Jon Hillson, ¡Presente!

Jon Hillson, ¡Presente!

From:      steve eckardt.
To:          Seeing_Red@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [SeeingRed] - Tributes to Jon Hillson
As some of you have already heard, Jon Hillson -- revolutionary fighter, tireless organizer, gifted writer and speaker -- died suddenly last week. This is a tremendous blow against both Cuba solidarity work, and the struggle to clarify and advance working people's need to fight and overturn the capitalist system.
Below please find information about the memorial meeting, and two moving and fitting tributes.
Solidarity,
Steve Eckardt
****************
Meeting to Celebrate the Life of Jon Hillson on March 7
Friends and Family of Jon Hillson would like to invite you to join us in celebrating Jon's contributions and life.
The meeting will be held on March 7 at the Romero Hall of the immigrant-rights organization, CARECEN, at 2845 W. 7th St. (cross street Hoover), Los Angeles, CA 90005.
Reception: 12 noon
Program to commence at 1 pm.
We would like to pass on information that United Airlines currently has a 48-hour special sale, lasting through today for the purchase of tickets. Visit www.united.com, or call 1-800-UNITED-1.
We request that friends and coworkers who have photos and articles by or about Jon contact Geoff Mirelowitz at
(GeoffandLisa@earthlink.net) about bringing them to the meeting.
Another mailing will be sent out shortly with Jon's obituary.
A memorial fund has been set up in his honor. Checks can be made out to MADRE. Money will be used to support Cuba solidarity work including the youth contingent that will travel to Cuba at the end of March and the Pathfinder "Books for Cuba" fund.
Checks made out to MADRE can be sent to Beverly Treumann, 6709 La Tijera Blvd., #824, Los Angeles, CA
90045-2017
**************
A Brief Tribute to Jon Hillson
By Ike Nahem
Co-coordinator, Cuba Solidarity New York
Jon Hillson died on January 29, 2004 of a massive heart attack. He was 54 years old and had a lifetime of revolutionary struggle behind him. Jon was a convinced Marxist, an uncompromising proletarian internationalist and dialectical materialist. With every fiber in his body Jon identified himself with the working class and the oppressed and exploited peoples of the world. This led him in his teens to embracing socialism and he never retreated from those principles.
Those who were fortunate to work with Jon in political activities know that he was an indefatigable and highly competent organizer. Jon had a razor-sharp wit and an antic, rollicking sense of humor rooted in a deep intelligence. Jon was a brilliant journalist and polemicist whose style merged flair and elegance. His highly charged, fiercely intelligent poems poured out ideas, history, and revolutionary passion at the speed of light.
Jon's book, The Battle of Boston, is a towering account of the struggle for school desegregation in Boston, of which he was an important participant. A compilation of Jon's literary output would constitute a comprehensive and invaluable chronicle of the class struggle, the fight against racism, and imperialist war in the United States and of world politics from the late 1960s to the turn of the Century. Jon's early output ran in the College Press Service and Liberation News Service. In the 1970s and 80s Jon wrote hundreds of articles for The Militant newspaper. Jon was a leader of the Young Socialist Alliance and a member of the Socialist Workers Party for over 20 years. He remained a political supporter of the SWP after ending his membership in the 1990s.
In the 1980s Jon was a leading activist in the solidarity movement with the Sandinista Revolution in Nicaragua and against the dirty, bloody contra war organized by Washington to destroy it. He visited Nicaragua on numerous occasions and was a sober, objective witness to the rise and fall of the Nicaraguan Revolution. It was in Nicaragua that Jon, at an intensive Spanish-language immersion school, met his companion and wife, Beverly Treumann, who was an instructor at the school.
Jon was deeply committed to the defense of the Cuban Revolution and its revolutionary communist leadership. He considered the Cuba leadership team built by Fidel Castro before and after the triumph of the Revolution to this day to be the foremost example of revolutionary leadership since the Bolshevik party and Communist International of Lenin were finally destroyed by the Stalinist counter-revolution in the Soviet Union. To Jon defense of the Cuban Revolution was the first trench in the fight to rebuild a revolutionary Marxist International.
In the last years of his life, he threw himself into Cuba solidarity work. He founded and was the co-coordinator of the Los Angeles Coalition in Solidarity With Cuba. The LA coalition was a sterling example of the Cuba work that was possible, as well as necessary, in the U.S.   The LA Coalition-with Jon's boundless energy, organizing skills, and political savvy, the driving force-organized tours of Cuban representatives in the LA area that were attended by thousands of people. The LA Coalition, working with the U.S-Cuba Youth Exchange, organized hundreds of LA-area youth and other on trips to Cuba. What was done in LA was an inspiration and example to the entire Cuba solidarity movement and helped lead to emulation in other cities. In articles printed in many newspapers and online, including in Cuba, Jon engaged us in all the questions of the Cuban Revolution, its history, its contemporary problems and challenges, and its revolutionary dynamics. Jon's polemics and educational pieces addressed to the Cuba solidarity movement registered his insistence on political clarity.
It is painful beyond words to come to grips with the fact that Jon will no longer be materially with us in the giant battles for the future of humanity that lie ahead of us. To strengthen us with his insights, to make us more effective with his organizing talents, and to keep us laughing with his wit and finely honed sarcasm. But Jon's contribution will continue, not only with his written legacy which must be collected and preserved, but with the renewed commitment of those Jon reached and inspired to continue his struggle, our struggle, against capitalist exploitation and world imperialism and its last Empire, centered in Washington, in defense and solidarity with socialist Cuba and its extension, and for the socialist future when humanity, led by the working class, conquers all exploitation, national oppression, racism, and sexism and constructs a worldwide community of human and labor solidarity.

