Trump y los generales 16 Morales sobre Bolivia 16

Workers and oppressed peoples of the world unite! workers.org Vol. 62, No. 25 June 18, 2020 $1

Atlanta’s Black community demands Justice for Rayshard Brooks! By Arielle Robinson his office has handled. Protests that have Atlanta swept through Atlanta since the murder have continued in Peoplestown, the Black June 17 — Fired Atlanta cop Garrett working-class neighborhood where Rolfe was charged today with 11 counts Brooks was killed, and at Centennial in the killing of Rayshard Brooks, includ- Olympic Park and other city locations. ing felony murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. APD June 13—​Amid existing protests in cop Devin Brosnan, also at the scene, support of Black people murdered by was charged with aggravated assault, police and white supremacists in Georgia among other offenses. After Rolfe shot and elsewhere, Atlanta protesters con- Brooks in the back twice, neither cop tinue to brave the streets to fight for provided “timely medical attention” Rayshard Brooks—murdered​ by Atlanta to Brooks, as required by city policy. police on Friday night, June 12. Instead Rolfe kicked Brooks as he lay Brooks, a 27-year-old Black man, fell on the ground and Brosnan stood on the asleep in his car that evening in the drive- dying man’s shoulder. through lane at a Wendy’s fast food restau- Demonstrators near I-75/85 in Atlanta to protest killer cop, June 13. According to prosecutors, Brosnan is rant. As customers drove around his car to willing to testify against Rolfe. Fulton get service, someone inside Wendy’s called one drawing a Taser on him. After a short Brooks was father to three children and County District Attorney Paul Howard the Atlanta Police Department. struggle, Brooks grabbed the Taser, sup- stepfather to one teenager. According to said this is the first time that has hap- APD cops Devin Bronsan and Garrett posedly firing at Rolfe as he ran. A Taser family lawyers, Brooks was going to take pened in 40 such cases of police violence Rolfe arrived and started to arrest Brooks, has a maximum range of about 10 feet. A his daughter skating that night for her typical police service gun like a Glock 22 eighth birthday, which was the next day. has a maximum range of about 150 feet. Rolfe fired his gun three times and Explosion of anger at injustice Stonewall means wounded Brooks as he ran away. Brooks Protests had already been organized later died in surgery. His death was ruled in and around Atlanta for June 13 and 14 a homicide on June 14 by the Fulton as a response to white supremacist mur- County Medical Examiner’s Office. The ders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, unite & fight back! autopsy revealed that Rolfe shot Brooks Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade and many twice in the back. more Black people throughout the U.S. The reactionary rulers of the U.S. are In the middle of Pride Month, the Rolfe has been fired from the APD and For about three weeks, Atlanta and its attempting to discourage, divide and Trump-Pence administration launched Bronsan was put on administrative duty. suburbs have seen near-daily protests defeat poor, oppressed and working peo- another brutal attack on LGBTQ2+ In what many local organizers call a responding to these murders. ple in any way possible, at people. On June 12 the win after years of demands, APD Chief On Saturday evening, June 13, protesters any possible opportunity. Department of Health and Erika Shields was forced to resign, despite came out in the hundreds near University Look at the psycholog- editorial Human Services announced her claim that this was her own decision. ical operations ploy tried cancellation of all nondis- Continued on page 11 by white supremacist Trump in setting crimination protections for LGBTQ2+ his first 2020 campaign rally in Tulsa, people for access to health care and health Okla.—​site of a horrendous 1921 white insurance under the Affordable Care Act. mob massacre of Black people—​on And the government deliberately COVID-19 CRISIS Juneteenth, the traditional Black celebra- trumpeted this news on the anniversary tion of the Emancipation Proclamation. • Bronx epidemic 3 Continued on page 14 • Rise in domestic violence 3 Delbert Africa ¡Presente! WORKERS’ STRUGGLES 6 MOVE’s Minister of Defense Delbert Africa, 73, died from cancer on June 15 at home and surrounded by his family. Delbert was one of ANTI-RACIST REBELLION the MOVE 9, who all received life sentences fol- lowing a racist Philadelphia police raid on the • Mumia Abu-Jamal: ‘World on fire’ 2 MOVE house and headquarters in 1978. Delbert spent 42 years in prison after an out- • YOUTH: an emerging force 7 rageously biased trial in which he was charged with the death of a police officer. Delbert Africa • Cops off campus protests 8 was convicted despite the widely believed charge that he was shot by police during their assault on fighter, an activist. An uncompromising, revolu- • Ona MOVE in Philly 8 the house. Delbert Africa was finally released this tionary freedom fighter who fought for the lives • In Texas streets 8-9 Jan. 18. of all. When he came out [of prison], that’s how Pam Africa, MOVE’s Minister of Confrontation, he came out. As strong as he was, mentally.” • Eyewitness: Seattle’s CHOP 10 said, “Delbert will be remembered as a freedom — Report: Betsey Piette; WW Photo: Joe Piette • Why cops can’t be reformed 11 • Labor vs. police 12 • Gov’t, Klan & the state 4 • Remove ALL Confederate symbols! 13 • New hearing for Rodney Reed 4 • EDITORIAL Juneteenth & the uprising 14 • Free Jalil, Mutulu! 5 • 1921 Tulsa massacre 14 • CeCe McDonald & right to self-defense 5 • Revolutionary organizing 15

