We just attended a memorial service for a fallen comrade. This inspired us to write about him because his life embodies what it means to be a communist in the Progressive Labor Party (PLP). Hundreds of workers attended his memorial. All friends: from his family, from his childhood, coworkers and fellow church members, from many struggles in which he was involved, and from comrades in PLP.  
He attended a local college where he met his wife and PLP. His road to communist consciousness took a turn when he began supporting a strike of immigrant workers. He and his family immersed themselves in that fight. They built relationships that lasted beyond the strike, building bonds of working-class solidarity and friendship.
For those of us around during that period it was a learning moment. We all gained a clearer understanding of what it means to organize for the PLP, to build a communist base and to serve the working class, particularly during a time of class struggle and fightback. It was clear he loved his working-class brothers and sisters.
The strike changed him. He saw how the workers fought hard, faced racist attacks and demonstrated bravery in the face of possible deportations. They emerged from the strike with a short-term reform victory. This reality shook him. He realized that despite the victory, the workers would still be wage slaves, earning very little. They would still live in a world where the working class is divided by capitalist borders and subject to deportation at any time.
It was through this practice of supporting the strike, building the class struggle and a base that he discovered the only way workers could be freed was through overthrowing the capitalist system with communist revolution. It was then that he joined the PLP. We had spent years talking to him about communism and the need for the Party, but what transformed him was engaging in class struggle and becoming part of the fight.
In his two-and-a-half year battle with cancer he continued to be active in the communist movement. Two weeks before he died, he attended a communist leadership school.
His family and the working class have suffered a great loss. Our class will miss his leadership, his commitment and his dry, biting sense of humor. In his honor we must all do more to engage in the class struggle with the goal of serving the working class and building a base for communism. It is the least we can do for a comrade who loved the working class until the end. We pledge to stand by his family and pick up the struggle.
Chicago Comrades