Live Reports from the Frontlines
Our work is made possible by the hundreds of communist correspondents across the U.S. whose contributions flood into our offices every day.
Here is a glimpse of those contributions.
How I Made My First Recruit
ML, Philadelphia, PA
Each week at my cell’s paper sale, rain or shine, I watched comrades fervently approaching workers and young people with bold communist ideas. But at first, I used a copy of The Communist as a mini-shield to hide behind.
This time I followed the example set by my fellow comrades … and I sold four papers!
I approached a worker and asked: “Are you sick and tired of capitalism?” She replied that she’s been tired of the system for some time. In our brief dialogue, I learned about her struggles and her desire to fight oppression. She left with a paper.
When I called her later that day, she was glad to hear from me. I was able to answer most of her burning questions, despite being new to the party myself. We arranged to meet in person to discuss the paper, and I invited her to our cell meeting. She was impressed by the political discussion—so much so that she joined the party!
But the recruitment process isn’t over. The end goal isn’t adding a new name to the books. It’s training a cadre who can contribute to building the party herself.
Ex-Military Student Interested in Communism
Mary D, UW-Madison, Madison, WI
We spoke to a young military veteran starting university on the GI bill. He said he joined the military because he believed it meant protecting Americans. But after serving, he realized that the US military was not defending democracy.
He read more about the crimes of American imperialism in Vietnam and elsewhere. Now he’s looking for a way to fight imperialism. He was hesitant to call himself a communist, but he agreed with our analysis that the state exists to serve the interests of the ruling class, and back it up with force when necessary.
He also agreed that in a revolution, the working class would need to work to win over a section of the armed forces in order to defend its gains. Further discussion will allow us to clarify the party’s goals and how a scientific analysis of history shows that communism is both possible and necessary. We aim to convince him of the need to build the party that will overthrow capitalism and bring an end to imperialist war!
Workers Sympathize with Kirk
Nickolas R, Denton, TX
Never have I seen politics discussed so much at work, much less one event. It was all everyone talked about, striking up conversations unprompted.
The conclusions were all the same: sympathy for Charlie Kirk.
The right-wing momentum of martyrdom felt crushing. Instead of this arch-reactionary being exposed, discredited, and used a means of increasing working-class consciousness, Kirk’s assassination has temporarily given MAGA some breathing space. That’s the real, reactionary consequence of individual terrorism.
This atmosphere won’t last forever. Under the pressure of rising inflation and unemployment, MAGA will eventually split along class lines, but for now, it’s been strengthened.
Communists must help advance the conditions, confidence, and consciousness of the working class. Only a mass revolutionary party can discredit reactionary ideologues by waging militant struggle against the whole capitalist system.
“You guys know Marx? Karl Marx?”
Yan B, Philadelphia, PA
After Labor Day, I returned to the metal sheet processing factory for another grueling 10-hour shift.
I expected my coworkers to come back relaxed and excited for the shorter workweek. Instead, the normally lively quality control room was filled with grumpiness. As it turned out, there was indignation, too.
“You guys know Marx? Karl Marx?” A 30-year-old coworker asked out of nowhere.
After cracking up from the suddenness of the question, I nodded, waiting to hear what he had to say.
“The guy wrote about exploitation and all. Well let me tell you, I feel pretty damn exploited right now.” After a day of freedom, returning to the drudgery of wage slavery felt like a slap in the face!
Not missing the opportunity to start a political discussion, I turned to Bill, a 60-year-old grandpa. “Do you feel exploited?” I asked. “Well, I’m no Marxist, but I sure do feel exploited.”
Discussion spread through the room, with five of us connecting the dots between the corrupt government, ruthless attacks on our living standards in the Big Beautiful Bill, the opioid pandemic, the absurd healthcare system, and much more. We also spoke about the bravery of the Indonesian masses in their struggle to bring down a corrupt parliament.
