INDIANA, July 23—In a show of antiracist defiance against a pro-cop parade, a multiracial group of working-class fighters along with Progressive Labor Party held a mock funeral procession followed by a “die-in” and a rally against police terror.
The pro-cop parade had been planned in response to the growing movement against racist capitalist violence. The organizer told the press that he wanted to support cops since they were “under stress” from being challenged by the antiracist movement.
Through endless indoctrination—from neighborhood cop events to cop TV shows and more—the capitalist bosses have convinced many workers that cops are our protectors. In fact, the police of today descend from slave patrols and strikebreakers, and they continue to serve the role of armed enforcers for the bosses to terrorize and stifle the revolutionary potential of Black workers. Through doing so, they keep the entire working class intimidated and divided.
After years of workers struggling to reform them, cops in the U.S. still kill over a thousand people each year. Only a communist revolution, organized  and led by the international working class through PLP, can crush capitalism and abolish police terror once and for all.
Raining on cops racist parade
PLP members  joined the action with local groups to push back against kkkop propaganda. Dozens of cars lined the street, displaying Black Lives Matter flags and signs with the names of Black workers killed by cops. We drove past the cop parade, honking our horns, facing both hecklers and a few supporters. Our procession, a bold demonstration of antiracist solidarity, ended at the police station. A die-in was held for eight minutes and 46 seconds to symbolize the length of time that a killer cop held his knee on George Floyd’s neck, while a list of names of those killed by police was read aloud.
PL’ers and friends gave speeches at the rally. One speaker in a local antiracist organization spoke about their experience organizing a march in her small town, explaining that she knew it was not easy. Her group was threatened by local racists who posted online that they would run them over with their cars.
One PL’er took the mic, speaking for her mass organization and spoke about how antiracist rallies happen in this area more often than people think they do. She said some people needed to see the video of George Floyd’s murder by Minneapolis cops to get out and fight, but some have been fighting for a long time. She told the crowd, “If you weren’t here before, I am glad you are here now.”
She named Rashad Cunningham, Melvin Bouler and others who were murdered by local cops. She spoke about how Black cops terrorize and kill Black workers the same way white cops do. That’s why in PLP we often lead with the chant, “White cop, Black cop, all the same – Racist murder is the name of the game!”
Linking the fights against capitalism
One PL’er spoke for her mass organization, whose focus has been protesting deportations out of a local airport. She described visiting a migrant shelter and encountering many Black immigrants who would go on to be profiled in the U.S. She explained that the struggles against police terror and deportations are connected, and that members in her organization had fought to expand their group’s focus to systemic racism.
Another PL’er spoke about her experience fighting alongside workers in Minneapolis and being attacked by the klan-in-blue. She spoke about how capitalism needs racism, sexism and ableism to keep the working class divided so that we do not join in our strength to fight the ruling class. The crowd cheered as she said, “I am talking about communist revolution.”
After her speech, every person at the rally took a copy of CHALLENGE and some asked how they could get involved with the Party.
Committed to communist revolution
The working class, whether in big cities or small towns, is excited to hear PLP’s communist politics against racism and capitalism. Our work in local organizations helps spread our politics. At this event, several speakers were Party comrades and every one spoke about the need to destroy this capitalist system and replace it with a worker-run communist society.
As we saw protests spread across the world following the murder of George Floyd, northwest Indiana had dozens of protests. PLP was there and we made connections and established relationships with antiracist workers with whom we continue to build. When workers see us show up time and again and see us fight against this racist capitalist system, they want to join our fight. The only way we can end police terror and the terrorization of the working class is through communist revolution. Join PLP today!