Revolutionary Portraits

The People's House, not the White House

In a disgusting display, the portraits of war criminal Barack Obama and his wife, Michele, were unveiled at the White House on Wednesday.

President Biden @POTUS

Together, Barack and Michelle made history. With grace and class, they generated hope for millions of people who were left behind for so long. And as of today, their portraits will display on the walls of this sacred place – the People’s House – forever.

This isn’t really noteworthy, but the phrasing “The People’s House” got me thinking about what the White House would really look like if it were the People’s House. Whose portraits would be on the walls? As it stands, the portraits are tributes to war criminals and enemies of the working class - and yes, that includes Jimmy Carter.

But after the revolution, if we don’t burn it down, how should the People’s House be decorated? Here are a few suggestions.

Chief Little Turtle

Leader of the Miami tribe, Chief Little Turtle helped lead the natives that won the Battle of the Wabash on November 4, 1791 - inflicting perhaps the greatest defeat in history on the United States military. Out of 1,000 men under Arthur St. Claire, only 24 escaped unharmed. This battle is strangely missing from most US history books. Little Turtle and his fellow warriors and chiefs Blue Jacket and Buckongahelas should be remembered for their struggle against colonization and being one of the first people’s to defeat the newly formed United States. His portrait deserves a prominent place in the People’s House.

Harriet Tubman

We are far more familiar with Harriet Tubman than Chief Little Turtle. She helped to free slaves and fight the Confederacy during the Civil War and afterwards was at the forefront of the struggle for women’s suffrage. As the first woman to lead a raid in the war, she liberated 700 slaves at Combahee Ferry. She did not drone strike a single wedding.

Dolores Huerta

Labor and civil rights activist, co-founder of the National Farmworkers Association with Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta has been arrested 22 times during protests. She was a main organizer of the Delano Grape Strike. Considering her legacy, we must forgive her for endorsing Hillary Clinton in the 2016 campaign.

Eugene V. Debs

Of course I couldn’t write this without putting Eugene V. Debs in a prominent place in the People’s House. Marxist, labor organizer, 5 time presidential candidate, co-founder of the Socialist Party and the Industrial Workers of the World. Eugene V. Debs was thrown into prison for opposing World War I. Biden is being lauded by pundits as he toys with starting World War III.

Bobby Seale

Co-founder of the Black Panther Party with Huey P. Newton, Bobby Seale was a true revolutionary. He fought for the people. During the trial of the Chicago 8, Bobby Seale was bound and gagged and chained to his chair by orders of the judge. He would be sentenced to four years in prison for contempt of court, revealing the injustices of the “justice” system. Unlike Obama, who started five new wars while in office, he only participated in the class war and was not responsible for killing any civilians.

Victor L. Berger

It was Victor Berger who was responsible for giving Eugene V. Debs a copy of Capital while he was in prison. He would later be elected as the first socialist in congress and convicted under the espionage act for opposing World War I. He was re-elected to congress while under federal indictment, but not allowed to take his seat as a convicted felon. He also introduced a resolution to abolish the senate. Although he was a reformist of the Bernstein school and at times counter revolutionary, he was an important part of the socialist history of the United States.

And Many More

There are countless others who should be included - Lucy Parsons, Emma Goldman, Bernardine Dohrn, Angela Davis, Assata Shakur, Fred Hampton, Sitting Bull, Geronimo, Chief Joseph, Quanah Parker, Jose Cha Cha Jimenez, William "Preacherman" Fesperman, Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, and so many more. Rather than a chamber of portraits full of dead patriarchal war criminals, the People’s House should be filled with revolutionaries and champions of the people. It should also be filled with artwork and photos of the people.

Something like this mural by Diego Rivera would definitely fit the theme.

Pullman Strikers facing off with the National Guard during the great Pullman Strike of 1894.

Labor organizers during the Ludlow strike

Newspaper headline from the Battle of Blair Mountain when the government dropped bombs on striking mine workers.

Occupy Wall Street - photo by David Shankbone, Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

Perhaps one day the White House will actually be the People’s House and no longer a monument to white supremacy and oppression. That will be a beautiful day and the portraits and artwork we set up inside it will reflect that reality. Until then, we must keep organizing and educating on why we must replace the capitalist system with revolutionary socialism.