Avant-Garde Journal

01/20/2025

It is one of the most remarkable epics of modern history how the message of nonviolence and freedom was taken up by African Americans through the leadership of Martin Luther King.

How did King “apply” Gandhi’s methods to the society he lived in? It was no dogmatic application, but a creative synthesis that in substance allowed the African American struggle to advance the ideas of the Indian Freedom Movement. The synthesis involved the work of the cadre of transformed nonconformists in the Black Freedom Movement such as Diane Nash, James Lawson, Coretta Scott King, Fred Shuttlesworth, Ralph Abernathy, King himself, and many others. This synthesis found expression in the sermons and speeches of King.

This time of acute political and social crisis in the U.S. calls for the young generation of Americans to take up a study of the Black Freedom Movement, and to complete the revolutionary process that would make Martin Luther King the father of a new American nation. This would require the youth to break away from patterns of narrow politics of the Trotskyite Left, identity politics, cultural nationalism, and short sighted economism to claim their own revolutionary legacy.

The Indian revolution and the Black Freedom Movement were both revolutions of a new type. They both represent to us the need for a new theory of revolution that can both explain and build on them. They cannot be understood in old categories, but are a departure in their very essence.

The legacy of the Indian revolution and Black Freedom Movement show us that revolutions cannot be defined purely in terms of the material basis of a society, but must be defined in human terms. “The burden of the material on man is ancient,” as Rabindranath Tagore said: it is man’s ideas that make him modern. The two movements show us that a revolution must be the raising of the consciousness of a people to a new stage, such that they do not accept old forms of rule, but demand a further expansion of democracy. Of course, an expansion of democracy must be accompanied by new forms of social organization and relations of production, but advances in the ideas and consciousness of a whole people may play a more central role in the revolutionary process for the 21st century than ever before. Further, revolutions must not be seen as events, but in a processual way. The Black Freedom Movement showed us that revolutionary change must not be envisioned as seizing of state power by one class, but by an expansion of democracy for the whole people. It was only through the freedom of the Black proletariat that American democracy for the whole people could be realized.

Emphasizing the human, Martin Luther King shows us through his life that the working class and poor cannot be understood as abstract categories, but must be understood in the concrete. His life’s work involved dealing with the oppressed in an existential way. He spoke regularly through his sermons and speeches to the anxieties, contradictions, and aspirations of the Black proletariat. Further, he challenged them to become better human beings, to become people who could challenge the systems of racism by refusing to participate in it. He saw, as Gandhi did, that bringing the people to a place where they had the confidence and ideas to reject the lies that had been told about them was not a trivial matter. He dealt with the poor as individuals rather than an undifferentiated mass.

King articulated through his brilliant oration much of what was symbolism in the Indian Freedom Movement. Gandhi was speaking to a largely illiterate and widely diverse peasantry, while King spoke to the Black proletariat that had a high level of consciousness shaped by their position at the center of empire. He took the ideas of nonviolence to a higher stage by framing them in the context of world philosophy and historic human development. He extended the ideas of nonviolence to international relations, speaking of an alternative form of world organization that was not dependent on coercion and war. King also conceptualized the nonviolent transformation of the American state from a war economy to a peace economy. He showed concretely how such a transition could take place through his work in the urban North of the United States in the last years of his life.

01/20/2025

Seldom recognized for his philosophical and political genius, Martin Luther King Jr. became the leader of the Civil Rights Movement because he knew his people and he knew America. He sensed the precise moment when Black people were “ready for mass action, ready for its risks, and ready for its responsibilities.” He was an earthquake in the landscape of American religious and political orthodoxy, harnessing the Black church and prophetic tradition to their fullest power. He broke the McCarthyite consensus that had frozen the nation into ideological sterility. Through his words and by his willingness to suffer, he challenged Black and white people alike in a way that no figure ever had or has since.

Like water in the desert, or light roaring down from heaven, nonviolence forged a path to democratizing America that has not yet been fully realized. This was the dialectic of the Movement: it forced American bourgeois democracy to fulfill its long-forsaken promise of legal equality and enfranchisement to Black folk, while at the same time conceiving a new type of democracy directly in the battles and campaigns waged across the South and North.