Jon Hillson, ¡Presente!
Farewell, Comrade and Brother

**********************

FROM JUVENTUD REBELDE (Havana)
February 3, 2004
In memory of Jon Hillson
By Rosa Miriam Elizalde
Arleen Rodríguez woke me with news that was hard to believe: Jon Hillson was dead and a moment later her poignant e-mail arrived. I will let her words fill this column because it expresses a shared pain and the gratitude we owe our friend.
With his suggestive login - cubansovereignty - his last message he sent were two up dates on the Five and the announcement of a debate panel to demand the right of US citizens to travel to Cuba. The meeting called by the Los Angeles Solidarity with Cuba Coalition was scheduled for Friday the 30th. We don't know if it was held at all.
On Thursday 29, Jon Hillson, unconditional friend of the Revolution, and Marxist intellectual who dedicated his last breath to the fight for justice, gave his life and all his energy to the defense of the Cuban cause and the workers of the world. He died of a heart attack in Los Angeles. This was confirmed in his own e-mail. It seemed absurd: Memorial for Jon Hillson tomorrow, Sunday, February 1. His comrades and friends in the island were suddenly caught up between the initial bewilderment of a possibly (and hoped for) information error and the quick and shattering certainty of his death.
But it still sounded absurd. Everything seems possible except the loss of such a generous heart... and of such an energetic person. It is painfully true. Jon Hillson is dead. But, he must not be bid farewell. Not when his work of solidarity has left a fertile seed, capable of changing, one day, the irrational policy of the government of his country against the Revolution that he loved and always defended.
If so many unknown persons wrote to us now from the United States to share their pain over the premature death of Jon, many will keep his memory alive, following with something of what he did. I am thinking, mostly, of his extraordinary capacity to multiply to the world each word about Cuba and Fidel; to put a halt to any infamy, any campaign against the island, and answer with irrefutable arguments. He dedicated his body and soul to demonstrate that the administration is not the people of the United States; and he did not give an iota over to imperialism; he challenged any actions against the Five, victims of a trumped up trial.
Today we should read again the numerous and important articles John wrote in La Jiribilla publication. And, little by little, publish them. Although not a writer or a journalist, he used both professions through strength of convictions and necessities, as a communist in the US, to fight imperialist totalitarianism. The clarity of his thoughts, the deep questions he asked of economic and social truths of his country, together with the passion hegave us in solidarity, with no strings attached, placed him, a long time ago, on the list of central human beings.
No one should forget him.
Arleen Rodríguez Derivet

For our Fair Use of Copyrighted material Notice, please click on the ©.

