BROOKLYN, NY, August 3 —The seventh annual Hoops for Justice basketball tournament brought together over a hundred workers and youth to honor the memory of Shantel Davis (23) and Kimani Gray (16), two Black youth murdered by the kkkops. The event was organized by the Justice for Shantel and Beyond Committee, of which Progressive Labor Party (PLP) has been a part.
Hoops for Justice is a special event because each year a multiracial, multigenerational group youth, workers, and comrades come together to play basketball, eat, distribute CHALLENGE, prizes and commemorate  Shantel and Kimmani with ballons. It’s the perfect blend of fun and
working class fightback!
More importantly, Hoops for Justice sends the  
message that we refuse to forget our working-class sisters and brothers, whose lives were robbed by racist police violence. PLP will carry the torch of justice forward to the only solution that can put a stop to racist cop murders: communist revolution.
Building workers solidarity
one hoop at a time
During the fast-paced games players waiting to compete looked through CHALLENGE as the announcer mixed in play-calling with political consciousness—calling out the racist NYPD and the true nature of capitalism, and the need of young workers to organize for a revolution. As it happens every year, halfway through the tournament, participants gathered on the court to listen to a revolutionary anti-racist song performed by a fellow comrade. Workers sang along calling out the roster of names of workers cut down in high profile murders. We then released white balloons, as a symbol to never forget, all while delivering a message that we also keep fighting the racist violence that robbed their lives.
Confidence in the working class, an antidote to fear
Unfortunately at the tail end of the event, some youth said they spotted a man in a motorcycle who was purportedly flashing a gun tucked in his waist at some of the local youth. For a brief moment it seemed as though the event was soured, and with just two games left to play.Organizers and other workers rushed to make sure everyone was okay, with one seventeen year old positioning himself in front a group of children he didn’t know in order to protect them—giving them his phone to watch cartoons while the situation was assessed. Workers have, workers can, and workers will protect each other without the racist harassment of the murderous capitalist police state.
This fact was reflected in the collective decision making and determination of PLP and our friends organizing the event not to end the tournament on a note of fear. Then a party member and sports commentator told the remaining crowd that we should stay and play one more game. He explained that the youth in this Brooklyn neighborhood are exposed to the capitalist violence that comes with living in impoverished and marginalized neighborhoods, that they don’t have the choice to just up and leave whenever disturbances happen, and so we shouldn’t either. We quickly organized another match that was  multi-generational, co-ed, and multi-racial to end the event, building solidarity and showing we’re not intimidated by violence that stems from capitalism.
    A world without kkkops is possible
Events like this are small, but significant examples of how the working class doesn’t need  bosses to run the world and doesn’t need kkkops to keep us safe. The working class can organize ourselves and create a world run by and for workers. And one day, we will—when we build a mass party with youth leading the way! The necessity to build PLP is clear. If we don’t, the bosses and their badge wearing goons will continue to exploit workers’ feelings of hopelessness and to redirect any sense of spirit towards dead-ends such as electoral politics. Only workers armed with communist politics and values have the power to turn the dark nights we’re currently living in into brighter days. Long live communism!