On the eve of the October Revolution, Lenin looked to the Soviet councils created by Russian workers and saw the seeds of a new democratic state that could supplant the crumbling Tsarist regime. In the whirlwind of the Third American Revolution, King saw the new human beings and social relations being created through nonviolent action and understood that therein lay the possibilities for a new people’s democracy in the United States. His name for it was the Beloved Community. James Baldwin translated this vision into a task: “achieving our country.”

It is commonly said that King became “more radical” in his later years. This is a fundamental misreading: the Civil Rights Movement and its strongest adherents were revolutionary from the beginning. Revolutions do not happen overnight, but rather proceed in stages; even a sudden lightning strike of revolutionary action is the result of deeper processes of change, tension, and protracted struggle.

The next stage of the Movement naturally reached for a broader, deeper coalition—a Poor People’s Campaign—to attack the “triple evils” of racism, poverty, and war. Where the Movement had earlier sought to negotiate with the state to gain equal rights, the question of war placed the Movement into more direct opposition to the state and monopoly power. America’s ignominious defeat in Vietnam spoke to the success of the Vietnamese liberation forces as much as it did to the demoralization and opposition of soldiers, young whites, and Black folk who listened to King and Muhammad Ali more than they did Lyndon B. Johnson or Richard Nixon. By 1967, when King named the U.S. government as “the greatest purveyor of violence in the world,” he understood that he was marked for death.

The assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. was the beginning of a concerted, merciless campaign to overturn the Third American Revolution as it was reaching a higher stage of development. This counter-revolution wrought more chaos and destruction than we know: it left in its wake not only the smoldering cities that erupted in anger and pain immediately after King’s death, but also the ruins of the deindustrialized, impoverished, war-like heartlands and urban metropolises that we live in today, as the nation continued to gorge itself on new wars that paved the way for the hollowing out of domestic industry as cheaper labor was secured abroad.

The ruling elite again tried to reassert control over time by making King’s memory and martyrdom obsolete. In later decades, they found it safe enough to appropriate nonviolence itself: removing its revolutionary, democratic, emancipatory essence, and turning nonviolence into an empty form of protest that could be made to serve whatever agenda the state wanted. Drunk on its apparent victories, America at the close of the 20th century found itself secure as the so-called leader of the free world. Yet for the people, it was another long night of desolation and wandering.

The Third American Revolution was forestalled and undermined—but it was not a failure. Americans are less racist than they were in 1955. They are more broadly suspicious of the ruling class than ever before. They have grown exhausted and disgusted with unending wars. These are the marks of the Third American Revolution upon the body politic of the country. Untold effort has been expended to reverse these advancements of the people’s consciousness.

The science of nonviolence can be developed in a multitude of new forms to help the American people find each other again; to openly confront the obscenities of our senile, inhuman elites; to create new spaces where the people can come together—unbothered by official institutions—to work out their common problems and grapple with their common future. Peace and war, poverty, violence, moral values, education: all these and more are questions that must be made democratic, that must be returned to the province of the people’s will. We are only at the tip of the iceberg of what can be conceived in this peculiar drama called the American experiment.

Can it be done? Can our people find it within themselves to achieve King’s vision, or are we all doomed to go down with our war-crazed ruling elite? We do not know—the shape of the future is sharp and uncertain.

But what will happen if we do nothing? What do we reveal about ourselves when we say that hundreds of millions of people in this country—and all the children to be born—are beyond saving? What does humanity demand of us, if not the complete transformation of America from an empire to a new nation that “studies war no more”?

01/19/2025

Physical copies of Issue 3 are now available! Get a copy through The Saturday Free School in Philadelphia

12/11/2024

In October 2019 in Philadelphia, Rev. James Lawson joined a conversation with members of the Saturday Free School as part of the Year of Gandhi, a yearlong celebration of Mahatma Gandhi’s 150…

12/06/2024

This is how the American State’s unabashed support for Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza has to be seen: as a war in defense of white supremacy. Baldwin makes it clear that the “compulsive American dream of genocide” starts with the systematic destruction of Black folk. For Black folk, there is no such thing as individual freedom without the fight for the collective freedom of Black people. Thus, Baldwin would say that it was impossible to create “a separate peace” and that, “In America, I was free only in battle, never free to rest—and he who finds no way to rest cannot long survive the battle.” The task is for all Americans to adopt this definition of freedom—that no individual can be free for as long as society is unfree from white supremacy.

