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Relations Between the Black Nation and Red China 1949-1976 Pt 3

By Comrade Rell Stylez, Proctor, Polymathematic University

Robert Williams: Black Nationalist In Red China

Robert Williams was one of the most outstanding and influential leaders in the Black Liberation Movement of the sixties. A leading Black community activist in the Monroe, NC chapter of the NAACP, Williams believed in the liberation of the colonized Black Nation and armed self-defense against racist white vigilantes in the south, police, and the KKK.
Williams represented the left wing of the civil rights movement and was involved in many debates over the question of non-violence.
He organized the Black Armed Guard which was formed to defend the Black community in the face of white terrorism by the KKK and white working class fascist bands. Williams was no longer going to tolerate the violence against his people, nor the trambeling of basic democratic rights .They trained with rifles, mortar, defense/offence and surrounded their homes with sandbags.

This stance would soon attract the attention of the state and the repressive forces of the white oppressor nation.

In 1961, ‘The Freedom Riders’, a group of liberal white and some black college students from the north who traveled throughout the south protesting segregation came to Monroe. The white community in Monroe, including the majority of white workers, despised their presence and harassed the ‘Freedom Riders.’ As a result of the arrival of the ‘Freedom Riders’ white mobs escalated their open terrorism against the Black community times ten in the form of increase armed raids, “ride throughs” and the like.

One day, a mob of angry whites, upset at the presence of the ‘Freedom Riders’ and the democratic stirring of the Black masses were protesting violently in a Black neighborhood. While the mob was displaying their thuggery, a white couple from out of town was riding through the Black community during the protest.

The mob began threatening the couple and Williams who lived nearby offered them shelter and protection. Though Williams helped the white couple, the reactionary police department accused him of kidnaping. But the truth is that they were threatened by Williams because of his staunch line of armed self defense in the Black community.

Williams made the Most Wanted List of the FBI and there was a nationwide search for his capture. Under pressure from the state, Williams and his family fled to liberated Cuba.

After living in Cuba, where he was able to do some work, Williams and his family moved to China in 1966. The Williams family was invited by Mao to reside in China as honored guests.

In China Robert Williams was treated like a king. When the Williams arrived in Beijing they were given a royal reception. Williams and Mao were close comrades and they held long conversations often.
Comrade Williams internationalism was outstanding. In 1963 while living in Cuba, Williams paid a visit to China. He requested for Mao to make a statement in support of the struggle of Black people in America. Mao in his statement gave recognition to Williams,

“An American Negro leader now taking refuge in Cuba, Mr. Robert Williams, the former President of the Monroe, NC, Chapter of the NAACP, has twice this year asked me for a statement in support of the American Negroes struggle against racial discrimination. On behalf of the Chinese people, I wish to take this opportunity to express our resolute support for the American Negroes in their struggle against racial discrimination and for the freedom of equal rights.”

Chinese government officials gave Williams a tour of China and showcased their industrial development. October 1st, China’s National Day, Williams stood with Mao as a representative for oppressed Black people in America and spoke to one and a half million people.

Still connected to the struggle of Black people in America., Williams was named president-in-exile of the Revolutionary Action Movement and the Republic Of New Afrika.

In 1969 Williams returned to America to face the charges because he missed home. He was acquitted of the charges and remained a progressive Black Nationalist activist until the day he died.

Williams passed away on October 15th, 1996, the thirtieth birthday of the founding of the Black Panther Party and the year of the founding of the Poor Righteous Party of The Black Nation.

At his funeral, the great Robert F. Williams laid in his casket wearing a gray suit that was given to him as a gift from Mao and a red, black, and green flag wrapped around his body.

Huey P. Newton: Revolutionary Solidarity In China

September 1971 Huey P. Newton founder of the Black Panther Party traveled to the People’s Republic of China to build with the masses.

Newton was one year fresh out of jail and he was excited to experience the country who’s revolution greatly influenced the line and practice of the Party.
Newton was first invited to China in August 1970 just briefly after he was released from prison,

“I received the invitation to visit China shortly after my release from the Penal Colony, in August, 1970. The Chinese were interested in the Party’s Marxist analysis and wanted to discuss it with us as well as show us the concrete application of theory in their society. I was eager to go and applied for a passport in late 1970, which was finally approved a few months later. However, I did not make the trip at that time because of Bobby’s and Erika’s trial in New Haven.”

Though he wasn’t able to make it to China the first time, Newton wanted to make it there especially when he learned that President Nixon was scheduled to visit China,

“I decided to beat him (Nixon) to it. My wish was to deliver a message to the government of the People’s Republic and the Communist Party, which would have been delivered to Nixon when he made his visit.”

