Merle Ratner

Biography

Merle E. Ratner
Biography

Currently:

  • Co-Coordinator, Vietnam Agent Orange Relief & Responsibility Campaign
  • Longtime member of LeftRoots, an organization dedicated to the development of strategy for socialist revolution in the US and strategists, especially from social movements.
  • Member of the core of Left Strategies, an attempt to cohere the U.S. communist and left movements  around the development of left strategy and practice
  • Member of the Board, Laundry Workers Center United, a grass roots worker’s organization organizing food service and laundry workers in the New York area
  • Occasional writer for Sài Gòn Giải Phóng
  • Employed as Program Director, International Commission for Labor Rights—a progressive labor rights organization which supports workers and unions in the U.S. and internationally

Background:

  • Became active in 1969 at age of 13 – in the anti-war movement; first arrested at age 13 in demonstration linking racism and the war in Vietnam at the UN (modeled after Patterson’s We Charge Genocide campaign); was arrested many times in demonstrations in New York and at the White House in Washington; took part in hanging and chaining an anti-war banner on the outside of the Statue of Liberty

  • In high school and college continued to be active in anti-war movement: worked with People’s Coalition for Peace and Justice PCPJ (the major National anti-war coalition) and Harrisburg Defense Committee; In high school also took part in anti-racist student activities at High School of Music and Art

  • Worked at the Center for Constitutional Rights doing prison rights and anti-racist work with prisoners and people in community; continued to work in the anti-war movement with PCPJ and Indochina Peace Campaign (IPC) until 1975; at the same time, began to work in anti-imperialist coalitions with groups such as Union of Democratic Filipinos (KDP), Union of Vietnamese in the U.S., MINP El Comite, Committee for Democratic Palestine, and to study Marxism.

  • After 1975, was a co-founder of the Committee in Solidarity with Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos and later on, the National Network of Indochina Activists; also became active in Korea solidarity work and helped found the Committee in Solidarity with the Korean People which opposed US intervention in Korea

  • In the early 1980’s joined Line of March (a Marxist Leninist Group) and continued to be active in international solidarity work, including efforts initiated by Nicaraguan and Salvadoran activists to form a coordinating committee for solidarity activities; became active in Palestine solidarity activities; in 1985 was co-chair for a large celebration of the 10th anniversary of the liberation of Vietnam

  • In the late 80’s, continued to be active in international work around Vietnam and Korea; traveled to Vietnam four times (and Cambodia twice) from 1985 to 1991 and traveled to Cuba and the DPRK in 1990; helped to start the National Network on Cuba

  • In the early 90’s joined Committees of Correspondence and became the chair of its national peace & solidarity task force as well as a member of its National Coordinating Committee and socialist study project; continued Vietnam solidarity work, arranging the first US speaking tour of a Vietnamese combat veteran and co-sponsoring the first visit of Vietnamese trade union representatives; worked on national campaigns to achieve the normalization of relations with Vietnam

  • Have hosted or assisted in hosting numerous delegations from Vietnam, including delegations from the National Religious Commission, the Vietnam Women’s Union, the Ho Chi Minh Political Academy, the Vietnam – US Society, etc.  Have worked to build opposition to US interference in Vietnam’s internal affairs and to oppose the so called human rights acts of the US right wing

  • In 2000 was Co-Coordinator an all day conference and celebration of the 25th anniversary of the complete liberation of Vietnam

  • Organized several commemorations of the birthday of President Ho Chi Minh and has spoken widely about his political legacy for our movements today

  • From 2001-2005 took part in anti-war protests and organizing against the US war and occupation of Iraq. Was part of the program committee for the founding conference of United For Peace & Justice

  • In 2004 helped to initiate the Vietnam Agent Orange Relief & Responsibility Campaign to gain justice for Vietnam’s Agent Orange victims and assure that the US government and chemical companies pay compensation; organized 6 national speaking tours of Vietnamese Agent Orange survivors since 2005

  • In 2005 spent 3 months in Vietnam, hosted by the Ho Chi Minh Political Academy and was part of the international delegation to the celebration of the 30th Anniversary of the Liberation of South Vietnam; in 2007-8 and 2009-2010 spent 2 months in Vietnam working with the Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin, the Vietnam Women’s Union and the Vietnam Union of Friendship

  • In 1996 joined the Board of Directors of the Brecht Forum/NY Marxist School & served as the Co-Chair of the Program Committee Co-Chair and Member of the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of the Brecht Forum/NY Marxist School- 2004-2010; member of the Board of Directors- 2012 to 2014 (Unfortunately, the school went bankrupt in 2014)

  • Co-convener of a seminar in Marxist Theory and Practice Today conducted together with the Ho Chi Minh Political Academy in December, 2009

  • Co-organizer of the Viet Roots delegation of young Vietnamese American leftists which traveled to Vietnam in 2013 at the invitation of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union. (Did not travel with group but helped to conduct a 1 ½ year preparation and study process together with Ngo Thanh Nhan)

  • LeftRoots was founded in 2013 to transform two major underdevelopments in the US movement: a lack of grounded revolutionary strategy and a lack of strategists who could carry out and synthesize that work as part of mass struggle (https://leftroots.net).

    Within LeftRoots, Merle was a much-loved mentor and educator on Marxist theory and revolutionary strategy and practice. In addition to testifying how being part of the organization had expanded her social and emotional capacities, she helped to build principled relationships with a range of Left organizations in the US.