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Line of March collection
HLL.2019.019
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Table of contents
Contributing Institution:
Holt Labor Library at CSU Dominguez Hills
Title: Line of March collection
Identifier/Call Number: HLL.2019.019
Physical Description:
.42 Linear Feet
Date (inclusive): 1977-1987, undated
Abstract: The collections contains reports, study materials, and publications regarding Line of March, a trend within the Marxist-Leninist
anti-revisionist rectification movement that was centered around the
Line of March journal.
Language of Material: Collection material is in English.
Line of March (1980-1989) was a trend within the Marxist-Leninist rectification network, an anti-revisionist movement that
opposed the Khrushchev's reforms in the USSR and the Communist Party of China (CPC) after Mao. It was among other components
of an anti-dogmatist trend that included the Communist Party USA, the Maoist New Communist Movement, the Organizing Committee
for an Ideological Center (OCIC), and groupings united around the
Theoretical Review journal and the
Guardian newspaper. The rectification network began in 1976 and was initially led by the Union of Democratic Filipinos, the Northern
California Alliance, and the Third World Women's Alliance. Rectification leaders developed close ties with
Guardian staff members, including executive editor Irwin Silber, leading to rectification network members joining the Guardian Clubs,
which became the National Network of Marxist-Leninist Clubs (NNMSC) in March 1979. In the Spring of 1980, the rectification
network issued a journal called
Line of March: a Marxist-Leninist Journal of Rectification, which attempted to develop leadership for the movement by articulating and solidifying its central ideas and establishing
its views on various political and theoretical questions. The trend developed study projects that were inspired by the Soviet
Union Study Project, and established a regular Marxist-Leninist discussion forum that utilized study guides and supplementary
readings that complemented journal articles in the
Line of March journal. Those education initiatives led to the formation of the Marxist-Leninist Education Project (MLEP), which served
as a proto future party school and had the capacity to educate hundreds of activists about Marxist-Leninism fundamentalism.
Line of March later became the Frontline Political Organization, and then Crossroads, which was founded in conjunction with
the Freedom Road Socialist Organization.
Bibliography:
Elbaum, M. and M. Paras (1980). "The Theory and Practice of the Rectification Movement."
Line of March, 1(3). https://www.marxists.org/history/erol/ncm-6/lom-theory.htm
"Line of March." KeyWiki. 8 September 2018. https://keywiki.org/Line_of_March
"The New Communist Movement: Anti-Dogmatists Unable to Unite, 1978-1980."
Encyclopedia of Anti-Revisionism On-Line. https://www.marxists.org/history/erol/ncm-6/index.htm#rectification
The collection is alphabetically arranged in one series.
The collection was processed by Allison Ransom in August 2020.
For information about citing archival material, see the
Citations for Archival Material guide, or consult the appropriate style manual.
The Line of March collection was donated to the Holt Labor Library in San Francisco, California between 1992 and 2019, and
were acquired by the Gerth Archives and Special Collections at California State University, Dominguez Hills, in 2019.
There are no access restrictions on this collection.
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Director of Archives
and Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical
materials and not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.
The Line of March collection (1977-1987, undated) comprises bulletins, journals, pamphlets, and newsletters that reflect
the trend's central ideas and views on various political and theoreticeal questions. It also includes reports regarding its
organizing party lines and discussion group study guides.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Communism -- United States
Line of March (1980-1989)