From: steve eckardt. To: Seeing_Red@yahoogroups.com Subject: [SeeingRed] - Tributes to Jon Hillson As some of you have already heard, Jon Hillson -- revolutionary fighter, tireless organizer, gifted writer and speaker -- died suddenly last week. This is a tremendous blow against both Cuba solidarity work, and the struggle to clarify and advance working people's need to fight and overturn the capitalist system. Below please find information about the memorial meeting, and two moving and fitting tributes. Solidarity, Steve Eckardt ************** Meeting to Celebrate the Life of Jon Hillson on March 7 Friends and Family of Jon Hillson would like to invite you to join us in celebrating Jon's contributions and life. The meeting will be held on March 7 at the Romero Hall of the immigrant-rights organization, CARECEN, at 2845 W. 7th St. (cross street Hoover), Los Angeles, CA 90005. Reception: 12 noon Program to commence at 1 pm. We would like to pass on information that United Airlines currently has a 48-hour special sale, lasting through today for the purchase of tickets. Visit www.united.com, or call 1-800-UNITED-1. We request that friends and coworkers who have photos and articles by or about Jon contact Geoff Mirelowitz at (GeoffandLisa@earthlink.net) about bringing them to the meeting. Another mailing will be sent out shortly with Jon's obituary. A memorial fund has been set up in his honor. Checks can be made out to MADRE. Money will be used to support Cuba solidarity work including the youth contingent that will travel to Cuba at the end of March and the Pathfinder "Books for Cuba" fund. Checks made out to MADRE can be sent to Beverly Treumann, 6709 La Tijera Blvd., #824, Los Angeles, CA 90045-2017 ********** A Brief Tribute to Jon Hillson By Ike Nahem Co-coordinator, Cuba Solidarity New York Jon Hillson died on January 29, 2004 of a massive heart attack. He was 54 years old and had a lifetime of revolutionary struggle behind him. Jon was a convinced Marxist, an uncompromising proletarian internationalist and dialectical materialist. With every fiber in his body Jon identified himself with the working class and the oppressed and exploited peoples of the world. This led him in his teens to embracing socialism and he never retreated from those principles. Those who were fortunate to work with Jon in political activities know that he was an indefatigable and highly competent organizer. Jon had a razor-sharp wit and an antic, rollicking sense of humor rooted in a deep intelligence. Jon was a brilliant journalist and polemicist whose style merged flair and elegance. His highly charged, fiercely intelligent poems poured out ideas, history, and revolutionary passion at the speed of light. Jon's book, The Battle of Boston, is a towering account of the struggle for school desegregation in Boston, of which he was an important participant. A compilation of Jon's literary output would constitute a comprehensive and invaluable chronicle of the class struggle, the fight against racism, and imperialist war in the United States and of world politics from the late 1960s to the turn of the Century. Jon's early output ran in the College Press Service and Liberation News Service. In the 1970s and 80s Jon wrote hundreds of articles for The Militant newspaper. Jon was a leader of the Young Socialist Alliance and a member of the Socialist Workers Party for over 20 years. He remained a political supporter of the SWP after ending his membership in the 1990s. In the 1980s Jon was a leading activist in the solidarity movement with the Sandinista Revolution in Nicaragua and against the dirty, bloody contra war organized by Washington to destroy it. He visited Nicaragua on numerous occasions and was a sober, objective witness to the rise and fall of the Nicaraguan Revolution. It was in Nicaragua that Jon, at an intensive Spanish-language immersion school, met his companion and wife, Beverly Treumann, who was an instructor at the school. Jon was deeply committed to the defense of the Cuban Revolution and its revolutionary communist leadership. He considered the Cuba leadership team built by Fidel Castro before and after the triumph of the Revolution to this day to be the foremost example of revolutionary leadership since the Bolshevik party and Communist International of Lenin were finally destroyed by the Stalinist counter-revolution in the Soviet Union. To Jon defense of the Cuban Revolution was the first trench in the fight to rebuild a revolutionary Marxist International. In the last years of his life, he threw himself into Cuba solidarity work. He founded and was the co-coordinator of the Los Angeles Coalition in Solidarity With Cuba. The LA coalition was a sterling example of the Cuba work that was