One conclusion follows: the consciousness of the working class is advancing, crashing through seemingly impenetrable barriers. All those who laughed at and ridiculed American workers for their backwardness will soon be surprised.
“Of Course Zohran Needs to Break with the Democrats!”
Martin L, Queens NY
An enthusiastic young worker who volunteered for Zohran came to our table. He talked about the cost-of-living crisis in NYC: “The rent is rising like crazy. People are living paycheck to paycheck. Groceries are getting mad expensive. And no one wants to talk about it.”
“That’s why Zohran won,” I said, “he connected with working-class anger. The Democrats and the establishment are hated, and Zohran is seen as someone willing to stand up to these people.”
He enthusiastically agreed. The conversation then shifted to the election in November. He was worried.
“No one actually likes any of the other candidates, but they have a lot of money and powerful backers behind them,” he said, “I think he will win, but that’s when the real problems will start for him.”
I asked him what he meant.
He responded with: “He needs to fight for the people who made him win. He can’t become another politician.”
I agreed—the working class has put their confidence in him and what he is fighting for. The billionaires and their parties will try everything to stop him. They are not as scared of him as they are of the mass of workers behind him.
“Yeah exactly!” he added, “They’re going to try to pull an AOC with him!”
I asked, “Do you think he needs to break—”
“With the Democrats! Of course!” he exclaimed. We were finishing each other’s sentences.
Later, during a phone call, he said, “Capitalism is like an old building. The foundation is crumbling and the ceilings are collapsing over our heads. We keep trying to fix things here and there, but nothing works because the problem is with the foundation. We need to tear the whole building down, and build something new, with a strong foundation.”
From North Carolina to New York: Students Turn to Communism
Mary Claire G, Brooklyn, NY
I left Boone, NC years ago, after I graduated from Appalachian State University. I never dreamed I would one day return and work with communists building for revolution.
While visiting family, I made the two hour journey up the mountain to visit the Boone RCA comrades. On the first day of classes at Appalachian State, I saw students flood to our table.
Many were already self-professed communists. Those who came up out of curiosity ended up agreeing with all that we said. Within an hour, ten students had signed up on the spot. At a college where I never read Marx or Engels but certainly a lot of postmodernist fluff, the communist flag flew high on the quad that day.
Ten years ago, the most radical form of political expression in Boone might’ve been an anarchist zine at a coffee shop. This is a town where I frequently saw confederate flags on trucks. Before the 2016 election, there were rumors of far-right groups postering on campus. Conditions have changed and political consciousness is shifting rapidly.
I see that in myself. But I also see it in college students at recruiting tables this year. I returned to Brooklyn and have been recruiting at Brooklyn College. I’m meeting students who want to get involved because they know capitalism is dying. Confronted with the horrors of imperialism, students are looking for real steps towards socialism. When they do, they’re finding comrades from RCA.
From Boone to Brooklyn and beyond, we must raise up our own political consciousness and understanding to meet these students now and organize for revolution. Here’s to the communist flag flying on every campus!
Dallas RCA Connects with Radical Youth at UNT
Jaybre A, Dallas-Forth Worth, TX
On August 13th, 18 revolutionary communists assembled at the University of North Texas to intervene energetically at the campus’s organizational fair, the Mean Green Fling.
We met two hours before the event to discuss The Communist issue 16, with particular focus on Zohran Mandami, Trumpism, and the central theoretical article, “What Will Communist America Look Like?” After discussing the paper, comrades set up our tables and approached the crowd of freshmen by asking them: “Are you a Communist?” “Do you think we need a revolution against the billionaires?” “What do you think about Trump and how do we fight him?” “What are your thoughts on Zohran?” We boldly called to fight Trump and the Democrats, too. This approach had our comrades swarmed with radical students.
A comrade said that you couldn’t go 10 seconds without being approached by an interested freshman. We even had a freshman approach us saying, “I fuck with Lenin.” So many students were swarming us that we couldn’t even speak with all of them despite having a large number of organized communists involved.
