Last Thursday the International Socialist Organization [ISO] sponsored a presentation, discussion and book signing at the University of Massachusetts, which featured a speech by Charles T. Peterson on the topic of black liberation and socialism in America. Activist Ahmed Shawk was originally slated to speak, but was unable to travel due to medical reasons, and was replaced by the Boston ISO chapter’s Peterson.

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Peterson referred to the current economic crisis as a ‘nationwide Katrina,’ suggesting that America is suffering as a whole because it’s failing to adapt to social changes. Peterson stressed that the current system in place isn’t working, in part because America suffers the symptoms of a deeply racist society which has its roots in slavery, upon which Peterson believes American capitalism was built.

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With the election of the nation’s first black president, Peterson indicated the ISO believes the country is headed in the right direction. However, he suggested racial problems in America are institutional in nature, and that they can’t be changed solely by the election of a black president.

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‘ ‘[Captialism] has an inevitable tendency to produce disaster,’ said Peterson, making it clear that that he sees capitalism is in a current state of crisis. ‘Working-class people want to see change in this country.’

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Peterson has coined America as a ‘post-racist’ society, citing that the country has been divided over race for most of its history, and even though the civil rights movement is far behind us, America has not yet reached an era where racism can be ignored. In reality, the nation still has the world’s largest prison population (39 percent of whom are African American), and in major U.S. cities of Chicago, Detroit, and N.Y. approximately half of African American men are unemployed in the midst of the economic crisis.

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Peterson went on to suggest that those who run our society rely on racism as a tool to justify the system in place. He concluded that black liberation can only happen through revolution and the end of capitalism. In fact, he believes that this struggle against the system is already brewing, as economic woes plague the country.

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‘ ‘Everyone is this country deserves the right to a free education,’ said Peterson. ‘[We deserve] more people of color in universities and health care for all.’

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‘Racism is the key issue ‘hellip; What it is and how to fight it,’ said Wayne Standly, an ISO member who helped to organize the event. ‘With an openly racist newspaper, The Minuteman, it is important to cover these issues on a campus like UMass.’‘

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The International Socialist Organization, which has over fifty branches across the country, will sponsor one of the nation’s biggest political conferences this summer to discuss popular ‘ issues. Both Chicago and San Francisco will host conferences from June 18-21, and July 2-5. The conferences will feature socialists and activists from around the world, including Dennis Brutus, Dave Zirin, Dahr Jamail, and Dr. Jess Ghannam. ‘

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Matt Sullivan is a Collegian correspondent. He can be reached at [email protected].