<h3><strong>A History of the Young Communist League, USA</strong></h3>
<div>Author: Tony Pecinovsky</div>
<div>In 1970, as more and more young people were understanding the central role of the working class in social change, the Young Workers Liberation League (YWLL) was formed. The YWLL was based on two basic concepts. The first was the fight against oppression and a need to unify all youth, across racial and ethnic lines. The second was the strategy of organizing young workers around issues of wages, job security, discrimination in the work place and peace; and show the relationship these struggles had to the working class and socialism.<br /><br />Repression, war, militarism and the prospect of dying for US imperialist aggression in Vietnam was the only future capitalist society offered American youth. But the YWLL offered something else, a future free of poverty, racism, sexism, exploitation and war.<br /><br />Shortly after its founding the YWLL was invited, by the Ho Chi Minh Working Youth Union to visit Vietnam, see areas destroyed by US bombing and exchange experiences with Vietnamese youth. In 1970 half a million US troops were still in Vietnam. Between 200 and 400 US soldiers, and thousands of Vietnamese soldiers and civilians, were being killed every week. And the war was costing US taxpayers $30 billion a year, diverting money from social programs like education, healthcare and social security.<br /><br />The YWLL played a key role in the growing anti-war movement in the 1970\'s, always emphasizing labor\'s material interest in ending the war. In 1974, the peace majority in the US and the heroic people of Vietnam forced the US to withdraw from Vietnam.<br /><br />Under the Nixon Administration youth were branded as criminals and access to higher education was a luxury few could afford. In this period the YWLL spearheaded the struggle for youth jobs at union wages, affirmative action and academic freedom. It helped to make the connection between jobs and peace, social needs and military spending, racism and budget cuts.<br /><br />The YWLL organized among young workers, especially those in basic industry, in its ranks, and reflected the diverse, multi-ethnic, multiracial working class. A centerpiece of Marxist-Leninist ideology is internationalism and the YWLL always struggled against imperialism around the world.<br /><br />On September 4, 1970 Allende was elected President of Chile. During this period the World Federation of Democratic Youth (WFDY) held a regional youth conference in Chile. The YWLL sent a delegation and were invited to a reception with President Allende, just weeks before the US backed coup by fascist general Augusto Pinochet. After the bloody overthrow the YWLL played a leading role in campus organizing, sponsoring speakers and forming a broad-based community, religious, labor and student solidarity movement.<br /><br />During the labor and social upheavals of the 1970\'s the YWLL was a strong organizer of youth. But the election of Ronald Reagan as President in 1979 marked a huge setback to youth, working people and peace worldwide. In 1983, as the Reagan Administration was cutting more and more money from social programs and diverting it into the military budget to fight the \"Evil Empire\", the YWLL set about re-organizing itself into a Marxist-Leninist youth organization, the Young Communist League (YCL).</div>
<div><strong>Young Communist League USA</strong></div>
<div><a href="http://yclusa.org/article/articleview/20/1/278/">http://yclusa.org/article/articleview/20/1/278/</a></div>
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<h3><strong>SOURCE: "IDEAS" WEBPAGE, YOUNG COMMUNIST LEAGUE USA (YCLUSA)</strong></h3>
<div><a href="http://yclusa.org/section-standard"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="color: #0066cc;">http://yclusa.org/section-standard</span></span></a></div>
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<div><a href="article/articleview/1998/1/6/"><img src="http://yclusa.org/ezimagecatalogue/catalogue/variations/437-150x150.jpg" border="0" width="150" height="87" /></a></div>
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<div><a href="http://yclusa.org/article/articleview/1998/1/6/">Attacks on protesters backfire as Occupy raises the heat on banks</a></div>
<div>by John Wojcik, 31.10.2011</div>
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<div>Outrage over a Marine who survived enemy fire only to be wounded by Oakland, Calif., police at an Occupy Wall Street demonstration has elicited more sympathy for the movement nationally as protesters turn up the heat on banks.</div>
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<div><a href="http://yclusa.org/article/articleview/1996/1/6/">This is Britain's zombie generation</a></div>
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<div>Ann Czernik asks why wealthy Harrogate has welcomed the new Jarrow march with as much enthusiasm as their 1936 forebears<br /><br />When the Jarrow marchers arrived in Harrogate 75 years ago it was reported that they were welcomed "like a relief column raising a siege."</div>
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<img src="http://yclusa.org/images/path-arrow.gif" border="0" width="12" height="10" /><a href="http://yclusa.org/article/articleview/1996/1/6/">More</a> | <a href="http://yclusa.org/article/archive/6/">Latest News</a><br /><img src="http://yclusa.org/images/1x1.gif" border="0" width="4" height="8" /><br /></td>
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<div><a href="http://yclusa.org/article/articleview/1995/1/6/">Over 800 youth converge in Minneapolis for AFL-CIO Next Up Summit</a></div>
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<div>MINNEAPOLIS - This year's AFL-CIO Next Up Summit, held here Sept. 29 - Oct. 2, had a very different flavor. Unlike the 2010 summit, this conference was lead and organized by young union members from across the country.</div>
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<img src="http://yclusa.org/images/path-arrow.gif" border="0" width="12" height="10" /><a href="http://yclusa.org/article/articleview/1995/1/6/">More</a> | <a href="http://yclusa.org/article/archive/6/">Latest News</a><br /><img src="http://yclusa.org/images/1x1.gif" border="0" width="4" height="8" /><br /></td>
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<div><a href="http://yclusa.org/article/articleview/1994/1/6/"><img src="http://yclusa.org/ezimagecatalogue/catalogue/variations/435-150x150.jpg" border="0" width="150" height="84" /></a></div>
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<div><a href="http://yclusa.org/article/articleview/1994/1/6/">YCL calls for members to join in national actions! Find one near you here!</a></div>
<div>by YCL, 06.10.2011</div>
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<div>All over the country, youth are talking about the immediate need to redistribute wealth and political power from the hands of a few to the working class majority.</div>
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<div><a href="http://yclusa.org/article/articleview/1992/1/6/"><img src="http://yclusa.org/ezimagecatalogue/catalogue/variations/434-150x150.jpg" border="0" width="150" height="113" /></a></div>
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<div><a href="http://yclusa.org/article/articleview/1992/1/6/">America's kids tell their stories from their Wall Street camp</a></div>
<div>by Roberta Wood, 04.10.2011</div>
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<div>NEW YORK CITY -- "I figured if I'm going to be homeless, I might as well be homeless for a good reason," said Matt Kitchens. The Alabama native is one of the hundreds of restless youth Occupying Wall Street, determined that their voices be heard.</div>
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<p><a href="http://www.letsrebuildit.com/index.php?option=com_content&amp;view=article&amp;id=432:if-you-wish-to-know-the-future-just-study-history&amp;catid=74:commentary&amp;Itemid=94">Go to "IF YOU WISH TO KNOW THE FUTURE, STUDY HISTORY! Part 1"</a></p>
<p><a href="http://letsrebuildit.com/index.php?option=com_content&amp;view=article&amp;id=512:if-you-wish-to-know-the-future-study-history-part-2&amp;catid=74:commentary&amp;Itemid=94">Go to "IF YOU WISH TO KNOW THE FUTURE, STUDY HISTORY! Part 2"</a></p>
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