We sold 27 copies of The Communist and signed-up 90 young people interested in joining the party and in just two hours! We’ve also scheduled meetings with 13 of these sign-ups already and many are planning to attend communist cell meetings and our upcoming public event on August 29th.
The communists in Dallas have already made a splash—and it is only the beginning of our Fall Offensive. We have the best ideas and the utmost clarity in a time of crisis and confusion. We take the advice of Danton to heart in order to recruit these future comrades: “Audacity, and again audacity, and always audacity.”
Communists Generate Excitement at San Diego Pride
Violet, San Diego, CA
On July 19, RCA comrades attended San Diego Pride. Comrades marching in the parade had success using our slogans, despite competing with the parade floats. Many people looked over hearing, “Rainbow capitalism is not the answer!”
A young girl ran up to us with excitement and asked if we had any zines or pamphlets—we sold her a copy of The Communist.
Comrades tabling saw a surge of people approaching the table already familiar with Marx or communism. One was rushing past our table to his volunteer shift at the festival. He saw our banner with Marx’s picture and stopped in his tracks. “Are you a Marxist group? Signing people up for real?” he asked. After a quick chat, he purchased a paper and gave us his number.
An older gentleman came up to our table saying he was a communist and happy to see us out. He explained how he wanted to be realistic about revolution and that reforms are more attainable and should be the priority. Comrades explained why reforms are important but limited and revocable under the capitalist system. He considered our points and agreed enough that he ended up buying a booklet about Chile 1973!
In total, we made 26 contacts were and sold $150 in literature. People are looking for alternatives to this rotten system—and ready to organize. We just have to find them!
“The union leaders didn’t want to fight . . . we gotta get us some people who do”
It’s no secret that Philadelphia’s public transit system is falling apart at the seams. Today it took me an extra 40 minutes to get home due to a mix of “equipment malfunction and operator unavailability.” In other words, there’s no money for fixing death-trap vehicles or convincing workers to drive them.
After two transfers, I finally made it to the subway. And just to salt the wound, the A/C was out. Judging by the rate at which sweat was pouring down my back, it had to be at least 100°. It was humiliating. The whole experience was humiliating. I was headed for medium-rare while our smiling, strike-breaking mayor peered down from a political ad with her favorite slogan: “One Philly; a united city.”
Halfway through the ride, the anger of the man next to me started boiling over. He launched into a tirade for anyone who would listen:
“I’m sick of this. I’m sick of being lied to. When we elected [the mayor] she said she was gonna fix things, clean up the city. And now all of a sudden there ain’t no money? They paid those managers at the water plant $2,000 a day during the strike. And you want me to believe there’s no money to fix the air conditioning on my train home from work? How much longer do they expect us to just roll over and take it?”
With that he’d opened the floodgates. Everyone around us immediately agreed, prompting one man to start describing the conditions at his job as a temp worker for the city. Not only had the air at his job site been down since the beginning of June, the toilets had been down for almost as long—forcing over 70 people to share two portable toilets in the July heat. “And you know if the A/C at the mayor’s office went out, they’d have it fixed in a minute. But they know we gotta put up with it ‘cause we’re all temps who don’t wanna risk missing the full-time spot.”
As soon as he stopped, another lady started—though this time it wasn’t about her, but her son. “He hasn’t had air at school for over three months before the summer. And now they’re telling those kids they won’t have it back till October.” When I heard that, I brought up how disgusting it was that the mayor and her top staff had all gotten fat raises last year—some as high as 32%. “That’s criminal,” she said. “They should be locked up. Making that much while you got your kids sweating in your classrooms, you’re taking the food out their mouths—I’d lock them all up if I had my way.” Everyone around couldn’t help but agree.
When she stopped, I looked at the first man and asked him, “What do you think us working people need to do to fight back?” He answered as the train pulled into the next station: “The union leaders in the strike, they didn’t want to fight. I think we gotta get us some people who do.”
