PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY, MD, February 11—Six months of antiracist organizing have led the county’s Board of Education (BOE) chair to unilaterally cancel the meeting that would vote on whether or not to remove cops out of schools. The rebellions after the racist murder of George Floyd ignited a local campaign to get armed police out of our county schools Capitalism uses police as agents of social control in our neighborhoods, jobs, and schools, using their power to put our kids into a school-to-jail pipeline.
“COUNSELORS NOT COPS!” has been the rallying cry of antiracists here. Progressive Labor Party (PLP), in helping lead the fight against racist police brutality in the county since the 1970s, plays a significant role in this campaign.
The BOE chair used the pretense of “investigating contracts” to cancel the meeting. The chair, intimidated by the struggle, was trying to intimidate angry residents and the board members who will vote to remove SROs (School Resource Officers). This is what “democracy” under capitalism looks like. But we are not backing down!
Cops in schools make students unsafe
The campaign against SROs began with a virtual program in August featuring many antiracist supporters of PLP. A group of public health advocates also joined with MORE in launching the program.
Many factors go into making schools unsafe for Black and Latin students. At the program, public defenders showed the disparate number of arrests of Black students. In past years, the school, not the police, would have handled disciplinary problems. According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), “Nationally, Black students are more than twice as likely as their white classmates to be referred to law enforcement” (7/9/2020). A criminal record jeopardizes a student’s financial aid, college admission, and future jobs.
Instead of an environment of support, the school’s priority is to create an atmosphere of racist intimidation. Police outnumber nurses and social workers in schools. Instead of racist cops, the mass campaign demanded more mental health resources.
While resources are important and needed, additional support staff won’t solve the stresses and racism of capitalism. Smashing capitalism through communist revolution and erecting an egalitarian, collective society will eliminate this psychologically damning system.
Beware of liberal wolves
The antiracists ratcheted up the campaign with an online petition, an informational website, and a letter writing campaign to the BOE.
However, in an earlier meeting, the BOE voted 8-6 to keep cops in the schools. Alvin Thornton, a Howard professor and “progressive” educational organizer, who had previously created policy for equity in educational funding, actually voted with the majority to keep the cops. Beware of liberal wolves in sheep’s clothing!
The anti-SRO campaign continued into the election season. Two new members who favored removing the SROs were elected and a new chair was appointed.  Other groups in the county held additional programs and rallies during this time. A letter to the editor written by a PLP member had 26 organizations sign on to the campaign.
In response to the growing campaign, the CEO of the school system created an online survey of teachers and County residents about the SRO program. A PLP member exposed the bias in the survey, which led to a widely-distributed criticism of the survey on Facebook and email lists.
Three days before the vote, we again produced a virtual program on Zoom and Facebook. One speaker, a teacher of 29 years, explained how she had shifted from believing in Zero Tolerance Policies to supporting Restorative Justice efforts, which treat students with unmet behavioral needs like human beings who are growing during high school.
Members of the campaign worked closely with the advocates on the School Board, holding weekly meetings and working through committees so that it was ready for a vote on February 11. Several had signed up to testify at this now-cancelled meeting.
It is clear that communists can have an antiracist effect on the mass class struggle. However, class struggle in and of itself is not enough (see historical article on page 7). We must also win people to join, support, and promote communist ideas and PLP.
The willingness of the capitalists and their agents to use police for social control was evident to the political base of PLP. They agreed that if the BOE approves this policy, racist repression in the schools would continue.
The role of the Black politicians who lead the county is also obvious. From County Executive Angela Alsobrooks who blocked the reopening of the murdered-by-cops Archie Elliott III case (CHALLENGE, 7/25/2018), to Vice President Kamala Harris, a vicious prosecutor who sought to arrest parents for truant children, the election of “progressive” Black politicians are hollow “victories” for this Black majority county. These politicians use identity politics to pacify working-class fightback and further racist policies.
Defeat racist propaganda
Years of attacking Black and Latin youth have led some residents to accept the racist ideas from the capitalist media. Many parents who have bought into this false ideology are afraid of sending children to public schools. Black, as well as white and Latin, families sometimes share this fear. Instead of trusting students, helping them mature, and developing more collective approaches to discipline, the solution arising from racist ideas is to hammer them with police.
Building a different society requires reimagining education and restorative justice, providing real learning opportunities, and supporting students with higher needs.
But capitalism has no interest in providing that kind of education for our class. Schools are a sorting hat for the next generation of class relations—managers, goons, mouth pieces, and apologists for capitalism; the researchers and scientists working in the interest of profit and imperialism; the workers; the reserve army of workers;  and the soldiers. The role of school is training students to accept, obey, and internalize the rules of this exploitation-based society.
Only a communist society that values all children can offer a future that encourages all students to learn and master skills and contribute to everyone’s quality of life.