This is a follow up article to the 6/19 CHALLENGE article “Pushback on the Bosses’ Curriculum.” The struggle against the new, mandated curriculum in New York City (NYC) schools continues with the leadership of teachers in Progressive Labor Party (PLP). Mayor Eric Adams, currently facing federal charges of bribery, wire fraud, conspiracy, and accepting illegal campaign contributions, the Department of Education (DOE), and the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) are forcing this new curriculum as a way to control teachers and students. Under capitalism the education system is designed to indoctrinate students with capitalist ideas and mold them into obedient workers and soldiers. Standardized curriculums help them do that.

Mayor Adams was the dream of the liberal fascists, a Black kkkop who had no problem decrying being left out of education due to his dyslexia and then subsequently slamming the door shut on the next generation of dyslexic Black kids coming behind him by imposing a one size fits all curriculum. Unfortunately, he got too obviously greedy by accepting lavish gifts and campaign contributions from foreign countries and hooking up his friends and family with city positions. Though it is enjoyable to see him get investigated, as communists we must remember that this is more about the rulers disciplining one member of their class to better carry out the needs of capitalism.  It is not about making life better for the working class. 

Struggle spreads

As the struggle at our high school escalated, the UFT shifted its message from collaboration with the district bosses to struggling for teacher autonomy. News of our fight reached the Chancellor’s office. Even though we are just one out of over a thousand high schools, they are afraid of the struggle spreading further. The Assistant Principal (AP) lied to the Chancellor about how widespread dissent was amongst the teachers but our union leader shared a petition that showed how many teachers were united in this struggle.

This same AP is now asking teachers if there is any organizing going on against her in the department. Of course we are organizing. Communist leadership is being given at all levels of the struggle. In quick meetings in between periods and during shared lunches, the department has discussed the struggle and shaped goals. They have prioritized the needs of the students over the mandate. 
Racist education fails Black students

Due to the racism inherent in capitalism, Black and Latin students are not achieving at the same rate. In some areas where there is a struggle against the mandate, Black students are being left out of the conversation. Many of the white and Asian students have tutors and use school to apply what they have already learned. But for many students, school is where they learn the skills and not just apply prior learning with the help of parents and tutors. 

The Superintendent is trying to say that the mandated curriculum is going to help Black students to achieve higher on tests but this is a lie. No mandated curriculum can fix systemic inequality, especially when it alienates, oppresses, and kills the creativity of the teachers who plan directly for their students’ needs. These curricula are specifically designed by corporations in order to meet the needs of a capitalist education system.
This struggle not only affects our jobs as teachers but also as parents to students in NYC schools. In a Parent Teacher Association meeting in an elementary school, the struggle against the new curriculum was discussed. Less time will be spent teaching math in second grade and below so that the students can be taught typing skills. This is so they can succeed in the timed standardized tests in third grade that are given on computers.

An important part of the struggle has been sharing CHALLENGE with more teachers. This has shifted the conversations from simply complaining about being told what to do by administration to understanding the importance of fighting for our students' needs and the importance of uniting with parents and students. So far our parent and student outreach needs to be strengthened. A single spark can start a fire and a single struggle with communist leadership can shake up the bosses’ plans. We have a world to win and we need to be able to teach that to our students.

NEWTON, MA, September 29— In Newton today, Progressive Labor Party demonstrated and leafleted against Israeli Zionist genocide in Gaza, and against the Zionist who shot anti-genocide protester Caleb Gannon in Newton on September 12. Standing up to such attacks is critical, and inspires other antiracist fighters. 

By our discipline, a careful plan, and commitment to fighting Zionist genocide, we overcame some initial fears, and sent the message that Zionist intimidation will not be tolerated.

Fighting Zionist terror head on

In heavily Jewish Newton, we got a very positive response. "Thank you for doing this!" "I'm very glad to see you here." "I'm totally with you." People in cars stopped to grab our leaflets, and honked support for our signs. A smaller number were overtly hostile or made threats.
Caleb’s shooting is part of an escalating pattern of attacks pursued by Zionists in the Boston area. It includes attacks on college students who protested the mass bombings of the civilian population in Gaza, attacks on college professors and administrators that refused to support Israeli government fascism, and the attempt to label anyone that criticizes Israel as anti-Semitic. Even more, the media has basically ignored the story of Matthew Nelson who in an extreme act of protest against the genocide, committed self-immolation in front of Boston's Israeli consulate on September 11 (Cape Cod Times, 9/25). We offer condolences to Matthew's family and friends.

