The Communist Manifesto and the Color Line: No Liberation Without Communism

The elite class in America has always been able to "use their power and privilege to control, manage, postpone, and if necessary, thwart change" (Lipsitz, 34). Though the Declaration of Independence decreed equality amongst all men, forces of economic oppression have subjugated Blacks and all other peoples of color to a permanent underclass. The American Civil Rights Movement marked an era of reformism. During this time many Black and White liberals accepted capitalism, envisioning a more just, racially equal society. These leaders wanted to improve the condition of Blacks by working in the system; they were not working to overthrow capitalism. Conversely, a number of Black leaders emerged who spearheaded a revolutionary movement in the 1960’s that criticized and called for the overthrow of the capitalist system. All of them were intellectually indebted to the founders of modern communism, Karl Marx and Frederick Engels, who analyzed and called for the overthrow of capitalism. This intellectual indebtedness is very evident in the work of George Jackson and it informs his analysis of the Black experience in the United States.