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.
“I Saw the Hammer and Sickle and Thought: These Must Be Normal People!”
Austin D, Chicago, IL
Far from a protest and closer to a music festival, the “No Kings” event in Chicago attracted all sorts. There was an expected—and rather large—layer of liberals but, more significantly, an equally large layer of disillusioned workers and youth looking for a revolutionary way forward.
When asked why they were attending, no one responded with the official purpose of the march, or even the threat of “fascism.” Instead, the response was simply, “everything.”
When we asked what was to be done about it, we got another unanimous answer, “I don’t know.”
How did the official speakers respond? “The times we are living in are scary. We should feel hopeless and afraid, because that is where the will to fight comes from.” Our comrades couldn’t believe we were hearing the quiet part out loud, “You should feel hopeless.”
Luckily, we understood that not only are these times not “hopeless” but are, in fact, the most fruitful time for communist organizing. People don’t find the will to fight in hopelessness. They find it knowing what they are fighting for is possible and necessary.
One high-school student beelined to our table and said, “Why are there so many American flags at a protest? I saw the hammer and sickle and thought: these must be normal people.” At just 15, he had already drawn the correct conclusions, and even asked to march with us!
As the march began, two more students and a worker asked to join our comrades. Halfway through, a couple more students asked to help chant and hold banners, adding to our contingent. Throughout the entire march, our slogans of “One Solution, Communist Revolution” and “We Declare a Class War” were echoed even among the usually “hopeless” liberals.
When hopelessness is encouraged, our comrades intervene to show what’s possible.
The final verse of “The Internationale” rang in my ears
Charles F, Queens, NY
On the Greyhound back to NYC, the final verse of “The Internationale” rang in my ears. The day before, I had heard over 450 comrades holding hundreds of red flags singing it after marching through the streets of Philadelphia.
I attended my first branch meeting on April 25 and officially joined the party soon after. I found out about the Congress and told Wesley, the comrade who recruited me to the party, that while it sounded great, I probably couldn’t to make it due to the cost. He replied, “We’re going to get you there.” The branch covered my registration fee and I roomed with four other comrades, who subsidized my share of the bill.
I thought I had been serious and committed to the task at hand before this Congress, but I was proven wrong. The sheer volume, political level, and steadfastness of comrades astonished me. I teared up as comrade Antonio spoke about “What Kind Of Party Are The RCA Building?” I’m here to tell you it’s a damn solid party.
I talked to comrades from Phoenix, Seattle, Dallas-Fort Worth, Minneapolis, New Orleans, Columbia, Montreal, Chicago, New Haven, and Philadelphia.
All of them were excited that I was there. This attitude pervaded through the entire party. No one was pulling rank on me because of how new and inexperienced I am. On the contrary, comrade John Peterson lit up when I told him my story. When I said that since I’d joined the party, I felt happiness and optimism for the first time in years, he hugged me.
Comrade Fred Weston shared that when he was in the lift (this prompted some comrades in the room to correct him to elevator, to which he replied “Let’s not lower the level”), a comrade said “I’m lucky to be in the lift with Fred Weston!” Fred responded, “Well, maybe I’m the lucky one.”
There are three major ideas I took away. One was delivered by comrade Austin from Chicago: “You by yourself are not an event.” It is far too easy to fall into the trap of individualism, and consequently to feel like we can’t do anything because we’re just one person swimming against a sea of oppression, injustice, and exploitation. Luckily, comrades, we are not by ourselves, but surrounded by honest, hardworking communists already in the party, by the advanced layer committed to our goal but not yet organized with us—like I was just two months ago—and by the largest working class in the history of humanity!
The second was a metaphor from comrade Laura shared by comrade Antonio, which compared capitalism to a wall that many are punching with their bare fists. Understandably, they’re meeting with little success. Meanwhile, we as a Bolshevik party are building a battering ram. This requires stepping away from the wall, and will draw sharp criticisms that we aren’t actively trying to destroy the wall this very second. But when we complete it, shoulder it together with the whole working class, and charge, that wall will turn to rubble.
The third, also from comrade Antonio, concerns this very paper, The Communist. There has been much hand-waving at “the Trots and their papers,” just as there was hand-waving in Lenin’s time. But Lenin didn’t emphasize the importance of revolutionary press because he loved newspapers so much. Rather, the press was “a benchmark, a proxy, a stand-in for political strength.” The ability to print and distribute a newspaper on a regular basis was a sign of the party’s ability to communicate Marxist ideas. The paper serves not only as information, but as ammunition with which to arm the workers.
