CHICAGO, August 23 – Dozens of members of the communist Progressive Labor Party (PLP) wrapped up a powerful summer project this afternoon, after nearly five straight days and nights in action against the capitalist bosses’ system of genocide, fascism and war. PLP comrades, ranging from the newly recruited to veteran members with decades of experience, traveled from across the country to directly challenge the liberal Big Fascist U.S. bosses as they held their Democratic National Convention (DNC) here.

Our revolutionary, pro-worker efforts contrasted completely with those of the liberal racists and their pro-genocide spectacle. The deadly Democrats trotted out international war criminals from the Clintons to the Obamas, all endorsing the nomination of Killer Kamala Harris for president in a desperate bid to save their declining U.S. empire in the face of fierce competition from imperialist rivals. Meanwhile, those of us in the summer project showed egalitarian communism in action: workers and students of all ages and genders striving to give leadership and act collectively.

Summer projects like these are the perfect opportunity to expand our revolutionary movement, our base in the working class, and our limits as a Party. While the bosses in the U.S. and around the world can only offer different brands of fascism to the working class, PLP remains YOUR international Party for a future free of racism, sexism, and world war!

Jumping into the struggle

Our project formally kicked off Monday morning, as our local collective held a welcoming event for all participants. We gave a rundown of the week’s activities and shared our goals of sharp agitation, building camaraderie, and political education. Equally important, we stressed the necessity of having security plans and collective discipline in the face of potential violence from the bosses’ police state.

This planning was essential as we jumped right into the first scheduled mass rally and march against the DNC that afternoon in a park near the convention site. Among thousands of workers and students, PL’ers seized the opportunity to engage our class and distribute hundreds of copies of CHALLENGE newspaper and other literature.

After hours of congregating in the park, the march was finally mobilized to begin. Our PLP contingent kept tight ranks behind our banner of “No War but Class War,” using our own marshals to keep pace. We had multiple bullhorns on hand to lead chants calling for internationalism over so-called “revolutionary” nationalism. We also called for the necessity of communist revolution. 

A number of comrades made speeches in between chants, including a newer PL’er who gave her first Party speech! Once the march reached its end point, we returned in groups to our original briefing place where we socialized and created some revolutionary art to use in our actions through the rest of the week.

Base building and class struggle over voting

Day two of the project began with the first of two scheduled study groups, centered around PLP’s foundational document “Build a Base in the Working Class.” Unlike the bosses’ dishonest relationships with the working class, in which they make empty promises and outright lies to mobilize workers to vote, the Party strives to develop deep personal connections with workers to build a foundation for revolution. Comrades shared personal experiences in our small groups of how we embed our own lives in the working-class struggle and build confidence in our class’s potential to win power.

This discussion dovetailed well with our event that same evening, a mass forum titled “Don’t Vote, REVOLT!” The forum championed the international working class and revolutionary action as the real source of social progress over the bosses’ bogus elections. Two comrades gave a fiery presentation to kick off the discussion, before we broke into smaller groups to share historical and personal examples of class struggle being the engine of change. We came back together to share discussions as a group before a veteran PL’er gave a rousing speech for everyone to build PLP!

Struggling beyond reforms and nationalism

Day three kept up the pace with our collective joining forces with an organization on the west side of Chicago which has been pushing for the U.S. bosses to provide reparations to Black workers and families who had their lives destroyed by the arch-racist “War on Drugs.” Although as communists we have doubts about the likelihood of capitalism to ever remotely address the harm it has unleashed on Black workers, we were proud to participate in the group’s march to build ties with our fellow workers, talk politics, give speeches and lead chants.

Later in the afternoon, we dove deep into discussions of internationalism, first with another study group on the topic and later with a movie night where we watched the documentary Israelism about Jewish soldiers and workers rejecting the Zionist state. Given the overwhelmingly nationalist tone of the mass movement against the genocide in Palestine, it remains essential that we continue to debate and sharpen our line on what communist internationalism means in theory and practice.

Finish strong for the working class

For our final full day, we jumped right into a picket line at a local hospital where over 1,000 nurses were on strike. We unfortunately ran into some anti-communist attitudes from the union hacks and some nurses, but overwhelmingly our Party was well-received, allowing us to have good conversations and make some contacts.

By the evening, we were fired up for the final mass march on the DNC, coinciding with Harris accepting the nomination. Even compared with the previous march, there was a noticeable rise in the energy and enthusiasm in which our collective – stimulated largely by the youth – engaged with all workers present. Beyond getting CHALLENGE into the hands of countless marchers, we set the tone with our multiracial group and militant chants. We even riffed off a popular track: “Kamala, she a genocide cop! She not like us!”

Dare to struggle, dare to win

Although many of us are leaving Chicago and heading back to our areas, we realize the need to keep up the same urgency and collectivity where we’re at. Although our Party is still small, our communist ideas and leadership remain the only solution to this nightmare of capitalism and will one day be wielded by billions to take power! Dare to struggle, dare to win!