Hart and his supporters have been campaigning among working people involved in resistance to the attacks by the employers and their government. The socialist candidate has been speaking out to protest the ongoing war drive by the Israeli regime against the Palestinian people, and championing the Palestinians' fight for national self-determination. In campaigning for the socialist alternative to the employers' parties and their profit system, Hart points to the example of Cuba, where working people took political power and made a socialist revolution, which they are successfully defending today.

In the forum all the other candidates discussed political issues from the standpoint of the employer class. Several of them referred to Detroit as a "$3.3 billion business" and put forward their managerial experience or careers in the police department as qualifications for mayor.

"My campaign brings a working-class perspective to the crisis facing our class and the capitalist economic crisis facing working people around the world," Hart told the 75 people who attended the gathering at Wayne State University.

"The recession has hit Detroit hard. We are witnessing massive layoffs in the auto industry, the crumbling of the infrastructure, a lack of housing, libraries, decent roads, and the erosion of social protections such as health care and day care. Education in this country is maintained as a privilege instead of a right."

Hart stated, "This is the best that the capitalist system has to offer. This system can't be reformed--we need a revolutionary change of government. My campaign demonstrates that working people have the capacity to reorganize society for human needs and not profits."

A panel of high school students read prepared questions for the candidates. Each candidate was given one minute to respond. Questions focused on the issues of education, after-school programs, and how the candidates would fund such needs.

"The city of Detroit spends millions of dollars on casinos and not on youth. How can funds be better spent on youth?" Kizzmett Pringle, an 11th grader from Cass Technical High School, wanted to know.

Big-business politicians, including current Democratic Party mayor Dennis Archer, have argued for establishing more casinos as a way of providing jobs and revenue to fund social programs in the city. Three casinos have been built.

"Detroit has one of the highest income tax rates of any city in the country," Hart replied. "Detroit is the center of the auto industry. The enormous wealth created by workers goes into the hands of a few super-rich families. The socialist campaign is against any taxes on workers' wages, but demands that Detroit's corporate profits be taxed to fund social needs, not casinos."

"I have friends that have been shot over the use of drugs. How would you change the police department?" was one of the questions from the audience.

Hart described the role of the police under capitalism as protecting the interests of the wealthy rulers. "I participated along with thousands of other protesters in demonstrations against the police in Cincinnati who killed an unarmed Black man in April," he said. "That is a city where five people have been killed by the cops since November and 16 since 1995.

"Detroit is right up there, number one in police brutality. Blacks, and Black youth in particular, are targets of police violence. My campaign calls for the full prosecution and sentencing of police who commit such atrocities," Hart said.

The Socialist Workers candidate pointed out that the problems of young people are the problems of society, such as the growing re-segregation of schools and communities, the attempts to roll back affirmative action, and the pitting of young people against one another in a dog-eat-dog competitive environment.

"Public education was a historic gain for working people," said Hart. "I am opposed to privatization of the schools and in favor of funding for bilingual education for the multinational students in Detroit who speak a variety of languages, from Spanish to Arabic. I would use the wealth created by the workers in this city and put it into funding the schools instead of increasing the profits of the Big Three."

"But these changes won't happen by putting a ballot in the box on September 11," Hart continued. "It will take a social movement by working people of the city to demand social needs versus private needs, things that are in the interests of the majority, human needs, not profits for the wealthy minority."

Only when working people make a revolutionary change and begin running society, say Hart and his campaign supporters, will it be possible to transform education--from a capitalist institution aimed at regimenting working-class youth, into an opportunity for lifetime education and culture for all.

After the program, Hart was interviewed by UPN 50 News. Campaign supporters set up literature tables on the Wayne State University campus, introducing the Militant and letting people know about the upcoming Militant Labor Forum opposing the Israeli regime's war moves against the Palestinian people.

Ellen Berman is a member of United Auto Workers Local 157 and works at Textron Automotive in Westland, Michigan.  
 
 
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