The Peace and Freedom Party is a radical leftist party established in California in 1967. While the party’s platform may have evolved since then, they remain on the radical socialist side of political discussions. The party condemns racism hidden in American war and peacetime policies(Peace and Freedom Party, 2014), and respond with actions they believe will help alleviate racial inequality. Their platform and beliefs push them to the far-left on the political spectrum–indeed, they self identify as a “Feminist Socialist Party”(2014)–and indeed, while their platform aligns with the contemporary american ideal of equal opportunity at face value, their platforms pushes the envelope past what most conservatives(National Platform 2016) and liberals find acceptable(Liberal Party Platform & Principles). The Peace and Freedom Party’s platform acknowledges that all men are created equal, but dismisses the idea of ‘lifting [ones]self up by [their] bootstraps’–the idea that claims that if one works hard enough they will succeed regardless of their socioeconomic standing–citing an American history of brutality towards people of color and their countries(La Riva 2017). Their acknowledgement of the difference in the social standing of people of color and white people causes the party to prioritize supporting, and giving a platform to people of color over white people. Such a platform does not seem to fit the american ideal of equality at a glance: there is an unequal focus that mostly benefits on people of color, however the policies work to help level the playing field for everyone, fitting the belief in equal opportunities for all. This focus on raising up the disadvantaged seems to mirror the beliefs of most liberals, but often times, Peace and Freedom members often view liberals with a degree of contempt, thinking they are too moderate and willing to ignore the suffering of marginalized groups(La Riva 2017), and when moving past the belief in equal opportunity, the Peace and Freedom party and conservatives have little to nothing in common in terms of beliefs and actions(National Platform 2016). While the Peace and Freedom Party policies seemingly advocate for funneling most of their support to people of color, their policies work to further the cause of equality for those who have historically been silenced and oppressed by working to get the voices of people of color into conversations that they have been barred from.
The Peace and Freedom Party speaks of racism permeating American policies both in war and peace, and how while all men are created equal, not all start off on an equal playing field. Gloria La Riva, the elected presidential candidate of the P&F Party, spoke out against the brutality of the Cold War, stating:
The genocidal U.S. wars on Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos; the mass torture regimes established by the CIA in Iran, Brazil, Chile, Indonesia, Argentina, Uruguay, and more; the assassination of countless revolutionary and progressive leaders; the U.S. armed and funded Israeli wars against Egypt, Syria, Lebanon and the Palestinian people; the blockades of Cuba, Iraq and Nicaragua; support for the apartheid regime in South Africa; the counter-revolutionary wars in Central America; the ongoing threat of a U.S. first-strike nuclear war; etc., etc.—all of this was “the galvanizing moral clarity of the Cold War,” for Bush and the establishment he represents(La Riva, 2017).
La Riva denounces the idea that the wars fought in the Cold War were moral or in the best interest of the people, referring to the disproportionate violence faced by countries caught in the crossfire, ranging from proxy wars to flat out genocide. She also mentions how most of the war grounds and places facing U.S. brutality were predominantly countries consisting of people of color, and that the U.S. had been complacent in the mistreatment of people of color in other countries if it furthered their cause in the Cold War(La Riva, 2017). In addition, the Peace and Freedom party supports AB 20, which, requires, “the California Public Employees' Retirement System… and State Teachers' Retirement System … to take tribal sovereignty and indigenous tribal rights into account when choosing investments”(Peace and Freedom Party Legislation, 2014), in the light of what happened at the Dakota Pipeline(Peace and Freedom Party Legislation, 2014). By condemning the past of the U.S. stealing land from indigenous people and supporting legislation that advocates for the platform of native americans as a foreign sovereign body, the Peace and Freedom party works to take steps towards equal treatment and respect for indigenous americans, who historically have had their land and culture stolen from them. The Peace and Freedom party platform also states that the Peace and Freedom Party has, “opposed…propositions that called for the reduction of benefits for illegal immigrants and for the end of Affirmative Action programs”(Peace and Freedom Party Legislation, 2014). The Peace and Freedom party places importance on the survival of Affirmative Action and undocumented immigrants’ rights, upholding contemporary american ideals of all humans being equal, but going against the ‘bootstraps theory’ that all humans are on an equal playing field, no matter their socioeconomic class, race, gender, sexual orientation and/or if they have any disabilities or disorders. By acknowledging that people are not on an equal playing field in american society, the Peace and Freedom party does not imply that people are not inherently equal, but rather that racism in america’s past actions and its policies has led to racial inequality.
The P&F Party’s actions to alleviate racial inequality focus on giving a platform to and raising up people of color to give them the same opportunities as those in power. When conducting a survey on how the beliefs of the Peace and Freedom Party members line up with those of the Black Panther Party, Elden and Schweitzer(1971) found that: 84% of members in 1971 advocated for the black community to be able to police themselves, 63% advocated for all jailed black americans to be retried by a jury of black americans for a fairer trial, and 69% advocated for continued close relations between the Black Panther party and the Peace and Freedom party(Elden and Schweitzer, 1971). The polling prompts were taken directly from the Black Panther Party’s demands from the government, and even when the Black Panther Party was seen as radical and shunned by most of the white public, the majority of the members of the Peace and Freedom Party’s beliefs matched those of the Black Panther Party. In addition, the majority of the Peace and Freedom party believed that black americans had been unjustly represented in american society, seen in their belief that incarcerated black americans ought to be retried as their previous trial likely was not fair. For black americans in jail to be retried by black americans would bring a greater voice to the group as a whole, and give them more say in how the community was policed. Nearly two thirds of the Peace and Freedom Party believed this in 1971, even though the vast majority of the party members at the time were white, and the party has continued to become more radical since, with their platform calling for an end of police brutality as a whole(Peace and Freedom Party Platform, 2014). Elden and Schweitzer(1971) also found that,
“The issue of minority rights created special problems for PFP since black militants, under the Black Power dictum, were not joining white organizations or letting whites – no matter how radical – join black organizations. The problem was that while PFP activists were of white, middle class background, they were at the same time ardently pro-black…In contrast to the Democratic and Republican parties, PFP attempted to relate directly to minority groups through the novel mechanism of
a formal coalition…In short, PFP leadership remained white while its program and activities were in good part black and brown. In black communities, for example, the Black Panther party was considered the representative of PFP”(1971).
