By James Thompson

The Houston Communist Party wholeheartedly commends the decision by the South Carolina legislature to take down the stars and bars from the state capital. This is only right given the tragedy that occurred in a Charleston church recently.

Although this is a great leap forward, it is only a beginning. So much more needs to be done throughout the country.

The previously posted article “Bring down all racist symbols!” opens a series on this website dealing with racist symbols throughout this country. People in the USA should remember that the people of Germany renounced all Nazi symbols after the conclusion of World War II (also called the Great Patriotic War in the Soviet Union).

While the propaganda machine in the USA lambastes other countries for human rights abuses, the USA has failed to formally renounce its own history of human rights abuse. “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?” (Matthew 7:3)

The people of the USA need to take a critical look at our history and begin the process of redemption and reconciliation.

Let us start at home in Houston. However, we won’t stop here.

There has been a recent effort to rename Dowling Street to Emancipation Avenue in Houston. It is clear that the time has come to do this and any effort to resist this progressive development can only be characterized as racist.  http://www.khou.com/story/news/local/neighborhood/2015/07/10/push-to-change-confederate-street-name-in-houston/29994145/

Much more needs to be done.

Houston’s most prestigious university, Rice University, was named after a vicious slaveholder, William Marsh Rice,  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Marsh_Rice . Rice accumulated a fabulous fortune from the labor of his slaves. The history of his life was a series of scandals and struggles to steal the wealth produced by his slaves. More research into the history of William Marsh Rice is needed but it is clear that it is a travesty for a prestigious university to be named after a slaveholding scoundrel. Graduates of Rice should renounce the racist history of their university and demand that the University be renamed. Further, it should be demanded that any descendents of the slaves which contributed to the wealth of William Marsh Rice and the University receive full scholarships for study at the University.

The Houston Communist Party welcomes any contributions about the issue of taking down racist symbols. Please submit to PHill1917@comcast.net .