revolutionary action movement (ram) - Michael Schwartz Library

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industry ; (2) an armed and well defended community ; and (3) rapid escalation
of the struggle . The matter of timing of the struggle was an interesting
aspect of the RAM documents . There was a degree of naivete about
revolutionary process and a general underestimation of the strength of the
enemy . As the close of "Depression Part III" there was a quote from Robert
Williams which ended with the statement, "the implementation of the U .S .
Constitution" would be laid in ninety days of struggle . In 1964 RAM asserted
that by 1970, an organization capable of sustaining revolutionary
action must exist . 34 In a document written in 1966, the author stated
that by 1970 the crisis of world imperialism would be so acute that the
black struggle will
intensify and by 1978 African-American people would
have exhausted all the legal forms of protest which would lead to the formation
of a united front . 35 The majority of Williams' articles presented
a vision of a "protracted war" that would last only several months . The
image of a
swift victory contradicts the histories of wars of liberation
in the very countries RAM looked to as model, such as, Vietnam, Angola and
China . RAM never explained or even recognized this contradiction . The
documents did not go beyond 1969 so it is
unclear whether this timetable
was ever revised or criticized .
The program in the North was to focus on organizing black workers
around workplace issues and the
rights of self-help, self-government, selfrule
and human rights . Black workers would serve as a coalition for the
proposed government in exile .
People's congresses would be organized and
would declare their independence from the U .S .
A black liberation army
34 Black Youth : Vanguard of the New World , 1964, p . 6 .
35 The Struggle for Black State Power , 1966, p .. 8 .