Comrade Antonio spoke of Steve Bannon and his War Room show, and how he was using it to shape public opinion.“We need to outdo them,” he declared. Indeed, we do. But if there’s one party which can, it’s the Revolutionary Communists of America.
ICE Out of New York!
Erica L, Brooklyn, NY
We arrived 30 minutes before the rally for a public political discussion to make sure comrades understood the situation and how to link the struggle against ICE terror with the need to build a revolutionary party. This attracted people from the crowd to hear us speak.
One young woman listened to the whole thing. Afterwards, she said it was her first protest ever, and she was looking for answers to her questions about politics and the world. She had been to meetings of other political organizations but didn’t find the answers she was looking for.
We went out in teams of two or three (pairing someone experienced and someone newer for training purposes) to hold the paper up and find receptive people.
One prominent speaker gave a “revolutionary” sounding speech, pointing out the problems with Trump and the Democrats, saying that we can’t change the world with a ballot. But then pivoted: we should still vote for Zohran Mamdani—the DSA’s candidate in this month’s Democratic mayoral primary—because, “We need an environment favorable to organizing, and Mamdani won’t sic the cops on us!” Much of the crowd cheered.
One contact—who later came with us during the march—was especially infuriated by this. He said, “You guys need to be way bigger. You need to be calling the rallies yourselves and bringing these ideas. Nobody else has them.” We appealed to him to help us build the party—and he agreed! At another point, the speaker also said something along the lines of blaming white people in general, and the crowd was uncomfortably silent.
The rally grew into a march of approximately 10,000. We ran up toward the front and stood on the side, holding the paper out and shouting slogans. People who agreed would come up excitedly and discuss, so this was a very efficient tactic. This was a young crowd very open to communist ideas—many of them would cheer as they walked by. I think they liked the “Marx Was Right” back cover the most, but I also got a great contact with “You Can’t Have Capitalism without Racism.”
At one point, the police allowed MAGA and pro-Israel counterprotesters into the crowd, instead of keeping them barricaded as usual. Some of them tried to provoke confrontations, but comrades stayed away—we were clear that we were there to build the party, not pick fights. Nothing got out of hand while we were there. We left before the march ended to have a debrief nearby.
We made 43 contacts and sold 38 papers for $188. Had we brought an RCA tabling banner and flags, we would have been even more visible. The quality of contacts was high. They were eager for answers and to read the paper when comrades showed them what was inside—especially the FAQ on China and the roots of racism article.
On the Barricades in LA
Audrey S, Los Angeles, CA
Last night, I went to an anti-ICE protest after I got off work. By that point, there was an extremely tense scene at LA City Hall as a few hundred people faced down police in riot gear and on horseback. The crowd had constructed a barricade out of park benches and chairs.
When the crowd tried to advance, the police unleashed a stream of rubber bullets for more than 45 minutes. Then attacked with tear gas and flash grenades, storming the barricade. Most of the protesters had been in the streets for five or six hours. Everywhere you looked people were nursing injuries.
One girl—no older than 14—grabbed a megaphone and shouted that there were children here, young people here with their families getting injured by rubber bullets and torn apart by ICE. “Don’t you have families?” she screamed.
A reactionary entered the crowd trying to cause a scene. Instantly the people drowned him out—not with chaos or insults, but by shouting, “We have the same enemy” while peacefully escorting him away.
It is clear the protest lacked organization and ideological clarity, but it was also undeniable that the workers of Los Angeles have more than enough courage and righteous anger to transform society—if there were a revolutionary leadership. We must build the revolutionary party that will serve as an organized vehicle for the boundless creativity, passion, and heroism of the workers of LA—and around the globe. Only by smashing the imperialist order that pillages the world, draws and redraws borders, and displaces millions of people for profit can we end ICE for good!
Free Ehsan Ali Protest at Pakistani Consulate in LA
Ryan B, Los Angeles, CA
After hearing reports that Ehsan Ali contracted dysentery, Los Angeles comrades returned from RCA’s Second National Congress ready to do our duty and show solidarity to our unjustly imprisoned comrades from the Awaami Action Committee Gilgit Baltistan (AAC-GB) and the Inqalabi Communist Party.
