this post was submitted on 02 May 2026
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This does not happen through simple recruitment but by integrating marginalized groups into the organized working class through shared political struggle and material support.
The Black Panther Party demonstrated this by organizing through the lumpenproletariat as the most victimized members of oppressed communities, offering practical programs like the Free Breakfast for Children to serve the people and build broad-based support. This approach relies on revolutionary leadership and addressing national oppression to forge unity between the unemployed and employed workers.
This ideological shift was influenced by Frantz Fanon and Mao Zedong, leading the Panthers to organize around the "street brothers" who were excluded from the labor market due to systemic racism and automation. By mobilizing these marginalized individuals, the party sought to unite them with the broader Black working class, aiming to transform the lumpenproletariat from a passive or reactionary element into the leading edge of a anti-capitalist and anti-imperialist movement.
I really should read about the Black Panther Party more because they sound like a fascinating group (even though they failed to bring about socialism due to reasons I do not currently understand), and I think learning from their mistakes and successes is essential to any modern Marxists that wish to practice anything outside of armchairism.
Lumpenproletarians of color (and queer lumpenproletarians) are certainly easier to win to the side of the proletarian cause because they are oppressed for reasons outside of the relations of production, so taking into account their unique forms of oppression and how to uplift them must be important aspects of utilizing them. However, as someone in this comment section has made aware, the type of lumpenproletarian they are should dictate our actions towards them.
They failed because their leaders got fucking murdered by the Police and the FBI, and the white people were indifferent to it. Their mission was artificially disrupted by COINTELPRO.
Yeah I know that now after reading about their history, and judging by how severe the treatment from the FBI and police were, I am really wondering how difficult the creation of a principled Marxist party is in America.