Everyone in earshot had this immense anger and frustration that came pouring out at the slightest touch. All it took was speaking up to bring it to the surface.
Maybe the mayor is uniting Philly workers after all.
Raising the Red Flag at Coney Island
Quinn H, Brooklyn, NY
A group of RCA comrades gathered at Coney Island beach for a birthday celebration on Saturday afternoon. We put up an RCI flag on the umbrella pole stuck in the sand.
A group of beachgoers behind us shouted out, “We hate capitalism!” Two comrades went over to talk to them, copies of The Communist in hand. The entire group of half a dozen were engaged in the conversation, enthusiastically agreeing with our perspectives on Zohran, mass consciousness, and the need to build a revolutionary party.
One woman told us how important theory has been for her, saying that she used to be extremely pessimistic, but how Marxism has allowed her to understand the world scientifically and find revolutionary optimism.
When we offered up the paper, they produced $30 for four issues and a copy of our international theoretical journal, In Defence of Marxism. Several of them signed up on the website, saying they’re excited to get involved with our comrades in LA once they return home!
We’re living in an epoch of immense turbulence, pushing more and more layers of the working class to draw revolutionary conclusions. All it takes is a flag, hammer and sickle tshirt, or a communist newspaper to draw in the advanced layers of society that are ready to commit their lives to overthrowing capitalism. Our task is to be prepared with the ideas and literature that can connect with these communists and get them organized!
Workers Cheer On Communism at Raising Cane’s
Anthony R, Denton, TX
After clocking in at my job, I passed by a new coworker in the kitchen. With my backpack still on, I introduced myself and before I could even finish a sentence, another coworker interrupted and said, “Anthony’s a communist by the way!”
A number of coworkers asked me to explain the RCA’s perspectives to our new coworker, I paused gathering my thoughts and gave them the basic outline:
The working class is in a sorry state in the 21st century, but it is not the fault of immigrants, black people, China, any other distraction the ruling class says. The reason our lives are getting worse is because the capitalists are only interested in extracting more profit from us. The only way out of this situation is kicking them out and putting ourselves in power.
When I finished, the new coworker cheered: “Yeah! That’s right! Taking power, that’s what we need.” It’s only the communists who understand the need to break with the capitalists and fight for revolution. That’s why the RCA is building everywhere, from campuses to high schools to workplaces.
The working class all across the world is looking for solutions, and in the United States especially, the crisis of revolutionary leadership is clear. It’s only by ditching the two party system entirely and fighting on class independence that we will win battles for the working class, and eventually help lead the working class to kick out the capitalists for good.
In my coworkers own words, “What we need is a revolution!”
Morganton NC “No Kings” Protest: Liberals Called the Cops on Communists
Spencer B, Boone, NC
RCA comrades attended two contrasting “No Kings” protests in North Carolina, one in Morganton and one in Boone.
In Morganton, we were met with hostility. Liberal organizers stared us down, and before we could set up, police escorted us out at the organizers’ request, claiming the courthouse lawn was a rented venue—though no such information was available publicly. We were told we needed prior approval, yet no form or process was ever shared. It became clear this was more of a branded liberal event, complete with $60 merch and a stage, than a genuine protest.
Disappointed, we returned to Boone. Despite the late start, energy was building. Wearing RCA shirts, we engaged with attendees, distributing The Communist and making valuable connections. A young DSA member expressed deep dissatisfaction with her chapter’s lack of direction and political education. She showed interest in joining the RCA and attending our meetings.
Another DSA member echoed similar frustrations and was energized by our call for a revolutionary cadre organization. He eagerly purchased a paper and wanted to stay involved. We also spoke to a student journalist, whose questions allowed us to clearly state our goals: to organize the working class for real change. After our conversation, he said it was his best interview of the day and wanted to come to our communist cell meetings.
By the end, we’d sold $50 in papers and made five strong contacts. It’s increasingly clear that many youth are disillusioned with both major parties and are searching for a revolutionary alternative.