Despite being a primarily white party, the P&F party worked to make sure they did not speak over those they were trying to represent and help, relating to the idea of representing all americans, and working to give marginalized groups a larger platform. The party understood and respected that black americans should be at the forefront of the black power struggle, and recognized that their best way to help was to provide support and stay linked to the Black Panther Party without attempting to override their decisions. In addition, the Peace and Freedom Party voted in Eldridge Cleaver–a prominent black radical and member of the Black Panther Party–as their presidential candidate in 1968, and garnered about eighty-five thousand votes(Baughman, Bondi, Layman, McConnell, & Tompkins, 2001). To Peace and Freedom Party voted in a black presidential candidate–especially a Black Panther–at a time of great civil unrest from the civil rights movement risked the party getting labelled extremists or a threat(Black Panther Party FBI Files, 2010). To risk their reputation in the interest of black power by voting in Cleaver, the party firmly planted themselves behind the movement and showed a willingness to work to bring about “black liberation”. The P&F Party’s actions to alleviate racial discrimination works to give a platform to and empower people of color to help achieve equal opportunities for all.
Putting americans on an equal playing field by raising up the disadvantaged fits the claims of those who identify as conservatives as it gives people the equal opportunity they claim is the basis of their platform(National Platform 2016), while appealing to liberals by advocating for helping those who are disadvantaged(Liberal Party Platform & Principles), however when looking beyond face value, the Peace and Freedom Party’s platform on racism pushes past the more moderate liberal beliefs, and is far too radical for conservatives. Gloria La Riva herself criticized liberals and conservatives alike in her 50th anniversary commemorative speech, as she stated, “Many liberals praised Bush as a ‘voice of reason’ and ‘moderation.’ But then again, they are as much a part of the imperialist ruling class as are the conservatives”(La Riva, 2017). This came after Former President Bush criticized Trump and spoke of a ‘moral clarity’ of the Cold War, glossing over the disproportionate amount of lives of people of color lost worldwide in the american’s crusade. La Riva accused liberals of being complacent in this system by praising Bush, as they were willing to turn a blind eye to what had happened around the world in order to gain another ally against Trump. She also stated they were “part of the imperialist ruling class”(La Riva, 2017), implying that the Cold War was not a war of morality, as Bush claimed, but an imperialist campaign that would mostly affect countries of people of color. In terms of conservatives, La Riva does not even find it necessary to condemn their actions as she did to the liberals, but the context still shows contempt towards them, creating the implication that their actions condemn them already. In contrast, the Peace and Freedom Party was willing to work with people of color to raise their social standing, and help alleviate some of the pressure of racial inequality, all the way back to the sixties. Electing Cleaver as their presidential candidate in the midst of the Civil Rights Movement helped expose the Black Panther Party’s platform to a new audience(Baughman, Bondi, Layman, McConnell, & Tompkins, 2001). By giving a platform to a group that has historically not been represented, the Peace and Freedom Party helps to open up a conversation about the role of people of color in politics and society. Though Cleaver was not elected, his bid for the presidency introduced the idea that a president didn’t have to be white, which given the fact that segregation was still being heavily disputed, was an especially radical statement. Elden and Schweitzer(1971) found that, “while PFP activists were of white, middle class background, they were at the same time ardently pro-black”(1971) While the P&F party was largely middle class white students in the 70’s, they worked to listen to and represent brown or black voices through their own committees and subdivisions to support the push for black rights rather than try to take over the platform. Through their support for AB 20, which forces the government, “to take tribal sovereignty and indigenous tribal rights into account when choosing investments”(Peace and Freedom Party Legislation, 2014) The P&F party works to represent and help Indigenous people, who historically have been looked down upon, brutalized and sterilized by the U.S., and by restoring the sovereignty to the individual tribes, the U.S. would take the first small step to reparation. While the methods of the Peace and Freedom Party may seem extreme, their beliefs work to put people on an equal playing field by raising up the disadvantaged, and at its core, that universally fits american ideals by helping to achieve equal opportunities for all.
While the Peace and Freedom Party policies seemingly focus their support to people of color, their work to bring a platform to people of color helps to further the cause of racial equality. According to the P&F party, racism is prevalent in american policies, and their platform works to try to amend some of those injustices. Having recognized racism in american policies, actions by the Peace and Freedom party work to bring a platform to the underrepresented so they can voice their grievances, and do not try to speak over them. The Peace and Freedom Party advocates for equal opportunity for all, a universal american ideal, but how they go about achieving equal opportunity is far more radical than even most liberals will push for. With the government pushing farther right, there seems to be little hope of the Peace and Freedom party gaining relevance in the next few years; however the winds are changing, and the actions of the government seem to be pushing those underrepresented people to further prevalence and self advocacy.