report by Paul J Poposky

Sunday, 6 December 2009
Edwardsville, IL

The first biannual Left-Wing School of the Greater St. Louis/Metro-aast saw attendance and participation from local students, educators, concerned citizens, and Left activists which exceeded ALL expectations. The one-day event, held for the first time at Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville (SIUE) was organized and hosted by the Autonomy Alliance (AA), and co-sponsored by the MetroEast Green Party. The School featured a diverse array of speakers from the AA, The Workers International League-International Marxist Tendency (WIL-IMT), the Gay-Straight Alliance at SIUE, and the Metroeast Progressive Movement (MPM), as well as college professors and representatives of a local workers’ collective. Discussion on a wide range of topics was lively, stimulating and civil, fulfilling the events stated mission to provide:

“an opportunity for Leftists to learn about a variety of ideas presented by local organizations… for organizations to come together to exchange their ideas, learn from each other and grow in solidarity with one another.”

Other Leftist groups set up information tables and distributed literature, including Hands-Off Venezuela, Radical Education Against Capitalist Tyranny! infoshop/library, Well Red Books, Socialist Organizer, and the Workers Emergency Recovery Campaign. A documentary film on gay marriage buses, produced by Ed Reggi of Show Me No H8, was shown during the lunch recess.

Highlights from the School include a fascinating course detailing the history of "Feminism and the Kinship Sphere", co-taught by representatives of the AA; a presentation on "The Need for a Mass Party of Labor & Role of the Revolutionary Party" and a class titled "Capitalism is the Problem: Socialism is the Solution" by the WIL-IMT; a highly informative Q&A on what it is like "Working in a Workers’ Collective" by Black Bear Bakery, an anarchist run worker collective, which also catered breakfast at the School; and a class taught by SIUE Professor Steve Tamari on the need for "A Democratic Secular Solution for Israel and Palestine".

The Left-Wing School culminated in a closing session where dialogue, reflections, comments and constructive criticisms of the organization of the school and the ideas presented were welcome and encouraged. Participating organizations agreed to continue and expand the Left-ing School in the year to come. To encourage greater participation and democratic planning, a steering committee was established to coordinate future Left-wing School events and build solidarity with local May Day actions and celebrations, as well as the annual Commemoration of the General Strike of 1877 and the St. Louis Commune.

The most significant development to come out of this event was a proposal, which was approved by participating leftist groups, for the establishment of the St. Louis/metroeast United Front (SLUF), a positive first step toward building a strong united front of leftist tendencies for the St. Louis/Metro-east area. This is particularly important for moving forward for solidarity in common struggle in a region of the United States with a long and storied, proud history of militant working class-labor struggles.

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