Letters of January 19

Jan 1 soup celebrates liberation from slavery
January 1 is an important date for the working class in Haiti, but not for the reason you may think. There is a tradition of eating soup joumou today, which celebrates the victory of the revolutionaries of Haitian independence in 1804 over racism, slavery, and colonialism, and therefore against the domination and exploitation of capitalism. January 1 marks the liberation from chattel slavery and the formation of the world’s first Black republic, Haiti. Under slavery, this thick stew with meat and vegetables  was reserved only for the enslavers and other exploiters.
For the working class, international solidarity and solidarity with our communist party is key. Capitalism pushes individualism, which is the negation of solidarity. Yet, while the bosses compete with one another for markets and power, they are united as a class to defend their own interests. They unite to sow divisions inside the working class, using a three-pronged weapon of racism, sexism and nationalism. Our task is to defeat those ideas ideologically and in action, build our mutual confidence, and put the working class in the driver’s seat of humanity.
So workers of the world unite, gather ye strength with a bowl of joumou, and get ready to fight back!
*****
John Brown’s legacy: violent revolution necessary, not ‘crazy’
We have to finish the job of defeating systemic racism, and after our trip to Harpers Ferry we are even more inspired to do so. On Sunday December 10, a small caravan of Baltimore and DC comrades and family spent the day at the historic site bonding and enjoying the John Brown Museum and the John Brown Wax Museum, along with a short hike and lunch.
Among us were members of the Baltimore West Wednesday Coalition, which has been fighting for accountability in the police murder of Tyrone West on July 18, 2013. One of our first stops was the federal armory, which Brown and his allies used as a fort for their raid. Together, we stood with fists raised as one of our comrades took a picture. The museums were undertoned, but John Brown’s resolve to end slavery resonated clearly. “I have only a short time to live and only one death to die and I will die fighting for this cause. There will be no peace in this land until slavery is done for.”
In fact one comrade said that while he noticed the capitalist attempts to revise him and even call him insane, “What is certain is that true change may require violent struggle.” Truly Brown’s commitment is a rallying cry for those of us to our cause. The capitalist system must be done for!
*****
Bosses’ Omicron put workers’ lives on the line
I recently began attending a Progressive Labor Party (PLP) study group and it has taught me so much. One of the first things that communism opened my eyes to is that capitalism can only breed racism and misery.
The latest Covid-19 Omicron spike has only amplified the racist divisions between low-income predominantly Black and Latin working-class neighborhoods, and less integrated,  higher income neighborhoods. I saw this play out while waiting on a Covid-19 testing line in Brownsville, Brooklyn that snaked around the block. I overheard people saying that they had been waiting for hours. Rather than wait on the line and expose others, I began calling local pharmacies in search of a home rapid test. I was disgusted to discover that there were no test kits in the Brownsville, Bedford-Stuyvesant, and Bushwick neighborhoods. They were not accepting appointments and were turning people away. After calling about ten pharmacies I finally found a test in Park Slope, and later found another where I work on the Upper East Side, two neighborhoods known for being wealthier and whiter.
 I began noticing a pattern in these last two weeks. Testing is more widely available in richer and whiter neighborhoods compared to working class Black and Latin areas. The wealthier, mostly white areas seem to have a constant stock of over-the-counter tests and shorter lines. Meanwhile workers in Brownsville and East New York have to stand on lines for hours without proper social distancing.
 Workers in areas ravaged by Omicron are more heavily policed, and this limited testing often results in workers facing rude security guards. To maintain their profits, the capitalists are currently attempting to avoid another lock down, going so far as to lower the recommended quarantine mandate. How many lives will be lost to keep this death machine running?
Omicron is more proof that we must continue to expose and fight back against this system that forces workers to work sick, and die for profit. I’m beginning to understand that as long as capitalism exists, racist and preventable disparities in death and illness will never end. That’s why I will continue to attend study groups and learn more about how we can create a better world by fighting for communism.
With the Omicron variant of Covid-19  spreading like wildfire in the U.S. imperial core, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) changed its recommendation of quarantining, if one tests positive for Covid-19, from ten days to 5 days…and workers are awake and upset! We know that U.S. airline companies asked the CDC to make this recommendation to keep their businesses open as Omicron surges at record-breaking rates. Workers infected by coronavirus  are already being forced by their bosses to come into work even though they are still contagious at the five day mark of their quarantine. This recommendation has shown millions of working-class people everywhere that the capitalist bosses prioritize profit over human life.
HHHHH
Hunger strike leaves workers starving for revolution
Comrades, greetings from New York!  We continue to be involved in community organizations. One of the latest actions in which we participated was a “Hunger Strike for Excluded Immigrant Workers’’ (excluded from funds during the pandemic). Although the “leaders” of this strike declared victory, in reality the state funds allotted to these workers was not enough,  so those of us in Progressive Labor Party (PLP) raised that crumbs are handed out to the  working class in an attempt to pacify fightback from the masses.  Following this initial action, the alliance of organizations involved called a rally and march to demand funds for the thousands of workers who were left empty handed. Many workers attended! The rally started with testimony from immigrant workers against oppression explaining  how they’ve received  nothing from the “authorities.”
After the rally we marched to the governor’s office where “invited politicians” gave speeches and select workers wore indigenous clothing.  Our comrades, however, called out that these events laced with liberal fascism and identity politics won’t solve workers problems.
We do continue to participate though as a way to connect with our friends and build future comradely bonds. We use these opportunities to share Party changes and pass out copies of CHALLENGE.
This is all done in the name of raising international class consciousness on the road to communist revolution. The workers united will never be defeated!
*****