Newark, NJ, April 1—Earlier this month, the ruling class and their injustice system charged a 14-year-old with murder and attempted murder of two KKKops in Newark. While the bosses’ media frames this killing of a racist stormtrooper in blue as a tragedy, juxtaposing it with questions as to how “someone so young” could do it (NJ.com, 3/25), the true tragedy remains the countless Black and Latin workers victimized by racist police terror in Newark and beyond. Progressive Labor Party (PLP) comrades have been active here in antiracist struggles against police brutality for years, specifically helping the Rodwell/Spivey family in their successful battle against a racist attack by the Newark Police Department (NPD) in 2021. But no wins in capitalist courts will ever erase the fact that reforms won’t liberate workers from kkkop terror. Only a PLP led communist revolution will do that!
Baraka says “It’s not a police problem”
Predictably, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka tried to All Lives Mattersplain the shooting: "We just have to do a better job, I have to do a better job, our families have to do a better job, the community has to do a better job at making sure that our children are not handling guns in the street, shooting at police officers. This is not a police problem. This is our problem, is our collective problem."
Deputy Mayor of Public Safety Lakeesha Eure–a former anti-police brutality activist!—echoed the official police narrative, claiming sympathy for the arrested child, but not daring to question the officers’ narrative. The liberal fascist politicians’ parroting of the police narrative, just as they did in the Rodwell Spivey case, is sickening. However, it should come as no surprise; Liberal politicians will always reveal their true colors as big fascist stooges(see glossary on page 6).”
Newark—Owned by the Big Fascists
This is happening in a city terrorized by racist police and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents for decades. This is happening in a city with some of the most corrupt, racist cops, courts and prisons in AmeriKKKa. This is happening in a city whose politicians – aligned with the Big Fascist, gentrifying finance capital firms like Goldman Sachs – portray as progressive with “cops who care.” Remember, the chief of police took a knee during the George Floyd protests! (NJ.com, 6/1/20) The following year, Newark PD and the SWAT teams attacked the Rodwell Spivey family in their own home, arresting four of the brothers and imprisoning Justin Rodwell in the vile Essex County Correctional concentration camp for 18 months without a trial. Just as workers across the country fought alongside the Rodwell Spivey family to free Justin, we should fight to prevent a modern day legal lynching of this 14-year-old child of Newark.
The killing of Newark Detective Joseph Azcona was used as a pretext to terrorize a North Newark neighborhood for the funeral held on Friday, March 14th. Residents were told with less than 24 hours notice that the streets would be blocked from Thursday to Friday afternoon. Police set up porta potties on Mount Prospect Avenue for two blocks. Thousands of police from across the tri-state area invaded a 10-block radius in the 7th Avenue neighborhood. Residents were essentially a in our homes for eight hours until the police mob cleared around 3 pm. Families had to keep their children home from school because the funeral took place right next to Barringer High School.
While the South Ward is typically the epicenter of racist police terror, the North Ward is no stranger to it either. During COVID, Essex County sheriffs routinely detained, harassed and arrested Black and Latin youth in the areas of Branch Brook Park. Ten years ago, a youth was shot in the vicinity of 6th Avenue by police. NPD routinely terrorizes the residents of the Stephen Crane and Mount Prospect public housing complexes with harassment and raids. Politicians, in cahoots with finance capital and real estate developers, often direct police to crack down on neighborhoods deemed ripe for gentrification. The site of the shooting is a couple blocks from a planned new commercial development (Tapinto Newark, 3/19).
Sanctuary City? What a joke!
While Newark politicians claim to be a sanctuary city, we have all seen the ICE raids for decades, from Ironbound to Ivy Hill. These raids are being ramped up now with President Donald Trump, but Joe Biden and Barack Obama both deported more workers than Trump–so far. One of the first ICE raids under Trump happened in January at a Newark fish market, where agents harassed and detained undocumented and documented workers, including a Puerto Rican military veteran (njspotlightnews, 1/24). Newark ICE arrested a second student involved with the Columbia University Palestine protests and disappeared her into the deportation system (NBC New York, 3/14). Her whereabouts are unknown at the time of this writing.
