MARCHES WITH SLOGANS

To the Editors of The Crimson:

For some reason, perhaps because of my innate optimism. I envisioned a conclusive and factual account of the February 14-16 National Student Conference Against Racism and the National Student Coalition Against Racism in my first glance at Edmond Hersey's March 5th article "Racism and the Left." Though Mr. Horsey may have meant well, and his statement to me during the conference that he was not speaking to me for the purpose of writing a Crimson article leads me to doubt the sincerity of his good intentions, he failed to capture the essence of the conference, the efforts made to organize it, and the nature and direction of the National Student Coalition Against Racism (NSCAR) which evolved from the conference. Perhaps if Mr. Horsey had had the opportunity to listen to the "back-room politicking," to sit in on a coordinator's meeting for the conference, attend a steering committee meeting before the conference, or have any contact with the conference or anyone in it before February 14-16 he could have given a more factual and complete account of NSCAR and its development.

Firstly, Mr. Horsey states: "Robert Harper '78 is said to be under great pressure from the YSA-SWP (Young Socialists Alliance-Socialists Workers Party) although he is not a member of either group." This statement, accompanied by previous ones implies that Mr. Harper is "under pressure" which leads him to conform to, accept and support the practices of the YSA-SWP. Who has "said" this? What group or individual, halfway knowledgeable of NSCAR's organizing efforts and activities would make this statement.

The fact of the matter a that Mr. Harper and the YSA-SWP have met head-to-head on a number of issues Mr. Harper pressed for speakers from the "Boston school parent community" at the February 14th rally: YSA-SWP representatives, claiming that Thomas Atkins, President of the Boston NAACP, was a representative from that community, said that "one parent is enough." Mr. Harper refused an offer from a Boston SWP former candidate for statewide office to "work out a compromise proposal" with the proposal for "just three slogans and a march" submitted by YSA members and NSCAR coordinators Maceo Dixon and Paul Mailhot and coordinators Ray Sherbil of BU and Marcia Coodling of Northeastern U., and submitted his own proposal with Mr. Sherbil. Mr. Harper does not accept the notion forwarded by a member of the YSA national executive board (council or whatever) that the "NAACP has finally decided to do something concrete and call for this (May 17) action." Must one march over the concrete to do something "concrete"? Additionally, two national organizations, one a Marxist-Leninist group and the other a Third World anti-imperialist group, sent representatives to speak to Mr. Harper before the conference to "hear something other than what the YSA is saying." Is any more needed to explore the infamous "great pressure"?

As for NSCAR being "estranged from the Black community as a whole" in its direction, which Mr. Horsey sees as a "rejection of the Black past," this is only half-false. NSCAR certainly could stand more contact with the Black community, particularly school parents, but Mr. Harper's proposal, if initiated, would fill this said. Also, there are presently efforts to move the NSCAR office into or around the Black community in Boston. As many NSCAR people speak of modeling the desegregation movement after the "success of the civil rights movement of the '60s," there is little if any "rejection of the Black past" which one might observe. It's not "white politics" and "white philosophy" which dominate NSCAR, but "mass action" (marches with slogans) which prevails.

Most people around NSCAR limit their vocabulary to expressions like "build the action, cram those buses down their throats, win the rights of Black children to attend any school they want, and smash the racist offensive;" issues such as the maintenance of bilingual education programs after desegregation, the elimination of "tracking" in schools, and the quality of the Boston educational system as a whole are said to be "counterposed, used as a screen, or distracting from the real issue." For worse, or for better, NSCAR is headed towards a May 17th demonstration around three slogans, and if my guess is right, and NSCAR is still around, a march in the fall to "reaffirm our dedication to the struggle for desegregation."

There you have all you ever wanted to know about NSCAR but were lacking the initiative or common sense to ask. Robert Harper '78   Coordinator, NSCAR