Letters from the summer project

Shantel Davis Day reaches workers in their homes
“We will never forget Shantel! We take the streets for Shantel!” chanted Progressive Labor Party members, friends, and family of Shantel Davis, who was brutally murdered by police in East Flatbush in 2012. Our chants were part of a militant march through the Brooklyn neighborhood that followed a rally and door-to-door organizing.

During the organizing portion I worked on a team with a college student who said this was her first time going door to door. We had a multiracial, multi-gendered group of all ages.

By visiting workers at their homes, we were able to have many qualitative [longer] conversations. One young worker we spoke to recalled being a child when Shantel was murdered, while others recalled the savagery of the racist police stealing a 23-year old woman from her family. Almost everyone we spoke to signed a petition to have a nearby street named after Shantel. They also eagerly took CHALLENGE and fliers for this year’s Hoops For Justice Basketball Tournament on Saturday, August 5th which commemorates our sibling workers that have been stolen from us by the racist police and the capitalist system they serve. Attend the tournament, bring your friends and join PLP!
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‘Gives me great hope’
This year’s summer project highlighted the importance of a long term outlook towards building communism and smashing the system. Our CHALLENGE editing workshop reinvigorated my appreciation for the paper as a tool of agitation, communication, and learning. A walking tour, led by one of our own, educated us on the militant history of working class fight back in Chinatown, as well as the dangers of liberal misleadership such as that of Mayor Eric Adams, councilwoman Margaret Chin, and the Museum of Chinese in America. As NYCs air quality worsens and food prices go up, these liberal bosses continue attacking our class at home and abroad: cutting Food Stamps, gutting public education, pushing building projects such as  luxury high rises that remain empty as homelessness increases, as well as a record tall skyscraper of a jail, and continuing to bomb our brothers and sisters in the Middle East, and arming the neo-nazi, reactionary forces in Ukraine.  These wolves in sheep’s clothing weaponize identity politics, winning workers with their words, while their actions continue to displace and destroy working class communities and lives for the sake of real estate developers and mega jails—in short, for the sake of profit and capital. Our practice of collectivizing all aspects of life, from leadership to childcare, were glimpses of the opposite; a world where all production serves the needs of workers—the communist future we fight for. Having brought two former students to this year’s project gives me great hope in our mission. Long live  communism!
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‘ I saw the power of the working class’
The experience in this summer project was really enriching for me in the preparation for the communist struggle. Many important issues were addressed during the project, an example of this was the workshop on the steps to follow to write articles for the newspaper, and everything was clearly explained along with the necessary items to be able to write in a suitable way. Another aspect that helped in this school was the willingness of help from all the comrades to translate and clarify some of the concepts that were not clear to me. In addition to generating confidence to face in a bold way the mechanisms to show our struggle such as the delivery of the newspaper.

I met comrades from different places who told me their experiences of communist struggle. In addition to sharing this same struggle as it was in the marches that were held, I hope to continue my knowledge in the party and continue fighting all these problems such as sexism, racism, and fascism. I will continue learning day by day during the arduous road to communism, as they say better red than expert.
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Comrade from Colombia: ‘enriching for me’
The summer project strengthened my commitment to the Party and to a communist cause. I saw committed comrades fighting for tenants rights in Newark, against gutter racism in Stillwater, NJ, and for the unity of Black, Latin and Asian workers against displacement in New York’s Chinatown. It taught me that comrades are engaged in fightback all over and are making a difference in their own communities. In each case, I saw the power of the working class in organizing to defeat the bosses no matter where—our struggle has no borders. I felt a deep sense of revolutionary optimism seeing workers happily take CHALLENGE and cheer for the Party as we marched and rallied.

Above all, the summer project showed me glimmers of a communist future. It is a future in which the party leads workers in developing class consciousness through struggle. In doing so workers see that they themselves can protect each other, get better living conditions, feed each other, learn from one another and be militantly revolutionary.
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‘we are spreading fun and positivity’
The summer Project was very interesting because of the many things I had learned. For example, when we learned about fascism, and we learned about how sexism and racism is used by the bosses against the workers. I also learned a lot about why we need a Party. I think we need a Party because of how much fun and positivity we are spreading in the world.
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