Roslindale, MA, March 15, 2025—Progressive Labor Party comrades took the lead in organizing a local rally against the racist Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). About 65 workers and young people came and filled Adam’s Park in the central square of Roslindale holding signs saying, “Smash Racist Deportations,” and “ICE OUT.” To prepare for the rally, we leafletted and distributed CHALLENGE from barbershops, laundromats, corner stores, and restaurants that line the main street in Roslindale. With President Donald Trump using ICE as his fascist wrecking ball against brown workers, in times of decreasing U.S. stability worldwide and rising imperial powers in China and Russia, all workers need to come together to smash capitalism for good with communist revolution.

Striking down racism

Organizing for the rally helped energize our base, friends of the Party, and study group members towards taking action and fighting back. One comrade used this as an opportunity to call in all her relationships developed with neighbors over the years to motivate and focus efforts on a shared goal of ending deportations

The rally was popular among people passing by on foot and in cars. We got many honks and cheers – some people stopped to join us and others shared their contact information with party members to keep in touch with us. 

A comrade gave a speech over the bullhorn sharing our analysis of what’s happening and how liberals and Democrats are not going to save us, as some workers in Roslindale believe: “These fascist attacks are happening for a reason. They are happening because our society, and in fact our whole world, is run according to profit instead of what is best for people. And that profit system, capitalism, is falling apart before our very eyes. And the capitalists know the system is failing and they are trying to scare us, pit us against each other, and control us so they can squeeze every last penny of profit out of their dying system. Inflation. The housing crisis. Climate change. Global pandemics. War. The capitalists who run this country cannot fix these problems.”

This led to many local people in the neighborhood hearing about communism and learning some of our political lines on the root cause of deportations, capitalism in crisis and fascism, for the first time. 

Advancing the struggle

Following the rally some folks asked, “What’s next?” and expressed feeling energized by the rally. We told attendees about our plan to do the May Day march this year in Roslindale and invited them to join us. Some workers contacted party members in the following days to tell them about ICE sightings in the neighborhood. Some started to organize a group of us to meet to discuss strategy for how to confront ICE when they’re here. The JP/Roslindale club and the New England party in general intend to keep this work going for the long term. We are brainstorming some ideas for a follow-up meeting to the rally, including potentially doing a salon for those who are new on what communism means. We will continue visiting local businesses to pass out challenges and invite workers to our events. We plan to set up a regular time to table and sell challenges in the square. We will continue to spread the need for eliminating capitalism now more than ever and the need communist revolution.