NEWARK, NJ — The struggle over police terror has sharpened here and it has provided an opportunity for more working-class youth to give leadership. Over the past two weeks, multiracial demonstrations have shut down the main streets in the city and have gotten a lot of support from passing drivers. During one demonstration, after kkkop Daniel Pantaleo got away scot-free with the murder of 43-year-old Black worker Eric Garner, workers left the bus stops and the sidewalks to join the march as it went down Broad St.
On the campuses, students are making plans for more militant actions across the city. As a result, we are starting to see a relationship forming between the college and high school students in the city. This is an improvement for the student movement. While most of the demonstrations have been about education, organizing an antiracist fight against police terror will bring the movement to a higher level.
The Party has been involved in both of these demonstrations. At one, we distributed over 100 CHALLENGEs and 250 leaflets, calling for destroying the capitalist system. Many of our friends were happy to see us out there in response to the misleaders who just spoke about peaceful protesting and urging young people to vote. This is a way of co-opting militant antiracist anger into passive acceptance of the bosses’ system.
Over the past month, we have been able to discuss CHALLENGE and our analysis of racism and police terror to many students involved in this struggle. Many of these young people, while still arguing for a federal investigation, are open to PLP and the need for communist revolution. Through more struggle, we can win them to not only being leaders of the working class but also leaders of our Party.