American Youth for Democracy
| Young Communist League of the United States of America |
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|---|---|
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| Chairperson | Mike Almonte, Mike Flynn, Eric Dewaters, Kane D'Mello, Bri Astorino |
| Founded | 1920 |
| Ideology |
Communism Marxism–Leninism |
| International affiliation | World Federation of Democratic Youth |
| Website | |
The Young Communist League USA (YCLUSA) was a communist youth organization in the United States. The stated aim of the League was the development of its members into Communists, through studying Marxism–Leninism and through active participation in the struggles of the American working class. The YCL recognised the Communist Party as the party for socialism in the United States and operated as the Party's youth wing. Although the name of the group changed a number of times during its existence, its origins trace back to 1920, shortly after the establishment of the first communist parties in the United States.
Although independent, in its final years the organization came under direct control of the CPUSA. After a backlash by members towards the suspension of elections and ideological shifts towards the right, membership plummeted. On November 14, 2015, the CPUSA's National Committee voted to suspend funding to the Young Communist League. However, individual state districts continue the Marxist-Leninist tradition of supporting local youth chapters including the Texas, New York, Ohio, and Connecticut districts.
The 1920 split of the Socialist Party of America affected its youth section as well, the Young People's Socialist League (YPSL). The YPSL declared itself an independent organization in the fall of 1919, sympathetic to the left wing which had been expelled or left the party. A portion of this "Independent Young People's Socialist League" organization dropped out from activity during this period, while the group's officials, including in the first place Executive Secretary Oliver Carlson, attempted to steer the group to a position of neutrality between the two warring factions of American communism, the Communist Party of America and the Communist Labor Party of America.
As early as 1920, a skeleton of a "Young People's Communist League" was in existence. This minuscule, largely paper organization sent a fraternal delegate to the 2nd Convention of the United Communist Party, held at Kingston, New York from December 24, 1920 to January 2, 1921. A report was delivered by this delegate on the youth situation in America and the convention at this time first decided to establish a serious youth section, to be called the Young Communist League. The resolution passed by the convention pledged the UCP would provide its youth section assistance by helping to produce and distribute its literature, by helping to gain control of existing units of the Independent YPSL and organizing them into communist groups, by helping to organize new units, by providing it financial assistance, by lending it speakers and teachers, and by allotting it space in the official party periodicals. The establishment of a parallel "aboveground" to the technically illegal YCL was called for.
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