First Published: The Guardian, May 11, 1976.
Transcription, Editing and Markup: Paul Saba
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Addressing a small meeting in Chicago May 1, October League chairman Michael Klonsky charged the Guardian with promoting “white chauvinist ideas.”
The reference was contained in a section of his speech dealing with a decision by a few bookstores to discontinue selling the Guardian.
“Suddenly,” he said, in reference to this suppression, “they [the Guardian] have become ’democrats’ and advocates of free speech. But we should examine what ideas these ’democrats’ want freedom to promote. It is nothing but slanderous attacks on the Marxist-Leninists in the U.S. and China and on the right of Afro-American people to self-determination. The bourgeoisie will give them plenty of freedom to promote these anticommunist and white chauvinist ideas.” He later spoke of the Guardian as being “apologists for revisionism and Soviet social-imperialism.” The OL chairman also used the speech to attack most other Marxist-Leninist organizations.