ST. LOUIS, MO, October 13 — “If we don’t get it, shut it down; killer cops, shut it down; Ferguson, shut it Down!” chanted thousands of youth and workers who flocked to St. Louis for a Weekend of Resistance against racist police murders. A multiracial youth contingent from Progressive Labor Party (PLP) once again gained traction with these workers, making over 25 contacts and distributing more than 1,100 CHALLENGEs. WANTED posters of murderer Darren Wilson, the cop who executed Michael Brown, went like hot cakes.
In addition to leading chants, PL youth went door to door to talk with residents and held a study group with a group of students we met a few hours before about the need for a communist party and revolutionary violence. We marched and evaluated in a constantly changing situation. We learned how to think on our feet under pressure, dealing with cops and anti-communists.
PLP’s actions at the Ferguson October protest reaffirmed the young comrades’ confidence in workers’ potential to lead an international communist revolution.
Communists Come in All Shades
On Friday, October 10, the first march was to the district attorney’s office in Clayton. Killer cop Darren Wilson, Prosecutor Bob McCulloch, Mayor James Knowles, and Missouri Governor Jay Nixon were the targets of people’s anger. People gladly grabbed our WANTED posters and CHALLENGEs with photos of nationwide fightback against racist cops. Our banner — “Smash Racist Cops with Communist Revolution” — drew wide support. One woman was blown away by our multiracial group. She said, “Communists are white, and you’re mostly not white!”
Our collective was indeed a mix of black and white, migrants and native born, women and men, students and workers. PLP’s very presence sent the multiracial, internationalist message of fightback for all to see. This was no coincidence. PLP organizes in every sector of the working class, because it will take every sector to abolish capitalism.
PLP’s internationalism stems from the communist analysis that racism is the bloody cutting edge of capitalism. It imposes a racist division of workers to produce super-profits, compelling one sector to earn slave wages with the knife nine inches deep, while another sector is stabbed a few inches less. Black, Latin, Asian, and white workers — we all are dying, just at different paces. Capitalism needs racism to survive. Only multiracial fightback can seriously threaten the bosses.
Nighttime Rage
Lost Voices, a Ferguson rebel group that PLP met during our last visit in August, was happy to receive us. They are continuing to lead nightly demonstrations. A number of our chants — including “Black cop, white cop all the same, racist murder is the name of the game!” and “Killer cop, KKK, How many kids did you kill today?” — were angrily taken up at these protests. There are five chapters of the Ku Klux Klan in Missouri, one of which raised $150,000 for racist kkkop Darren Wilson. Whether the KKK is in police uniform or in white robes, they are protected by the capitalist state.
After Ferguson, we visited Shaw, St Louis, where black youth Vonderrit Myers was murdered on October 8 by the racist cops. Here they are also having nightly marches. We arrived at midnight, as over 150 youth formed a circle around Vonderrit’s memorial in a show of solidarity. We linked arms and marched down the dark streets, chanting, “Hey, hey! Ho, ho! These racist cops have got to go!”
 As we reached the intersection, police in riot gear lined up in front and behind us, penning us in. The cops began beating their batons against the ground to intimidate the crowd as their military armored vehicle appeared on the scene. Protestors stood in front of the vehicle and continued chanting, while others sat in its path. After letting them know we weren’t intimidated, we left on our own accord. The following night, cops arrested 17 protesters at a QuikTrip sit-in.
The main goal of our visit to Ferguson was to share our analysis that racism can only be defeated through multi-racial unity and communism. All the anti-racists in Ferguson are searching for answers. They need an organization that can explain the world situation and has a plan for how to build a new society. That’s PLP. From Ohio and Iowa to Florida and Massachusetts, youth took up our chants, our analysis, and our literature. They are eager to learn more about our Party. We have much to do to mobilize these youth to fight for a communist world. We accept the challenge.