The Labour Government seems to be determined to prove just how completely subservient it is to Johnson. The banning of Stokely Carmichael from this country is linked with the refusal of the Home Office to grant visas to representatives of the N.L.F. to visit Britain, People who tell the truth about the crimes of the American Government, whether these be in Saigon or Detroit, are not welcome in Britain, The excuse that Stokely was likely to stir up racial trouble just doesn't hold water: every serious commentator acknowledges that the so-called race riots in the U.S. were caused by slum conditions, etc., and not by outside agitators. Labour Party members should not be deceived by the press propaganda: it is a trick as old as the hills to accuse "troublemakers" of being responsible for actions of the discontented, To ban Stokely whilst allowing the recruiting of mercenaries in this country is despicable and, hypocritical racism, Insight, in last week's Sunday Times, showed clearly that the rebellion of the black people in Detroit and other towns is a class question, The Negroes of America's large towns feel anti-white because the people who oppress them - the police, the money lenders, the town officials, etc, are white, whilst the mass of the white population are at best indifferent to their plight and at worst, filled with the most vicious prejudices. The surprising thing is not that the black people have revolted, but that they have waited so long to vent their feelings. The British press, which daily ignores the slaughter of Vietnamese in Vietnamese towns, is shocked when a few white policemen are injured and when American towns are damaged, Once again we are confronted with hypocrisy and racism. Labour should support black power - it represents in the special American conditions a movement which is struggling for the same ideals which inspired the founders of our movement, If the black people of Detroit and Watts have to use violence to draw attention to their needs and aspirations it is not their fault - it is the fault of the rotten set-up in the U.S. which is incapable and unwilling to give 20 million people a decent living and dignity. The Negroes have taken up arms to fight for their rights and we should be on their side, just as we should on the side of any oppressed people who take to arms. It is claimed that millions of dollars of damage has been done - we should shed not tears about that, The objective effect of these struggles is to divert men and resources away from Johnson's endeavours to hold back social progress so we should welcome them, In this country we can show our support for the just struggle of the American Negroes by campaigning against the banning of Stokely Carmichael.
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