Wisconsin struggle drives out racists

By Bryan G. Pfeifer West Allis, Wis.

More than 2,000 protesters came out here in the pouring rain on Sept. 3 to tell about 20 Nazis and their big-business and banking backers that their hatred, racism and anti-union stance are not wanted.

L.U.V. Brigade in Milwaukee before joinin anti-Nazi protest. WW photo: Bryan G. Pfeifer

The protest began with a rally which had a powerful, diverse array of speakers that included representatives of the African-American, Latino/a and other communities of color; the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer community; the Jewish community; youth; students; the faith-based community; the immigrant community and others.

About an hour after this rally, the Nazis, escorted by police to a site behind a chain-link fence, attempted to hold a brief “recruitment rally” at city hall. The fascists were directly confronted by a multinational, intergenerational crowd holding signs such as “Jobs, Social Security and health care, not hate,” and banners declaring slogans like “West Allis says NO to racism, union-busting.”

At one point the protesters confronted white supremacists who were standing at a gas station taunting African Americans and others. Although the racists were adjacent to city hall and had open containers of alcohol, the cops did nothing. In fact, the fully armed police on mounted horses protected the racists and threatened the counter-protesters with arrest and physical harm.

Well over 150 police from all over metro Milwaukee and beyond were out in force to protect the Nazis, costing taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The Nazis’ vile words were drowned out by the crowd, with chants such as, “Hey hey, ho ho, Nazi hate has got to go!” Due to the protesters’ chants and militancy, especially that of African-American youth and students, the racists packed up and left early, escorted by the police on a taxpayer-funded yellow school bus.

Delegations of protesters came from the Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice in Madison, Wis.; postal workers from Green Bay, Wis.; Fight Imperialism, Stand Together (FIST) and Moratorium NOW! Coalition to Stop Foreclosures, Evictions & Utility Shutoffs activists from Detroit. Residents from many communities throughout metro Milwaukee and elsewhere also came out to confront the Nazis.

The morning of Sept. 3 a youth and student organization called the L.U.V. Brigade and other African-American community organizations held an anti-Nazi event at Red Arrow Park in downtown Milwaukee.

“We have to fight injustice. We have to fight against oppression. The Black community faces racism and oppression every day through the court system, the police and the education system. We can’t allow ourselves to be terrorized. We have to fight the power. We can’t allow the police to do us any kind of way. We have power when we come together. We can change the world,” said Khalil Coleman, leader of the L.U.V. Brigade, speaking to the crowd at Red Arrow Park. Participants at the L.U.V. Brigade event then traveled to West Allis to join the counter-protesters there.

A coalition of more than 30 organizations throughout metro Milwaukee mobilized for more than two weeks for the protests against the fascists. The coalition included members of unions such as the Milwaukee Teachers Education Association; American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees; and the Service Employees union; and activist groups such as Peace Action Wisconsin; the L.U.V. Brigade; the Latin American Solidarity Committee; the Freedom Road Socialist Organization; Milwaukee Inner City Congregations Allied For Hope (MICAH); Students for a Democratic Society; Voces de la Frontera; the Wisconsin Bail Out the People Movement; and Workers World Party.

Organizing leading up to Sept. 3 included the distribution of thousands of leaflets and posters throughout metro Milwaukee and beyond. Organizers went to West Allis to distribute leaflets and talk to residents and small business owners. A media campaign counteracted the lies of the Nazis and pointed out their bloody history in numerous capitalist countries.