Malcolm X, Black Liberation, and the Road to Workers Power

The foundations for the explosive rise of the Black liberation struggle in the U.S. beginning in the mid-1950s were laid by the massive migration of Blacks from the rural South to cities and factories across the continent, drawn by capital's insatiable need for labor power--and cannon fodder for its wars. Malcolm X emerged from this rising struggle as its outstanding single leader. He insisted that colossal movement was part of a worldwide revolutionary battle for human rights. A clash "between those who want freedom, justice, and equality and those who want to continue the systems of exploitation." Drawing lessons from a century and a half of struggle, this book helps us understand why it is the revolutionary conquest of power by the working class that will make possible the final battle for Black freedom--and open the way to a world based not on exploitation, violence, and racism, but human solidarity. A socialist world. "... A powerful and persuasive political testimony, enhanced with black-and-white photographs, a glossary, and an index."--Midwest Book Review "Recommended for all public libraries and bookstores for its general appeal and historic content."--Críticas (Review of the Spanish edition, Malcolm X, la liberación de los negros y el camino al poder obrero.) "... seeks to help its readers connect the actions of the past with those of the present ... it positions Malcolm X at the center of those struggles as one who was expanding his worldview and political philosophy and was, in Barnes's view, on his way to becoming a communist. In writing this book and forwarding this reading of the last months of Malcolm's life, Barnes offers up an intriguing and challenging appraisal of an enigmatic leader as well as a valuable addition to the scholarship on this seminal African American leader of the twentieth century."--Afro-Hispanic Review "Will reward readers looking for little known aspects of Malcolm's political views and the leadership place African-Americans have taken at the forefront of working-class and popular struggles from the Civil War to the present day. The inclusion of Barnes' 1965 interview with Malcolm adds interest to the book, as does a collection of 130 pages of photos and drawings that illustrate the determined and combative face of the Black struggle." [Annotation (c)2010 Book News Inc. Portland, OR www.booknews.com]--Book News "A trenchant socialist analysis of American class and race politics.... [P]eople who are interested in the history of civil rights, political theory, or socialism will find it fascinating." --Foreword Reviews Includes four photo sections and over 130 photographs and drawings, author's introduction, index, and glossary.