Wang Dingguo ¡presente! 12 Free Ana Belén Montes! 12 France 13 Page 2 June 18, 2020 workers.org this week ◆ In the U.S. The world on fire Justice for Rayshard Brooks! ...... 1 By Mumia Abu Jamal from the long-standing Delbert Africa ¡Presente! ...... 1 discontent from the dark COVID-19’s impact on the Bronx ...... 3 Transcribed from a June 7 audio column posted on Aborigines, the Indigenous Domestic violence during the pandemic . . . . . 3 prisonradio.org. communities in Australia and The govt, the Klan, cops and prisons ...... 4 New South Wales, who like Black Lives Matter in Bastrop, Texas ...... 4 Guess what? The world is on fire! Black folk in America, have CeCe McDonald: the right to self-defense . . . . .5 I don’t mean environmental degradation or global suffered from generations of Fre Jalil Muntaqim, Dr. Mutulu Shakur . . . . . 5 warming; no, although that too is true. state repression. Workers face a social pandemic ...... 6 I refer to protests, not just all across the United States For example, in the recent murder of David Dungay, an Stop exploiting J-1 cultural workers ...... 6 but all around the world. Aborigine, who like his brothers and sisters in America, Protests from London to Paris; from Berlin to Nairobi; his last words were ”I can’t breathe,” as they choked him Multinational unity wins battle at Harvard . . . . 6 from Toledo, Ohio, to Tokyo, Japan. to death. YOUTH are the emerging vital force ...... 7 Protests in solidarity with Black Lives Matter and And how have the cops responded to this challenge? Students, workers say: ‘Cops off our campus!’ . . .8 against police aggression and racism. With tantrums. With attacks on protesters, male or female. Communities denounce police terror ...... 8 Protests stemming from the cruel brutality that led to A 75-year-old white man who was pushed to the ground as ‘We marched against the system’ in Austin . . . . 8 the slow-motion killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, they stepped over his fallen and bleeding body. Dallas-Fort Worth pushes back racism ...... 9 Minn. America is on fire and the world has caught the blaze. Campaign to end the Oakland School Police . . . .9 The solidarity from Sydney, Australia, stems in part From incarcerated nation, I am Mumia Abu-Jamal. ☐ Black Lives Matter in Alpine, Texas ...... 9 60,000-strong anti-racist march in Seattle . . . .10 CHOP Seattle: Imagining a police-free future . . .10 Why the police cannot be reformed ...... 11 Support the Marxist voice for LGBTQ2+ rights Learning from history: Labor vs. police . . . . . 12 Raleigh protests demand justice ...... 12 Ever since the Stonewall Rebellion erupted June 28, 1969, Workers World has covered the global struggle to end homopho- Conflict arises over renaming military bases . . . 13 bia and all forms of discrimination, persecution and vio- The 1921 Tulsa massacre: ‘ethnic cleansing’ . . . 14 lence against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and Organizing for revolutionary power ...... 15 gender-nonconforming communities. ◆ Around the world WW has consistently backed up our activist coverage with anal- ysis. In the early 1970s, WW ran a series of articles that led to pub- Mumia: The world on fire ...... 11 lication of “The Gay Question: A Marxist Appraisal” in 1976. Then One step closer to freedom for Ana Belen Montes .12 in 1993, we published “The Roots of Lesbian and Gay Oppression: Wang Dingguo ¡presente! ...... 12 A Marxist View.” Read it at www.workers.org/books. France: masses charge racist police murder . . . 13 Then in the 1990s, WW Managing Editor and globally recog- Toppling a mass murderer ...... 13 nized transgender leader Leslie Feinberg wrote a series of 25 arti- cles later published in pamphlet form as “Rainbow Solidarity in ◆ Editorial Defense of Cuba.” They were followed by the series “Lavender & Stonewall means unite & fight back! ...... 1 Red” about socialism and the LGBTQ2+ struggle. In 2012 Feinberg Celebrating Juneteenth during an uprising . . . .14 wrote in defense of African American transgender woman CeCe McDonald, who was charged with manslaughter after defending ◆ Noticias en Español herself from a racist, bigoted attack. ¿Tropas USA contra manifestantes? ...... 16 WW helps to build mass struggles, like what’s going on now in Morales habla: ‘Áñez se aferra al poder’ . . . . . 16 the streets from coast to coast. This righteous outpouring of rage and protest over the racist cop murder of George Floyd comes as the COVID-19 pandemic disproportionally impacts Black, Brown Workers World and Indigenous peoples. 147 W. 24th St., 2nd Fl. New York, NY 10011 Please help us get out the word. For a donation of at least $75 a Phone: 212.627.2994 year—or​ $100, or $300 or much more if you’re able—​members E-mail: [email protected] receive a year’s subscription to WW, a monthly letter about timely Web: www.workers.org issues and five free subscriptions to give to friends. Write checks to Workers World and mail them, with your name and address, to Vol. 62, No. 25 • June 18, 2020 Closing date: June 17, 2020 147 W. 24th St., 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10011. Or sign up online WW PHOTO : BRENDA RYAN, to donate each month. Editor: Deirdre Griswold Pride march in New York City, 2019. We’re grateful for your help in building Workers World—​sign Managing Editors: John Catalinotto, Martha Grevatt, up today! Monica Moorehead, Betsey Piette, Minnie Bruce Pratt Web Editors: ABear, Harvey Markowitz, Janet Mayes To Patreon subscribers: Prisoners Page Editors: Mirinda Crissman, Ted Kelly Production & Design Editors: Gery Armsby, Sasha We want to give you an update on the status of Workers World newspaper. Our print edition has been temporarily Mazumder, Scott Williams suspended during the COVID-19 crisis for health and safety reasons. But we intend to begin physical distribution Copyediting and Proofreading: Paddy Colligan, again soon. Sue Davis, S. Hedgecoke In the meantime, we are committed to providing revolutionary socialist and abolitionist news and analysis to all Contributing Editors: LeiLani Dowell, G. Dunkel, our family behind bars. We are currently working on sending print copies of the PDF version of Workers World to our K. Durkin, Sara Flounders, Teresa Gutierrez, Joshua subscribers. Please send us a message if you have a friend or loved one whom you would like to receive a subscription. Hanks, Makasi Motema, Gloria Rubac During this period of global uprising, everything is changing. Our ability to make abolition a reality is closer now Mundo Obero: Teresa Gutierrez, Carlos Vargas than ever before in our lifetime. We thank you for your continued support of the Prisoner Subscription Program and of Workers World Party. In order to build a workers’ world, we must tear down the walls! Supporter Program: Coordinator Sue Davis Copyright © 2020 Workers World. 