Students and workers need to build a multiracial, mass movement for an egalitarian communist society. We must unite Jewish, Palestinian and all workers to defeat Zionism, anti-Semitism and nationalism and reject all capitalists, whether Israeli rulers or Hamas. If we must fight a war, let it be to eliminate capitalism and build an egalitarian world.

On August 5th the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina resigned. Hasina was forced out by a mass uprising initially led by students, that then spread across the country in response to the government trying to violently suppress the demonstrations. The regime had long lost the popular mandate to rule, had lost the battle of narratives and finally had lost the streets. By the evening of August 5th, a few hours after Hasina had resigned and fled to India, rampaging mobs attacked and torched every symbol of the regime in Dhaka and elsewhere in Bangladesh. 
Workers’ rage needs communist direction

The fall of Hasina came from a combination of mass anger of workers and students taking to the streets and showing once again the power of the working class. At the same time the lack of political direction of the mass movement has allowed the situation to be used to benefit different ruling class factions in Bangladesh who are no better than Hasina, as well as the Chinese imperialists. This is a lesson that keeps getting repeated. A workers movement, no matter how militant, must be led by class conscious ideas to benefit the working class. Ultimately only a communist movement can free the working class from the boss’ dictatorship. That’s because workers then run all aspects of society.

Since the fall of the brutal dictator on August 5th, the winners appear to be the Bangladesh military which is firmly in control of the government, the Chinese imperialists who were unhappy with the discord under Hasina and the fundamental Islamist parties who were suppressed by the Awami League (Economist 8/10). None of these forces will be good for the working class in Bangladesh. 

The politics of the mass student movement which started the uprising has been muddled as a wide range of factions joined in for their own purposes. The initial movement against the restoring of patronage in government job quotas for the ruling party was seized on by the Islamist students. This movement is friendly with Pakistan and the opposition party movements who see a chance to gain power and are likely more connected to China (Stratfor.com, 8/9).

Chinese bosses’ exploit racism

The Chinese imperialists have steadily increased their presence in Bangladesh, with there now being over 700 Chinese companies and $1.4 billion in investment. This money has increased and acted in unison with rising anti-India sentiment in Bangladesh (orcachuna.org, 2/5), a common theme of the anti-Hasina movement. Already, just since the fall of Hasina, there has been an increase in attacks against Hindu workers in Bangladesh (AP 8/13).

Few could have foreseen this turn of events in 2008, when Hasina’s party, the Awami League, won a landslide victory in an election that recorded the highest voter turnout in Bangladesh’s electoral history. Yet, in the 15 years following that election, Hasina unleashed a reign of terror that is unparalleled in the recent history of Bangladesh. 

Every institution in the country – the police, the bureaucracy, the judiciary, the universities, the chambers of commerce, the labor unions and even her own Awami League Party - was hollowed out and placed in firm control of bureaucrats and politicians loyal to Hasina. The state institutions were then used to crush any last vestige of political opposition in the country and to financially benefit Hasina’s inner circle. Political dissidents and opposition organizers disappeared in the hundreds, as they were detained, tortured for years or murdered in secret prisons – the “Aaynaghar” or “the room of mirrors.” Financial corruption reached such ludicrous proportions that one of Hasina’s personal assistants was alleged to have amassed 34 million dollars in kickbacks before he fled the country. 

And yet, the Awami League won three national elections – in 2013, 2018 and 2024 - essentially uncontested and without any major political crisis. 

Hasina’s political propaganda rested on three main arguments. First -  the Awami League was the rightful political heir of the freedom fighters (the “Muktijoddha”),  while the opposition was a coalition of groups who historically opposed the struggle or tried to subvert it – the “Rajakar”, as she would disdainfully refer to them. The imposing statues of Sheikh Mujib and the celebration of the liberation struggle therefore became symbols of political legitimacy for the regime. The second argument was that the Awami League was the only party capable of keeping the right-wing Islamist extremists from power. This was cynically linked to the physical security of the religious minorities, safeguarding of their property and places of worship. The third argument was that the country could prosper economically only under Sheikh Hasina’s leadership. The government undertook mega-projects to drive the point home, even when the economic logic for such projects was highly dubious. 

