The following speech was delivered by Mick Kelly, Political Secretary, Freedom Road Socialist Organization on September 29, at the New York City event marking the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.
Comrades and friends,
We are gathered here for an event of genuine importance, and I would like to extend our gratitude to the Friends of Socialist China and the Workers World Party for taking the lead in making this happen.
For the past 75 years the People’s Republic of China, under the able leadership of the Communist Party, has accomplished so much for so many. From Chairman Mao Zedong’s 1949 proclamation, “The Chinese people have stood up,” right up until the present moment, China has set an example for the world. From carrying out a serious effort to eliminate poverty to being a leader in the application of green technology, socialist China has been showing the way.
Brooklyn, NY – When the New York University Students for a Democratic Society (NYU SDS) held their first meeting of the semester on September 6, an NYPD officer with several others from the counterterrorism unit walked up to members in an attempt to intimidate them.
When members arrived to set up for their meeting, they saw an extensive NYPD and NYU Campus Security presence. When asked by an SDS member if NYU called them to arrive at the scene, the officer claimed they were just there coincidentally. Yet, right after the NYPD walked up to SDS, NYU campus security arrived to also confront SDS.
There’s a new top cop in New York City. On Thursday, September 12, former NYPD captain and current NYC Mayor Eric Adams appointed Thomas Donlon as the new interim head of the NYPD. Donlon is a former FBI agent who specializes in counterintelligence and “counterterrorism.” His appointment signals a worrying turning point in the rising tide of political repression, particularly against activists engaged in the Palestinian liberation movement and in national liberation struggles generally.
Thomas Donlon replaces former NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban, who resigned earlier the same day on September 12, amidst an ongoing federal investigation into corruption among top NYPD officials.
Brooklyn, NY – On Saturday, September 7, the New York Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (NYAARPR) and a dozen community members gathered for an honest discussion of the role of the NYPD on the New York City subway system.
The event, held at the Macon branch of the Brooklyn Public Library, marked the launch of NYAARPR’s Cops off the Subway campaign.
Brooklyn, NY – The NYU Students for a Democratic Society held a pro-Palestine rally on August 26, during welcome week for the incoming freshman class at New York University Tandon School of Engineering (NYU Tandon).
The goal of the rally was to make sure the incoming freshman class was aware of the ties that NYU Tandon had to the ongoing genocide in Gaza through the school’s partnerships, sponsorships, research funding, and investments with military companies and companies aiding apartheid Israel.
New York, New York – A crowd of 100 demonstrators rallied in front of New York City Hall on Friday, March 22, to support home health aides on a hunger strike to end the inhumane 24-hour workdays that home attendants in New York City are forced to endure.
New York, NY – 60 people came out to Union Square, March 15, to protest against the recent deployment of the National Guard to inspect bags at high-traffic subway stations.
New York City – Today, January 23, over 1400 dock workers and truck drivers at Hunts Point Produce Market ended their strike after six days of militant picketing. The tentative agreement was approved by 97% of the membership, with the largest wage increase in their history.
New York, NY – Over 300 people gathered in the heart of the Flatiron District to stand up for trans rights. The call to action was made by several different organizations that belong to the Rapid Feminist Response network, which responded to the Trump administration memo that was uncovered by the New York Times. The memo, put out last spring by the Department of Human Health and Services, was adamantly proposing that all governmental agencies narrowly define gender by the biological sex organ a person was born with.
