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New pamphlet: Fifty Years since the Detroit Rebellion

Mehring Books is pleased to announce the publication of a new pamphlet: Fifty Years Since the Detroit Rebellion.

The events of July 1967 in Detroit, Michigan still evoke controversy. All of the social contradictions that produced this rebellion by the most oppressed sections of the working class are still present.

The writings in this pamphlet are a serious contribution to an understanding of this process and deserve to be read and studied. They consist of a republished article by Barry Grey from the Bulletin newspaper, the forerunner of the World Socialist Web Site, originally published to mark the 20th anniversary of the Detroit rebellion, with a new introduction, as well as a review recently published on the WSWS by Joanne Laurier of the film on the Detroit uprising, Detroit, directed by Kathryn Bigelow.

The articles examine the historical background and social roots of the events of 50 years ago, and their outcome. The processes of deindustrialization, declining working class living standards and ever-increasing social inequality have matured and deepened in the decades since the uprising. The pamphlet focuses particular attention on the role of the Democratic Party, which, abetted by a host of pseudo-left organizations, has cultivated a layer of privileged African-American politicians, union bureaucrats, administrators and academics to help administer the affairs of American capitalism and suppress the working class, black and white.

Fifty years after the events of 1967, the conditions facing the working class in Detroit, as in cities across the US devastated by plant closures and austerity, are worse than at the time of the rebellion. Written from a Marxist perspective, this pamphlet provides a unique insight into those tumultuous times and their political lessons for today.

Price: $3.50

Click here to purchase.

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