We mobilized comrades on short notice for an emergency protest at the Pakistani Consulate. We picketed outside the building, chanting slogans and making speeches demanding freedom for the AAC-GB leaders.
We were confronted by a worker from a different office in the building who was disturbed by our noise. We explained that our protest was to save our comrade’s life, that we had help free comrades from Pakistani prisons before with this kind of campaigns. We suggested that complaints should be made to the consulate instead—because the repressive Pakistani state was responsible for the disturbance.
We then went to the consulate office to deliver our statement. Our comrade explained that we were members of the Revolutionary Communist International demanding the release of Ehsan Ali and the other leaders of the AAC-GB. We emphasized that if our demands are not met, we will return again and again until they are.
To make our continued presence known, we wheat-pasted the surrounding area with copies of our statement and posters proclaiming our demands. As we told the consulate staff, we will return if Ehsan Ali is not released! Long live the RCI!
I’m Not Inclined towards Hate … but I Hate Capitalism
Adelaide C, Bellingham, WA
I’ve been a communist for four years and active with the RCA for one and a half. I’m also transgender. I knew the bourgeoisie would stoke whatever divisions it could among the working class to keep us squabbling. But to see it in action—to see my rights stripped away by a ruling class happy to deny me my humanity and crush any number of people under its heel if it means staying in power and making another dollar—fills me with a burning rage.
I’m insulated from the worst of what’s happening, but not everyone is so lucky. Too many vulnerable people—people whom I’ve loved and supported and commiserated with—are coming to harm. I am not normally inclined towards hate, but I’ve had enough. I hate the ruling class. I hate capitalism. I wish, deep in my bones, to see it reduced to ashes. This world and its people are worth fighting for; that’s what I’m determined to do.
Winning Over Mamdani Supporters to Class Independence
Emily Y, Brooklyn, NY
On Sunday, comrades from the Brooklyn 5 cell held a paper sale at the Lorimer St. train station and McCarren Park. Beforehand, we had a political discussion where we reviewed articles from the paper and planned our tactics. We knew the station’s high foot traffic allows comrades to quickly communicate a few basic ideas to many people, while the park offers space for longer conversations where ideas can be fully developed.
After 30 minutes at the station, two police officers approached, citing a complaint from an MTA worker. We showed them MTA regulations confirming our right to make political solicitations, and they acknowledged our activity was legal. Still, they said they’d interrupt our activity until we left, so we relocated to McCarren Park.
At the park, three people approached us, expressing interest in canvassing for Zohran Mamdani, the DSA candidate in next month’s Democratic mayoral primary. They didn’t want to buy papers, but were curious about our position. We explained our criticism of Zohran’s reformist program and, especially, the need for workers to break with the rotten Democratic Party, which is a party of the class enemy, and build a party of our own. After our discussion, all three changed their minds: they bought papers and gave us their contact information. Conversations where comrades offered political clarity about Zohran won multiple people over during the course of the sale.
We made 12 contacts and $66 from 13 papers. Comrades sharpened their ideas through lengthy conversations in the park. Our pre-sale political discussion helped us adapt to police interference and prepared us to address Zohran-related questions with clarity and confidence. Comrades should analyze the benefits and drawbacks of paper sale locations and choose based on what their branch needs and where they find the most promising contacts.
More Hours after UPS Warehouse Closure
ZF, Teamsters Local 705, Chicago, IL
I work at a UPS distribution warehouse. We found out the other day that a nearby “secondary” location was shutting down, and there would be more work for us as a result.
Before this, I didn’t have much success talking to my coworkers about our working conditions, and there was an atmosphere of passivity at union meetings. Many of my union brothers and sisters were used to our leadership collaborating with management and didn’t seem anxious to do anything about it.
Now, there’s been a shift. The increased workload is changing consciousness. All the coworkers I see regularly are talking about the union protections we do—or don’t—have. People are preparing for this month’s union meeting with a brand-new seriousness.
This change isn’t loud, but it’s real. People used to think of the union as a list of benefits or a group of bureaucrats in faraway offices. Now, my coworkers are realizing that the union is us—and that we need to be part of a fighting organization. I’m looking forward to our next meeting, where I hope to find new comrades for the RCA.
