On a previous visit we learned that every day these racists harass workers and those who come to hire them. On that earlier visit six workers took CHALLENGE and gave us all the information needed to plan a confrontation. (Farmingville gained international notoriety four years ago when two men linked to white supremacist groups attempted to murder two young Latino workers.) Recently, the town police raided and evicted these workers from their overcrowded housing on the pretext that it was a fire hazard, to hide its racist character. Some of those evicted are now living in the nearby woods. Today a local racist had thrown a bottle at a worker.
As we arrived, a group of four racists were leaving, with signs reading, "INS, do your job!" and "Deport illegal aliens!" We quickly set up a picket line. The workers we had met previously eagerly took stacks of CHALLENGE. They collected $11.00 for 30 papers they distributed.
Then the workers spotted the leader of the racist scumbags who was filming our demonstration from across the street -- big mistake on his part. We immediately surrounded him, blasting our chants in his ear through our bullhorn while the workers cheered us on from across the road. As our fists pumped and we shouted, "Working people have no nation!" the workers were grinning from ear to ear in appreciation that the local racists were getting what they deserved.
Then the cops arrived. At first, the coward chuckled arrogantly, but ended up whimpering to the cops to rescue him. The entire time, we marched around his car, continuing to chant slogans like, "We are not illegal, we are workers," and "The workers, united, will never be defeated," in both Spanish and English.
In minutes, at least 15 police cars arrived. Initially, the cops told the scumbag that since he was "free to leave," the actions of the demonstrators were not their responsibility. But in five minutes, they changed their tune and ordered us to the sidewalk.
At this point, one comrade made a short, impassioned speech in Spanish: "Now we can see that the police defend the racists, that the racists and the state are one and the same, but we're not afraid! We will continue marching!" When the on-looking workers heard that, they immediately joined our picket line.
When we didn't move quickly enough for the cops, they arrested four of us. The police targeted those they thought were the leaders, today's most visible fighters. But as communists in Progressive Labor Party, we're all leaders. We raised bail money to get our comrades released from prison, but in any event we would keep fighting.
As mainly a group of students and teachers, we have much to learn from these workers who, by joining this demonstration, put more on the line than any of us did. In defiance of the state, its laws, and its vigilantes, we will visit Farmingville regularly to water the seeds of revolution planted there today.