The Department of Homeland Security is contracting with GeoGroup, a multi-billion dollar private prison company to turn Delaney Hall in Newark into another ICE detention facility, after the community rallied to shut it down in 2022. Baraka, who is running for New Jersey governor, gave a nice speech about how un-democratic ICE is behaving–what a shocker! Like other Big Fascists of the Democratic Party, he says pretty words while behind the scenes making deals and controlling any opposition so ICE is tactically permitted to do whatever they please in Newark.
The Essex County Correctional Facility, next door to Delaney Hall, is one of the most notorious prisons in the country, where one of the Rodwell Spivey brothers, was held unjustly for 18 months without a trial after NPD and the Essex County Prosecutor's Office terrorized their family (Ark Republic, 2/22/22). From 2022-24, there were at least six deaths at the Essex County Correctional Facility and Jayshawn Boyd was put into a coma as a result of the deplorable conditions in the facility (New York Times, 12/28/21). The conditions in the facility, which then housed ICE detainees as well, were so bad that it was investigated. Conditions have not improved; the capitalist media just stopped covering it.
In 2021, Carl Dorsey, an unarmed Black father, was killed by Newark Police officer Roy Simpkins, who had previously had complaints of racist harassment against him documented by the ACLU when the Newark PD was under investigation through a federal consent decree. Dorsey’s family is still waiting for justice as Dorsey’s killer walked free.
Building communism is the solution
The cold hard truth is that no victim of police or ICE brutality will get justice while capitalism is alive. The capitalists control the courts, the cops, the prisons, and they created the Klan–they’re ALL the same. tools of terror. Capitalists use police to brutally quash any fight back and displace Black and Latin workers; they use prisons for modern day slave labor, raking in billions in profits. With the U.S. capitalist empire in decline and Chinese, Russian and U.S. imperialists fighting each other to control oil, gas and mineral resources in the initial stage of another world war, these are dangerous times for workers. But if we unite as an international working class to destroy capitalism, we can take control of our destinies. Join PLP, the ONLY party fighting the capitalists and uniting the international working class. There’s nothing to lose but our chains and a better world to gain.
NEW YORK, April 1—As the struggle against the New York City school's new, mandated curriculum continues, teachers are pushing back with leadership from Progressive Labor Party (PLP). A teacher who refused to teach the mandated lesson plan has been punished with a disciplinary letter in their file.
Communists know that the purpose of education under capitalism is to prepare docile and willing workers and soldiers to serve the needs of capitalism. These prefabricated lessons are designed by corporations and teachers who push the racist, sexist ideologies the bosses need to teach. Whereas, communist teachers use the classroom to interrupt the bosses’ ideological production, interjecting communist ideas, and building PLP and for a communist revolution that will one day bury capitalism once and for all.
Teacher goals: Become ungovernable
When the other teachers found out that the insubordination charge came from the lie that the entire department wanted to use the mandated curriculum, they fought back. They took over a professional development meeting designed to discuss the curriculum and turned it into a restorative justice circle. This left the Assistant Principal (AP) sitting in silence as the teachers aired their grievances over the disciplinary action and other attacks.
During the meeting several teachers said they see students as future workers, that this is a workers' fight, and that fascism is growing. They also pointed out that their compliance with the bosses' request does not mean they agree with discipline against teachers who are fighting back. A PL’er pointed out the curriculum’s racism and sexism. They also reinforced the class nature of the disagreement, reminding everyone that the AP is their boss and teachers are struggling to keep their jobs to survive.
Another attack on the teachers was the AP's decision to lock part of the English office. This is where there is a working window, a microwave, and a refrigerator. The teachers rightly called the AP out for individualism and selfishness in taking over a shared space for her own personal use. Despite these disagreements, the AP agreed to have teachers lead more department meetings which shows workers' ability to lead without bosses interference.