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The Bronx is burning again COVID-19’s impact on most underserved borough By Lucy Cruz Brown people have borne the most severe #Not62: The Bronx still last are trying to rectify are systemic in this Bronx, N.Y. consequences of the epidemic, starved of The Bronx overall has an estimated racist, capitalist society. resources and high-quality health care. median household income of $30,483, Material conditions for working-class As of June 13, there were 7.87 mil- Even in New York City, the financial heart placing it last among all of New York’s 62 “Bronxites” will not change until the sys- lion cases of COVID-19 worldwide and of U.S. imperialism, Black and Brown com- counties. On the other hand, the Bronx tems of oppression put into place by the 432,500 deaths. The U.S. still has the munities have been hit the hardest. takes first place for several chronic ill- capitalist class are completely disman- highest number of cases and deaths of Specifically, the situation in the Bronx nesses, including asthma, obesity, diabe- tled, and the workers can directly manage any country, with 2.14 million cases and is dire, as the borough is the COVID-19 tes and hypertension. Paradoxically, the their community resources for the better- over 117,000 deaths—​and the numbers capital of New York state. (Washington Bronx’s largest industry is health care and ment of all. are climbing. The 22 states which began Post, April 21) Today the Bronx is burn- social services with 146,062 employees as Bronxites fight back to ease their shutdowns are experienc- ing, recalling the time when the South of 2018, according to Data USA. (tinyurl. ing an increase in new cases. Now some Bronx was in flames in the late 1970s com/y8xbsuxj) However, many Bronx residents refuse state governments are delaying opening when skylines were dominated by Despite the size of the Bronx health to roll over as the coronavirus continues up their economies. burned-out buildings and gray smoke. care workforce, health outcomes for to spread, letting their voices ring out In New York City, the epicenter of the Bronx residents are not improving, and through their protective face masks. The The Bronx: by the numbers pandemic in the U.S., over 214,000 peo- social programs do little to offset the Bronx health care workforce, in particu- ple have been sickened with the virus, The Bronx has been ravaged by material conditions of these workers’ lar, has been protesting their poor work- and more than 21,500 residents died. COVID‑19, with 3,107 cases per 100,000 lives. However, there have been some ing conditions as hospitals run out of In the Bronx, the hardest hit borough, people as of May 26. The death rate stands efforts to change this situation, such as personal protective equipment and are 46,535 people have contracted the dis- at 245 per 100,000 people, the highest rate the #NOT62 Campaign launched in 2016. flooded with new patients. ease and 4,591 of them died. The illness in New York City. Adults over 74 have been The NYC Health Department explained One demonstration by nurses and other has disproportionately affected African- hit especially hard, with 1,942 deaths per it on March 16, 2016: “The #NOT62 medical professionals took place on March American, Latinx, Asian and elderly 100,000. (tinyurl.com/y93og79s) It’s no Campaign was launched last year by 28 at Jacobi Medical Center. Holding signs populations and people with disabilities. surprise that the Bronx is taking the brunt the Bronx Borough President’s Office, with slogans reading, “Will work for PPE,” of the burden as the borough is routinely Montefiore Health System, the Institute they voiced their refusal to work without COVID-19 continues to rage on as an ranked last in well-being and income com- for Family Health and the NYC Health proper protection after the Centers for international pandemic months after the pared to any area of the U.S. Department to improve strategic health Disease Control and Prevention ordered initial outbreak in Wuhan, China. Never The South and West Bronx make up the outcomes for Bronx residents by 2020, by them to reuse their masks. to be outdone, the U.S. now has the most 15th Congressional District of New York, bringing together stakeholders from across The New York State Nurses Association virus cases worldwide, with a staggering which ranks as not only the poorest district multiple sectors within City government, held another rally there April 17, protesting death toll of over 100,000 people. This in New York state, but the poorest district the business community, health care pro- a change in the hospital’s paid sick leave is despite the U.S. hoarding the lion’s in the U.S. In 2017, the median household viders and community-based/faith-based policy, which required staff to obtain a doc- share of the world’s resources. (New York income was estimated at $28,042, while its organizations to address the determinants tor’s note if they were out sick. And this in Times, May 24) population was 97 percent people of color, of health.” (tinyurl.com/y7s2fgws) the midst of a pandemic! Health care work- The failure of the U.S. health care-in- reported Amanda Luz Henning Santiago The campaign mainly carried out pub- ers led a demonstration and candlelight dustrial complex in handling this crisis on Dec. 15, 2019. (tinyurl.com/yckhnwm2) lic outreach and health education in the vigil for workers lost