On the morning of June 7th, the Progressive Labor Party (PLP) Kentucky joined other local organizations for the 2025 festival of Richmond Pride,where we had many conversations, filling up an entire page of contacts within hours and managing to get out several stacks of CHALLENGE, while exceeding our fundraiser goal by double. It was for a second PLP Pantry, selling our collectively-made bracelets and painted tote bags. Our tote bags had a red hammer crossed with a rainbow color play on the sickle, the colors of which ranged from Palestine to trans in order to show the fight against oppression is the struggle against bosses and class society as the root of racist and sexist gender ideas and divisions.
PL’ers in the tenant struggle and the movement for Palestine brought posters from past struggles to show interconnectedness. “Rednecks for Palestine” and “Smash Housing 4 Profit! PLP.” Club leaders had red “WV Mine Wars museum” bandanas around their necks signifying the coal wars as a multiracial working class uprising. Our club supplied free contraceptives, pregnancy tests, Plan B and Narcan and invited these new comrades to the next tenant’s meeting to get more involvement in mass struggle
Some of us split from the tabling booth to drown out counter protesters with syncing bluetooth speakers. There was even a religious misleader who kept preaching on a mic with his own camera crew about how marginalized workers there needed to repent, clearly trying to sabotage pride. One portable speaker was no match, but just like the forces within our class, several combined together and our music overpowered this religious “scripture.” Comrades were blocking the cameras and playing the copyright music into them, using the Bosses’ own laws against them
There was a solidarity moment after we drove them out. PL’ers held up a Party banner and stood side by side with LGBTQ workers. The fight for an antiracist and antisexist world continues!