PL’ers Greet Rebels with Communism Ferguson — Workers Lead Antiracist Fight

Ferguson, MO, August 29 — During the recent rebellions here, a young multiracial team from Progressive Labor Party visited the area to support these antiracist actions and put forward the idea that communism is the only way to defeat racism and capitalism. Here is one account.
The bosses’ media keep spreading the lie that “outside agitators” aren’t wanted in Ferguson, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Hundreds of workers and students received CHALLENGE and a PL leaflet calling for more rebellion against racist police murders. They embraced communist ideas and calls for communist revolution. An older couple contributed to our lunch after a brief discussion on the history of racism in Ferguson and the U.S. and the lack of opportunities for working-class youth.
During our time here, we connected with a group of young freedom fighters that formed a new organization during the rebellion following Michael Brown’s murder. The group consists of youth who met night after night to battle the cops. Calling themselves The Lost Voices, they are dedicated to preventing racist police murder from becoming the norm.
The Lost Voices have camped out on Florissant Avenue, Ferguson’s main strip, where protests have persisted for two weeks. One leader of the group said tshey march daily so that workers in Ferguson and around the world know that “we out here.”
One of the most exciting developments was a PLP study group with these youth, where we discussed the Our Fight section in CHALLENGE. Beyond outright agreement with our antiracist stance, these young workers echoed our idea that the abolition of money will aid in creating a new, worker-led world.  
Working-class support for the rebels of Ferguson is evident. Workers regularly pull up to the Lost Voices camp, deliver food and water, or take the protesters grocery shopping. Car horns blare constantly, with passing fists raised in solidarity.
The anger and hatred toward the police and the bosses they protect is still thick. A young worker who lives on Canfield Green, where Mike Brown was murdered, said, “If we didn’t fight back, nobody would have cared.” Other workers let us know that if Darren Wilson, the KKKop who murdered Michael, isn’t convicted, “We will burn down this entire state.”
On our last night, we had a rally of 50 through the streets of Ferguson. Workers responded by joining the march with their kids, holding signs from balconies, honking as we marched, and yelling out words of solidarity. It was a powerful experience. After a brief water break from the heat, we rallied again and received even more overwhelming support from local workers. People’s fightback spirit against police harassment and the murder of black people was unwavering and inspirational: “The whole system is guilty!” We heard this statement over and over during our time in Ferguson.
The ruling class and misleaders like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson pushed for peace and more black cops and politicians, but the working class wasn’t falling for it. Jackson was confronted by workers and youth who asked him, “When are you going to stop selling us out?” They told him, “Get out — we don’t want you here!”
This trip to Ferguson has taught the young people who went a lesson on how to work among the masses. Two of them have joined PLP.