to COVID-19 outside cannot be understated, as the system is The correlation is no coincidence, but Bronx’s most affected areas. As the data Lincoln Hospital, painting a clear picture primarily geared to generating profits serves as evidence of the oppression of show, as of 2020, the campaign has of the harrowing conditions that many over saving human lives. That has led low-income Black and Brown people. It’s unfortunately not achieved its desired Bronxites face today. (Guardian, April 15) to equipment and personnel shortages no wonder that the most underserved result. While initiatives like this are cer- These are essential workers, risking life throughout the country. community in the country is serving as tainly a step in the right direction, most and limb on the front lines to provide for Unsurprisingly, impoverished Black and COVID-19’s most efficient petri dish. are doomed to fail as the problems they Continued on page 4

Domestic violence ‘The epidemic within the pandemic’

By Sue Davis work, being at home, losing everything—​ solutions to this crisis.” Headed by that spiked our violence,” reported Chau Melissa DeRosa, his secretary and “My husband won’t let me leave the Nguyen, the chief public strategies officer leader of the New York State Council house” has become an all-too-familiar cry for the Houston Area Women’s Center. on Women and Girls, the task force for help since the mandatory lockdown was “You’re going to see it more and more.” is charged with developing recommenda- becoming infected in an emergency room. instituted in early March—​not just in the (CNN, April 4) tions “to help women who are stuck in dan- Abusers may stress that it’s not safe United States, but all over the world. A research report by a consortium gerous situations.” to use public transportation as a way to Domestic violence has become a stealth which includes Johns Hopkins University keep survivors away from family or their epidemic within the COVID-19 pandemic. concludes there could be 31 million new How abusers use COVID-19 to children or grandchildren. One woman So much so that the United Nations cases of domestic violence globally if assert power and control reported her abuser threatened to throw Secretary-General António Guterres coronavirus lockdowns continue for six In early April the National Domestic her into the street so she would become issued a call the week of April 6 for gov- more months. (www.unfpa.org) Violence Hotline noted that it had received infected. Another abuser beat a survivor ernments to address domestic violence as more than 2,300 calls since mid-March in because he was sure she was trying to a key part of their pandemic response. Surge of domestic violence cases in U.S. which COVID-19 was cited as a reason for infect him. Anita Bhatia, a deputy executive direc- After the first coronavirus death was abuse. Violent partners were leveraging it The hotline advises survivors to do tor of U.N. Women, told Time magazine, reported at the end of February and non- “to further isolate, coerce or increase fear three things: to create a safety plan to “The very technique we are using to pro- essential businesses began to close in mid- in the relationship,” reported Katie Ray- remain safe in the relationship, to leave tect people from the virus can perversely March, reports of domestic violence began Jones, CEO of the NDVH. or what to do after leaving; to practice impact victims of domestic violence.” to increase in cities around the country. “Abuse is about power and control,” self-care for health and wellness; and to While social distancing and isolation Of 22 law enforcement agencies that the hotline summarizes. Isolation is the reach out for help by maintaining social are absolutely essential, she added, they responded to NBC News’ request for primary technique abusers use to assert connections online or over the phone. “provide an opportunity for abusers to data, 18 said they saw a rise in March. power and control over their partner and Meanwhile, the struggle for all women unleash more violence.” (March 18) For example, Houston reported 300 more children. Sheltering-at-home and wide- and gender-nonconforming people to have According to the World Health calls, about a 20 percent increase, while spread job loss mean the entire family safe, healthy, happy and fulfilled lives con- Organization, 1 out of 3 women in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg, N.C., had 517 is trapped in limited space with limited tinues. The coronavirus is forcing all the world experience physical or sexual vio- additional calls compared to last year, an finances. Such conditions only create a inequalities and injustices in capitalist lence in their lifetime, making it “the 18 percent jump. pressure cooker of uncertainty, which society to the surface, like deadly racism, most widespread, but the least reported, One of the first states to pay atten- triggers abusers. They respond to this which has disproportionately taken the human rights abuses.” The WHO notes tion to that surge was New York. Gov. “perfect storm” with more beatings and lives of so many Black and Brown people. that while women make up the major- Andrew Cuomo’s office announced that psychological torture. Only by tearing down patriarchy, all forms ity of victims, LGBTQ2+ people also face the number of cases grew 18 percent The NDVH cites ways COVID-19 is of hatred and bigotry, and class society will elevated rates. But during times of crises, from February to March, after New York’s used to increase control. Abusers with- we achieve the freedom we need to flourish like wars and natural disasters, the risk of “Pause” order went into effect. It went up hold necessary things like hand sanitizer and thrive under socialism. gender-based violence escalates. 