Chicago, August 29 — “I’ll go!” shouted a young woman near the end of tonight’s Fight Back Like Ferguson forum. She was responding to an appeal for volunteers to attend a rally in Ferguson, Missouri called for the next morning. The news of hundreds of workers violently fighting back against the racist police murder of a young black man in Ferguson has inspired millions of workers and youth, from St. Louis to Chicago to Palestine. As one speaker who had visited Ferguson shortly after the rebellion explained, “I’ve never been in a demonstration before where people were willing to die.” This fearless commitment to fighting racism deeply moved those who went to Ferguson. By the end of the forum, a new team of four volunteers was preparing to head out early in the morning.
Featured at the forum were reports from two PLP-led organizing teams that recently returned from Ferguson. One of these PL’ers began the forum by leading the audience in chants brought back from Ferguson. Immediately the political discussion was sharpened with the chant “Who do we want?” “Darren Wilson!” “How do we want him?” “Dead!”
An irate woman in the audience objected to the chant about killing. Others objected to the use of violence. The discussion that followed eventually led to the need for revolutionary violence to destroy this racist system, which uses police killings of young black men to terrorize workers into submitting to capitalist rule. We were told about PLP study groups being formed among young workers who are willing to die rather than go back to the way of life that was Ferguson before the protests began.
We saw many photos and videos that showed Ferguson workers standing up to the kkkops and their rifles and bearcats (armored personnel carriers). We heard many stories of how community members welcomed the support of the PLP volunteers, despite the hype in the media about how “outsiders” weren’t wanted in Ferguson. They accepted and read over 400 copies of CHALLENGE. These workers adapted a PLP chant to say “What has to go?”  “ The whole system.”
More than 60 people attended the forum proof of the tremendous support for the antiracist fighters of Ferguson. More than half of the audience came from our friends in the community where the forum was held:  CHALLENGE readers and others from Chicago State University, Southsiders For Peace, and Unity in Diversity.
One speaker summed up the current situation by saying that the local cops, the state police and the National Guard couldn’t defeat the power of the workers. It is only the ideas of racism and nationalism which hold our class back. By winning workers to antiracism, internationalism and communist equality, we will smash the hold the bosses have on the working class.

Baltimore, MD, August 27 — Supporters of justice for Tyrone West — 44-year-old black worker beaten to death while in police custody in July, 2013 — chanted, “Can’t stop! Won’t stop! Till killer cops are in cell blocks!” They also expressed anger about the police murder of Michael Brown. Solidarity was strongly voiced in support of the struggle for justice in Ferguson. There were frequent chants of “Hands up! Don’t shoot!”
Every week since Tyrone’s murder, family members and supporters have rallied, demanding prosecution of the Baltimore City police and Morgan State University police who took the life of another black man after what began as a traffic stop.
Tyrone’s sister Towanda, who spoke at this week’s powerful rally, had previously explained, in accord with reports by eye witnesses:  “My brother was dragged out of the car by his dreadlocks, and was called the ‘N’ word on several different occasions.”
Witness Ayesha Rucker said that it started when both plainclothes cops arresting Mr. West began punching him at the same time, as he stood waiting to be arrested. Ms. Rucker then explained that he was sprayed with mace or pepper spray as he screamed for help and attempted to escape. When about 10 officers arrived for backup, she said, they tackled Mr. West, and an officer kicked him in the face.
Another witness, Shawanda Wilson, said that after Mr. West tried to escape from the initial beating and spray, and ran a short distance to an alley, officers caught up with him and started beating him with batons on his head and back. Wilson further explained that numerous officers, some from Morgan State University, arrived and also began to beat the man.
Yet another witness, Duane Bond — a rising sophomore at University of Baltimore at the time, and a class representative — said he was at a relative’s house and had gone outside when he heard women screaming. Bond said he “vividly remembers” one of the officers “cocking his arm all the way back, and laying a haymaker [forceful blow] on the man. At this point, he [Mr. West] was already definitely down, and I didn’t see any movement.”
Witness Shawanda Wilson further explained that the officers backed away and a policeman could be seen performing CPR on the man. She said West was bleeding from his mouth.
At this week’s rally and march, one participant was Abdul Salaam. He is a survivor of a beating — barely weeks earlier — by the same exact cops who initiated the beating that led to Tyrone’s murder.
State’s Attorney Gregg Bernstein has decided NOT to pursue charges against any of the cops involved. This is not an isolated incident. Bernstein has never prosecuted any officer for killing workers. In fact, over 100 people have been shot by Baltimore police since 2005. None of those officers have ever been taken to court, let alone found guilty.
Tyrone West was unarmed, just like most other people who are killed by the police. He didn’t deserve to die.
For over twenty years, the city required youth to be home during summer nights. Last week, it launched a more fascistic curfew requiring all youth under 14 to be indoors by 9 pm (those under 16 by 10 pm).
Among many other powerful speeches at this week’s rally, a member of Progressive Labor Party spoke. He pointed out that a black woman, man or child is killed somewhere in the United States approximately once every 36 hours by police, by security guards, or by self-appointed law enforcers, like George Zimmerman, the racist killer of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Florida in 2012.
The PL’er said that this murderous racism exists because the capitalist system needs racism to justify paying very low wages to a large part of the working class. In fact, about a third of corporate profits are a direct result of this system using millions of black workers as cheap labor. Keeping racism alive is a life-and-death necessity for capitalism. For us, the opposite is true. Defeating capitalism and defeating racism is a matter of life and death for our class, the working class!  Communist revolution is what we need!

