The Militant (logo) 
Vol.64/No.13      April 3, 2000 
 
 
Young Socialists join march to defend affirmative action in Florida  
{Young Socialists Around the World column} 
 
 
This column is written and edited by the Young Socialists (YS), an international organization of young workers, students, and other youth fighting for socialism. For more information about the Young Socialists, call (415) 824-1429, or send an e-mail to: young_socialists@hotmail.com 
 
BY MICHAEL MARTINEZ
 
TALLAHASSEE, Florida--On March 7 thousands of people marched to the Florida state capitol here in defense of affirmative action. Last November Gov. John Ellis Bush, by executive order, ended affirmative action in university admissions and state contracts under something he called the "One Florida" plan. This plan promises only the top 20 percent of students in each high school admission to a state university in Florida.

Most of the participants from Miami arrived in buses provided by unions and other labor organizations, churches, the NAACP, and schools. At the parking lot in Tallahassee where the rally goers met for a breakfast and lunch, young people showed their presence with picket signs, banners, T- shirts, and more.

The majority of the demonstrators were young students and workers. Luis Silva, an 18-year-old high school student attending the rally, said, "Malcolm fought, King fought, we have all fought too hard for hundreds of years to let Bush come in and in one day take it all away from us."

During the march Young Socialists, Socialist Workers Party members, and supporters carried a banner that read: "Defend affirmative action with quotas. Stop racism and police brutality. For a workers and farmers government. Socialist Workers Party and Young Socialists."

At a table full of Pathfinder books and literature, many youths attracted to revolutionary politics gathered around. There they had a chance to talk to members of the Young Socialists and Rollande Girard, the SWP candidate for mayor of Miami-Dade county.

Shem Morton, a leader of the Young Socialists from Los Angeles, participated in a serious discussion with two young women from Tallahassee. He explained why Marx's ideas are still relevant today and why communism is still a viable option. He said it is important to join the Young Socialists to fight to overthrow capitalism in order to create a society based on human needs and solidarity, instead of one marked by sexism, racism, and exploitation.

Other Young Socialist members from Atlanta and Valdosta, Georgia, as well as from Birmingham, Alabama, participated in the demonstration and helped sell revolutionary literature and copies of the Militant. They talked to young people about the importance of Pathfinder books and why the Young Socialists organize to educate ourselves and other fighters about the history of the working-class movement and to apply these lessons to struggles that break out today in preparation for major battles ahead.

Among the people spreading the word about the Young Socialists was Sonja Swanson, a high school student from Miami. She sold the Militant, discussed politics at the Pathfinder table, and expressed interest in joining the Young Socialists.

In a combined effort with the SWP, seven Join the fight for socialism: Join the Young Socialists pamphlets were sold, as well as three Che Guevara Talks to Young People, and numerous books from the Pathfinder arsenal. YS and SWP members there also sold about 300 copies of the Militant.  
 
 
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