TRENTON, NJ—Progressive Labor Party (PLP) members joined a multiracial group of over thirty protesters who marched through the state’s capital chanting “No Cops—In Our Schools” to protest the racist A1114, “Police Respectability” Bill.
In response to police murders and subsequent protests, the bosse are fearful of working-class youth armed with class consciousness. They are trying to pass a bill aimed to fool workers into believing the police are on our side.
A1114 will force all schools—from elementary to high school—to create courses that teaches students how to “interact” with cops, essentially putting the responsibility of an arrest, shooting, or murder on the victim rather than the police force. According to the bill, the class will give students information on “the role and responsibilities of a law enforcement official in providing for public safety; and an individual’s responsibilities to comply with a directive from a law enforcement official” (NJLEG). This bill is fascist, as it aims to build all-class unity between class enemies—working-class kids and ruling-class forces.
To smash racism, we must smash capitalism. Only a revolutionary communist PLP can bury this racist system once and for all. Many protesters received CHALLENGE and responded warmly to discussions about capitalism and communism.
‘Respectability’ Politics Kill Youth
The politicians primarily sponsoring A1114 primary were all from Essex County (highest percentage of Black workers in New Jersey), including Sheila Oliver, the Black candidate for lieutenant governor running with Democratic Gubernatorial candidate Phil Murphy. It easily passed through the Assembly 76-0 seemlessly. This bill shows that relying on the Democratic Party to fight against the openly racist Trump administration is a dead-end for workers.
The racist bill going to clear the Senate until young antiracist fighters got word and responded with protests. Labeling the protest “Good Kids, Bad Cities,” the antiracists not only addressed the conditions of the cities, but they also challenged what students should be learning in schools.
Fascist Police Bill Exposes Capitalist Role of Schools
Since schools are factories for reproducing capitalist ideas, it is clear that students will not be taught the truth about the roles and responsibilities of cops. They will not be taught about the origins of the police from slave catchers, or the role that they played in attacking striking workers during the 19th and 20th century fightbacks against the bosses. “Slave patrols to hunt down escaped slaves were the original police in the South…They [police] were created to protect the new form of wage-labor capitalism that emerged in the mid to late 19th century from the threat posed by that system’s offspring, the working class” (LAWCHA, 12/29/14).
Our children must not pledge allegiance to the Ku Klux Klan in blue—yesterday’s Klan members are today’s cops (and judges, politicians, and bosses).
Aiming to Build an Obedient Workforce
By teaching students that they have “responsibilities to comply” with police, they are doing two things. First, this A1114 implies that most men and women murdered by the cops died because they didn’t comply. “If only they complied they would still be alive.” We know that this is the furthest thing from the truth. Philando Castile (Minnesota, 2016) is just one example of many who did everything he was “supposed to do.” He was murdered and the killer cop still walks free.
Second, this bill looks to create a more compliant working class—one of the main functions of education under capitalism. When workers fight back—whether against racism, sexism, or imperialism—the police suppress it. A compliant working-class youth taught to always obey cops is good for the bosses, as it lessens the chance of militant fightback, let alone revolution. Militant fightback led by Black and Latin youth is extremely threatening to the rulers (i.e., Ferguson and Baltimore).
A speaker at the NJ rally spoke about the need for cops under capitalism. He surveyed the crowd to see how many protesters were under the age of 30. More than a majority raised their hands. He then asked if they knew someone who is unemployed or underemployed. All of the protesters raised their hand. As inequality becomes more visible and revolutionary ideas spread through the population, the system itself is in trouble, and the ruling class is searching for ways to discpline the working class with police force.
Throughout history, we have seen the physical force that has ben used by the cops and military to suppress workers’ uprisings. While the ruling class will never hesitate to use this force to keep the workers in line, they prefer to control our ideas. It is a much easier way to maintain their capitalist system. That is why PLP joined these young fighters in protesting Bill A1114 and others like it. We have a lot to learn from the working class. We also have a lot to contribute to the movement. Possessing a communist analysis is key for our victory. We don’t just want to see this bill die; we want to see this capitalist system die.