30 percent in April compared to last year. or disinfectants. They use misinforma- One study showed that after Hurricane (ABCNews, May 28) tion to frighten or prevent survivors Survivors are encouraged to con- Harvey in 2017, domestic violence soared Cuomo’s office launched a task force from seeking medical attention if they tact the NDVH at 800-799-7233 or text in Houston. “The stressors of being out of at the end of May to find “innovative have symptoms, like hyping the risk of LOVEIS to 22522. Page 4 June 18, 2020 workers.org The govt, the Klan, cops and prisons By Ted Kelly of economic power by failing to grant the as did the U.S. Supreme Court, that unions museum, you will end up across the street newly emancipated people the land which were ‘criminal conspiracies.’ ” in that prison.” That is the function of The following talk was given by Ted they had tilled for centuries. In all capitalist states and sites of colo- prisons in this country. Kelly of Philadelphia during a May “The violence against the Black people nial occupation, police units were armed White supremacy is one of the funda- 16 webinar sponsored by the Prisoner which had begun on a minimal scale during gangs set up to protect the property of the mental pillars upon which capitalism is Solidarity Committee of Workers World Reconstruction began to take a tremen- rich while smashing any nascent organized founded and supports itself. Prisons and Party. dous toll after the U.S. government finally working-class power. Private police forces police are the state’s most violent tools withdrew its troops. It was in this period like the Pinkerton agents provoked, spied of racist oppression. We cannot abolish I’ll begin by quoting two different pas- that lynchings, the most barbarous form on and killed working-class organizers. capitalism without abolishing police and sages. The first is from Workers World of counterrevolutionary terror, became the Likewise, the Federal Bureau of abolishing prisons. For this reason, at the Party founder Sam Marcy’s book, “The hallmark of the reactionary attempt to keep Investigation was born as a political police beginning of this new crisis, as capitalism Klan and the Government: Foes or Allies?” the Black people in semi-bondage. As many force to track and subvert anti-capitalist reaches its dead end, we have relaunched “The far more important problem is the as 5,000 lynchings took place between the activities. They arrest and they assassi- the Prisoner Solidarity Committee of reciprocal relations between the capitalist 1880s and 1951.” nate and they incarcerate—from​ the early Workers World Party, 50 years after its government and the Klan. More often than The reason I start by quoting Sam 20th-century labor organizers to the Black inception, after the uprisings at Attica not, the former is made to appear rather Marcy on the history between the Klan Panthers, to the MOVE Organization, to and Auburn. hostile to the Klan. The public impression and the U.S. government is because it is the supporters of the Popular Front for Prisoners and incarcerated workers conveyed is that the government is forced out of this history that police forces in the the Liberation of Palestine, until today represent one of the most oppressed under the law (the First or ‘Free Speech’ United States were formed. To not merely with the assassinations of Ferguson, sectors of our class, and they cannot be Amendment to the Constitution) to defend collaborate with the Ku Klux Klan, but to Mo., organizers and the jailing of those ignored. They face unprecedented threats and secure the Klan’s rights. establish alongside them a formerly depu- who resist police attacks, like Ramsey against their livelihood and against their “In reality, however, the capitalist gov- tized violent gang to supplant them. Orta. The Indigenous water protectors ability to politically organize. And that is ernment has covertly encouraged and The second short passage I’m going to who organized against the Dakota Access one of the most important tasks the PSC promoted the Klan over many decades. read is from Mumia Abu-Jamal, “Have Pipeline—​Dion Ortiz, James White, of WWP is taking up. It is often completely overlooked in cur- Black Lives Ever Mattered?” where he Little Feather, Rattler and Red Fawn—​ We must tear down the walls if we are rent discussions and in the press and describes the police: are now hounded and threatened with to build a Workers World. ☐ media reports that the durability of the “They are servants, if at all, of the polit- felony charges by the state. Klan rests on solid long-term bonds to the ical structures of which they are a part, This is all to say that this is the func- state, and that the two share a common not of the people. They are servants, if at tion of police and therefore the function The Klan & the political ideology, for the most part. all, of the state. They serve the interests of of prisons in this country. “When the ruling class had the opportu- capital, of the wealthy, of those who run As Fermin Morales, a Puerto Rican Government nity to wipe out the Klan more than a cen- this system from their bank vaults and activist and ally of WWP Philadelphia, Foes or Allies? tury ago, it failed to do so. The Northern corporate offices. said in a speech on May Day, poor and industrialists and bankers were more “They do not serve the poor, the power- oppressed workers are given a choice: By Sam Marcy interested in reaching a compromise with less, nor the un-influential. “You can fight to survive, doing whatever Examines the special the ex-slave owners than with the newly “They never have. you need to do to make money, and you relationship with freed slaves. “They are an armed force organized to will end up in prison if you step outside the state that has “The U.S. government capitulated to protect the interests of the established and those bounds; or you fight for your nation allowed the Ku Klux the Southern planters and ex-slave own- those who own capital. The history of labor as a Puerto Rican and you can end up in Klan to exist for over ers after the period of Reconstruction in this country is splattered by the blood prison for the reason of fighting for polit- a century despite its when it withdrew federal troops from of trade unionists who were beaten, shot, ical power.” criminal history of the South without establishing an inde- and crushed to the earth for striking against Just down the street from where lynchings, murders, pendent citizens' militia composed of the the trusts, combinations, and mega-corpo- Morales was speaking was a federal pen- and intimidation. Black people and poor whites. rations of capital. Who did the beating? The itentiary. And across the street from that Published in 1983. “It also left them politically defense- shooting? The crushing? The cops, who is the African American History Museum. Read it free at workers.org/marcy/klan/ less and deprived the Black population served the interests of a state that declared, She said, “If you learn too much in that Black Lives Matter in Bastrop, Texas