Expanding the struggle
The next day organizing continued as teachers, including PL’ers, met to plan the next stage of the fight back. There was a thorough evaluation of where all the teachers in the department stood in their support or opposition to the new curriculum and their history of struggle in the past. A critical mass of teachers was determined to be ready to act and advance the fight with the help of the Chapter Leader (CL) of the union.
While many teachers were on the side of fighting against the new curriculum, some were upset that they were being pushed into a conflict they did not agree to. They were satisfied with only having to use the curriculum for one unit a semester. One teacher even expressed dismay at the teachers' disagreement with the AP, feeling that they were ganging up on her. It is important to understand that the AP is the boss and workers need to unite and fight together to repel the bosses' attacks. In the end, everyone agreed with the majority to escalate the struggle and it led to a new teacher joining and meeting with PLP.
Despite the union leadership promising to request that the principal remove the disciplinary letter from the teacher's file, the CL and PL’er were skeptical that they would follow through. So far they have not and they seem to be selling out the teachers as they negotiate with the chancellor.
This curriculum struggle by PLP focusing on meeting student's needs and academic freedom for teachers is in opposition to the union's plans.
The union leadership does not want to demand academic freedom or more teachers in the classroom. Instead they want teacher centers in each school to ensure that teachers will teach the new curriculum correctly. That way both the union and the chancellor will have spies to report on dissenters.
Teachers cannot rely on union hacks to fight our battles. The real victory comes from mobilizing the department and others to resist the bosses' attacks on teachers and students. Organizing collectively can help students and teachers realize their revolutionary power. The struggle continues.
Pakistan, March 7—On the eve of International Working Women’s Day (IWWD) 2025, marches and seminars were held in cities across Pakistan, organized by trade unions, student groups, government employee unions, and women’s organizations. Members of the Progressive Labor Party (PLP) in Pakistan, along with our allies, participated and led discussions. Women workers, who face sexist discrimination and capitalist exploitation in factories, hospitals, and schools, were central to these activities. Cultural clubs also held events like film screenings and theater performances that showcased the struggles of working-class women in Pakistan.
Women need communism
PLP used this opportunity to call for a classless society that guarantees gender equality, workers' rights, and social justice. We highlighted the inextricable links between sexist super-exploitation and gender oppression in Pakistan and made the case for a revolutionary solution to these issues.
Our comrades attended the marches and chanted slogans such as: "Communism, not Feminism," "Down with Liberalism and Fascism," "Fight for Communism," "One World, One Fight," and "Workers of the World, Unite!" As expected, women bosses and misleaders attended, trying to erase the working-class and communist origins of IWWD. They promoted the achievements of capitalist women, while deliberately omitting the word “working” from their placards. These leaders spread liberal feminist ideas, while ignoring the struggles of working-class women, many of whom were still forced to work in their homes for low-wages, and were ironically not given the day off to participate.
History of fightback
We also held discussions where our comrades gave speeches about the meaning and history of IWWD, emphasizing solidarity with working-class women fighting against capitalist exploitation and patriarchal domination. Our comrades explained how U.S. imperialism fosters fascism to suppress working-class struggles for equality, justice, and peace. Capitalist rulers divide the working class by enforcing sexist gender roles and fostering divisions based on race and religion. PLP has long fought to unite workers against exploitation, racism, sexism, and nationalism.
Although we are small, we aim to present a true communist analysis to the working class, uniting people from all backgrounds in the fight for a classless society.
The political tone of the event was sharpened by a speech that stressed IWWD is not just a celebration, but a call to action. It demands the destruction of the capitalist system that sustains and deepens the super-exploitation of working women.
Another PLP comrade explained that the oppression of women in Pakistan is not isolated but a result of capitalism, which is rooted in feudalism and imperialism. Capitalism profits from gender-based exploitation, relying on women’s unpaid domestic labor and relegating them to household duties. Around 57 perwcent of working women in Pakistan serve as unpaid family workers, primarily in agriculture and domestic work. This labor is essential to the capitalist economy but is unpaid and lacks social security.
