Student Upsurge: A Challenge and an Invite

November 17, 2015 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us

The student upsurge on campuses across the U.S. in recent days and weeks is an inspiring and very welcome development. Sparked by courageous actions of students at the University of Missouri, the fight has spread to other campuses. There is a new generation rising up to demand an end to the longstanding, dehumanizing racist outrages that are a reflection of and enforce a system that has denied the humanity of Black people since its inception. At the same time, and in places intersecting with the Missouri solidarity actions, protests have broken out on many campuses against the extreme economic burden imposed on students broadly in the form of skyrocketing tuitions and enslaving student loan debt. This upsurge of students should give heart to many, many people—from those who catch the most hell in the ghettos and barrios of AmeriKKKa, to people from the ’60s generation who still carry hopes for a better world, to oppressed people across the globe, and everyone who thirsts for real, radical change. And the students’ bold stand and actions have drawn in—and compelled—others to support and join the struggle.

To students: Carry through on the convictions that have moved you to act—the righteous rising up on the campuses needs to go further and spread even more widely. And as you do this, engage with revolutionary communists who are uniting with this fight against oppression and bringing the understanding of the real source of these and other outrages—and challenging students to get into the leadership and work of Bob Avakian and the real revolutionary way forward to a radically different, much better world.