LOS ANGELES, May 4- Progressive Labor Party (PLP) celebrated May Day with a multiracial crowd of about 85 workers and students. The day started with a group of PLP members and base setting up tables and musical instruments along with banners and flags calling for communist revolution and justice for families who’ve encountered police terror. The collective effort in setting up the event made it so that all aspects: security, food, drinks, and political content were handled.
Our May Day event was held in a neighborhood park that is significant to a struggle against police terror that PLP has been involved in since November 2019 (See CHALLENGE issue 11/07/19). Leading up to the event a group of workers and students including both Party members and friends worked on a committee to plan the event and evaluate the speeches that were going to be made during the program. The program was a mixture of speeches, songs and poetry as well as activities to ensure everyone was able to meet new people.
Since last May Day the working class has continued to see the ruling class carry out war and genocide while neglecting the needs of students, particularly Black and Latin students. In the weeks leading up to May Day, Party members and our base have been involved in protests on campuses and meetings about school closures in Inglewood. We have PLP members and friends at colleges that have set up encampments and we took a moment to applaud the courageous students across the U.S. and around the world who have put their bodies and academic careers on the line to protest the imperialist genocide Israel is carrying out with U.S. dollars against the workers of Gaza. Students shared their work within mass organizations such as Students for Justice in Palestine. Neighborhood organizers around the school closures in Inglewood joined our May Day and shared stories about their struggles dealing with a system that values stadiums and parking lots more than the education of Black and Latin students.
One student member who recently joined the Party emceed the event with another student. The event opened with a performance from an Aztec danzante group. They have supported actions for justice against police terror that the Party has led and joined in the past. Throughout the event we had members and friends read greetings from PLP members worldwide which discussed their struggles and commitment to communist revolution. We had different group performances of “Bella Ciao,” “Should I Ever Be a Soldier?,” “Too Many Names,” and “The Internationale'' in both English and Spanish. Participants also joined a “speed dating” activity where younger people were paired with the older generation and shared why they came to May Day and what was the biggest thing in the world they wanted to change.
One of the biggest highlights was hearing speeches from a member who was attending his 51st May Day and another member who had joined the Party a couple months ago. The veteran member spoke about the journey from campaigning for Nixon to working within Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and becoming a communist through joining PLP. He then symbolically “passed the torch” to the new member who spoke about how joining the Party filled a need he had to fight for a better world.
A poem with drums and a musical beat was performed by two Party members. The poem included verses about the police murder of Dexter Reed and the imperialist genocide taking place in Gaza. It touched on the catastrophe of global warming and the chemical spill in Ohio from a derailed train. It called for unity among all students and workers. It was critical of nationalism and electoral politics while calling for more people to join PLP.
The final speech was given by a veteran member of the Party which highlighted the power of “yet.” People in the world are definitely starting to see that capitalism doesn’t have anything to offer our class. The majority have not “yet” joined the Party to fight for communism, but they still can. People may not have “yet” joined a study group to learn more about communist politics, but they still can. People may not have “yet” read or distributed CHALLENGE, but they still can.
People who attended are not only excited about next year’s May Day, but also committed to the day-to-day struggles that PLP is involved in. Members and friends are reinvigorated to join student encampments. There is a growing west coast education collective that is having monthly study groups. PLP will continue to be involved in mass organizations in order to bring communist politics to the forefront of the struggles and recruit as many members as possible. We have a world to win. Happy May Day!!
