson described the pain of attending the murder trial of Johannes Mehserle, the officer who killed Oscar, in Los Angeles in the days before the conference. Indeed, the possibility of a verdict in the Mehserle case hung over the weekend.

Other featured speakers included playwright and actor Wallace Shawn, who read a new essay, tentatively titled "Why I Call Myself a Socialist," to be included with the paperback edition of his recent book Essays. During the same Saturday evening time slot, Nation sportswriter and SocialistWorker.org columnist Dave Zirin described the bitter opposition to Arizona's anti-immigrant law SB 1070.

There were many more inspiring meetings during the weekend. For instance, after Christine Darosa gave her presentation on "A History and Politics of Transgender Resistance," the 70-plus people packed into the room gave her a standing ovation and chanted "Trans Rights Now!" Meanwhile, Leela Yellesetty asked those who attended her session to imagine "What Would Socialism Be Like."

"It was exciting to see so many new faces, some who are familiar with Marxism and other political left trends, and some who heard socialist ideas for the first time," said Ragina Johnson, one of the conference organizers. "At the present time, where people see how blatantly human beings and the environment are devoured by governments, banks and corporations in the pursuit of profit, Marxist ideas resonated.

"Attendees were inspired by the vision that working people should be the ones to decide what to do with the wealth we create in society, and build a world where every person has the opportunity to realize their true human potential."

Chris Beck, a member of the International Socialist Organization and also Oregon School Employees Association Local 6732, agreed. As he said: "Whether you've been a Marxist for 25 years or you're a new member learning about the Russian Revolution for the first time, no matter where you go at the conference, there's opportunity to learn new things and meet new people who are committed to fighting oppression and building a world based on equality."