On May 21, a coalition of local progressive groups united on the steps of the Massachusetts State House to denounce racist, sexist, homophobic and transphobic hate speech. The demonstration was called by the ANSWER Coalition (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) and was joined and endorsed by Jobs with Justice, Boston Education Justice Alliance, Showing up for Racial Justice, Boston May Day Coalition, Stuck-On Replay, Brazilian Worker Center, and the Coalition to Organize and Mobilize Boston Against Trump.
The groups gathered in response to a rally held on May 13, the previous Saturday, that advertised itself as a “free speech” rally but in truth served as a cover for reactionary, far right-wing groups such as the Oathkeepers, the Sons of Odin, and the Proudboys. By holding the demonstration in front of the State House, the organizers sought to emphasize the frequent complicity of government bodies in hate speech or the systems that enable it — noting, for example, that the Boston Parks Department greenlighted the May 13 white supremacist demonstration by granting it a permit. More broadly, the organizers stressed the ways in which police brutality perpetuates institutionalized racism. State forces were present at the rally as well, and several plainclothes police officers filmed parts of the demonstration.
Socialists, anti-fascists and other activists had counter-protested the right-wing rally on May 13. The activists who counter-protested on May 13 courageously risked their personal safety, even with the knowledge that anonymous posters on alt-right internet discussion sites, such as 8chan, planned to attend the “free speech” rally heavily armed.
However, the May 13 counter-mobilization had involved relatively few organizations, none of which strongly represented the communities most targeted by the far right, and the organizing meeting for the counter-mobilization, held the previous Wednesday, had been infiltrated by white supremacists who later posted audio recordings of the meeting and pictures of sign-up sheets — which contained names and contact information for many attendees — on 8chan discussion threads.
On the evening of May 13, after the rally, a group of white supremacists tried to enter the community organizing space where the Wednesday meeting had been held. Since the organizing meeting had been publicly advertised and did not vet participants, the infiltration likely could have been anticipated.
The rally on May 21 sought to replace this approach to opposing the far right with a more mass-based, coalition-style strategy that supported and uplifted voices from oppressed and marginalized communities while maintaining robust internal security to the greatest extent possible. Organizers expressed intentions to sustain the bonds formed in the rally against hate speech and bigotry that would last long after that day’s counter-demonstration.
After gathering at the State House, the organizations began a speak-out. Representatives from the Brazilian Workers Center, Jobs with Justice, COMBAT, Stuck-On Replay, and other endorsers pushed for unity among all oppressed groups in the face of increased mobilization by the far-right. An organizer from the ANSWER coalition led the crowd in a chant: “Hey yo my people! I got a story! Let’s tell the whole damn world this is people’s territory!”
Speakers insisted that despite the alt-right’s use of Marxist terminology, claiming that they are the “true proletariat,” racist division along ethno-sectarian lines is not pro-worker at all. Others explained how
fighting for workers rights necessarily means fighting for the rights of oppressed nations, fighting against police brutality, fighting against deportations and raids, and fighting for the rights of LGBTQ people.
When the speakers had finished, the crowd moved into the street, preparing to march as a banner that read “Say NO to Anti-Immigrant Racism. Full Rights for All!” was unfurled and brought to the head of the march.
Volunteer crowd marshals flanked the march in green vests, watching traffic and ensuring the safety of protesters. Organizers with megaphones led the crowd in chants like, “No hate, no fear, immigrants are welcome here!”
The march ended near Copley Square, where workers from the Communications Workers of America were striking work at a Boston’s flagship AT&T store.
Striking AT&T workers and anti-racists unite on picket line
In a powerful moment, the anti-racist, anti-fascist rally joined the striking workers. Sammy, one of the retail workers at the Copley store, explained the context and background of the strike to the newly-arrived protesters. For the past two years, AT&T has been cutting workers’ pay, setting completely unattainable sales goals, raising health-care costs, and cutting sick days. Workers have been trying to negotiate a contract with the company, but management refuses to have a conversation with workers that adequately address their concerns about inconsistent pay and health-care coverage.
Liberation News interviewed Sammy and their co-workers Will and Kevon, who was one of the picket leaders for the day, during a break from the picket line.
Sammy spoke to a feeling of frustration with management during negotiations: “We’re tired of them disrespecting us. We’ve been negotiating since February, and they’re still not taking us seriously. They’re still not thinking what we think is important and valuing what we value when we come to work. It’s upsetting it’s come to this, but you gotta do what you gotta do.”
Kevon, speaking on AT&T’s unwarranted slashing of workers’ pay, said, “Within a year AT&T has acquired a lot of profit. They’ve bought-out DirecTV. They’re looking to merge with Time Warner. They’ve profited more than $13 billion in 2016. And as employees, we’re told to push more product, and yet our pay is getting cut.”
Will, speaking to the community support and growing frustration of the AT&T workers said, “It’s not surprising to me that the folks that are out here today with us are calling themselves socialists. I think a lot of us have an underlying belief that we don’t actually need our bosses at all, and that their main job is to make it easier for the guy on the 35th floor to suck our blood. Our assistant managers may not realize that that’s their main role, but that is their main role. That’s how I see it anyway. So the support from other community organizations has been great.”
As the struggle for workers’ rights and the struggle for the liberation of oppressed nations within the U.S. both continue, it is essential to build strong ties between the two, because at its very base, the struggle against racism is the class struggle and the class struggle is anti-racist.
