Left forum: Build a mass multiracial party for communism

BROOKLYN, June 30—“What’s your strategy to organize the left in the United States?” asked a young man who was a part of the Yellow Vest movement in Paris as he approached our Progressive Labor Party table this weekend at the Left Forum. (The Left Forum is a NYC-based event that seeks to “bring progressive people together to share radical ideas for social change.”) Our international strategy is to build a base in the working class and focus on organizing a mass party with workers, students, and soldiers. Only a revolutionary communist party of millions can turn the coming imperialist world war into a war for communism, a society totally run by the working class.
So organizing a revolution for communism will take tens of millions of workers, students, and soldiers worldwide. And that will take a worldwide party of millions. Not an easy task. “Organizing the left” certainly won’t do it.  But it was useful to reach out; you never know when you might meet someone who will join the fight for communism.
Black workers’ leadership key to communist revolution
PLP participated in this three-day conference, attending various panels as well as organizing our own, Black Workers Key to Communist Revolution. Young Black and South Asian comrades led the panel. They explained how fighting anti-Black racism and uniting the entire working class, led by Black workers was key to organizing a communist revolution for working class power. Black and white, women and men, PLP and others, everyone participated.
Black workers have an especially urgent case to revolt and smash the bosses’ state. Throughout U.S. history, from the time they were kidnapped from Africa as a pool of no-wage labor, they have served at the forefront of every working-class movement: the war against slavery, the struggle for civil rights, the mass strikes against the industrial bosses, the fights for jobs and housing and decent schools. Wherever workers have confronted the profit system and its parasites, Black workers have stood at the front lines. Wherever Black workers gave leadership, our entire class stood to benefit and gain class-consciousness as a result.
Anti-Black racism is deeply rooted. It is the very foundation of the U.S. Empire. More than 500 years after Europe’s colonial powers first invaded the Americas, racism exists for one reason: the division and oppression generates billions upon billions in profit for the capitalists. If our class is to seize and hold state power throughout the world, Black workers and their leadership are fundamental to destroy racism.
No matter where you are in the world, fighting anti-Black racism and recruiting the most oppressed part of the working class to the highest level of leadership must be part and parcel to our fight against capitalism.
Rainbow fascism
Contrast communist Black leadership with the bosses’ call for liberal leadership. Many agreed that the liberal bosses were the main danger. One young Black worker did not like our criticism of the Democratic Socialists, particularly Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (AOC). This was a discussion of how these “socialists” may get a few crumbs for the working class, but they support the capitalist system and they especially always support the capitalists’ imperialist wars. Because AOC is doing the bidding of the U.S. imperialists, she has an interest in building a multicultural patriotic army willing to die for this empire.
Trump can’t deliver that. Following the liberal politicians disarms our class, the working class, and allows capitalism to build all-class unity (a characteristic of fascism). Instead, we must rely on only our class for leadership.
Everyone left the panel with CHALLENGE and a copy of the latest PL Magazine, which contains the article: “Black Workers Leadership Key to Communist Revolution” (see www.plp.org for your copy!). Self-critically, we could have done a better job at promoting the PLP panel.
Fight fascism today
PL’ers attended other panels to raise our political ideas. In the panel on national teacher strikes, PLP spoke about the historic, racist role the leadership of the United Federation of Teachers has played, our experiences in various reform struggles, and most importantly why, even if we win strikes, we must turn these battles into battles against capitalism. Our comments were warmly received and CHALLENGE was distributed.  
Some PL’ers also attended a panel on the Abraham Lincoln Brigade and the Spanish Civil War. We learned about how the communist movement fought against fascism during the Second World War. Many people who were friends and relatives of those who volunteered in Spain to fight fascism attended the workshop. At the end of the discussion, a daughter of one of the Brigadistas said, “It’s all fine and good to talk about how our families fought fascism then, but the glaring question is what are we doing today?” A PLP member brought up the Texas Summer Project and our fight at the border (see front page). Applause and thank yous broke out from the audience.
Raise the flag of communism
We must take advantage of any and all opportunities. We have to fight for our line everywhere. So while we spent the weekend meeting and talking to people who believe in everything from supporting the right “socialist” candidate to identity politics, our presence is important. PLP met quite a few people who are former members, who spoke very highly of their experiences, and were very glad to see us. Overall, we distributed 200 CHALLENGEs and other literature.
At the next Left Forum, PLP will again raise the red flag of communist revolution!