The limitations of student protests

This well-rehearsed narrative, aided by a brutal state machinery worked well for a while. However, months before her final uncontested election, it was becoming increasingly clear that Hasina was losing the battle of narratives, both at home and abroad, in trying to  justify the brutality of the police state against all forms of political dissent. A depressed economic outlook post-pandemic, aggravated by a slew of bad economic decisions, didn’t help either. 

It was at this historical juncture that the student protests exploded. The Awami League deployed its standard playbook with the police massacring hundreds of protestors, critically injuring and abducting many thousands. As the repression increased over the days and the weeks, a fractured political opposition came together and ultimately ousted Hasina. What happens going forward is still difficult to predict, but without a revolutionary communist movement led by the working class, one capitalist faction or another will continue the brutal oppression of workers in Bangladesh.

Last month we lost a dear comrade, Derek Pearl. Derek was many things to many people during his 87 years. In the jewelry trade he was known as an excellent gem setter and union militant. In the steel mills of Pittsburgh he was known as an expert welder-fitter and an antiracist. As a high school teacher of jewelry making and then social studies he was known for siding with his students. But to all workers, students and bosses he was known to have a deep love for the working class and implacable hatred for the capitalist class: he was known as a fighter and a communist. He was also a singer, a good dancer, and a lot of fun to be with.

Born to a working class Jewish family in England in 1937, his early childhood was dominated by WWII. Derek’s family spent most of the war in a northern English seaside town. Back in London, he was forced to leave school just under the age of 16. He apprenticed in gem-setting, then served an obligatory stint in the British Royal Air Force. When he got out he wanted to travel the world. In New York City he met Rita who became his wife of 60 years and they had two sons and now five grandchildren. 

Union organizer joins Progressive Labor Party (PLP)

He worked in the jewelry trade as a diamond setter, developing a deep hatred of all kinds of unfairness. He had a way with people, an empathy with other workers of all ages, races and nationalities. He and Rita got to know the mostly Latin grinders and polishers working in that factory and built a strong relationship with them and their families. They elected him shop steward and he led strikes for better conditions. He was expelled from the union for leading a wildcat strike but he won his way back in and became a labor law precedent (Pearl vs. Tarantola).  During this time he and Rita joined the Progressive Labor Party (PLP) and began to get a deeper understanding of the capitalist system they were already fighting.
In 1975 the Pearls were asked to move to Pittsburgh to help lead the Party there. There he learned welding and worked in  two different steel fabricating plants where he met much racism but was also very proud of the work he helped produce -  massive doors for a dam in South America, doors for blast furnaces, and molding forms for the concrete in the Washington D.C. subway. 

Derek and family moved back to NYC in 1981 as heavy industry in the Pittsburgh area declined and along with thousands of other workers, he was laid off. He began working once again in jewelry production in New York.  In 1984 he made contact with British coal miners during their historic strike, winning some of them to the Party and spearheading support for the strike in the U.S. 

Derek got his teaching certificate for vocational education in jewelry and welding in 1986.  When NYC closed down vocational courses Derek got a B.S. degree at the age of 65 so he could teach history and economics. He got his M.S. degree at the age of 72 - just as he retired.

Militant antiracist fighter slugs klan

Over the years, Derek led and participated in many fights against racism. From the Astoria fight that stomped the White People’s Party, to helping lead the security squad that ran uphill to fight and scatter the gutter racists so that the Boston May Day march could take place, to stopping fledgling attempts by the Klan to organize in the Pittsburgh area, to helping organize the  May Day March to integrate Marquette Park in Chicago  (that park had been dominated and segregated by the American Nazi party). In 1999 Derek along with other comrades made headline news by flinging themselves through police lines to attack a group of  klansmen who dared to march in New York City, Afterwards, students welcomed him back to his school as a hero.

Antiracist community organizer in Brooklyn

During the 1980s and 1990s Derek was also deeply involved in community organizing. A hospital worker and comrade lived in a Flatbush building that had drug deals occuring in the lobby. Together, he, Derek, Rita and others organized a tenants association that took back the building, taking control of building from drug infestation, and forcing the landlord to make much needed repairs. For years May Day buses left from the front of that building with a hefty contingent coming from within.

In his last years, Derek suffered several health problems and went through a gradual decline until he passed in September. We’ll miss you comrade. We’ll miss your fightback, your humor and your songs. Your communist life was a light in the lives of  thousands of workers and students.