Communist Workers Party Records
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Abstract
The Communist Workers Party (CWP, 1979-1985) was a U.S. Maoist oganization that originated in 1973 as the Asian Study Group (renamed the Workers' Viewpoint Organization in 1976); it was established by Jerry Tung. After the "Greensboro (North Carolina) Massacre" of 1979, in which five people were killed during an anti-Ku Klux Klan rally by the American Nazi Party, the CWP relinquished its Leninist structure and moved towards a social democratic framework. In 1985, the CWP became the New Democratic Movement (NDM), which lasted only a few years. The Communist Workers Party Records (1976-1987) contains materials collected and created by the CWP, and later, the NDM. These materials include bulletins, position papers, memos, speeches, publications, and the Third National Party Congress bulletins.
Historical Note
The Communist Workers Party (CWP, 1979-1985) was a U.S. Maoist oganization that originated in 1973 as the Asian Study Group (renamed the Workers' Viewpoint Organization in 1976). It was established by Jerry Tung, a former member of the Progressive Labor Party. The CWP is best known for the "Greensboro (North Carolina) Massacre" of 1979, in which the American Nazi Party attacked an anti-Ku Klux Klan rally held by the CWP, shooting and killing five people, including two CWP members. The CWP supported the "Gang of Four," the prominent followers of Mao ZeDong imprisoned in China after Mao's death, but after the massacre, the group relinquished its Leninist structure and moved towards a social democratic framework. In 1985, the CWP became the New Democratic Movement (NDM), which lasted only a few years. The most important remnant of the CWP/NDM can be found in the Greensboro Justice Fund which promotes groups struggling for social justice.
Arrangement
This collection is arranged chronologically.
Scope and Contents
The Communist Workers Party Records (1976-1987) contains materials collected and created by the CWP, and later, the NDM. These materials include bulletins, position papers, memos, speeches, publications (including the newsletters and journals The National Bulletin/New Democratic Bulletin and The Expert Red: Handbook for American Revolutionaries, and individual publications such as The Current Revolutionary Situation: Our Tasks), and the Third National Party Congress bulletins. Although this collection does not contain materials about the Greensboro Massacre itself, the aftermath and response by the CWP are reflected in speeches, position papers, and proposals. Additionally, publications such as The Post Industrial Society (circa 1986), a position paper of the NDM, and meeting materials from the board, illustrate the evolution of the organization from the CWP to the NDM.
Subjects
Organizations
People
Topics
Places
Conditions Governing Access
Materials are open without restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
This collection is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use materials in the collection in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date; Communist Workers Party Records; TAM 231; box number; folder number or item identifier; Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University.
Location of Materials
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Provenance unknown, most likely donated by Kenneth Janken in 1989. The accession number associated with this collection is 1989.017.
About this Guide
Processing Information
During accessioning, materials were placed in acid-free boxes. During processing, materials were placed in acid-free folders. One duplicate copy of "The United States and the World" was removed.
