Revolutionary Workers Headquarters
Encyclopedia
Revolutionary Workers Headquarters (RWH) was a U.S. Marxist-Leninist organization that formed out of a split from the Revolutionary Communist Party (RCP) in 1977. After Mao Zedong
, leader of the Communist Party of China
, died in 1976, the majority of the RCP's leadership criticized the post-Mao Chinese leadership as 'revisionist' and 'capitalist-roaders', saying that China
was no longer a socialist country.
A sizeable minority of the RCP believed China was still a socialist country, and continued to support the post-Mao Chinese Communist Party under new leader Hua Guofeng
. They left the RCP to form the RWH. Aside from differences on how to assess the changes in China, the RWH also criticized the RCP for ultra-leftism, or left-idealism in their approach to political work in the U.S. After leaving the RCP, the RWH also did an extensive critique of the RCP's line on the national question, criticizing the RCP for being "white chauvinist".
The RWH published this critique in a lengthy pamphlet titled Build the Black Liberation Movement, which itself was subsequently criticized as having white chauvinist errors by Amiri Baraka
of the League of Revolutionary Struggle
in a pamphlet titled RWH on the BLM: Wrong Again!. The RWH made efforts to unite in the early 1980s with the Communist Party (Marxist-Leninst)
, but then the CP(M-L) dissolved. In 1985, the RWH merged with the Proletarian Unity League
and the Organization for Revolutionary Unity
to form the Freedom Road Socialist Organization
.
During its brief existence, RWH cadre were active in various movements, including the labor movement, struggles of oppressed nationalities, the women's movement, the student movement, the struggle for divestiture from companies doing business in then-apartheid dominated South Africa
, and others. Through its cadres who worked in the Revolutionary Student Brigade, the RWH was directly involved with the founding of the Progressive Student Network
.
Initially, RWH activity was almost exclusively found in urban areas of the Midwest and the East
; it expanded to the West Coast
when it absorbed the Bay Area Communist Union in 1979.
While the RWH was structured according to the principles of democratic centralism
, it did not consider itself a Communist party per se, but rather a "pre-party organization."
RWH Publications
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
, leader of the Communist Party of China
Communist Party of China
The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...
, died in 1976, the majority of the RCP's leadership criticized the post-Mao Chinese leadership as 'revisionist' and 'capitalist-roaders', saying that China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
was no longer a socialist country.
A sizeable minority of the RCP believed China was still a socialist country, and continued to support the post-Mao Chinese Communist Party under new leader Hua Guofeng
Hua Guofeng
Su Zhu, better known by the nom de guerre Hua Guofeng , was Mao Zedong's designated successor as the Paramount Leader of the Communist Party of China and the People's Republic of China. Upon Zhou Enlai's death in 1976, he succeeded Zhou as the second Premier of the People's Republic of China...
. They left the RCP to form the RWH. Aside from differences on how to assess the changes in China, the RWH also criticized the RCP for ultra-leftism, or left-idealism in their approach to political work in the U.S. After leaving the RCP, the RWH also did an extensive critique of the RCP's line on the national question, criticizing the RCP for being "white chauvinist".
The RWH published this critique in a lengthy pamphlet titled Build the Black Liberation Movement, which itself was subsequently criticized as having white chauvinist errors by Amiri Baraka
Amiri Baraka
Amiri Baraka , formerly known as LeRoi Jones, is an American writer of poetry, drama, fiction, essays, and music criticism...
of the League of Revolutionary Struggle
League of Revolutionary Struggle
The League of Revolutionary Struggle was a communist organization in the United States. It was formed in 1978 and was dissolved by the organization's leadership in 1990...
in a pamphlet titled RWH on the BLM: Wrong Again!. The RWH made efforts to unite in the early 1980s with the Communist Party (Marxist-Leninst)
Communist Party (Marxist-Leninist) (USA)
The Communist Party was a Maoist political party in the United States.- History :The Communist Party 's predecessor organization, the October League , was founded in 1971 by several local groups, many of which had grown out of the radical student organization Students for a Democratic Society when...
, but then the CP(M-L) dissolved. In 1985, the RWH merged with the Proletarian Unity League
Proletarian Unity League
The Proletarian Unity League was formed in Boston in 1975 by Students for a Democratic Society members who had been associated with the Revolutionary Youth Movement II grouping that emerged out of the split in SDS at its summer 1969 convention. The Proletarian Unity League was critical of what...
and the Organization for Revolutionary Unity
Organization for Revolutionary Unity
The Organization for Revolutionary Unity was an anti-revisionist Marxist-Leninist organization in the United States. ORU was formed in 1983 from a merger of the Committee for a Proletarian Party and the Communist Organization, Bay Area . These groups, and the ORU itself, were part of the U.S...
to form the Freedom Road Socialist Organization
Freedom Road Socialist Organization
The Freedom Road Socialist Organization — known in Spanish as Organización Socialista del Camino para la Libertad — was formed in 1985 as many of the Maoist-oriented groups formed in the United States New Communist Movement of the 1970s were shrinking or collapsing...
.
During its brief existence, RWH cadre were active in various movements, including the labor movement, struggles of oppressed nationalities, the women's movement, the student movement, the struggle for divestiture from companies doing business in then-apartheid dominated South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, and others. Through its cadres who worked in the Revolutionary Student Brigade, the RWH was directly involved with the founding of the Progressive Student Network
Progressive Student Network
The Progressive Student Network was a national, multi-issue, progressive college student activist organization in the United States. It was founded at a conference in 1980 as a merger of the Revolutionary Student Brigade, the Midwest Coalition against Registration and the Draft , and the Student...
.
Initially, RWH activity was almost exclusively found in urban areas of the Midwest and the East
East
East is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.East is one of the four cardinal directions or compass points. It is the opposite of west and is perpendicular to north and south.By convention, the right side of a map is east....
; it expanded to the West Coast
West Coast of the United States
West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
when it absorbed the Bay Area Communist Union in 1979.
While the RWH was structured according to the principles of democratic centralism
Democratic centralism
Democratic centralism is the name given to the principles of internal organization used by Leninist political parties, and the term is sometimes used as a synonym for any Leninist policy inside a political party...
, it did not consider itself a Communist party per se, but rather a "pre-party organization."
Further reading
RWH Publications
- Build the Black Liberation Movement. Pole Publications, Chicago, IL, June 1981, 77p.
- The Chicano struggle and the struggle for socialism. Revolutionary Union, Chicago. 1975, 68p.
- Red Papers 8: China Advances on the Socialist Road. Revolutionary Workers Headquarters, Chicago, IL, 200p.
- Central Committee Statement on the merger of the Bay Area Communist Union into the Revolutionary Workers Headquarters. Revolutionary Workers Headquarters, n.pl.. 1979, 7p.