Voice of the League of Revolutionaries for a New America

Donate

Uniting struggles for human needs and the planet with a vision of revolutionary change!

THE LEAGUE on Social Media . . .

Available in the following language/s:

René Lichtman, RIP 1-28-25

SHARE or PRINT

Holocaust survivor René Lichtman, holding a picture of himself with his parents at the onset of WWII, 1939.

René Lichtman passed away January 2, 2025 in Troy, Michigan.

He is a Detroit icon, but was born in Paris, and also has a French family, the people who hid him as a Jewish child during WWII. Rene’s father died in battle early in the German assault, quite near where he was being hidden.

Rene’s mother recovered him from hiding after the war. They went to New York, where he was schooled and became an accomplished painter and filmmaker. When he later moved to Detroit, René was quite active with automotive worker rights. He produced the movie “Finally Got the News”, published in 1970. It chronicles the rise of a grassroots labor movement called the League of Revolutionary Black Workers in the late 1960s.

The Zekelman Holocaust Center in metro Detroit featured René as a regular speaker. However, when he spoke out and protested against Israel’s extreme behavior in Gaza, they unceremoniously removed him from the calendar. This did not phase him, such was Rene’s war opposition.

Published on February 6, 2025
This article originated in Rally!
P.O. Box 477113 Chicago, IL 60647 rally@lrna.org
Free to reproduce unless otherwise marked.
Please include this message with any reproduction.

Featured

The World We Want: How Do We Get There from Here?

Artificial Intelligence could guarantee basic needs for everyone. Fascism is AI in the wrong hands – capitalist corporations. Successfully resistance will require working class unity.

Uniting Beyond Separate Struggles

As technology replaces people “these bastards are stealing money from the poor for the 1%”. Survival, and justice, depend on workers fighting fascism as a class.

Working Families Unite

Trump’s vendetta against Chicago began in his first term, when its people repeatedly expressed their hatred for his policies with mass protests, actually forcing Trump to cancel his appearance at the UIC Forum. Now ICE raids schools as families drop off and pick up their children. Veterans for Peace called on Illinois Governor Pritzker to offer sanctuary if members of the National Guard refuse to go to Chicago.

Searise

From the Editors: This poem was submitted to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the...

The Fight Against Fascism in Oakland

By Oakland Basic Needs Electoral Committee (OBNEC) The current war on residents of Oakland, CA,...

THE LEAGUE on Social Media

Read More from Rally!

The World We Want: How Do We Get There from Here?

Artificial Intelligence could guarantee basic needs for everyone. Fascism is AI in the wrong hands – capitalist corporations. Successfully resistance will require working class unity.

Uniting Beyond Separate Struggles

As technology replaces people “these bastards are stealing money from the poor for the 1%”. Survival, and justice, depend on workers fighting fascism as a class.

From the Defensive to the Offensive Against Fascism

This is class warfare – taking over the media and universities while Democrats just compromise. An offensive against fascism can start the offensive against capitalism.

Bay Area Defeats the Border Patrol Surge

The Border Patrol was pushed out of the Bay Area by thousands uniting beyond race and immigration status. Unity can win a nation based on human needs instead of private profit.

Fascism Attacks Higher Education

Trump’s attacks on universities reveal how fascism operates with open criminality, facilitated by the politics of compromise of university leaders and corporate Democrats. Attacking equity and inclusion means that treating all people equally is formally rejected. MAGA offers only the rhetoric of white supremacy, since most working class whites won’t be able to afford higher ed or other “privileges.”

Reform and Revolution 2025

Automation is polarizing humanity into one camp possessing the vast wealth of society and the other without adequate means of survival. As this polarization becomes more extreme, the struggle for basic necessities must move from trying to reform the system toward revolutionary transformation.

The Fight Against Fascism in Oakland

It is time to go on the offensive by uniting unhoused people with tenants and the entire larger movement for housing.

Working Families Unite

Trump’s vendetta against Chicago began in his first term, when its people repeatedly expressed their hatred for his policies with mass protests, actually forcing Trump to cancel his appearance at the UIC Forum. Now ICE raids schools as families drop off and pick up their children. Veterans for Peace called on Illinois Governor Pritzker to offer sanctuary if members of the National Guard refuse to go to Chicago.

A New Urban Movement: Public Wealth For Public Good

In Chicago and New York the idea of “public wealth for public good” has led to calls for city-run grocery stores and fare-free transit. This challenges the belief that basic survival must be monetized. Can city government become a builder and provider – not to extract profit, but to deliver justice?

Searise

From the Editors: This poem was submitted to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Katrina disaster and the people’s heroic struggle.   Searise In a thousand years the...

The Fight Against Fascism in Oakland

By Oakland Basic Needs Electoral Committee (OBNEC) The current war on residents of Oakland, CA, is serving as a test case for the consolidation of...

Uniting Against Fascists to Defend Housing for All

It is time to go on the offensive by uniting unhoused people with tenants and the entire larger movement for housing.
Rally Logo
The League Logo

Available in the following language/s:

Copyright © Rally! / ¡Agrupémonos!

Verified by MonsterInsights