Hearings regarding the communist infiltration of the motion picture industry. Hearings before the Committee on Un-American Activities, House of Representatives, Eightieth Congress, first session. Public law 601 (section 121, subsection Q (1947)

506 COMMUNISM IN MOTION PICTURE INDUSTRY Theater jfi'onps developing forms of workers' education. Our comrades must utilize — get firmer gi-asp of cultural activity. * * ♦ . Think of the fund of cultru'al tradition that can he exploited among tlie Negro groups in line with the emi)hasis that Comrade Hi'owder has given in his report for the general need for vitalizing our activity among national groups. Think of the tasks among the Negro i)eople. In the Negro Peoide's Theater of Richni(md, Va.. a start was made througli some assistance of certain comrades in New York. Harlem Suitcase Theater. Actual demand tVtr cultural ecjuality of Negroes must hecome part of our struggle for Negro culture. Remove discrimination against Xcgro people. And remove the condition of making Negroes menials in the hall of culture. American youth: A s])ecial duty on our party, our resolve to give increased guidance and a.ssistance to YCL centering on cultural work. Work among women: I^eadership shown must he emi)hasize<i and developed in terms of their special prohlems. Consider tlie children and their cultural demand.s — winning; through them their families. Basis for tlie.se developments in orgaiiizati(tns such as Artists Congress. American Artists Union. League of American Wi-iters. Similar work in this tield has heen done hy Tlieater Arts Committee for Peace and Democracy with its splendid radio division. Note with special aiipreciation the work d<me by Comrade Reid in helping estahlish this organization. New Theatre League <loing educational work in trade unions and mass organizations and which has hrought forward a series of excellent playlets hefor«>audiences in many towns and cities. Frontier Films: Its Heart of Spain ;ind China Strikes hack. Associated Film Audiences stopped the showing of Siege of Alcazar. Choruses, nuisicians, d;mcers, entertainment unions. WPA projects: camiiaigu for the enactment of Federal art hill is now in full swing and shouli! h.Mvr thefull support of the party. Puhlications : New .Ahisses, Daily Worl^er. colninu of .Mike (Jold. PROBLEMS How can we coordinate cultural activities witli the movement as a whole. We need a far more positive approach to cultural work : to realize the opjiortunities of cultiu'al movements that mass agitation otTer to our pai-ty. This approach of necessity will lead to the solution of the second problem, th;it of developing cultural persoiuiel in our part.v. We liave made advances; yet in regard to the opportunities and in general needs we have scarcely made a turn. AVe have still in our party a certain evil remaining from the past — tlie evil of pulling up stal^es. We should recognize that there is still a tendency in the committees, units, etc., to divert the comrades doing cultural work to assign them to new work. It is an indication of development when a comrade shows himself tit to be transferred to varied activities. We should not discourage such transfers. But we sliould bear in mind — concern must always he given to condition of the work that tlie comrade has heen doing so there will not he pulling up of stakes, which we have got rid of successfidly in many tields of our endeavor. In dealing further with the question of coordinating the work, we can only speak experimentally. We have done so little because actually we are groping for particulars, methods in building UTp coordinating activity. We liave liad in certain districts, and in certain sections, certain enterprising districts ami swtions, cultural committees that have undertaken to do work set up by districts and committees. In the course of recent months we have made a survey of certain of these committees. We found in many instances that these committees, while doing certain valuable worlv, did not always yield the fruits that the planters had looked for; and in examining causes we foiuid that committees were left to drift for themselves. They were invested with too much autonomy. Expei'ience would show us that where .such cultural committees are established by sections it is best to regard them as subcommittees, let us say, of the education and organization committees, or if a separate counnittee, apart from the e<lucational committee, then responsible to the lending committee of the section to which it gives regular reports and a counts of its activities, having its activities placed on the agenda for review, discussion, atid plaiHiing. Without this they will really be drifting. They need integrated cultural committees. If we examine the way a committee has been set up, we