No Life Like It: A Tribute to the Revolutionary Activism of Ernie Tate

Social Movements • June 13, 2021

An internationalist tribute to the life, activism and legacy of Ernie Tate (1934-2021). Ernie Tate believed capitalism is a cruel and unjust system that has to be changed. Ernie was … Watch video »

An internationalist tribute to the life, activism and legacy of Ernie Tate (1934-2021).

Ernie Tate believed capitalism is a cruel and unjust system that has to be changed. Ernie was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland in 1934 and emigrated to Canada in 1955. As a Marxist, union activist and revolutionary, Ernie spent his life working to achieve that in organizing against the war in Vietnam, in union struggles at Toronto Hydro, for protecting universal healthcare and living wages, and much else. Ernie, along with Tariq Ali, was a leading organizer of the Vietnam Solidarity Campaign in Britain, worked for Bertrand Russell’s International War Crimes Tribunal and was a founding member of the International Marxist Group in Britain. In 2014, Ernie published a memoir of his life on the far left in Canada and Great Britain called Revolutionary Activism in the 1950s and 1960s. This two volume memoir is an important resource for anyone interested in a gritty account of mid-20th century revolutionary movements. It has been a source of information for the 2020-2021 Undercover Policing Inquiry hearings, taking place in England, in which the illegal and immoral activities of police agents in infiltrating the left have been laid bare.

This online event is a reflection upon and celebration of Ernie’s life, activism and legacy with many of his comrades and friends from around the world, including: Tariq Ali and Phil Hearse (England), Richie Venton (Scotland), Barry Sheppard and Suzanne Weiss (USA), Pam Frache, Judy Rebick, Carolyn Egan, Sam Gindin, Bryan Palmer, Rob Fairley, and John Riddell (Canada), and Patrick Bond (South Africa).

0:00 Intro w/ James Clark
2:22 Welcome w/ Jess Mackenzie
6:24 Ernie Tate on Socialist Method (video clip from 2014 book launch of Revolutionary Activism in the 1950s and 1960s)
9:24 Bryan Palmer
18:44 Judy Rebick
24:07 Tariq Ali
40:43 Marush Connor and Cliff Connor
46:22 Phil Hearse
1:02:31 Carolyn Egan
1:08:51 Barry Sheppard
1:18:39 Peter Boyle
1:21:03 Patrick Bond
1:24:24 Richie Venton
1:33:34 Suzanne Weiss and John Riddell
1:39:17 Spring Socialist Network Tribute
1:45:20 Sam Gindin
1:52:28 Rob Fairley
2:01:50 Pam Frache
2:08:37 Ian Burchall tribute to Ernie Tate read by James Clark
2:09:57 Norman Traub tribute to Ernie Tate read by James Clark
2:11:31 Linda Loew
2:14:40 Slide show of photos and words of Ernie Tate
2:18:50 Concluding remarks of solidarity, love and gratitude by James Clark
2:21:52 “The Internationale” by Erin Saoirse, Angela and Amelia