possible, as well as necessary, in the U.S. The LA Coalition-with Jon's boundless energy, organizing skills, and political savvy, the driving force-organized tours of Cuban representatives in the LA area that were attended by thousands of people. The LA Coalition, working with the U.S-Cuba Youth Exchange, organized hundreds of LA-area youth and other on trips to Cuba. What was done in LA was an inspiration and example to the entire Cuba solidarity movement and helped lead to emulation in other cities. In articles printed in many newspapers and online, including in Cuba, Jon engaged us in all the questions of the Cuban Revolution, its history, its contemporary problems and challenges, and its revolutionary dynamics. Jon's polemics and educational pieces addressed to the Cuba solidarity movement registered his insistence on political clarity. It is painful beyond words to come to grips with the fact that Jon will no longer be materially with us in the giant battles for the future of humanity that lie ahead of us. To strengthen us with his insights, to make us more effective with his organizing talents, and to keep us laughing with his wit and finely honed sarcasm. But Jon's contribution will continue, not only with his written legacy which must be collected and preserved, but with the renewed commitment of those Jon reached and inspired to continue his struggle, our struggle, against capitalist exploitation and world imperialism and its last Empire, centered in Washington, in defense and solidarity with socialist Cuba and its extension, and for the socialist future when humanity, led by the working class, conquers all exploitation, national oppression, racism, and sexism and constructs a worldwide community of human and labor solidarity. Jon Hillson, ¡Presente! Farewell, Comrade and Brother ******************** FROM JUVENTUD REBELDE (Havana) February 3, 2004 In memory of Jon Hillson By Rosa Miriam Elizalde Arleen Rodríguez woke me with news that was hard to believe: Jon Hillson was dead and a moment later her poignant e-mail arrived. I will let her words fill this column because it expresses a shared pain and the gratitude we owe our friend. With his suggestive login - cubansovereignty - his last message he sent were two up dates on the Five and the announcement of a debate panel to demand the right of US citizens to travel to Cuba. The meeting called by the Los Angeles Solidarity with Cuba Coalition was scheduled for Friday the 30th. We don't know if it was held at all. On Thursday 29, Jon Hillson, unconditional friend of the Revolution, and Marxist intellectual who dedicated his last breath to the fight for justice, gave his life and all his energy to the defense of the Cuban cause and the workers of the world. He died of a heart attack in Los Angeles. This was confirmed in his own e-mail. It seemed absurd: Memorial for Jon Hillson tomorrow, Sunday, February 1. His comrades and friends in the island were suddenly caught up between the initial bewilderment of a possibly (and hoped for) information error and the quick and shattering certainty of his death. But it still sounded absurd. Everything seems possible except the loss of such a generous heart... and of such an energetic person. It is painfully true. Jon Hillson is dead. But, he must not be bid farewell. Not when his work of solidarity has left a fertile seed, capable of changing, one day, the irrational policy of the government of his country against the Revolution that he loved and always defended. If so many unknown persons wrote to us now from the United States to share their pain over the premature death of Jon, many will keep his memory alive, following with something of what he did. I am thinking, mostly, of his extraordinary capacity to multiply to the world each word about Cuba and Fidel; to put a halt to any infamy, any campaign against the island, and answer with irrefutable arguments. He dedicated his body and soul to demonstrate that the administration is not the people of the United States; and he did not give an iota over to imperialism; he challenged any actions against the Five, victims of a trumped up trial. Today we should read again the numerous and important articles John wrote in La Jiribilla publication. And, little by little, publish them. Although not a writer or a journalist, he used both professions through strength of convictions and necessities, as a communist in the US, to fight imperialist totalitarianism. The clarity of his thoughts, the deep questions he asked of economic and social truths of his country, together with the passion hegave us in solidarity, with no strings attached, placed him, a long time ago, on the list of central human beings. No one should forget him. Arleen Rodríguez Derivet