Sunsara Taylor at University of Hawai’i April 13
“I’m here because of the fact that every night I look over my shoulder walking home…and the fact that the women-discriminating society we live in needs and HAS to change!”
They came because they are sick of the oppression women face every day. They came because the title of the talk provoked their interest. They came because they want revolution. Many came because they’d seen the posters and leaflets that blanketed the campus. Others heard it from professors who announced the talk in their classes. Or they heard the announcements on college radio, or had seen the Burkha-Thong skit on community television.
120 people, more than half of them students, sat in rapt attention as Sunsara Taylor sketched out some of the many ways women around the world are oppressed. She named the victims, and told their stories. Some in the audience shook their heads in disbelief as she told about a young woman in the Congo who was raped by soldiers, and followed it with a similar story of an Iraqi girl raped by U.S. soldiers. As she related the story of a young woman in Richmond who was beaten and raped outside of her homecoming dance a student whispered to her friend: “Is that really true?” Many commented afterwards that they were shocked that so many countries had such horrific laws against abortion, and said: “We can’t let that happen here.”
As Sunsara invited the audience to look around the room and recognize that many of the women in the room have been raped, sexually assaulted, or ridiculed because their sexual desires don’t conform to heterosexual norms, a ripple went through the crowd as eyes connected with well-known LGBT activists sitting in the front rows, or soul-mates who had told their own stories who were sitting beside them. It felt as though the audience suddenly shared the pain of what it means to be a woman in this society.
When Sunsara moved on to get into culture, the audience listened intently. The title of the talk had provoked discussion among professors and in some classes over whether a white woman from the U.S. had the right to criticize the burkha. To hear someone say “culture is not sacred” was a show-stopper but the audience traveled through that door. After the talk one woman commented: “I did not know about the history of the burkha. I was surprised to learn that it was forced on the women and many fought against it.” A young Pacific Islander woman told about how she’s been trying to learn and practice her culture, but that some of her own beliefs about women’s roles in society collide with traditions of her culture and that said she was happy to hear about a new way to look at culture.
Everything was quiet as Sunsara said “I am a communist”, followed it up quickly by referring to the “little voice in your head that asks: ‘Did she just say she was a communist?’,” and then challenged the audience to become one too. The talk introduced the audience to the scientific theory of communism and revolution, and to the new synthesis brought forward by Bob Avakian. The lights did not go out. The audience just seemed to get curiouser and curiouser about the connection between culture and communism, between feminism and communism, and just who is Bob Avakian anyway?
When Sunsara ended her talk there was a spontaneous outburst of applause, as an especially enthusiastic crowd of women at the rear of the auditorium shouted their appreciation. This was surprising in Hawai`i, where audiences often clap politely at the end of a talk but such outbursts are unusual.
Students and others raised thought-provoking questions during the Q&A. A Vietnamese student related the story of his parents and their experience with “communism” in Vietnam, and questioned whether the theory of communism (which he liked), could actually be implemented in practice. A woman asked what evidence Sunsara had for singling out the military for especially egregious and systematic violence against women, and suggested that in her experience the military was more willing than most employers to hear the grievances of women. Another agreed with revolution, but questioned how it could happen without violence. Sunsara invited questioning and debate, and treated every question seriously and with respect.
Many students filled out questionnaires after the talk that revealed much more about the sentiments of the audience than the Q&A session had. “Now I’m thinking, ‘What if every thought I have about myself as a woman has been drilled into me and not developed on my own?’” “I agree there needs to be change. I know of too many armchair liberals who have the time and brains to be active in making change, but do not feel the push to.” “I had never heard of this revolution before. It was the first time I was really exposed to these ideas of communism.” A woman commenting after the talk said that hearing about the communist party was the part of the talk she most enjoyed and that she wanted to learn more. Another candidly remarked that: “I agreed with what Sunsara had to say about women and women’s oppression, but I’m still not sure about the whole communism thing.”
In the wake of this talk new questions are being raised. New insights are being discussed. As one Women’s Studies instructor wrote: “This talk was, for me, another reality check of the imperialist and SICK society that absorbs our thoughts and becomes invisible. MAKE IT VISIBLE!...It is so rare that we have such a might and tremendous activist come to speak at our university. Thank you Revolution Books, and thank you Sunsara!”
