May Day: Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES—The 12 months since last May Day has been a hell of a year for the working class of the world. With Covid-19, continued police murders and brutality , unemployment, and lack of housing ravishing working-class communities, especially Black, Latin and Asian, it can be hard to imagine creating a better world for all of us. But May Day reminds us that we have a communist world to win and we can join together with our class brothers and sisters to fight to achieve that goal.
In Los Angeles, May Day was a coming together of Progressive Labor Party (PLP) members and our friends to commemorate the struggles of our past comrades and highlight the continuing battles PLP is helping to lead. Through our work within two mass organizations, one dedicated to giving voice to the families of those murdered by the police, and the other a tenants’ union fighting racist gentrification, we were able to celebrate May Day in a community park and lead a car caravan to the Los Angeles Police Department Headquarters.
Celebrating a year of struggle
The park where May Day was held is located in the community that the Party has been organizing in for over a year and a half with the Flores family, whose son Alex was ripped from them by LAPD thugs. Members of the community stopped by to listen to our speeches and songs. The park was filled with a multi-racial crowd of 70 people, young and old, all familiar with the Party through its work within the mass organizations.
The May Day program included songs, poems and speeches about the history of May Day and why it is important for every member of our class to join PLP. The calls for a communist revolution were loud and clear. The program was co-led by Alex’s sister. Over the course of the struggle, she and others in her family have become increasingly convinced that this system can never provide a viable future for the working class. Antiracist and anti-sexist speeches and songs were enthusiastically applauded. Clearly working-class unity between Black, Latin, white, young, old, men and women, LGTBQ+ and straight, is necessary to build a revolutionary movement.
Healthcare workers joined the event and contributed their musical talents with drum beats to accompany a comrade with spoken word. Students and teachers from high schools where Party members work attended the event and contributed with both prepared speeches and their thoughts during an open mic session. The highlight was the breakout sessions in which people met in small groups to discuss “What does justice look like?” This question was asked because there are so many families still seeking “justice” with our leadership and they are starting to wonder if justice can ever be accomplished under this system. Party members spoke about the need to overthrow this capitalist system and replace it with communism as the only path to “justice.”
The May Day program was followed by a powerful caravan of cars with signs, led by a sound truck. As we drove towards the LAPD Headquarters we were greeted with cheers and fists in the air from the people in the community. The Party, five of the families and others gathered in front of the LAPD headquarters where we confronted the cops, who were out in full riot gear. The families boldly called out the outfit responsible for assassinating their loved ones. A Party member’s call for communist revolution to smash racist police murder was enthusiastically applauded.
Hard work & sharp struggle leads to advances
PLP has been involved in struggles against police terror for many years. In LA, we have been able to work directly with several victims’ families during the past year. These families have led regular rallies and protests in front of the Newton Police Station. Not only do the families speak about their experiences with the racist LAPD and the County Sheriffs, but we show our strength by taking over the street and collectively confronting the police. We have also been active in a community based campaign supporting an evicted family who has boldly reclaimed their home after being thrown out by the same racist enforcers of the profit system that murder our brothers and sisters. All of these actions have always been welcomed and supported by workers who live in these areas.
Racist police terror affects all working-class people, but disproportionately Black, Indigenous and Latin workers, as May Day speakers pointed out. The role of the police is to protect profits and private property, to physically and mentally oppress workers, especially Black and Latin workers, and to divide the working class in order to uphold this racist capitalist system. Multiracial unity is essential to the struggle against the police and capitalism.
Leading up to May Day, two workers began meeting with a Party club and are moving closer to joining the Party. Hundreds of people were exposed to communist and antiracist politics, and more people understand the strength of the working class when we unite. The future here looks bright for the growth of PLP and our movement to rid the earth of the exploiters and their henchmen in “law enforcement.”