I want to talk about the socialist who understood the intersectionality of race and class, and who rather than getting stuck in identity politics worked across the color line for "a new co-operation, understanding, and a determination by poor people of all colors and backgrounds to assert and win their right to a decent life"; the strident anti-war activist who understood that the United States government was often a force for violence and evil, "the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today"; the man who advocated peaceful protest but never denied the right of self-defense, who wrote that "When the Negro uses force in self-defense, he does not forfeit support -- he may even win it, by the courage and self-respect it reflects." Read more