WORCESTER, MA, May 30—Today the Progressive Labor Party (PLP), along with 200 friends from the Worcester community, came out with only a days’ notice, to lead the first of three demonstrations protesting the racist lynching of George Floyd, and to support the thousands of rebels in Minnesota, who are protesting the kkk-killer cops. The murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Alex Flores, Zachary Bear Heel, Eyad Hallaq and many others, have moved millions of people to militantly oppose racist police murders, not just here but around the world.
At the demonstration a PLP member spoke and shared historically how capitalism created race and racism to divide the working class, exploiting white workers and super exploiting Black, Latin, Indigenous, Asian and undocumented workers, making super profits from their stolen labor. Our comrade asked everyone which side they were on and to join us and fight for an egalitarian communist world where racism, sexism, borders and imperialist wars are outlawed and the distribution of wealth is shared. She urged everyone to join the PLP.
As we led chants, people drove by, honked their horns in support, and took our flyers and CHALLENGEs. At one point a train conductor gave us the power fist sign and blared his horn as he passed by. A firetruck honked in support of us.
When a car of racists drove by heckling us, protesters holding signs chanted, “Black lives matter!” and, “Racism means we got to fight back” to drown them out.
We led several passionate chants: Same enemy, same fight! Workers of the world fight back!, and had an open microphone where young people spoke about why they were out here. Many of these youth showed their class anger and pain about what the cops and politicians are doing. Our comrade spoke about how the entire profit system is guilty as hell and that reforms are not enough.
Some of the bosses in City Hall tried to disrupt the demonstration by sending out social media posts saying that the PLP rally was cancelled. However, we prevailed and went forward! One of the bright spots at our demonstration was that there were no politicians present.
The killing of George Floyd and so many others shows that the bosses’ profits and racist culture has to be destroyed. Capitalism cannot be fixed. The message of the Progressive Labor Party at this rally was that racism, sexism, fascism and the profit system that supports them have to be destroyed with a communist revolution in which production would be for need and the elimination of exploitation would remove the material basis for racism and poverty. We spoke of the need for mass, militant, multiracial unity and called for communist revolution.
Abolish the police
On Sunday Black Lives Matter held another demonstration. Five hundred people turned out. Many were young, Black, Latin and white. The police turned out in force. The group organizer spoke about race and police racism. A young Black woman who spoke gave a moving speech about anti-Black racism and called for the abolishment of the police. She had also given an inspiring speech and sang a moving song at the Saturday rally. There were many people who wanted to fight racism but there was no discussion of how to change the racist system and there was no talk of multiracial unity.The young protesters here were enthusiastic and militant, but a lack of class analysis and hatred of the bosses gave the cops an opportunity to obscure the racist nature of police under capitalism. Even though the cops turned out in force, and on horses which nearly rode up on the sidewalk, some of the leaders of this rally disappointingly wound up shaking hands with the police and taking selfies.
Politicians and Black misleaders defend racist capitalism
The third protest was on Monday June 1, 2020. This one was called by the City bosses under the guise of Black leadership. The Black director of the Boys and Girls Club where the police gang unit is headquartered spoke. A Black minister who supports cops in the schools spoke. The police chief who would later that night order an attack on the youth walking home from the rally and the City manager who brought criminal charges against protesters in 2016 also spoke. They all lied about fixing racism while at the same time being the executioners of a racist system.
Even this orgy of racist speakers could not completely shut out the militancy and anti-racism of the working class and our Party. Two thousand people came and then marched to the Court house. Many chanted, “ No Justice, No Peace!” Our sign said, “The Kops, The Kourts, The Nazis and the Klan, All Are A Part of the Bosses Plan!” Our comrade also carried the red flag and wore a PLP shirt which said “Smash All Borders with communist revolution!”
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Asian, Latin, Black, and white— to smash racism, we must unite!
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- 12 June 2020 86 hits