Letters of July 8

Englewood rally welcomed by working class
“White Cop Black Cop all the same, racist terror is the name of their game.” A multiracial, intergenerational group of 30 Progressive Labor Party (PLP)  members and friends chanted as they marched around an intersection on Chicago’s South Side. This was spurred on by seeing the cops roll up to some young men who had been appreciating our rally.
It turned out that the Black cops who had been talking to the young men were telling them that if they agreed with what those "White folks" were saying then they needed to go join them on the corner PLP was on. "These White folks aren't from here. They are trying to get you to act up."
The young man who had brought us an entire 24 pack of water bottles from the corner store just 15 minutes earlier said “I told them [the cops], ‘they’re [the marchers] not telling me what to do, I’m a grown man but, you [the cops] I know what you do” he said disgustedly, adding a vehement “F*ck the police.”    
During this 90-minute rally, we distributed 200 fliers about the racist murder of George Floyd and the need for communist revolution, as well as 250 CHALLENGEs. We distributed masks, gloves, and hand sanitizers to anyone in need. Hundreds of cars honked in appreciation.
While the largest protests happened downtown that day (and many of us participated in those too), we chose to go to the Southside of Chicago in the morning because of the racist over-policing of these neighborhoods. Just the week before, near the intersection of our rally, the cops beat and arrested young black youths for not physically distancing. This is also a neighborhood where we have comrades who teach in the high school slated for closure by the City.
The combination of school closing and racist police terror show what the City has planned for Englewood—more racist state terror. Racism and capitalism go hand in hand and we have to fight both with every ounce of our strength to defeat them.
We can’t let the bosses’ racist plans for Englewood and the rest of Chicago be carried out. We will continue to build with workers and students in these neighborhoods to fight back. Power to the working class!
*****
Oakland: antiracist rush hour
The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) led the way with a powerful workers’ action that shut the West Coast ports down on Juneteenth to end systemic racism. Thousands joined in: rallies, a march, bike brigades, and car caravans.  The caravan was so long, we dubbed it the “antiracist rush hour.”  This certainly shows that the working class on the job can have an outsized impact on profits when they shut it down against systemic racism.
Thousands of young men and women marched in multiracial unity with the Port shutdown.  They expressed class-consciousness through chants like, “Ain’t no Power like the power of the workers ‘cause the power of the workers, don’t stop.”
One speaker, Boots Riley, explained “our power” is because “we create wealth.” He called on the thousands at the rally to organize where they work to shut it down. “We’ll stop the world and make them MFs, jump off.” Of course, the working class needs an organized international Party for that.
In the caravan, PLP’s car posters focused on multiracial, international working-class unity to smash capitalism and build a communist society. Marchers pumped their fists and took pictures of our cars. Some PL’ers distributed flyers and CHALLENGE. We joined in the just fury of the working class at this racist, fascist disregard of human life and are inspired by the rebellions of the past weeks. This can be the start of the strategic fighting force of workers joining with the demonstrations in the streets if the workers on the job go beyond the “legalisms” in union contracts and “shut it down” with political strikes or job actions.
At the same time, our leaflet addressed the limitations of reforms, which have not stopped the racist and sexist murders by the cops. We recognize that police murder is racist class terror. Capitalist profits need exploitation and a divided workforce; racism, anti-immigrant attacks and sexism are essential for that.
Replacing the present system with one where people not profits are valued and people can develop to their full potential requires a revolution for a communist political-economic system. PLP strives to be the party that builds that new system.
*****
Police terror is worldwide
I have been talking about racist police terror with a friend, who is a maintenance worker at the school where I teach, and a CHALLENGE reader who comes from Gambia. When I suggested that racist police terror was an international phenomenon under capitalism, he cried, “Oh yes, it’s true!”
Then he recounted a story his cousin told him about an incident that happened just last week.
His cousin knows a man who is a poor farmer living in a village. One day last week, after tending his crops, he was coming back home on his scooter. The police stopped him in the street and asked him for his registration. He said that he had all his papers, but they were at home, and offered to get them. As an act of good faith, he even offered to leave them his ID until he could return with the registration. The cops refused and demanded the keys to his scooter. “How can I go home then? It’s far.”
The cops didn’t care. They forcibly tried to take his keys from him and in the process, they broke his arm. A few minutes after telling me this story, my friend texted me a photo of the man with a broken arm.
“Why do you think they did that,” I asked my friend.
“They want money,” he replied.
They are corrupt. Of course, this is true. Cops around the world are known for taking bribes, working with drug dealers, shaking down small businesses for “protection.” But as we spoke about it, we went deeper. Who are the cops protecting? Who are they attacking? They protect the large landowners, the big businesses. They are protecting the profit system. And they are attacking the working class, terrorizing them into submitting to the brutal capitalist order and a life of poverty. The racist aspect of the situation becomes clear when one realizes the history of Gambia, whose workers have suffered under the yoke of British imperialism for several hundred years. Even now, 55 years after “independence,” they remain part of the British Commonwealth.
This worker has been an enthusiastic reader of CHALLENGE who regularly takes extra papers to give to coworkers, friends, and family. This international solidarity is crucial to building our movement to destroy capitalism forever.

*****

Working-class fightback empowers young PL’er

Participating in these current mass demonstrations has been a great learning opportunity in how to advance the fight against this deplorable system we live under. My experience at a recent march through Washington Heights and Harlem showed me areas in which I could grow to be a stronger member of PLP.

In giving a speech, I learned that although I might have a clear understanding of our politics, the ability to deliver and spread party politics to the working class also requires confidence and practice. I was disappointed by how my speech went, and reflecting on how to improve forced me to reflect on other areas of my life similarly affected.

The perverse, self-destructive nature of capitalism infects our experience of life, and the only hope for a life of dignity is by building unity with our comrades and other workers. Being a revolutionary is something that must be practiced in both mind and action every day in all aspects of our lives; it is not like a light switch that can simply be turned on when there is a task at hand.

All this discomfort has only increased my conviction in the Party’s ability to bring power to the workers. Before entering the march, one of our comrades laid out our plan and said something that resonated with me: “When we go into these things, we need to treat it like we are going into battle.”

For the sake of all we that we love, and against everything we hate, I think these words are a reminder of the discipline we all must practice and embrace throughout our daily lives.

*****

A multiracial protest at Pelham Bay Park

A militant and unified group of 300 Black, Latin, Asian, and white students marched through Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx. As a member of the Progressive Labor Party, and resident of this neighborhood for 20 years, I was thrilled to see the largest park in New York City become something more than just a place for exercise and festive gatherings.

This march, organized and lead by young students and workers, denounced the racist murder of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, while calling for an end to all racist cop terror.

“Defund the cops! Not our Schools!” and “No Justice! No Peace! No Racist Police!” echoed through the park as dozens of bystanders either cheered or joined the march en route to our rally destination. 

While some of the speeches were antiracist, anti-cop, and pro-student, some of the leadership called for us to take “responsibility” and “revolutionize the electoral process”. 

Thankfully, 150 PLP leaflets were distributed and I was able to speak with a number of protesters. Many were open to the idea of not relying on liberal politicians and their capitalist system. One Black leader cried out during his speech, “None of these politicians are gonna stop these cops killing black people on streets.”

He also called for multiracial unity. “We don’t see white people as allies. That’s not enough! We need you in the trenches fighting with us!”

One NYC teacher stated, “I have lived here for 30 years and never saw a demonstration or rally ever in this park.”

I plan to encourage our PL club to take advantage of this small but important opportunity and schedule some regular CHALLENGE sales at the local train station where many commuters, Pelham Bay residents, and MTA workers pass through every day.