Solidarity with St. Louis Rebellion

ST. LOUIS, MO, October 1—Weeks after the racist acquittal of kkkop Jason Stockley for the 2011 murder of Anthony Lamar Smith, the fires of anti-racist, working-class fightback are still raging across the St. Louis area. A small collective led by Progressive Labor Party (PLP) joined this militant struggle, offering working-class solidarity and communist leadership.
Anthony, 24, had a one-year-old daughter when he was killed after a high-speed chase. Just before the legalized lynching, based on video and documents obtained by St. Louis media, the racist Stockley said, “Going to kill this m*therf*cker, don’t you know it.” The killer cop then planted a silver revolver on Anthony and claimed self-defense. Though the only DNA on the revolver belonged to Stockley, a judge still found the kkkop not guilty—an outrage that has sparked a widespread uprising and more than 120 arrests in a single night.  
Of the thousands of fatal shootings by on-duty U.S. cops between 2005 and 2015, according to a study by the Washington Post (4/11/15), only 54 resulted in officers being charged by the rigged U.S. “justice” system. Most were acquitted; the few who were convicted or pleaded guilty spent an average of only four years behind bars. In a time of rising inter-imperialist rivalry, looming global war, and gaping economic inequality, the capitalist bosses use and protect their killer cops to try to intimidate workers from fighting back. But the rulers’ state terror cannot stop the class struggle. It cannot stop us from organizing for communist revolution, to smash the thugs in blue and their criminal masters once and for all.
Reform and Revolution
Upon arriving in the city, our collective connected with a group of about a dozen people occupying the space in front of the (in)justice Center downtown. They were waiting for two people who had been jailed after the previous night’s demonstration. We learned that protestors, including a minister and a wheelchair-bound filmmaker, were both arrested and pepper-strayed.
A number of anti-racists from Lost Voices occupying the space were familiar to our collective as fighters who were active during the Ferguson uprising after kkkop Darren Wilson killed Black teenager Mike Brown. It was inspirational and instructive for us all to observe the sustained commitment in the fightback in this region. With mostly Black leadership, these workers pour their time and energy into the movement against racist cop murders, often risking their own physical safety. Their anti-racist efforts set a high standard that the entire working class can learn from.
We lent our bullhorn to those fighters spearheading the occupation, and they put it to good use. One leader of the Lost Voices group rapped on the mic and pumped up the growing crowd. Within a few hours, the kkkops had released the two fighters they had locked up overnight.
We made use of the situation to engage in some sharp conversations about reform and revolution. We encountered a point of disagreement with a number of the local fighters, who still trust that the cops and courts can be counted on to “do the right thing” if the working class applies pressure to rewrite some of the bosses’ laws.
We struggled with new and old contacts over these reform efforts versus revolutionary goals. We held our line that as long as the capitalist bosses hold state power, they will use it to defend their profit-driven interests. Only workers seizing power under a communist society will guarantee that laws are enforced to serve the needs of the working class, without racism or sexism. Workers showed interest in this line, and we were able to share contact information, CHALLENGE, and fliers.
The Battle of Galleria Mall  
These conversations made us aware of another planned anti-racist demonstration that evening, at the St. Louis Galleria mall in the wealthy suburb of Richmond Heights. The site has been a flashpoint for rallies since Stockley’s acquittal on September 15, and has seen its share of arrests and kkkop violence against protesters. The bosses were ready for our agitation, and blocked off multiple entrances into the parking lot and within the mall itself.
Although our collective was blocked from getting to the action inside, anti-racist fighters soon poured out and began marching through the parking lot to take over a nearby intersection. We instantly joined the march and joined the chants of “No justice, no profits!” and “Racism means, we’ve got to fight back!” We held the intersection for more than 30 minutes, afterwards taking the opportunity to hand out bottled water, distribute more fliers, and make more contacts.
The action at the mall represented genuine, mass multiracial fightback against racist police terror. Black, Latin, Asian, and white fighters of all different ages raised their fists against the violence of capitalism. It was a reminder that international working class unity is the only force capable of destroying this racist, sexist profit system. Each and every worker won to build our international PLP means another nail in the bosses’ coffins, and another step toward a communist world.
Still Fighting Like Ferguson
Three years ago, the international working class learned what it meant to “Fight Like Ferguson.” In nearby St. Louis, anti-racist fighters are boldly carrying on the Ferguson tradition. Communist revolution remains the only way to bury the bosses and their racism forever! Let’s build this fight!