Los Angeles—A group of Progressive Labor Party communists, friends from the congregation, and I went to the Culver City Meets Venice CicLAvia bike route to collect signatures. They were petitioning to the Black District Attorney Jackie Lacey, demanding Lacey prosecute Clifford Proctor, the cop who shot un-housed young Black man Brendon Glenn in the back May 5, 2015.
Ever since, a multiracial group has been organizing marches to demand prosecution of Proctor. We marched on Venice Beach and Koreatown. We had also seized control of a town hall put by Lacey last year.
Mixed Response from Passersby
I was initially nervous about asking for signatures, but I was able to summon the courage to try. I was amazed to find that people of all hues and backgrounds signed, from a large Black family to an interracial couple. One Latin guy said, “[epithet] the police, where do I sign.” A Black woman who was with her young daughter was open to the idea of communism. We talked about identity politics; I told we can’t base unity on skin color, especially when dealing with business owners and politicians.
There were also naysayers. One guy told me that he would do research and call his congressman. A lawyer said that there needs to be evidence since an indictment is too extreme. There’s so much evidence that the police chief has called for Proctor to be prosecuted, which is virtually unheard of, and the City of Los Angeles settled a civil suit filed by Brendon’s mother and his child for $4 million. I was also amazed that plenty of white people signed the petition. I had my doubts, but my experience in PL and its analysis that racism also hurts white workers guided me to overcome my doubts and engage with white members of the working class more boldly.
Engaging in Nationalism vs. Communism Debate
One of my weaknesses when at public sales with CHALLENGE is getting stuck in a quicksand of conversations with people staunchly commitment to anti-communism, Black nationalism, or religious fundamentalism. At the CicLAvia, I had a long talk with a Black British woman who is a naturalized U.S. citizen.
She said police brutality is just as rampant in the more “liberal” city of London as it is in New York City. We discussed “white supremacy.” I told her that Brandon Glenn was killed by a Black cop. She responded that the cop’s actions were framed by white supremacy. I countered with the fact that South African cops and Kenyan cops are predominately black and they still terrorize and kill Black workers in a predominately Black environment. She responded that white supremacy and colonialism had “twisted their minds.” I added that Asian cops in the Philippines, Korea, and Hong Kong (which were occupied by Japan during its colonial heyday) brutalize workers whenever they engage in class struggle. She concluded that they are exceptions, not the rule.
Though we disagreed on the terms “white supremacy” versus “racist capitalism,” we both were against racism. She signed the petition. She told me she had recently joined Black Lives Matter, and suggested that I contact them to get involved in the Justice for Brendon Glenn campaign, since they are very popular and attract a lot of attention. I replied that due to their segregationist and reformist politics, they would probably not be a good fit.
When I recounted this conversation at a PL club meeting, my comrades said that although just about everything I had said was true, I was doing too much arguing and not enough questioning. Therefore, I was not learning about this particular woman’s contradictions. Instead of rejecting her suggestion about involving BLM, I could’ve engaged her: I could’ve suggested attending a chapter meeting with her. Her response might have revealed more politics and a possible friendship. It is important to find points of unity with people, and through working together and putting forth communist ideas in the struggle, both sides will be changed. We aim for people to be won over to and deepen the communist side.
Expose the State, Organize the Party
Why isn’t DA Lacey prosecuting killer cop Proctor? She was recently re-elected with support from virtually every police union and group in LA County and from dozens of liberal, Democratic, civil liberties, and Black groups. If she prosecutes, the cop groups will mobilize against her. If she announces that she won’t prosecute, she’ll lose the support of the other half of her political base. That’s the particular.
Killer cops almost always get away with murder, because globally, the capitalist class and its puppet politicians own and rule the police forces. The police serve the moneymakers and their property, and protect them from the working class. That’s the general.
Lacey hopes that if she stalls long enough, the murder of Brendon Glenn will fade away. We have been keeping Brendon’s memory alive for two years through marches, articles, talks, and petitioning. Within the campaign, we are exposing the capitalist system and inviting our friends to our local May Day celebration April 29 and to march with us on May 1.