Thus, Black people have historically been at the vanguard of the struggle for freedom in America and as part of the world anti-colonial and freedom movements. Ironically, as Baldwin notes, it is Black folk, the oppressed and disinherited, who are the most free and inject new meaning into freedom. On the other hand, it is white folk who are the most unfree and must be helped through struggle to shed their ideological chains of white supremacy.

Excerpt from essay by Emily D**g and Purba Chatterjee: https://avantjournal.com/2024/11/03/relocating-the-revolutionary-james-baldwin/

11/22/2024

Written as a salute to the assassination of Martin Luther King, Baldwin's last novel explains the inheritance of a new century, and what we are to become because of our responsibility to it: Young, Gifted and Black.

Essay by Serafina Harris:

James Baldwin’s last novel explains the inheritance of a new century, and what we are to become because of our responsibility to it: Young, Gifted and Black.

11/20/2024

In the wake of the Gaza encampments of the spring, James Baldwin's prophetic words best describe the inner turmoil which besets today's students—and the moral, revolutionary choice they must now make.

Essay by Nuri Yi:

Compelled by Gaza, the student protests of late spring reestablished a moral center desperately needed in American society.

11/19/2024

In 2020, we interviewed Catherine Blunt, a longtime educator and activist in Philadelphia. She is a native of the city and has witnessed its decades of transformation, from the 1950s up to the present day. Throughout her life, Catherine has participated in numerous political movements, including the Black freedom movement, the world peace movement, the anti-apartheid movement, and the struggle against gentrification. Our interview with Catherine sought to learn more about her experiences, and to understand the principles that guide her ongoing political and community work in Philadelphia, including with The Saturday Free School for Philosophy & Black Liberation.

Today’s youth are placed at a distinct disadvantage if they wish to know the history of a city like Philadelphia, whether they are born here or newcomers to the city. The ruling class distorts our view of the past by suppressing the example of revolutionary traditions and leaders, thus limiting the possibility of discovering our own revolutionary potential for the present and future. If young people do become interested in politics, we are told that groups like the MOVE organization, which agitated against ordinary people, represent the most radical expression of politics in Philadelphia, or that increased apartment density and European-style urbanism are the progressive path to solving the housing crisis. These messages come from universities, nonprofits, dark money groups, and other powerful institutions; they do not come from people like Catherine who have been at the heart of decades-long struggles to carve out a better future for children and working people.

We published these interviews with the hope that they can open a window into a different understanding of the city and our nation’s recent history. This understanding can help us navigate the confusing, isolating ideological landscape of our times and encourage a new perspective on the contemporary possibilities and avenues of struggle today.

Interview Introduction: https://avantjournal.com/2023/01/25/catherine-blunt-interview-introduction/

Part 1: https://avantjournal.com/2023/01/25/catherine-blunt-interview-part-1/

Part 2: https://avantjournal.com/2023/02/08/catherine-blunt-interview-part-2/

Part 3: https://avantjournal.com/2023/02/16/catherine-blunt-interview-part-3/

Part 4: https://avantjournal.com/2023/03/03/catherine-blunt-interview-part-4/

Part 5: https://avantjournal.com/2023/03/23/catherine-blunt-interview-part-5/

11/18/2024

There is a door that each of us must enter
(today in Gaza — and tomorrow…?)
and the price of its ticket is death

A poem for James Baldwin, in Issue 3 of Avant-Garde:

There is a gate at the end of the world / and it is the mouth of a burning paradise

11/15/2024

James Baldwin's centenary calls for a reassessment of what freedom means in America, as well as a hard look at the q***r movement which seeks to ideologically assassinate Baldwin.

Essay by Emily D**g & Purba Chatterjee:

Baldwin’s centenary calls for a reassessment of freedom in America, as well as a hard look at the q***r movement which seeks to ideologically assassinate Baldwin.

11/13/2024

Even as the world passes through a period of erupting violence, it is clear the Western world’s sun is setting. The darker world stands at a precipice of a new colored modernity — a stage of history that finds its first example in the African American experience.

Nandita Chaturvedi's essay in Avant-Garde:

Pressing toward a new stage of modernity, the darker world finds its first example in the African American experience.

11/11/2024

"And then I got started loving the Sound of Philadelphia. So it was like part of my DNA."

Today, Jazz is assumed to be more advanced than Rhythm & Blues because it is more abstract and favored by sophisticated audiences. But each is part of a single garment of musical creativity that manifests the people, The Black Proletariat, from which it comes.