The Black Panther Party, the revolutionary Black working class communist party vanguard of the 1960′s and 1970′s studied the works of Mao and always were staunch supporters of China’s revolutionary process. They sold copies of Mao’s Little Red Book to raise funds for the Party’s work.
As the Black Panther Party’s influence spread to other communities, Chinese comrades living in the San Francisco Bay area formed the Red Guard, a Chinese American formation modeled after the Black Panther Party.
In an article written in 1970 called Getting Together, a Chinese comrade expressed the need for revolutionary solidarity among people of color,

“We have to get ourselves together and this means not only that all Chinese should unite but also that we unite with our Puerto Rican and Black brothers and sisters. The fighting amongst ourselves is used by the rich white people in the government and in the schools to keep the Blacks, Chinese, and Puerto Ricans in their places.”

After traveling through different countries and going through their custom services which Newton described as “dehumanizing,” he finally made it safely to China. Him and comrades Elaine Brown and Robert Bay were followed all the way to China’s border by police agents. Newton later said,

“I have no doubt that we were allowed to go only because the police believed we were not coming back. If they had known I intended to return, they probably would have done everything possible to prevent the trip.”

Out of revolutionary solidarity and understanding the sensitivity of Newton’s situation as the central revolutionary communist leader in the whole of North Amerika, the Chinese government offered Newton political asylum. Humbly appreciative of the generous offer, Newton refused stating that his struggle was among his people in the United States of America.
Soon as Newton and his fellow comrades hit the airport they were greeted by the Chinese masses holding signs that said “We Support The Black Panther Party” and “Down With U.S. Imperialism.” Comrade Newton stood amazed as the vibrant Chinese people applauded and waved copies of the Black Panther Newspaper and the Little Red Book.
Newton was only able to stay for ten days because he still had to face his third trial in America. This disappointed the Chinese comrades because they wanted him to stay longer. Though Newton was there for a short period he had the opportunity to visit schools, factories, communes, and many parts of the country.
Most importantly Newton was there to handle business,

“We also visited many embassies as possible. Sightseeing took second place Black Panther business and our desire to talk with revolutionary brothers, so the Chinese arranged for us to meet the ambassadors of various countries.”

Newton met with the ambassadors and delegations from North Korea, Tanzania, North Vietnam, and the Provisional Revolutionary Government of South Vietnam, among others.
The Chinese promised Newton he would meet Mao but the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party felt it would have been inappropriate because he wasn’t a head of state.

But Newton had two meetings with Premier Chou En-lai and he also built with Comrade Chiang Ching, Mao’s wife and central figure of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. During the discussions they discussed world issues, the plight of oppressed people, and the situation of Black people in America.
Just like Robert Williams before him, Newton celebrated National Day with the Chinese masses,

“On National Day, October 1, we attended a large reception in the Great Hall of the People with Premier Chou En-lai and comrades from Mozambique, North Korea, North Vietnam, and the Provisional Government of South Vietnam. Normally, Chairman Mao”s appearance is the crowning event of the most important Chinese celebration, but this year the Chairman did not put in an appearance. When we entered the hall, a band was playing the Internationale, and we shared tables with the head of Peking University, the head of the North Korean Army, and Comrade Chiang Ching, Maos wife. We felt it was a great privilege.”

Leaving China Newton gained a wealth of wisdom about socialism and protracted nature of the revolutionary struggle,

“My experiences in China reinforced my understanding of the revolutionary process and my belief in the necessity of making a concrete analysis of concrete conditions.”

“Everything I saw in China demonstrated that the People’s Republic is a free and liberated territory with a socialist government. The way is open for people to gain their freedom and determine their own destiny. It was an amazing experience to see in practice a revolution that is going forward at such a rapid rate.”

Though China today is no longer a revolutionary socialist country, the experiences of W.E.B DuBois, Robert Williams, and Huey Newton are shining examples of how throughout our struggle the Black Nation and China have always had a connection in the revolutionary fight for freedom, justice, and equality.
Today the tradition continues. Soon the class struggle of the billions of Chinese workers and the billions of Black workers, along with the people of the world, will join in a powerful revolutionary wave against the capitalist-imperialists!

References:

Autobiography of W.E.B DuBois by W.E.B DuBois
Radio Free Dixie, Robert Williams & the Roots of Black Power by Timothy B. Tyson
Revolutionary Suicide by Huey P. Newton
Black Panthers Speak by Philip S. Foner