Review of Truth and Revolution

Truth and Revolution

A History of the Sojourner Truth Organization, 1969–1986

Michael Staudenmaier (Author); John H. Bracey (Foreword)

• Publisher: AK Press
• Format: Book
• Binding: pb
• Pages: 400
• Released: May 17, 2012
• ISBN-13: 9781849350976

Michael Stuadenmaier wrote an in-depth study of the Sojourner Truth (Communist) Organization entitled Truth and Revolution.  The book was fostered by an encounter that one of the members of a collective he belonged to had when she went to get some fliers printed for a counter-convention to the DNC in Chicago in 1996 and encountered a print-shop that gave them the fliers for only the cost of materials.  The author later learned that the print-shop was run by two former STO members, including founding member Don Hamerquist.  Over the following years, he came to know them more and learned more about the organization and why they donated labor to the fliers and had done similar acts while STO was an active organization.  The book falls largely on STO documents, including it's numerous publications both internal and external, and the author's interview with a number of members.

The organization was particular from other left organizations at the time, and probably today as well, in being based on two distinct features.  First it re-articulated Antonio Gramsci's theory of "dual consciousness" by arguing that the working class displayed both a board acceptance of the status quo and an embryonic awareness of its own revolutionary potential as a class.  Secondly, the organization was at the forefront of challenging white-skin privilege and white supremacy.  Through the second feature the organization over the course of it's existence worked as an ally of numerous organizations from militant Puerto Rican independence organizations to the League of Revolutionary Black Workers to South African Refugee Aid Fund.  They not only worked to support revolutionary movements and groups but brought a critical analysis to the work of these groups they worked with.  However, there were times when they didn't critically analyze their own plans such as when they helped MLN picket a debate for Chicago mayor in a largely Latin@ community but on the condition that STO could leaflet.  Their leaflet denounced the African-American candidate and the other candidates but also hurt their connection to the MLN.  The organization was largely white, and chose to leaflet in a non-white neighborhood denouncing that a vote for Washington was a vote for the status quo.  They could have easily found another venue in a white neighborhood to do such leafletting and instead focusing on supporting the MLN as an ally organization.  

For all of it's downfalls, which there are a number, including the fact that the group splintered on multiple occasions because of disagreements about where to go or what the focus of the group should be; the organization did one thing fairly well by bringing in fellow travelers to it's dialectic's courses.  These courses not only were intensive study of a broad range of critical thinkers both historical and contemporary: Hegel, Luxemburg, Gramsci, Lukacs, Twain, C.L.R. James, W.E.B. Du Bois, George Rawick, two members of STO: Ken Lawrence and Noel Ignatin (later Ignatiev).  Of these C.L.R. James had a lot of influence early on in the organization especially for the leadership in convincing them of their folly in supporting Stalinism.  These courses also fostered a transformative learning culture because the group had been criticized as having a few intellectual heavyweights who dominated things.  So students would often end up teaching the next session but the teachers weren't necessarily seen as those who know it all but often just facilitated discussion of the difficult topics at hand. 

The book offers a plethora of sources to document the history of the organization as well as introducing books and pamphlets for further information when the author couldn't get bogged down in details.  To this extent the bibliography at the end of the book, which is almost 12 pages long, lists STO literature, a lot of which is now online, but also theoretical books as well as historical books which would be beneficial to many.  In addition the book offers, at least in my view, a number of examples of why some guiding principals are necessary for an organization to move forward as the organization kept jumping focus to different places from industrial workplace organizing to supporting national liberation organizations to joining forces with the anti-nuclear movement.  This is reminiscent of the current International Socialist Organization active today largely in college campus towns.  

As a member of IVAW, it is important to see how a group can fail to succeed when it doesn't have 1) a clear vision of where is it going (i.e. guiding principals), 2) there is not active leadership building of the membership (at one point Staudenmaier lists the tasks of the Kansas City branch leaders and it is hard to believe that they could do so much work) to prevent burnout and also allow new leaders to step up and allow active leaders to step back when they need to, and 3) a focus on all of the systems of oppression that allow capitalism to continue on it's never-ending demand for growth (STO did focus heavily on white skin privilege and was successful at times in creating diverse actions such an anti-nuclear protest in Mississippi involving African-American workers and an organizer alongside white allies in an area dominated by the Klan at the time, it failed to take on sexism both in society as a whole and in the organization.  It's critique of capitalism involved waiting for the revolutionary moment to appear and try and capitalize on it.  However during it's existence the possibility of a revolutionary moment in the U.S. grew less and less as the anti-war movement of the 60s shifted focus to electoral politics and the general right-ward shift in the country occurred with de-industrialization and eventually Reaganomics.  Staudenmaier lists this failure as linked to a deliberate focus on "mass" and "class" over "party" focusing on the decisive role of the masses of people would play in any revolutionary upsurge.) 

In the current political environment this book gives these three points further importance for an organization like IVAW.  The public is not swayed by morals, dead Iraqis or Afghans or Pakistanis mean nothing to them.  For us to succeed as an organization this points us to solidarity work, the Right to Heal from the traumas of militarism for both veterans, military members, and citizens of occupied (physically and by air) countries.  It also leads to something that we recently started in earnest: creating leaders from our members through the VOT and publishing the training materials they are discussing to facilitate a path for new members to learn techniques and history that can help them become leaders more easily.  Our strategic planning process will ensure that point 1 is met and when the process is reactivated in 5 years or so it will continue to be met as conditions in the political landscape change.  By creating an organization that focusing on anti-oppression in numerous ways we can minimize the pitfalls that STO experienced.  As veterans we are obviously directly connected to take on militarism in society, but also sexism, racism and others based on our experience in one of the most oppressive organizations in the world, the U.S. military.

In conclusion, I would recommend this book to folks from the Midwest, since STO was primarily based out of Chicago, and anyone interested in learning from other organizations positives and negatives.  This book also had important historical facts that were new to me.  While STO was busy supporting Iranian revolutionary organizations, the U.S. was attempting to build a nuclear power plant in Iran through it's support of the Shah (today the U.S. media continues to scrutinize Iranian plans for a nuclear reactor while then it was supportive).  The book also was important in relating what was happening when David Gilbert was underground, since I recently read his new book, Love and Struggle.  There is so much to learn from other organizations and this book is certainly a great contribution to helping members of organizations seeking to topple those systems of oppression learn from others mistakes and successes.