Protest teaches about limits and confidence in workers

INDIANA, September 25—Putting our line of revolutionary communism on the line with fellow workers, no matter how big or small the fight, is the only way Progressive Labor Party can build for communism in this dark period of capitalism. PLP along with the family of workers murdered by kkkops and mass organization members, held a daylong rally for justice here. What started off as a potentially isolating action, turned into a school for communist leadership.
A previous article reported on the actions of PLP and families who lost loved ones via murders-by-cops (CHALLENGE, 9/11). PLP had also connected the dots of racism from deportations to police terror.  All of this has been happening among economic devastation, and political and educational disinvestment in the same working-class city.  
Workers embrace politics
Protesters gathered with their signs and photos of the murdered in front of a local baseball stadium along an intersection. Few passersby were around.  So, the crowd moved down the road to a high school where a reunion happened to be taking place.
Alumni were gathered in the high school parking lot. The school had been closed for 11 years. The busted out windows, graffiti, and disrepair of the school and surrounding neighborhood provided the visual reminder of why PLP builds in this community. A battle-tested comrade, who also lived and worked in this city years earlier, said this was where the Party needed to be.  When reunion organizers learned about the Party and why we were there, they gladly welcomed us into the event.
We talked to workers of all ages who told stories about the school and neighborhood. They were receptive to CHALLENGE and conversations about racist police and other conditions under capitalism. Some gave a donation for the paper and offered supportive words to people among us grieving, but still fighting.
Push the limits of what is possible
When we returned to the baseball stadium with signs, a bullhorn, and CHALLENGE, fans of the team were beginning to stream in for the game. Most of the crowd did not live in the city. Like many capitalist investments in working-class cities, the ballpark was not built to benefit residents.
The reception from this group was different from the workers at the school reunion. While many people did not take CHALLENGE, veteran PL members insisted on continuing to spread our ideas.  The security guard threatened us with removal and arrest. One veteran PL’er responded by calling attention to the despicable conditions of the city.
“They [workers] need our line here, they need CHALLENGE!” So, we continued to sell CHALLENGE and talk to workers with a little pushback.  This reinforced a valuable lesson about pushing the limits.
One of the biggest battles we’ll fight is the one against ourselves; the rest of the working class knows this system means murder and death for them. We know that it will take communist revolution led by our Party, with many other workers joining and fighting to defeat it!