"REVOLT IS NECESSARY!”: KCC Students faced kkkops, advanced fightback

BROOKLYN, NY, June 19—“Leave these kids alone, they were just playing!” “NO ONE wants you here so LEAVE!” “Back away from these kids NOW!” About two dozen Kingsborough Community College students, plus faculty, friends and members of the communist Progressive Labor Party were gathered for our Juneteenth barbecue at a park surrounded by families and children. When two NYPD officers pulled up and ordered a nearby group of children to play elsewhere, we sprang into action gathering our forces!

As the officers got right in the face bullying one twelve-year-old shouting if they were a “tough guy”, we surrounded the kids in protection and commanded the kkkops to leave. The kkkops appeared to retreat, but then followed the children toward a playground and continued threatening them. We organized a crowd again and after a second confrontation, where an exasperated officer said he wished he could beat us up, they’re the ones who beat it!

This incident summarizes our year of struggle at KCC. And after ups and downs, sharp discussions alongside strengthening confidence and unity, KCC’s struggle and our Party have grown and given us a taste of real victory: our multiracial, multigender students’ determined leadership in confrontation with the kkkops IS that victory, a year in the making! Amidst a dark night of imperialism and fascism, a new generation is fighting back and leading the international working class closer to communist revolution.

Spring ’23: Antiracist class struggle in session!
The year of struggle began with our response to a police attack on our friend Adrian and continued as weeks became months of resistance to police and administrative harassment throughout the winter (see previous CHALLENGEs). When we returned to campus in the spring, students continued to struggle through the campus police and administration’s months of daily and ongoing harassment, lies, gaslighting, and academic charges against both students and faculty in Common Ground.

We continued mass leafleting to counter the administration’s lies, while in PLP study groups we analyzed the KCC struggle and the world situation through CHALLENGE editorials and Party documents like Reform and Revolution. A student supporter created a website for us, and we formed a legal defense committee to handle the numerous charges and investigations against us.

KCC admins harass Black student; are taught a lesson
Our main task during this period was “court support.” The KCC administration outrageously charged the Black student who was called the n-word by the racist student in November. So, for each interrogation with the college attorney, we organized a crowd of friends and supporters to walk with them and wait outside in solidarity. When the administration —led by a liberal Black woman president and college attorney— tried bullying the student into accepting a disciplinary letter for “moving threateningly” in response to being called the n-word, this solidarity helped build their confidence they had done NOTHING wrong as the victim of racist attack. At the final interrogation, the student demanded a hearing in front of a tribunal of students and faculty. The administration caved in and agreed to a deal on OUR terms!

Revolt is necessary! Rutgers strike solidarity
Spring Break was spent at the Rutgers – Newark strike (see CHALLENGE, 4/26). KCC, other CUNY students and faculty, and PL’ers came over three days, bringing food, drumming skills, and CHALLENGE to the striking graduate students. KCC students also played an enthusiastic role in anti-scab duty, volunteering to patrol campus buildings in response to reports of scab classes, interrupt and occupy the scab classes they found, and invite the students and staff to join the strike.

Striking Rutgers students shared their lessons in building a movement through years of base building, communist political struggle and uniting workers through rank-and-file leadership. While liberal “democratic socialist” union misleaders sabotaged the strike movement at every opportunity, a victory was in convincing workers that if we want change, “revolt is necessary.”

Discussing the powerful Rutgers experiences, we resolved to strengthen the student-worker alliance needed to prepare for actions like walkouts, increasing CHALLENGE distribution, and build for a mass NY/NJ strike movement against racist police, racist tuition increases and worsening learning conditions. In Common Ground, we proposed and collectively drafted a May Day leaflet calling for student-worker unity. We collectively translated it with the help of two of our Chinese-speaking students, and shared it with our Chinese-speaking cafeteria workers.

May Day: Students walkout!
After speaking at PLP’s May Day event, on Monday, May 1, 31 KCC students and faculty walked out of class into the cafeteria, and marched chanting “Racism means? WE GOT TO FIGHT BACK!” out through the campus gates. A group of students and faculty continued onward to a demonstration of several hundred mainly Chinese and Spanish-speaking home health workers at New York City Hall demanding an end to 24-hour shifts and 12-hours’ pay. 500 copies of our English/ Spanish/ Chinese leaflet were gone within an hour! We will stay in touch with these workers.

Afterwards, students and faculty joined with other CUNY students and faculty at Hunter College. We made it just in time to greet Hunter students and faculty staging their own walk-out. In a speech addressing over 100 CUNY students, a KCC student defiantly addressed how the police represent this racist system demanding our obedience, but we will never obey! KCC students concluded May Day helping lead the CUNY student march from Hunter College through Central Park.

Following the police confrontation on Juneteenth, we reflected on our year while gearing up for PLP’s Summer Project. The more we dared to struggle and build confidence in each other and in the working class, the more we dared to fight back. We have a whole world to win! The struggle continues, and we’ll see you at the Summer Project. JOIN US!