An interview with Alfie Pollitt, Master of the Philly Sound — by Michelle Lyu, Kathie Jiang, Anthony Monteiro: https://avantjournal.com/2024/11/03/alfie-pollitt-master-of-the-philly-sound/

11/08/2024

The U.S. empire is in decline, poverty increases, and for the majority of people, life is a dark and tragic landscape. Du Bois and Baldwin offer theory which ascends to the concrete realities of the U.S., especially at this moment of crisis.

Read Anthony Monteiro's essay in Issue 3 of Avant-Garde:

As two of the most important thinkers of the modern epoch, they provide foundations for new and better theory in today’s battle of ideas.

11/03/2024

In the throes of our nation's greatest crisis, we present the Third Issue of Avant-Garde. We dedicate this Issue to the revolutionary James Arthur Baldwin in the year of his centenary—with the conviction that the next 100 years may well be defined by his ideas, philosophy, language, and vision of our human future.

Read online at avantjournal.com

10/27/2024

"Human rights are very often spoken of, but we must also speak of humanity’s rights.

Why should some people go barefoot so that others may ride in expensive cars? Why should some live for only 35 years so that others may live for 70?

Why should some be miserably poor so that others can be excessively rich?

I speak on behalf of the children of the world who don’t even have a piece of bread. I speak on behalf of the sick who lack medicine. I speak on behalf of those who have been denied the right to life and to human dignity.

Some countries border the coast; others do not. Some have energy resources, others do not. Some possess abundant land on which to produce food, others do not. Some are so glutted with machinery and factories that you cannot breathe the air because of the poisoned atmosphere. And others have only their own emaciated bodies with which to earn their daily bread.

In short, some countries possess abundant resources, others have nothing. What is their fate? To starve? To be eternally poor? Why then civilization? Why then the conscience of humanity? Why then the United Nations? Why then the world?

You cannot speak of peace on behalf of tens of millions of human beings all over the world who are starving to death or dying of curable diseases. You cannot speak of peace on behalf of 900 million illiterate people.

The exploitation of the poor countries by the rich must cease.

I address myself to the rich nations, asking them to contribute. And I address myself to the poor nations, asking them to distribute.

Enough of words! We need deeds!

Enough of abstractions. We want concrete action! Enough speculating about a new international economic order, which no one understands. We must now speak of a real, objective order that everyone understands!

I have not come here as a prophet of the revolution. I have not come here to ask or to wish that the world be violently convulsed. I have come to speak of peace and cooperation among the peoples. And I have come to warn that if we do not peacefully and wisely resolve the present injustices and inequalities, the future will be apocalyptic.

The rattling of weapons, threatening language and overbearing behavior on the international arena must cease.

Enough of the illusion that the problems of the world can be solved by nuclear weapons. Bombs may kill the hungry, the sick and the ignorant; but bombs cannot kill hunger, disease and ignorance. Nor can bombs kill the righteous rebellion of the peoples. And in the holocaust, the rich, who have the most to lose in this world, will also die.

Let us say farewell to arms, and let us, in a civilized manner, dedicate ourselves to the most pressing problems of our times. This is the responsibility, this is the most sacred duty of all the leaders of all the world. This, moreover, is the basic premise for the survival of humankind."

— From Fidel Castro's 1979 speech to the United Nations
https://avantjournal.com/2024/10/27/vision-of-new-international-order-fidel-castro/

10/27/2024

His speech laid out the task of achieving a democratic world order, which is now the inheritance of a new generation.

10/23/2024

A new era is being born, and Africa and Asia are poised now to play a central role in the shaping of the world order. The modern civilizations of the world need to understand each other unmediated by the West.

'A New Era Needs Intercivilizational Dialogue' by N. Chaturvedi and A. Raju

By Nandita Chaturvedi and Archishman Raju. Recent reports show that inflation in the U.S. has reached a 40 year high. On the international front, the west, led by the US, has failed to mobilize mos…

10/17/2024

Scientists in this time are acting as henchmen for war: for the war economy and for the war machine—unless they oppose it, which most of them don’t. And even beyond the structural problems of natural science departments, there’s a crisis in thought. Physics and scientific departments don’t know where to go.

Western scientists have exhausted themselves and act as henchmen for war. Where, then, must we look for truth?