The Communist Party USA (CPUSA) is conducting a period of discussion to engage party members, allies, friends and the public in a deliberation of party policy, politics, practices and the issues of the day leading up to and through the 30th National Convention, June 13-15, 2014 in Chicago, IL. The discussion officially begins February 1, 2014 and runs through the close of the convention.

The Party’s National Committee has approved a discussion grouped into six broad topical areas but not in any way limited to these themes. Contributions to the discussion will be accepted in written and video form and will be reviewed by the Convention Discussion Committee. Contributions by Party Commissions, Working Groups and leading bodies have been solicited for contributions to get the discussion started. All Party statements, reports and decisions since the last Convention are, of course, also up for discussion.

We encourage serious, well thought-out and well-written contributions to the discussion. The discussion’s main aim is to asses the Party, its work and the state of the working-class, its movements and national and world developments since the last convention. Any topic or issue is open for discussion. Contributors are strongly encouraged to read the “framing documents” in each topical area before preparing a contribution. The framing documents pose questions and identify some key development to help generate ideas for examination in the discussion. Contributions need not be limited to the questions and issues posed in the framing documents. Contributions should strive to relate to existing or projected Party policies, politics and practices. The best contributions will be based on concrete experiences and research and not be purely based on opinion or conjecture. Resolutions, Constitutional amendments and motions for action at the Convention and all new contributions must be submitted by May 30, 2014 and will be referred to the Resolutions Committee at that time.

All accepted contributions will be available online at the websites of the Communist Party and Political Affairs as well as our social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter). We will use the hashtag #CPUSA95 to track convention-related discussion in social media.

CPUSA members, bodies and collectives are encouraged to submit responses, essays, videos, audio recordings, papers and other contributions to the discussion in order to help determine party policy going forward from the Convention. Individuals, leaders and allies who are not members of the Communist Party are welcome to submit contributions. Submissions may be sent to discussion@cpusa.org or mailed to Convention Discussion, Communist Party USA, 235 West 23rd Street, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10011.

The name and district of the author must be included with all submissions by members. Non-members should include name, city and state.

Contributions in English or Spanish will be considered for publication. We cannot commit to translate all materials. All submissions should be thoroughly edited and proofread. Please attach a word processing file (Microsoft Word, or Open Office) or link to a Google Document for text submissions. Text email alone will not be accepted. We may return poor quality submissions to be edited and formatted properly. We do not do copy editing, proofreading or spellchecking. Please make sure your contribution is ready for publication.

Video submission may be made using Youtube, Vimeo or other online video hosting platform. Submit the link for consideration to be posted to the discussion. We cannot edit or prepare video files for you.

Written contributions may be no longer than 1400 words or 7 minutes of audio or video content. Contributions longer than these limits may be considered from Party Commissions or collective bodies. Final venue for publication will be up to the Convention Organizing Committee. Extremely short contributions, comments or replies will not be considered. Shorter items should be shared in the members-only forum or on social media.

In addition to written submissions, much of the deliberation will take place in local events, group discussions, teleconferences and video chats organized by Party Clubs, Districts, Commissions and the National Office.

A members-only online discussion will be conducted at http://forum.cpusa.org. Members must register for the discussion forums on the site. Membership must be confirmed with the local District or National Office before you can participate. All Party rules and discussion guidelines apply in the members-only forums along with the forum community standards.

The Communist Party will not accept contributions that are offensive, profane, defamatory, racist, sexist, homophobic, anti-working class, anti-communist or violate the principles of the CPUSA Constitution. Personal attacks are not allowed. Anyone that repeatedly or flagrantly violate these guidelines may be barred from discussion venues.

All written or recorded contributions should be sent to discussion@cpusa.org for consideration. Do not send submissions to other individuals or bodies for submission.

To see the list of Convention Discussion contributions, visit cpusa.org/convention-discussion

A periodical email newsletter will notify subscribers to new contributions and events. You can sign up at cpusa.org/subscribe

The views and opinions expressed in the Convention Discussion are those of the author alone. The Communist Party is publishing these views as a service to encourage discussion and debate. Those views do not necessarily reflect the views of the Communist Party, its leading bodies or staff members. The CPUSA Constitution, Program, and all its existing policies remain in effect during the Convention discussion period and during the Convention.

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