Women in Pakistan suffer under both capitalist exploitation and patriarchal control. Feudal power structures further reinforce this oppression by enforcing rigid gender roles and limiting women’s access to land and financial resources. A large portion of women’s labor in sectors like agriculture, domestic work, and garment manufacturing remains unrecognized and uncompensated. Women’s participation in the workforce is just 24 percent, one of the lowest rates globally. This exclusion is supported by patriarchal traditions, limited access to education, and the capitalist system’s reliance on women’s unpaid household labor.
Sexist capitalism by the numbers
Key facts about the situation for women in Pakistan under capitalism include:
- Women earn 38-45 percent less than men for equal work, with a starker gap in the informal sector, where most working-class women face exploitation without legal protections.
- 47 percent of women are illiterate, compared to 30 percent of men.
- Gender-based violence has surged by 17 percent since 2020, with over 14,000 reported cases in 2024, including honor killings, domestic abuse, and sexual assault.
- Maternal mortality remains high, with 186 deaths per 100,000 live births, reflecting the failures of Pakistan’s healthcare system, which is shaped by capitalist policies.
- Although women hold 20 percent of parliamentary seats, nearly all the nominees are from the upper class.
Our comrades reaffirmed that the struggles of working-class women in Pakistan are not separate from the broader class struggle. True liberation cannot be achieved through reforms—it requires the destruction of the capitalist system.
On this International Working Women’s Day, we emphasize that the fight for women’s liberation is bound up with the fight for communism. The way forward lies in class consciousness and an international communist revolution. Only by smashing capitalist structures can working-class women achieve true equality, economic security, and control over their own lives.
Forward to the International Communist Revolution! Workers of the World, Unite!
- Information
Film review of 'Rule Breakers' Building bots, breaking sexist chains
- Information
- 28 March 2025 125 hits
Rule Breakers is a movie with fighting spirit. A true story of young Afghan women in 2017 engaged in an international robotics competition focuses on unity and intelligence of the vanguard leaders. The success of persevering high school students, women who fought to be educated despite facing threats of violence, becomes an example of inspiring strength to both men and women in the audience. I admit I was impressed by the message of cooperation among individuals on various national teams as well as the growth of more reluctant members of the Afghan group. The film contains kernels of communist ideas of antisexism and cooperation not competition and science as tools that will help the working class build a better future under an egalitarian communist society. However, some of the film's scenes sidestepped the question of nationalism and fear.
When the women are denied visas we are all reminded of our immediate political situation. Then in disjointed fashion we are shown history leading up to 1999. The repression of women. The haunting specter of the Taliban. Then shots are fired through a car window—we reflect on fascism and the current dangers of ICE. And then right back to the movie where a handful of women and their coach try to recruit brilliant young science scholars to enroll in an international competition. There’s a suspense filled moment when no one shows up . . then we behold in a basement classroom the scores of women who were shunted away from access to computers—living examples of discrimination and perseverance.
Women workers struggle against sexist capitalism
Tension builds as one woman’s father is killed when the Taliban bombs a mosque. Another woman is pulled off the team by an irate relative. Then the women’s computer is held up in customs. After receiving a compensatory silver medal in Washington, DC, for their “effort” during the visa delay, the Afghan women decide to engage in a second international competition in Albuquerque, NM. Their robot is sent to the wrong address. It arrives in time but in unusable condition. One of the parts must be welded, and the working-class experience of one woman shows by example the necessary marriage of manual and intellectual skill as she uses the materials in a car garage shop to repair their broken mechanism.
One garage mechanic tells his personal story of on-ground battles in Afghanistan. He found the people there admirable. Two mechanics attend the Albuquerque festival, cheering on the Afghan team. Throughout the entire film there are scenes of solidarity between teams. Men and women are seen writing words of encouragement on the backs of the shirts of members of opposing teams.
Each country fosters a unique humanitarian promotion of robotics: One robot dances delicately in crab-step fashion over lethal, toxic material.
