Coming full circle at a protest

We were a powerful, lively presence at the No Kings NYC protest  on October 18th. We used a loud megaphone and were taking turns leading chants that were true to our party line. We reminded other workers that the existence of the United States does not and never has served our class, not only with Trump as its leader, but anyone who has ever been President.

There were many workers walking with U.S. flags. We reminded them that that flag is soaked in ancestral and fresh blood of the international working class. When we led chants that likened the police to the KKK, chants about smashing all borders and for ending imperialist war machines, and chants about being free, we were met with enthusiasm from many workers, with occasional backlash from one or two to whom which we all then gave literature and had discussions with. We passed out CHALLENGEs and flyers about the Party. Many people also stuck close by us and chanted loudly with us. Towards the end of the march, we had made several friends, who I hope can make it to the next study group. This march was a full-circle moment for me because I met the Party at a protest and connected with the chants about worker-unity, and now here I am a year later with the Party leading the same chants. Power to the working class!
*****

Trenton: it’s like fighting Nazi Germany

Last Saturday October 18th I had the opportunity to go to a No Kings Protest in Trenton, NJ with the intent of sharing our ideas and encouraging people to learn about Progressive Labor Party (PLP) In addition, one of the organizers of the protest who had been coming to study groups and party events for the last few months inspired us to prepare a couple of speeches and a banner to share with the hundreds of people that ended up showing up

As I went up to speak, evaluating the reception that we had from the previous speeches by our comrades, I realized the “better american” nation many workers during the open mic were dreaming of as the solution, and the faith of a lot of people in the Democratic Party in the crowd, needed to be addressed. I started off by firmly stating that all of us in the crowd know that what we’re going through is within a larger context of a looming world war three. The crowd affirmed this line so I continued. I gave an analysis of how there’s parallels between what’s happening now and what happened in Germany in the 1930s. How the U.S. ruling class finds itself in crisis out of declining profits in the face of the rising Chinese empire reflected by the current tariff fights. German capitalists too were a weakening imperial power that had to start disciplining its workers in the form of Hitler to respond to its crisis of declining profits. In this context politicians can’t save us when we’re facing an avalanche of fascists. These ICE concentration camps built by Democrats, and expanded by Republicans are an infrastructure in the making to force the antiracist fighters of today, who will be the fighters against imperialist war tomorrow, into obedience. 

I celebrated the fact that all of these working class fighters, and I pointed from left to right, showed up to the protest to stand against the current terror facing our class, still some of these people in the crowd are going to vote for the Democratic Party and we are going to stand by their side. But we will also struggle every step of the way for them to see that voting will not save us and people need to see beyond electoralism. That we need to become active inside of mass organizations where workers are actively tinkering with the anti-capitalist ideas that will liberate our class.  

I also told the crowd that if we really are trying to fight the racist terror being faced by immigrant workers then we need to consider that all of the workers who are being thrown out of the country are not going to be protected with whatever single country or nation that we’re trying to fight for. If we’re saying we’re against racist terror then we fundamentally need to fight for a world full of equality beyond borders and nations. 

Practicing giving speeches, having dozens of people taking pictures of our banner and distributing almost 200 CHALLENGES had an incredible impact on our morale and our confidence that our class urgently needs and wants the ideas that will liberate us all from the horrors of capitalism. 

While the fight is difficult, workers exposed to communist ideas of class conscious internationalism and antiracism defeated fascists Hitlers and their liberal collaborators all over the world in the last century. Today, we need more workers to carry and improve that legacy and finally replace this system of exploitation with a full world just for us workers!
*****

NC: no to the bosses’ flag!

The fall No Kings Day Protests were in full class struggle mode in several North Carolina cities and suburbs: Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, and suburban Cary for example. Cary alone had 4,000 protestors. The problem again that will hold back the fight was nationalism waving U.S. flags.

Using the bosses’ flag is still loyalty to the very system that created Trump in the first place. It’s not just Trump; he is symptomatic of all that’s wrong with capitalism, and can only be resolved through a communist revolution led by Progressive Labor Party. Once workers adopt a militant communist outlook, the sooner capitalism, and its children, racism and sexism can be overthrown! The good thing was many workers understand that U.S. society is now openly fascist, with racist anti immigrant sweeps,  but only a PLP leadership  can destroy fascism globally for Communism. There were 20 CHALLENGEs distributed at the Cary protest explaining what PLP is, which was multiracial with many workers as cars honked horns in support. We all need to do more to make PLP, and CHALLENGE stronger.
*****

NJ: communism means no kings 

I recently had the opportunity to attend a No King’s rally with other Progressive Labor Party (PLP) members in Trenton, New Jersey. I have concluded that my experience was rather interesting, to say the least. As one of our members delivered a speech, I paid close attention to the crowd’s reaction. It seemed like the word “communism” flipped a switch within them–suddenly, their supportive energy turned to hostility. I noticed that the same people who nodded their heads vigorously in agreement with the banner another member and I held up were, in fact, the same individuals who booed at my comrade while he gave his speech.  

Interestingly, I found that other members’ speeches did not cause the same uproar; in fact, the crowd was entirely on board, chanting and being overwhelmingly positive. It became clear to me that while many people at the rally agreed with our values and calls for reform, the mention of communism itself triggered immense discomfort. The word alone seemed to carry a lot of weight in their minds, like it should never be said aloud. 
Many people today, I think, are short-sighted in their political thinking. I think communism as an idea entices them, but the word itself is burdened by decades of negative connotations. They don’t see it as a possible solution; they view it as a source of potential chaos.

Attending this rally led me to realize how important it is, not only for PLP but for me as an individual, to help break down the misconceptions regarding communism. By explaining what communism truly stands for–beyond the propaganda and historical distortion–we can start to change how people perceive it. Now, the people at the rally seemed very liberal to me, believing that working through the system will somehow elicit broader change. However, at the end of the day, they are still working-class people who still deny how deep the exploitation they are witnessing goes. “No kings” does not just emanate from the idea of a monarchy or dictatorship, but it also emphasizes freedom, and self-governance–in direct opposition to submission to authority. It embodies the idea that true freedom can only exist when people govern collectively, not under the rule of elites or exploitative systems.

The rally only reinforced my belief that the No Kings’ protests, at their cores, are communist movements. People are just too afraid of retaliation to say it.
*****

Harlem: organize everywhere!

My neighbors and I have been demonstrating each Wednesday evening against rising fascism. Some of them decided to hold a No Kings Rally at the corner of 125th Street and Amsterdam Avenue. It’s a corner on which sits a major NYC Housing Project, the Grant Houses, and a cooperative of six apartment buildings just up the street. The decision was made to list the location on the Indivisible website (founded in response to Donald Trump’s election). We requested a sound permit, but the 26th NYC police precinct would not issue one. Six hundred and 50 people had registered to attend the Thursday before. By Saturday the number of people that appeared was over 2000. 

The crowd expressed their anger with chants against Trump, ICE and the violence the federal government has unleashed against cities like L.A., Memphis, Baltimore, Chicago and Portland. Speakers were encouraged to stand on a stepladder and address the crowd. There were folks who attacked the cuts in medicaid, the “Big Beautiful Bill!,” white supremacy, the threat of climate change, and the expanding role of the military. A Party member spoke to the crowd on the increasing dangers of war and fascism, (see photos) and the need to fight for another way of organizing human society. “Call it socialism or call it communism —we need to take the power held by the rich away, the working class needs to hold political power for worldwide economic and political equality. Take this message back to your unions, schools, churches, synagogues and community organizations and organize this movement for power.” People who could hear cheered loudly.
*****