CHICAGO, February 7 — PLP medical workers club organized a “Racism, Police Violence, and Health Teach-In,” with two public health student organizations at a major university. This teach-in was built on the growing antiracist momentum against police terror. It was developed for participants to draw connections between racism and public health, capitalism and police violence, and to strategize on how to build the antiracist struggle among the masses. The teach-in provided an opportunity to fight anti-communist attacks and sharpen our relationships with friends.
To kick the event off, a panel of five speakers gave a short speech, based on their experience on the subject matter. The panelists came from a diverse professional background, ranging from a public health student, to a history professor, to a leftist reverend. A local PLP leader was also on the panel. He spoke about not only his multiple trips to Ferguson, but also called for communist revolution as the means to end racist police and state violence.
Multiracial Unity and Organized Violence Are Necessary
Following the panel, over 100 participants broke into workshops to discuss tactics, strategies, and reform. Some of the topics discussed in these sessions included: identifying the pros and cons of both identity politics and multiracial unity to fight racism; identifying alternatives to relying on electoral politics and politicians; and making healthcare more accessible and comprehensive to the working-class in an era of increasing racist privatization and soaring costs.
Identity politics offer white, male workers only the only potential to ally with the oppressed groups. It is based on the belief that white workers benefit off the exploitation of Black, immigrant, and women workers. Such an individualist outlook fractures our class and prohibits real solidarity. An attack on one member of our class is an attack, and an indicator of greater attacks, on all of the working class. We should focus our effort on uniting against the cause of racism: bosses’ profits.
PL’ers participated in the workshops and raised the need for violence by the working class. While many agreed, some were anti-communist. One individual spoke specifically to the PL panelist afterwards, and condemned the use of violence as a political tactic. A majority of the panel explained that acts of violence are endlessly being committed against our class and that organizing to fight back is, at the very least, self-defense. PLP rejects all acts of individual terror. But, a mass movement to defeat capitalism requires a mass army. Legal slavery in the U.S. was defeated through violence, and wage slavery will be buried with organized violence as well. The participant was so upset, she walked out.
Communism Is “Unprofessional?”
A few of the organizers considered it “unprofessional” to openly call for communism and revolutionary violence at a university-sponsored event. To hide one’s politics because “people aren’t ready to hear that” is utter disrespect. Communism is the best way to organize society — no cops, no profits, no bosses, no racism, no sexism — and we will say so!
People who say it doesn’t “look good” to talk about communism are the same people who criminalize our kids for what they wear. Politics of respectability pays respect to the bosses and all their anti-working-class ideologies. This attack provided PL’ers an opportunity to strengthen our relationships by clarifying the difference between fighting for reform, and fighting for revolution. Those who we strengthened our ties with are the ones who can be won closer to communism by fighting racism at its source: capitalism. Diluting politics so as to not offend anyone is a tactic for the phony leftists and organized liberals.
By and large, the event was deemed a success by organizers and participants. We look forward to advancing communist politics with our new friends as well as the masses in the #BlackLivesMatter movement in order to offer the real solution to racism.