Another favors saving sea life using complex facsimiles of fish robots. One team illustrated how visually challenged people might navigate terrain safely with robotic assistance. Afghanistan took first place with magnetic detection where spray paint then illuminated land mine locations. The team predicted the ability to save thousands of lives of adults as well as children who play in desolate areas over the globe. That first prize is a triumph of one country’s women, but the intent of the film’s message was international.
Now imagine if these ideas and innovations were being realized by women, men, and people of all genders from around the world, armed with scientific education, in an anti-sexist, antiracist, communist, egalitarian world—without borders, money, profit-driven motives, or imperialist competition and wars. In such a world, the working class would have the power to develop all this and more. This is the vision that the Progressive Labor Party (PLP) fights for. Join us!
Here’s why I joined PLP
I work with a fellow teacher who has told me about this organization and the work they do. The teacher was very passionate about the organization. They discussed that people should get respect for the work that they put in. After talking to the educator more about how they planned to get the workers to unite and grow, I became intrigued and asked if I could join any events the organization planned out.
I wanted to join the Progressive Labor Party (PLP) when I first went to one of its events. It was at a pre-May Day event where they discussed plans of action and the organization has been fascinating to see in action. There are people that care about workers’ rights and make sure everyone gets treated in a respectful manner. The Party has been active in going to protests and making sure people are owed justice. This aligns with my interest, as I do want people to be owed justice and respect that is long past overdue.
I want to join an organization that helps others and this party has been putting out events that showcase support for the people. This organization does not belittle one another for the type of work that they do. They do want to see everyone grow and benefit from the action they do. I see the effort that this organization puts out and I am awe-inspired by the amount of people the PLP has that want to see the workers be seen as people. We are living in a time where the political climate has been very aggressive towards many people just for existing. The Party makes sure that does not happen, and calls out against the injustices. Your status as a human being should always remain protected and validated; this Party wants to make sure this continues to happen.
I will work for this organization as long as this premise holds true. I want to stand up and fight against the oppression that has been holding down so many other individuals. I want the people to be able to be themselves without worry or prejudice. I want people to be able to come over to this country and make a living without bigotry saying otherwise. I want people to be able to live comfortably and not worry about homelessness and starvation. I want success for the people that are working two or more jobs to just barely scrape by. We need to work together for this possibility to be a reality. We need to work together if we want those changes to happen. People need to rise up and unite against these oppressive powers. The Progressive Labor Party can do that, we just need to make sure that we will continue to work hard and stick together. Together, change will happen.
*****
Never retired from mass fightback
Long-term outlook. Patience and persistence.
These are words I heard, and that I repeated to others during the decades I immersed myself in trying to be a communist Progressive Labor Party organizer in my union. These words were true then and are true now! My working life ended abruptly years ago thanks to a health crisis. Yet I’ve tried to stay involved with my union’s retiree group.
This is a group of folks from jobs all over the city. Most of the folks here don’t know me and don’t know I’m a communist – unlike the last decades when I was working. But some of these retired folks participated years ago in the early militant fights to bring in the union. Several proudly report of being arrested in those fights.
And times have changed! Used to be that my bringing up fascism in union meetings small and large was met with silence. Not now! At today’s retiree meeting we had a very lively discussion that largely accepted fascism as the current U.S. political stage.
Sure, there was a wide spectrum of opinions of what fascism is and how to fight it. “It’s the Republicans!” “We gotta pray!” “We gotta vote for the Democrats!” “We gotta go back to the streets!”
But all this is to be expected. It also allowed me to introduce the need to defend immigrants and fight deportations into our discussions about fighting fascism and rebuilding our union. My comments were warmly received. I don’t know where this will lead, but as the retiree group proceeds with our plans to rebuild the union, and we continue to confront and discuss deepening U.S. fascism, I plan to vigilantly look for ways to connect these things to the need for communist revolution. I guess this stuff really is long-term and there ain’t no retiring from the fight to overthrow capitalism.
*****
