Chicago, March 11—Thousands of protestors succeeded in stopping the appearance of gutter racist presidential candidate Donald Trump at the University of Illinois (UIC). The crowd was young, multiracial and international, and receptive to Progressive Labor Party’s communist ideas.
UIC student groups were outraged that the university would allow such a racist, anti-immigrant politician like Trump to speak, exposing the university bosses’ allegiance to the capitalist ruling class. The more conservative student groups, which support Bernie Sanders, called for peace, non-violence, and freedom of speech. Other student groups rejected that liberal program. A young Latin woman took the microphone and said, “The cops don’t understand peace and harmony—we need violence!” The microphone was quickly taken away from her. So much for the bosses’ phony free speech!
“Racists Go Home”
Many protestors gained access to the auditorium where Trump was to speak, and shouted anti-Trump slogans as the police tried to remove them. Trump was forced to cancel when it became clear that anti-racist militancy could not be silenced.
Scuffles and pushing matches broke out between Trump supporters and anti-racists. To clear the auditorium, the cops led Trump supporters into the parking lot. The anti-racists followed them, chanting, “Racists go home!” A protester threw a bottle, hitting a kkkop on the head.
It’s Not Just Trump; It’s the Profit System
PLP members and friends participated in the demonstration of thousands outside the building. We distributed over a thousand leaflets and 150 CHALLENGEs. We explained that unapologetically racist Trump, Wall Street-raised Clinton, and so-called socialist Sanders are all servants of the capitalist ruling class. Like Barack Obama, any president will continue to murder our class sisters and brothers in their wars for maximum profit. No matter which candidate wins, workers will lose. Capitalism is based on racism, war and the exploitation of the working class. Only a revolutionary communist party can destroy capitalism once and for all.
Communists Welcome, Must Give Leadership
Demonstrators were interested in communist ideas and what CHALLENGE had to say. Many gave us donations and contact information. One student gave $20 for a CHALLENGE subscription on the spot. A student from Serbia expressed interest in organizing PLP there.
Self-critically, we could have given more leadership; we had too few papers and no bullhorn. Before the demonstration, we discussed the idea of disrupting Trump’s speech from the inside. We decided we’d go in if our friends wanted to. As it turned out, anti-racists inside the building took the lead and were invigorated to fight against Trump’s racist supporters. Moving forwards, we must give bolder leadership. We will develop more confidence in the working class as we build a mass party.
There will be many more opportunities to lead workers and students on the road to communist revolution. Let’s build for a massive celebration of May Day, the international working class holiday representing fightback and our potential to build a communist world.
