Letters of January 28

Harlem Forum & March Show Need for Communists
The protest in Harlem, NY on December 20, 2014 about Ferguson was great in my perspective not just because of the number of people who showed up but also because so many supported it, even those who were not part of the protest. I believe it is amazing that we get to rise together as communist revolutionaries and have our voices heard, the voices that are shut down by our capitalist system; that’s what protesting is all about.
★ ★ ★ ★
I absolutely loved the forum. I loved how people stepped up and talked about their experience with the protest in Ferguson. I also found the stories of the people who had lost a family member to a cop in Baltimore compelling because you could feel their pain and their hurt. My favorite part of the forum was the rally afterwards. I have never been out, walking around in the middle of the street with a group of people protesting. It was never something I participated in before and I am happy I had the opportunity to do it.
Wade in the Water
A young brother from Baltimore at the “Fight like Ferguson” meeting in Harlem on Dec. 20 led us in singing “one of the chants we use in Baltimore”:
I got a feeling
I got a feeling
Someone’s trying to hold us back
There ain’t gonna be no stuff
        like that!
Chills ran down my spine as I realized the tune was the old spiritual “Wade in the Water,”  which originally had both a religious meaning (the struggle of the newly baptized soul), and a political one (the struggle upward from slavery and racism).
Wade in the water
Wade in the water, children
Wade in the water
God’s gonna trouble the water
It became an anthem in the 1960s Civil Rights Movement, and I sang it last a full 50 years ago in occupied Mississippi during the 1964 Freedom Summer.  We northern volunteers sang it with the local people after a mass meeting in a vacant lot near a highway, as a police cordon carrying shotguns closed in on us and ordered us to disperse or be arrested.  
Arrests would bankrupt the community or put their houses in hock, so we dispersed. But believe me, singing that song, it did not feel like we were dispersing or retreating. It was a battle cry, an unforgettable, unending battle cry. I will always hear “Wade in the Water” in the voices of those old Black freedom fighters of the South, urging us back — when we need urging — into the troubled waters of the movement.  
The Black freedom struggle baptized me into the communist movement. I could barely believe that today I was hearing a version of this fighting music coming back at me, in a communist meeting, from a new Baltimore youth rebellion against police racism. The singer stood next to a young sister who told us her brother had been beaten to death by a dozen Baltimore cops after a car stop.
 That summer in Mississippi also began with death, the police/Klan murder of three civil rights workers. Our struggle wades again and again in the water, in our own blood, but is carried beyond death by our music. Here is the chorus: sing it, remember it, give it the Baltimore words, give it new words, make it live another 50 years!
Anti-Racist March Builds Confidence
Recently, I was fortunate enough to participate in a massive protest in Foley Square, NY, which erupted after the racist cops who killed Eric Garner were not indicted. The outrage from my fellow New Yorkers, who are tired of the bosses’ fascism and tired of letting another kkkop go, manifested into a sea of untapped consciousness. Thousands upon thousands of people from all diverse backgrounds convened near City Hall, marching along Canal Street and completely shutting down the West Side Highway.
I’ve always felt some nervousness attending marches, often wondering about police interference to split up the crowd. However, seeing how huge this gathering was (and being part of it), gave me more confidence that the cops couldn’t stop us. And sure enough, they couldn’t stop us from taking over West Street and reaching the masses. The fight for our class is nowhere near finished, but it’s looking stronger every day.
My First College Conference
My trip from Boston to New York for the PLP College Conference was a new and exciting adventure for me. I was made aware of all the different problems and circumstances that people all over the world are dealing with. We had a rally in East Harlem, NY. During the demonstration, we were made aware of the problems and issues that could arise during a rally but I believe that my comrades and I were disciplined enough to not get out of control. As we were walking through the streets and chanting, there were people who came out of stores and shops and supported the cause and believed in what we were fighting for.
Of course the police showed up and tried to intimidate us by flashing their lights and getting on the bullhorn and telling us to move along. NYPD even thought they could ask one of my comrades what organization we were a part of. The rally “Workers and Students Unite” was such an amazing experience for me and was such an eye-opener. I can’t wait until the next rally.
CHALLENGE Distribution Chronicles: LA Garment District
Our PLP club has been distributing Challenge in the Los Angeles garment district each of the past four issues. We split the paper into English and Spanish parts and have averaged 90 copies per issue. We try to ask everyone for a donation, although some people go by so fast it’s difficult — and sometimes we are unnecessarily timid. Our plan is to continue the distribution at the same time and place until we can get to know and follow up with some of the workers who pass by regularly.
The following is a conversation with a man who took the paper for the first time.
M:  What’s this about?
P: It’s a revolutionary communist newspaper.
M: What’s wrong with socialism, like in Germany?
P: Germany is a capitalist country with “socialized medicine” and laws about maternity and paternity leave, holidays for workers, and some job guarantees. We are talking about getting rid of capitalism and workers running the world.
M: Wow! That’s big.
P: You’re right.
M: You mean getting rid of money. People would have to cooperate — no more “me first.”
P: You’ve got it.
M: I’m going to lunch now. I’m going to read this over lunch.