By Gloria Rubac to hear all the new evidence that has been nine world renown medical examiners discovered by Reed’s attorneys with the who have done independent autopsies With the whole world exploding in sup- Innocence Project in New York City. present evidence that will prove that there port of the Black Lives Matter movement A full two weeks have been set aside for is no way that my brother could have com- that is sweeping through large U.S. cities the hearing, which will be held Sept. 14-25 mitted this crime. and small towns alike, Black Lives Matter in the Bastrop trial court. “Since all the publicity last fall and then WW PHOTO: GLORIA RUBAC may finally become a reality in Bastrop, On the lawn of the Bastrop County the indefinite stay of execution, we now Rodney Reed in court, February 2015. Texas, for death row prisoner Rodney Reed. Courthouse where Reed was wrongfully have hope. We are extremely optimistic. In 1998 Reed was wrongfully sent to convicted, there are two monuments hon- Everything is coming together, and as the the beginning of the end and we expect prison to await execution after a Bastrop oring the confederacy. They were both whole world will be watching, evidence the court to either grant a new trial or let County jury used DNA evidence to con- defaced in early June. An obelisk monu- will prove Rodney’s innocence. This is Rodney go.” ☐ vict him of the rape and murder of Stacey ment that the Daughters of the Confederacy Stites. Reed is African American and erected in 1910 had BLM painted on all Stites was white. Because they were hav- four sides and “Free Rodney Reed” on two. The Bronx: COVID-19’s impact ing a consensual affair when she was A headstone honoring Joseph D. Sayers, found dead in 1996, Reed’s DNA was a major in the Confederate Army, who Continued from page 3 in the borough—​from the high-rises of found in Stites’ body. became Texas’s 22nd governor, was also River Park Towers in the Morris Heights In a dramatic decision last Nov. 18, christened with “BLM.” themselves and their families. Many do neighborhood, recently described as the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the According to Reed’s brother, Rodrick not have the luxury to work from home. “death towers” by a resident, to New York highest criminal court in the state, indef- Reed, the Bastrop mayor called his family Combating the pandemic is their every- City Housing Authority buildings in the initely stayed Reed’s scheduled Nov. 20 in to discuss the monuments before one of day reality and burden. They deserve more South Bronx. (NY Times, May 26) Public execution. The CCA ordered the trial court Reed’s previous execution dates on March than thoughts, prayers and pats on the back health education programs can only do so 5, 2015. “No action was ever taken to take from the medical-industrial complex that much when faced with a massive shortage down the monuments and that was the considers them disposable. Many Bronx of PPE and COVID testing kits. last conversation we had with the mayor,” residents have nowhere to go in the event There is no going back to before the Reed’s brother told Workers World. they fall ill, as their caretakers continue to outbreak. The dying capitalist machine Reed’s case has received tremendous get sick while in the service of others. continues to whir on, consuming lives to generate as much profit as it can before publicity, not only throughout Texas but Facing the ‘new normal’ in the Bronx from supporters countrywide. Television it finally goes kaput. The only option that stars such as Oprah Winfrey and Dr. Phil Adversity is nothing new in the Bronx. Bronx residents have is to move forward, have covered the case. Super-stars Kim The borough’s residents carry on despite inevitably toward socialism, the system Kardashian West and Rihanna have called facing racist police terror and lacking in which the working class’s humanity is on the governor to intervene and asked high-quality food sources and accessible, valued. the courts to hear new evidence. adequate medical care. Masks serve as the Just as the fires of the 1970s led to the In Reed’s original trial, the timeline of new fitted Yankee cap. The usually bus- blooming of the hip-hop movement that Stites’ kidnapping and death was incor- tling bodegas are a little less crowded. soars from speakers internationally today, WW PHOTO: GLORIA RUBAC COVID-19 continues to spread in some there is no doubt that the Bronx will sur- Outside court hearing for Rodney Reed, rectly presented. At the September hear- of the most vulnerable neighborhoods vive this crisis. ☐ February 2015. ing, Rodrick Reed has said, “We will have workers.org June 18, 2020 Page 5 Black Trans Lives Matter! CeCe McDonald: the right to self-defense

