Los Angeles, May 23—“DA Lacey, you can’t hide, we charge you with genocide”
“How do you spell racist? LAPD”
“How do you spell murderer? LAPD”
Over two consecutive days, these and other chants rang out all over a working-class neighborhood in South LA, and an upscale neighborhood of Granada Hills, where Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie (“Lackey”) Lacey lives. It was a fighting commemoration of the life and untimely death of Alex Flores, a young Latin worker who was mowed down by racist killers from the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) in South LA six months ago.
Alex is another in a long line of working-class victims of police murder. Cops are the armed assassins of a capitalist system which must use force to control the working class, especially super-exploited Black and Latin workers. This racist terror can only be smashed with a communist revolution organized by an international working class Progressive Labor Party (PLP).
Build a base to build a mass party
In 55 years of organizing, PLP has learned that the fight for reforms, even if militant, can never by themselves lead to revolution. All the reforms in the world (body cameras on the cops; police review boards; electing Black and Latin mayors, District Attorney’s or police etc.) have not stopped continued racist murders by the cops and their minions, like those who executed Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia.
Police terror is essential to capitalism because the ruling class knows that an organized working class will see through their racist lies and rebel against this exploitative system. While we must participate in reform struggles to build a base and use them as schools for communism, we must also make the growth of PLP our primary goal and barometer of success.    
Fight racist killer kkkops and their henchmen
Alex was gunned down on November 19, 2019. Almost immediately, his family, together with PLP members organized daily marches to and rallies at the “Shootin” Newton Police Station. Since January, the family has organized weekly Flores Friday marches. The Justice for Alex Flores Committee, which includes PLP, Alex’s family, and others, organized an additional action this week. After a particularly militant Flores Friday, where we confronted two racist cops outside “Shootin” Newton, an integrated group of 60 antiracists travelled 25 miles to Granada Hills and marched to DA Lacey’s lair.
During Democrat Lacey’s eight year tenure as LA County DA, the LAPD, the County Sheriff’s Department and other local cops have murdered over 500 workers (Mother Jones 3/2), most of them Black and Latin, including numerous workers with mental health issues. Not one indictment has even been sought by Lackey Lacey. So it is no surprise that the Flores family has never been given an autopsy report, never received Alex’s belongings, or any of the video footage or other evidence of the cops’ criminal acts. Further proving that Black capitalists are still capitalists.
Pushing the limits of reform is revolutionary
As we were marching, one cop told us that if anyone “trespassed” we would be immediately arrested by one of the three armed sheriff’s deputies guarding Lacey’s house. We were not intimidated. One of Alex’s sisters gave an impassioned, militant speech on the sidewalk while we held signs, banners, and PLP red flags. She called out Lacey for green-lighting racist cop terror, and vowed not to stay quiet nor to stop the struggle for justice for Alex and so many other victims. She recited our demands, and then continued leading militant, anti-racist chants.
A member of PLP traced the history of police in the U.S., starting with slave-catchers in the U.S. South. He exposed the current role of the cops globally in protecting the capitalist class and their exploitation of workers in the factories, sweatshops, and maquiladoras (See CHALLENGE, 3/13) of the world. He foretold the demise of the cops and their racist masters at the hands of their future gravediggers, workers and their children. He said that only an organized, international, revolutionary, communist party can lead the overthrow of the capitalists by the working class. That party is Progressive Labor Party!
Before we left Lackey Lacey’s house, Alex’s mother and father, who could not contain their anger, built up over the last six months, spoke out. Alex’s father asked the cops protecting Lacey if they really protect the working class, or just cover for criminals who kill the working class.
Cheers for CHALLENGE Chants against killer kops.
As has happened the last several weeks at Flores Friday, our May 22nd march and rally got a tremendous reception from the South-Central LA community. We distributed over 150 issues of CHALLENGE to passing cars and pedestrians while maintaining discipline in light of Covid-19 precautions. Over and over, a cacophony of car, truck and bus horns filled the night with audible support for our campaign. When we caught two pigs from Newton Station standing outside the fire station across the street from us, we quickly organized a short march surrounding them, following them, and chanting “Killer Kops”, to give them the send-off they deserved.
Beginning with a visit by three comrades to Alex’s neighborhood the day after his murder, through hard work and patience, this campaign against racist cop terror has grown into a mass local phenomenon. We want to expand the campaign to reach other working class struggles in the neighborhood. We have started a study group to bring our communist ideas to some of those active in the campaign, which they have welcomed with open arms. Given the response to our politics so far, the future looks bright for the growth and development of PLP.