ANAHEIM, CA, February 27—In a pitched battle with the Ku Klux Klan and their allies in the Anaheim Police Department, local anti-racists and the Progressive Labor Party suffered casualties but also served notice: No free speech for racists!
Leading a group of bold Black, Latin, and white anti-racists, PLP fought back against KKK scum who’d planned to hold a “White Lives Matter” rally. Emboldened by the openly racist filth spewed by the capitalist ruling class’s presidential candidates, KKK members felt they could intimidate Muslim and immigrant workers here. But when we heard about their planned rally, we determined to fight back.
Drawn by PLP signs that said “No Racism” and “Smash Racism with Multiracial Unity,” local anti-racists gathered around us. Party members and friends used a bullhorn to lead the group in anti-Klan chants. As we distributed CHALLENGE, comrades spoke about multiracial, working-class unity as the key to fighting racism and smashing capitalism. Others explained that the battle against the KKK was just one front in the fight against the kkkops and imperialist war. Other community members were invited to speak, including a mother whose son was murdered by kkkops.
No Honor Among Slime
While we were rallying, a black SUV pulled up. Half a dozen KKK racists, dressed in black uniforms with Confederate flags and iron cross patches, slimed out. When our large group confronted them, these racist thugs speared one anti-racist with an American flagpole. We cracked their car windshield and fought back against the vicious attack. Cowed by our militancy, three Klansmen drove off in their smashed car, leaving the other three gutter racists to fend for themselves. We beat them back, even as they continued to attack us with knifes. This sexist, racist gang was beaten by a multiracial group of women and men.
Throughout the attack, the kkkops did nothing to stop the Klansmen, who were allowed to walk away from the scene with bloody knives. We would not let them get away, and a few protesters confronted the fleeing cowards. This forced the kkkops to pretend to detain the Klansmen. But even when the cops finally took the criminals’ knives, they were laughing and joking with the Klan and protecting them in a cordoned-off area. While six Klan members and seven protesters were arrested, five of the Klan members were released within hours.
Sending Our Message
The aftermath? Some serious stab wounds, broken arms, ribs, and other injuries—some inflicted by Klansmen, some by kkkops. Plus three KKK thugs beaten and many more seriously intimidated. We sent a clear message: The working class will not allow our class brothers and sisters to be harrassed and attacked.
The police sent their own clear message as to whose side they are on. They defended the Klan, let most escape, and quickly released the few Klansmen they did arrest. The police are never there to defend the working class. They enforce the laws of the capitalist class, so it is no wonder they use and defend racism. Capitalism needs violent, racist intimidation to keep the working class divided and stop us from fighting back.
Anaheim has a long history of pro-Klan sentiment. Historically, many Klansmen have also been police officers or city officials. In the early 1920s, four of five City Council seats were held by Klansmen. “At the height of the group’s power in Orange County, nearly 300 Klansmen lived in Anaheim, patrolling city streets in robes and masks. A large KKK rally once attracted 20,000 people to the city” (Los Angeles Times, 2/29/16). Klan activity in Southern California is not ancient history. In 2003, an eight-foot cross was burned outside a Black resident’s home in Anaheim Hills. Within the past year, these cowards have left racist flyers on driveways in Whittier, Fullerton, and Santa Ana.
Our Proud History of Fightback
PLP has a strong understanding of the ties between the KKK and the police. We know the only way to stop the Klan is to fight back with organized violence. There is no such thing as a peaceful demonstration by a racist hate group. Even if they don’t throw the first punch, their racist speech directly leads to more attacks against Black, Latin, and immigrant workers.
For more than 40 years, Progressive Labor Party has organized to beat back these racist attacks. In 1975, in Boston, at a May Day march and summer project, PLP stopped racists from blocking and throwing stones at buses carrying Black students who were integrating white schools. The racists never showed their faces again. In 1978, in Chicago we led a multiracial march through so-called “Nazi territory,” broke into Nazi headquarters and closed it down. In 1999, in New York City, we infiltrated a KKK march and beat up its leader. They have not dared to march in New York City since.
These confrontations with the Klan and other racist groups are extremely important, but they are only the beginning of our larger fight. We must use these battles to build a mass movement for communist revolution. Only by smashing capitalism and replacing it with communism can we eliminate racism. A communist society will not tolerate free speech for racists.
Across the U.S., our local fightback has sparked conversations among workers of all kinds. To consolidate our political gains, we must hold rallies of solidarity and build anti-racist struggles. In New York City, students and workers are using fundraisers for the Anaheim fighters as a way to talk to friends, coworkers, family, and people on the street about anti-racism.
What we do counts for the international working class. The more we fight back, the more it encourages other workers to do the same. When workers witness heroic militancy, they respond with overwhelming support. No matter where you are in the world, you can spark anti-racist struggle and work to tear this racist system down. Join the fightback!