STATEN ISLAND, NY August 23 — The ripple effect of the 10-day Ferguson rebellion over the murder of Michael Brown reached Staten Island today, both in good ways and bad. In fact, it was more like there were two rallies today, one inspired by the rebellion, and the other determined to make sure the rebellion will not be repeated.
The vast majority of the 4,000 workers, students and youth, women and men of all colors came inspired by, and in solidarity with the Ferguson rebellion. This was evident as thousands put their hands in the air and chanted, “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot,” the rallying cry of Ferguson.
They came because racist police terror is out of control across the U.S., as the bosses try to terrorize black and Latin youth into accepting a future of poverty and war. Reacting to the NYPD’s racist murder of black worker Eric Garner, PL’ers were able to lead chants such as “How do you spell racist? N.Y.P.D.; How do you spell murderer? N.Y.P.D.”
The bodies are piling up while the prisons, police precincts and unemployment offices are overflowing. Young unarmed black men were murdered by the police in St. Louis and Los Angeles while the Ferguson rebellion was still raging.
Marchers came from unions and schools, churches and community organizations, in cars and buses and by the Staten Island ferry. In true sellout mode, Sharpton negotiated with the cops and transit bosses to stop all local S.I. buses from going to the rally site, in the hopes of keeping the most angry and militant workers and youth away from the march. A marshal from 1199 SEIU said his union brought 30 buses to the rally (the mothers of murder victims Sean Bell and Ramarley Graham are both members of 1199), and there was a notable turnout of transit workers (Eric Garner’s sister is a bus operator) in spite of the fact that the Transport Workers Union and Amalgamated Transit Union leadership did not mobilize for the rally. PLP tried to mobilize our co-workers and students from around the city and distributed more than 1,200 CHALLENGES and several thousand flyers, reflecting mass support for the Ferguson rebellion.
But as much as the majority of marchers embraced the rebellion, that’s how much the bosses fear it. So they called out their chief ambulance chaser, MSNBC talk show host and FBI informant Al Sharpton to put out the fire.
Surrounded by a rogues’ gallery of preachers and pastors, imams and union hacks, with the Nation of Islam providing security (for the cops and Sharpton), the message from the stage was clear. “We are not against the police, we are for the police! We want to get rid of the bad apples,” Sharpton said. He spent more time attacking the idea of fighting back than he did police terror. “If you’re not for non-violence, organize your own march! This one is mine! Don’t piss in my pot,” he said. And the union leaders backed him up. SEIU had many signs that read “Support NYPD — Stop Police Brutality.”
The point they were making was that they know how to keep a lid on things. And the fact is one thing that made Ferguson possible was that there was no established mis-leadership in place to snuff out the rebellion.
We will continue to dig in where we are and build a mass base for revolutionary violence against racist terror, and for communist revolution. Our strategy is to answer racist cop killings with walkouts at schools and campuses and bus barns and hospitals. When masses of workers and students walk out and converge on police headquarters under the leadership of PLP, those hundreds will begin to lead tens of thousands. Then the lid will be off and the struggle  for state power will be on.

Brooklyn, NY, August 21 — It has been thirteen months since Kyam Livingston died in a Brooklyn Central Booking holding cell. Kyam’s mother, sister and other family members along with their supporters have vowed that Kyam’s death will not have been in vain. They vow to fight to change the conditions in Central Booking.
Family members had hoped to see politicians support the struggle and the newly elected Brooklyn District Attorney bring charges against those responsible for Kyam’s death. But they now view politicians as liars who will say anything to get elected and then do nothing for workers once in office.
PL’ers in this struggle are fighting to make clear that the politicians are only puppets doing the bidding for the capitalist ruling class of big bankers and business owners.
Today’s rally on Flatbush and Church started with a bang. As we assembled, the police started putting together metal fencing to pen in our demonstration. Kyam’s mom responded quickly, saying “my daughter died in a pen, you won’t pen me in!” She pushed aside the fences that blocked access to workers exiting the nearby subway station.
As a crowd grew, chants rang out, “We want justice for Kyam Livingston, killed in a Brooklyn cell!” Leaflets and over 200 copies of CHALLENGE were distributed. Soon, the fences were moved and we could easily reach the large numbers of mainly black workers who stopped on their way home to hear our speeches and take literature being distributed.
Notably, this was the first time that a significant number of young white workers stopped to take leaflets and CHALLENGE. They are no doubt angered by recent racist cop murders. This is a step in building multiracial unity.
Members of the Justice for Kyam Livingston Committee spoke linking Kyam’s death and the murders of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. as well as Eric Garner, Kimani Gray, and Shantel Davis here in NYC. Kyam’s mother explained that our struggle has resulted in the release of the video tapes (first said not to exist) and the names of the jailers in Central Bookings who did not respond to Kyam’s pleas for medical help.
A retired unionist spoke about raising support for this and other anti-racist struggles in unions, churches, tenant associations and other community groups as a way of building this struggle and making sure that the monthly demonstrations grow. He urged those present to also attend the rally in Staten Island linking the struggle against police murders in Ferguson, and New York.
A teacher speaking for the Progressive Labor Party explained that this is not an issue of a few bad cops but rather a fight against the capitalist system whose police forces are used to terrorize the working class in general, especially black and Latin workers. She made it clear that racist police murders would continue as long as capitalists ruled us.
The list of names of those murdered by the racist police is already much too long. A system that survives based on racism and racist terror needs to be overthrown by communist revolution!