By Leslie Feinberg had a swastika tattoo. indicate that they CeCe McDonald was the only person arrested by the have been harassed This is the first part of an article published Dec. 7, police that night. McDonald has been punished ever by the police. Even 2012, in Workers World in the series of articles by Leslie since as the “aggressor” for defending her life and the worse, 20% state Feinberg on the local, U.S. and international cam- lives of her friends—​and surviving. Police, sheriffs, jail- that they have been paign to “Free CeCe!” Trans woman McDonald was ers, prosecutor, judge and prison administration have physically or sexu- charged with murder for defending herself and friends arrested her, locked her up and held her in solitary con- ally assaulted by when attacked by a white supremacist mob in 2011 in finement for long periods. police. Minneapolis. In June 2012, Feinberg committed civil “Given this pat- WW PHOTO : LESLIE FEINBERG, disobedience and was arrested for spray-painting “Free Stop the war on trans women of color! tern of criminal- CeCe McDonald and Leslie Feinberg, CeCe!” on the walls and pillars of the Hennepin County It is no metaphor to say that there is a war against ization and abuse Hennepin County jail, Minneapolis, Courthouse where McDonald was to be sentenced. Sent trans women of color in the U.S.—​on the streets and in … it is no surprise May 1, 2012. to prison, CeCe McDonald served a much reduced pen- the prisons. that most victims of alty because of the powerful campaign for her freedom. Here are the names of some of those who lost their lives transgender violence (52%) do not report the crimes to She was finally freed on Jan. 13, 2014. to antitrans lynchings in cities across the U.S. in 2012: law enforcement.” Brandy Martell. Paige Clay. Kyra Kruz. Deoni Jones. Hill continued, “[T]rans individuals are subjected to At certain moments in history, the struggle of individ- Tracy Johnson. Tyrell Jackson. Rosita Hidalgo. Coko prison sentences during which they will be labeled and uals to survive and organize against fascist attacks, police Williams. Kendall Hampton. Tiffany Gooden. Dee Dee treated as a gender rather than their own. Such a prac- and prison terror sharply reveals the societal relationship Pearson. Githe Goines. Brenting Dolliole. Janette Tovar. tice, if done to straight cisexual individuals, would clearly of forces—​between oppressor and oppressed, exploiter Cassidy Vickers. be understood and challenged as torture.” (ebony.com, and exploited. These battles inspire unity and action that When a trans person is murdered, often police and June 11, 2012) help shape and define political eras—like​ the demands monopoly media don’t investigate or report the deaths. CeCe McDonald wrote from St. Cloud prison to those to free the Scottsboro Brothers, Lolita Lebron, Leonard Killers, largely unsought, walk free. Therefore little is taking part in Trans Day of Remembrance 2012: “We need Peltier, George Jackson, Joan Little, Mumia Abu-Jamal. known about any possible links between these murders to not only celebrate for Trans Day of Remembrance, but The struggle to “Free CeCe!” is sparking a growing, or any connections the killers had/have with neofascist also become self-aware and ready to put an end to our broad united front against white supremacy and anti- groups, police or military. community being the focus of violence. Of course it is trans violence. CeCe McDonald’s courage and conscious- CeCe McDonald fought and survived a group fascist more than important to recognize and pay homage to our ness, and the tireless and tenacious solidarity work by attack. She is hailed as a hero—a​ femme hera—in​ many fallen, but we also need to put our feet down and start supporters in Minneapolis and the region—​led by those communities in the U.S. and around the world. being real leaders and making this stand. who are oppressed—​has widened and deepened the The continued punishment of CeCe McDonald by “And personally speaking, if it’s true that this is my demand to “Free CeCe!” in cities across the U.S. and police, prosecutor, judge and prison warden is a green personal journey as a leader, I want to lead my troops around the world. light to neofascists—on​ the streets and in schools, police to victory. I can’t continue to say ‘how bad’ that another Hundreds of thousands of people in the U.S. and inter- precincts, prisons and detention centers. brother, sister, mother, father, partner, friend is gone nationally now know more facts about the attack on CeCe This reporter was told by a survivor of the attack on from blind-hatred. From ignorance and discrimination. McDonald than the judge and prosecutor allowed a jury CeCe McDonald and her friends that harassment and “I would have rather been punished for asserting to know during her trial. threats by white supremacists continued on the streets myself than become another victim of hatred.” CeCe McDonald and her friends were assaulted in of South Minneapolis after the June 5 assault. CeCe McDonald’s assertion, and her self-defense, are Minneapolis on June 5, 2011, by a group that announced Now CeCe McDonald is in a struggle to defend her historically rooted in the right—​the necessity—to​ fight its ideology as racist and fascist in words and action. The life in a prison cell, where sadistic white supremacy and back against Nazi, Klan and other white supremacist, fas- attackers shouted white-supremacist Klan language, trans- transmisogyny hold the key. cist terror. misogynist epithets and a slur against same-sex love. CeCe replied that “her crew would not tolerate hate ‘Cops and Klan work hand in hand’ All quotes from CeCe McDonald, along with more speech.” Police and prison guard brutality against trans people information on her case, can be found at supportcece. One of the attackers then assaulted CeCe McDonald also goes largely unreported by officials and monopoly wordpress.com. Feinberg’s visual “how-to-organize with a weapon—​smashing her in the face with a bar media. manual” of the campaign for McDonald, “This glass that deeply punctured her cheek. Journalist Marc Lamont Hill wrote in Ebony maga- Is What Solidarity Looks Like,” can be viewed at In the fight that ensued, one of the attackers died. He zine: “According to studies, 38% of Black trans people lesliefeinberg.net. Free Muntaqim, Mutulu and all U.S. political prisoners!

