Worcester, MA, September 1— Progressive Labor Party (PLP), workers, and students rallied at City Hall against the racist and sexist murder of our class sister, Sonya Massey, a Black grandmother who should still be alive with her loved ones. Instead, she was shot in the face by killer KKKop Sean Grayson for the crime of being a Black woman in distress simply calling 911 to report suspicious activity outside her home. A grand jury indicted Grayson, but that does not mean much since far too many of our class brothers and sisters have met the same fate at the hands of the racist police. No politicians or apologists for capitalism can reform this cesspool of a system. A PL’er at the rally spoke and summed it up best when they said: only workers, students and soldiers can smash this racist system. Workers can shut it down at the point of production in the factories, hospitals, and offices, students can shut it down on college campuses and soldiers in the battlefield, in the air, and at the drone controls. She called on soldiers to turn their guns around and shoot the profit system down! She called for the abolition of borders and to fight for communist revolution!
Our literature table was well received, and CHALLENGEs and leaflets were distributed. Members of the community spoke at the open mic and shared their thoughts, and class anger about the murder of our class sister. A young, Black high-school student said, "We should be safe in our houses." A Latin woman said "I should be able to sit in my car and not be worried about getting shot by the police." Another woman said, "Here we are again at another rally mourning the loss of a Black person murdered by the police." Progressive Labor Party members led antiracist chants "Racism means, fight back!" "Same enemy, same fight, workers of the world unite" and called for an end to this profit system with communist revolution. This racist capitalist system has been murdering and terrorizing Black, Indigenous, and Latin workers for hundreds of years. As Progressive Labor Party has been saying for years, racism opens the door for attacks on all workers, and that is why we see attacks on the unhoused, mentally ill, students on the college campuses against the genocide in Gaza, and the attacks on unions, abortions, and healthcare. Inter-imperialist rivalry is intensifying between China and Russia and the U.S. rulers see their empire slipping away, so in order to hold on to their power and resources both here and abroad they need to keep us in line, and get us ready to fight their next war. We have to be united from the Mexican border, Haiti, Sudan, Ukraine, Gaza and Israel to smash this capitalist system.
Liberals show their true, racist colors
Our comrade who took leadership in organizing this rally, was fierce in his pursuit of making sure this demonstration took place and exposed the systemic nature of racism in Worcester. As a result, our multiracial rally had 45 members of the community attend. We called out the city bosses and police who are in lock-step with criminalizing our Black and Latin youth in public spaces. Another comrade spoke about the role of the police under capitalism. She said the cops are not your friends. They might help you cross the street, or play basketball with your kids, but don’t be fooled. They are there to protect the ruling class and their property, and at the end of the day they will throw your child up against the wall after playing basketball with them. The kkkPD run a summer camp for Black and Latin kids in the city. These gutter racists refer to it“thug” camp or the “gang unit” of the Boys and Girls Club. She said the police should have nothing to do with the education or mentoring of our youth, especially our Black and Latin youth.
In Worcester, systemic racism is alive and well. The crime rate is at an all-time low nationally; according to the FBI there has been a 13 percent decline in homicides relative to 2022. (ABC News, March, 22, 2023.) But in Worcester, the police department made disproportionate numbers of arrests in Black and Latin neighborhoods. Progressive Labor Party and others have opposed these arrests. A report of an independent audit of the Worcester Police shows that arrests show systemic racism. The new police Chief stated that systemic racism has a negative impact and harms Black and Latin communities, but he is now walking back his comments. The City Manager has refused to hold hearings with the public about the report, and the Mayor has blocked efforts to investigate it. The City Councilor who heads the Public Safety Committee says systemic racism is not her job. This is an example of how the government protects the bosses and their profit system. It cannot be reformed. We have to fight for an egalitarian communist world and smash all borders, and end poverty! Fight for communism sisters and brothers! Join us!
