Ernie Tate
Encyclopedia
Ernest Tate, known as Ernie Tate, is a long-standing supporter of the reunified Fourth International
, based in Canada
.
Born in Northern Ireland
, Tate was recruited by Ross Dowson
into the Canadian section of the Fourth International. In the late 1960s, he went from North America to Great Britain
to work with supporters of International to solidify the young International Marxist Group
, of which he became a leader. Ernie and fellow Canadian Pat Brain worked side by side with Bertrand Russell
in the Russell Tribunal
set up to investigate US war crimes in Vietnam.
The famous beating of Tate in 1966 by supporters of Gerry Healy
was a cause célèbre
within the world Trotskyist movement. One of his recruits to the IMG was Tariq Ali
.
Tate was one of two members of the Vietnam Solidarity Campaign
organising committee for the demonstration against the Vietnam war in London in October 1968 who successfully opposed a proposal to halt the march in Whitehall, which would have caused unnecessary confrontation with the police and a degeneration into violence. He was thus instrumental in ensuring that the 200,000 participants passed through London peacefully, despite dire prognostications in the press and on television (who reported the march but also gave undue coverage to a simultaneous 5,000-strong violent counter-protest by Maoists attacking the United States Embassy). As a result, opposition to the war grew enormously in Britain at the same time as in the United States.
Tate was a founder of the Leninist Trotskyist Tendency in 1973. He returned to Canada in 1969.
Reunified Fourth International
The Fourth International is a Trotskyist international. In 1963, the majorities of the two public factions of the Fourth International, the International Secretariat and the International Committee, reunited, electing a United Secretariat of the Fourth International...
, based in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Born in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
, Tate was recruited by Ross Dowson
Ross Dowson
Ross Jewitt Dowson was a Canadian Trotskyist political figure.-Early life:Dowson joined the Trotskyist movement as a teenager during the Great Depression. The Canadian Trotskyist movement collapsed at the beginning of World War II as leaders such as Jack MacDonald, Maurice Spector and Earle Birney...
into the Canadian section of the Fourth International. In the late 1960s, he went from North America to Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
to work with supporters of International to solidify the young International Marxist Group
International Marxist Group
The International Marxist Group was a Trotskyist group in Britain between 1968 and 1982. It was the British Section of the Fourth International. It and its youth organisation had had around 1,000 members and supporters in the late 1970s...
, of which he became a leader. Ernie and fellow Canadian Pat Brain worked side by side with Bertrand Russell
Bertrand Russell
Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, OM, FRS was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, historian, and social critic. At various points in his life he considered himself a liberal, a socialist, and a pacifist, but he also admitted that he had never been any of these things...
in the Russell Tribunal
Russell Tribunal
The Russell Tribunal, also known as the International War Crimes Tribunal or Russell-Sartre Tribunal, was a public body organized by British philosopher Bertrand Russell and hosted by French philosopher and playwright Jean-Paul Sartre...
set up to investigate US war crimes in Vietnam.
The famous beating of Tate in 1966 by supporters of Gerry Healy
Gerry Healy
Thomas Gerard Healy, known as Gerry Healy , was a political activist, a co-founder of the International Committee of the Fourth International, and, according to former prominent U.S. supporter David North, the leader of the Trotskyist movement in Great Britain between 1950 – 1985...
was a cause célèbre
Cause célèbre
A is an issue or incident arousing widespread controversy, outside campaigning and heated public debate. The term is particularly used in connection with celebrated legal cases. It is a French phrase in common English use...
within the world Trotskyist movement. One of his recruits to the IMG was Tariq Ali
Tariq Ali
Tariq Ali , , is a British Pakistani military historian, novelist, journalist, filmmaker, public intellectual, political campaigner, activist, and commentator...
.
Tate was one of two members of the Vietnam Solidarity Campaign
Vietnam Solidarity Campaign
The Vietnam Solidarity Campaign was originally set up in 1966 by activists around the International Group with the personal and financial support of Bertrand Russell....
organising committee for the demonstration against the Vietnam war in London in October 1968 who successfully opposed a proposal to halt the march in Whitehall, which would have caused unnecessary confrontation with the police and a degeneration into violence. He was thus instrumental in ensuring that the 200,000 participants passed through London peacefully, despite dire prognostications in the press and on television (who reported the march but also gave undue coverage to a simultaneous 5,000-strong violent counter-protest by Maoists attacking the United States Embassy). As a result, opposition to the war grew enormously in Britain at the same time as in the United States.
Tate was a founder of the Leninist Trotskyist Tendency in 1973. He returned to Canada in 1969.
External links
- The British Left and the Anti-Imperialist Struggle, Socialist OutlookSocialist OutlookSocialist Outlook was either of two publications edited by supporters of the Fourth International in Britain.-The first Socialist Outlook:...
- Resistance on the Mexican "Riviera"