Letters of March 17

Meisha Porter, new face of liberal racism
Bad News! Meisha Porter has been appointed as the first Black woman to lead as NYC’s chancellor of the country’s largest public school system, effectively becoming the new face of liberal racism.
While Porter has been promoted as an antiracist Black woman leader, and champion for “equitable schools,” her history proves otherwise.
Three years ago, she was the Superintendent of District 11 in the Bronx. This is the same district where my child previously attended a New York City Public school. This community, composed mainly of working-class Black, Latin, and Caribbean families, has always been terrorized by racist cops and decaying schools. This is also the same neighborhood where racist cop Richard Haste murdered 18-year-old Ramarley Graham for existing while Black.
Three years ago, a white teacher, and known Trump supporter, committed an openly racist act against two Black teachers. During a small after-school training, he made a noose in front of the teachers.
Knowing this teacher wanted to make his racism clear to everyone, the two teachers immediately filed a complaint. The next day, antiracist members from the community distributed a flyer within the neighborhood and in front of the school. The leaflet displayed a photo of the racist teacher and demanded he be fired.
One of the women who was targeted had asked for the racist to be reassigned until an investigation was complete. However, instead of firing the teacher, Porter allowed the racist to continue teaching while she conducted a perfunctory investigation.
To seem as if she addressed the racism, she mandated that school staff attend “anti-bias” trainings. The racist got off scot-free! Although the leaflet from the community was a good start, Porter managed to keep the press away, and pacify any other form of fightback from parents, students, and teachers. To this day, the racist teacher continues to teach at the same school.
There have been many liberal misleaders claiming to fight for “equitable schools” throughout New York City and do nothing but pacify workers and students from fighting back. It came as no surprise that Meisha Porter did nothing to discipline this teacher and set an example for other racists to see.
Black capitalist ideas, promotion of identity politics, and provoking racist division among workers are trending in an era of U.S. capitalism in decline. Porter is part of this latest trend of patriotism, which gets workers to accept U.S. racism as part of “who we are” as long as Black and Latin workers get a seat at the table of rulers and wannabe oppressors.
PLP rejects, not makes amends with, racism. Only communism gives us a vision of how racism can be defeated; we will abolish profit and exploitation, the material basis for racist divisions.
In this public school system, communist presence inside the fight to remove metal detectors is the real good news, not the changing of this boss for that one at the top.
*****
I’m no scientist…I am a communist
I am no scientist. But what I know of climate change I get from the media and what I know to be indisputably true; capitalist society throughout the world is inclined to make profits at all cost. This drive for profits has no regard for the well-being of the planet, let alone the working class who produce all, but do not control the instruments of labor.
I am no scientist. But does it take a scientist to see the effects of Climate Change: the increase in number and intensity of hurricanes, tornadoes, droughts, winter storms, etc. Can capitalist society with its “coercive law of competition” stem the tide it created?
I am no scientist. But I do know this: when the electricity goes out those who suffer the most are the working class, employed or unemployed. Those who suffer the most are the bearers of the racist attacks who are used to increase the profits of the capitalist class, dividing us into smaller controllable units and weakening our ability to stand together and fight back.
I am no scientist. But when a winter storm recently hit our community and the electricity went out, I made a discovery. The temperature dropped and we endured. Those of us who could relied on bottled water to survive, creek water to flush our toilets, propane stoves to cook. We slept in our winter clothing and waited. Time slowed down as the hours turned to days.
I am no scientist. But it seems to me that if you can land a rover on Mars, you should be able to keep the electricity flowing. What daunts me is where is the profit of a rover on Mars? And yet I know there must be or the investment necessary wouldn’t have been made.
I am no scientist. But I heard and read recently that the infrastructure of electrical cables and grids are in disrepair, that the maintenance of this infrastructure is necessary and costly. The investment has not been made in years. Profits over human lives is the priority.
I am no scientist. But I hope this letter provides some warmth in the knowledge that a day will come when we live in a society where humanity, not profits, is the priority. Long Live Communism! Power to the Working Class!
*****