Say no to racism and anti-Muslim bigotry

The following letter was written by a leader of the Band of Brothers, a group of workers at Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, N.Y., who are fighting racism on the job. Read more about their struggle at workers.org.

The Tea Party is the political version of the Ku Klux Klan; they have used the many issues of politics to justify their existence. They have used the Republican Party as a political vehicle to promote their agenda of hate and racism, endorsing many Republicans whose interests are of no value to the working class and the many who are in need of jobs.

The Tea Party is a cunning, conservative group of people strategically trying to put all of their chess pieces in place, so when the time comes they will be able to mount a major offensive attack on all Muslims, immigrants, unions, workers, etc. — the list can go on and on, unless we as a people in struggle unite on all fronts to counter the Tea Party, because if we don’t they will succeed.

Who truly represents the people? Who represents the poor; the just getting by; the ones with jobs and can’t afford a place to live; the oppressed; the disenfranchised; and so on? Who? The Democratic Party? The Democratic Party doesn’t have the backbone to stand up and speak out against the Tea Party — in fact, the Democrats are too reluctant to rock the boat for fear of criticism from the mainstream media. Both the Republican and Democratic parties succumb to corporate interests all the time; these parties don’t represent the interests of the people. They’re too busy taking from the people — now it’s all about Wall Street and bailing out the corporate banks, but whatever happened to bailing out the people?

“A change is gonna come,” because it is in the midst already with the rebirth of the Freedom Party. The Freedom Party has made history by garnering 43,500 petition signatures, one of the highest totals in New York State. That’s almost three times the required 15,000 needed to put candidates on the ballot.

The three candidates for the Freedom Party are individuals of humble origins, outspoken and unafraid, and educated to help educate others. They have remained to defend and stand up with the people: Councilperson Charles Barron for governor; Ms. Eva M. Doyle for lieutenant governor; and Mr. Ramon J. Jimenez, the “Peoples Lawyer,” for attorney general. They are us, we are them, and the statement is loud and clear as the people echo the words of our great sister Fannie Lou Hamer: “We are sick and tired of being sick and tired!”

We as a people should have the right to a job, for we are the fuel that keeps the engine of America running. We should have the right to a home and not be homeless; we should have the right to an education instead of being put into debt by trying to obtain it. We should have the right to decent health care because we have a right to live. We are not “illegal aliens” because no human being is illegal and, as a matter of fact, this country was built from the labor of many walks of life. These are fundamental things that we should have, but in a capitalist society it’s all about greed and exploitation.

Our time has come. We have the ingredients to propel ourselves to the moral standards we’ve so long hoped for, where everyone — regardless of ethnic origin/culture, religion, color, sexual orientation/preferences. etc. — is respected and treated equal. We have an opportunity to make history that will forever be etched in time and echoed in classrooms all over the world.

If we fully unite and consolidate with unions, laborers, organizations and activists in the struggle and the community, then and only then can we achieve such a feat. We must do so by making our voices heard on Saturday, Sept. 11, and going to the polls on Tuesday, Nov. 2; together we can create a rippling effect that will grow stronger.

In the words of our brother Anthony Gronowicz of the Bronx Green Party, “If the 1960s were a wave, what’s coming is a tsunami.” ¡Sí se puede! Straight ahead! Freedom Party!
— Band of Brothers anti-racist leader