Words of Wisdom from a Former Black Panther at May Day
Marie G, Philadelphia, PA
At May Day, I met a former member of the Black Panther Party. He was extremely enthusiastic about the RCA and told me he actually attended the May Day rally we organized last year!
He explained the lessons he’d learned as a Panther, including the importance of a political program as a guide to action and connection with workers. He served jail time because of his activities and learned a lot about the brutality of the state firsthand.
What was the biggest lesson he learned from organizing? “It’s about class, not race! We [the Panthers] needed to organize as a class! There are Black billionaires and politicians and cops, too!” He added, “Lenin was the man! And Trotsky! We need a cadre organization!”
I told him this is exactly what the RCA is building and we’re looking for people just like him. He joined us at our post-May Day organizational debrief, and enthusiastically gave me his contact information. We’re meeting tomorrow for more discussion of communist politics!
Dallas: Quality over Quantity on the Streets
Carson W, Dallas-Fort Worth, TX
While tabling in Denton recently, we signed up four contacts and sold three papers. More important than the quantity, however, was the quality of the conversations and of the potential recruits.
The first person who signed up was a self-proclaimed communist, ready to get organized. He works at a school, and he’d been talking with one of his students about communism!
The second contact wanted to know our position on the genocide in Gaza. We talked about the need to overthrow American imperialism, and for a socialist revolution in the Middle East to truly free Palestine. We connected it to the potential present during the 2011 Arab Revolutions, and the need for a clear program and revolutionary leadership forged in advance. After hearing that, she signed up and donated $10 for The Communist. She’s interested in attending our next meeting and joining the RCA.
We don’t sell the paper to raise funds or “get our ideas out there”—important as that is. We don’t amass contact details for the sake of it. We’re in the business of party-building! If someone is genuinely interested, we should spend the time to provide thoughtful answers to their questions, and explain the necessity of a mass communist party. If we do our jobs correctly, they might even sign up to join on the spot!
“Worth Its Weight in Silver”
Jon D, Phoenix, AZ
My coworker told me on April 1, “I have to leave early. I’m going to Costco to buy silver before tomorrow’s tariffs.”
He was concerned about the destabilizing effect of Trump’s trade war, so I struck up a short conversation with him, joking about the effect beef tariffs might have on the price of Costco’s famous $1.50 hotdogs.
At the end of the work day, I made sure we walked out together so I could show him issue 12 of The Communist—especially the articles on egg prices, our statement on tariffs, and the centerspread on the Great Depression.
He bought the paper after I said: “It’s the only newspaper in the country that actually tells the truth. I think it’s worth its weight in silver. Another coworker already reads every issue!” He agreed to read it, and I told him we should talk more about it next week.
Bernie Loses the Plot in Idaho
Boise RCA
On April 14, Sanders took to the Fighting Oligarchy tour stage to defend “American democracy” in Nampa, ID.
He hammered his new talking point: “For the first time in 250 years, the US has a president that supports dictatorships.” What a scandalous lie! The US government has always supported dictatorships, regime change, and political repression—not to mention the millions of innocents dead in imperialist wars.
Activists unfurled a Palestinian flag behind the stage after Bernie repeated the stock liberal line, “Israel . . . has the right to defend itself.” Police snatched the flag and arrested the protestors. The crowd booed the cops and chanted: “Free Palestine!”
Did Bernie try to stop the arrest? Did he proclaim his solidarity with Palestine? Did he connect the fight against Trump and the billionaires with the fight against imperialism in Gaza?
No. He mumbled on with his prepared speech, annoyed by the interruption: “Let me move on . . . I know that this is a sensitive issue . . . Hold it, hold it . . . But we gotta focus on . . . the crisis facing the working class of this country.”
Unlike liberal-socialists, communists tell the truth. The American working class has nothing to gain from the murder of workers in other countries. The capitalists waste billions killing and maiming women and children abroad, while cutting social services and exploiting workers at home. These struggles are connected.
Our class-struggle message was very well received by the Nampa crowd. Boise RCA comrades report:
“Sanders and AOC are regurgitating the same tired rhetoric. We explained that to really fight the oligarchy, we must build a class-independent party to wage a revolutionary struggle against capitalism.”
“The enthusiasm was palpable. We sold 22 papers and got 54 sign ups. ‘There are communists here!? Hell yeah!’ one attendee said before buying the paper. We replied ‘Yes! We’re everywhere!’”