By Judy Greenspan In late May, Muntaqim contracted COVID-19 and supporters have been Two prisoner liberation movements in the U.S. have working overtime to win his release. finally awakened people to the fact that there are politi- According to a recent article in the cal prisoners in the U.S. The first is the international out- San Francisco Bay View newspaper, cry during COVID-19 letting the world know that people “Jalil Muntaqim’s release is a public are being held in prisons, jails and detention centers health imperative.” (May 26) without personal protective equipment, adequate social The article goes on to report distancing and quality health care. that the majority of New York The second is the demand to free all aging, elderly state’s 43,000 prisoners are Black and immunocompromised prisoners, including a large and Latinx and that one-quarter number of people who committed political actions on of these prisoners are elderly and the streets decades ago and are dying inside U.S. prisons. immunocompromised. Dr. Mutulu Shakur Jalil Muntaqim Jalil Muntaqim and Dr. Mutulu Shakur, both leaders of the Black Liberation struggle, are two such political Dr. Shakur, freedom fighter prisoners, and they will die inside if they are not released Similar to Muntaqim, Dr. Mutulu Shakur was a According to the online petition to the U.S. Parole immediately. respected leader of the Black community and the move- Commission, “Dr. Shakur is 69 years old, and aging in Jalil Muntaqim (aka Anthony Bottom) became active ment for Black Liberation in New York City in the 1960s. prison after 34 years of incarceration. He needs treatment in the Black Panther Party as a teenager. In 1971, at He is also a well-known Doctor of Acupuncture who used and recovery in humane conditions immediately. We fear the age of 19, he was arrested with several other Black acupuncture at Lincoln Hospital in the Bronx to treat for his survival and his life.” Shakur’s supporters had a activists and charged with the murder of two New York drug addiction and other medical problems. He is also week of action for his release involving petitions and social City police officers. The case came to be known as the the stepfather to the late, legendary hip-hop artist and media earlier this year. (tinyurl.com/y8tr486e) New York 3, and Muntaqim, Herman Bell and Nuh activist Tupac Shakur. The lives of both political prisoners depend upon their Washington were convicted and sentenced to 25 years Just like Muntaqim, Shakur was hounded and tar- immediate release from prison. Not only are prisons the to life in the New York state prison system. geted by Cointelpro in the 1960s and 70s. He was later epicenter of the coronavirus for the most vulnerable pop- As with many cases involving Black political activ- convicted of conspiracy charges relating to the escape ulations, but they are well-documented institutions of ists, the government—​through its FBI—​was front and and liberation of Assata Shakur, a member of BLA, and medical neglect and abuse. Both Muntaqim and Mutulu center in launching a Cointelpro-like campaign dubbed of the Brink’s robbery in upstate New York in 1981. He have ongoing campaigns for compassionate release and “NewKill,” which served to discredit, frame and incar- has served decades in federal prisons for his actions. long overdue parole. cerate leaders of the BPP and the Black Liberation Army. Shakur has been suffering from several chronic and It is high time to return these brave and heroic fighters Muntaqim, an elder who is widely respected both serious health conditions like diabetes, glaucoma and back to their family, friends and community. Free Jalil inside and outside prison, has been incarcerated for 49 hypertension, which led to a stroke several years ago. and Mutulu! Free them all! years in New York state prisons. Lawyers and supporters In 2019, after suffering for months with severe pain, he have been working to get a compassionate release for was finally diagnosed with advanced bone marrow can- For more information about both prisoners’ cam- Muntaqim, who has suffered from hypertension, respi- cer. He has developed cancerous lesions in his spine, ribs paigns, contact the National Jericho Movement at ratory problems and heart disease. and pelvis. tinyurl.com/ybh2apvw/. Page 6 June 18, 2020 workers.org

Racism, lack of jobs Workers face a social pandemic

By G. Dunkel rose by 2.5 million, when most predictions to take a job, any job, no matter how dan- In New York City, the UI cash card can had estimated a job loss of anywhere from gerous or low paid. This attack on work- be fully used at only one KeyBank branch in June 12—​On June 5, President Donald 3 million to 8 million. However, close to ers’ incomes drags down the economy lower Manhattan. People have sometimes Trump was over the moon with joy. The 19.5 million workers are still unemployed. because workers won’t earn enough to had to travel for hours from all over the city numbers were “stupendous,” “AMAZING” This hiring took place in the midst of buy the goods and services they would and then wait in line for more hours to get and “INCREDIBLE.” The Dow Jones stock the COVID pandemic. Millions of people normally consume. the money to pay rent and buy food. index was up by 829 points, or 3.2 percent, in the streets were calling the brutal mur- For those workers who should qualify for Since relaxing the stay-at-home so speculators who bet right made billions. der of a handcuffed Black man by a racist unemployment insurance (UI), the require- requirements for restaurants and hos- It didn’t last. June 11 saw a decline of cop a social pandemic. ments vary. Income levels and time worked pitality businesses like bars and cafés, 1,800 points. The official unemployment rate for May are usually prominent reasons given for not employment in this sector of the econ- The Department of Labor reports that was 13.3 percent, a slight decline from providing UI. Undocumented workers are omy—the​ one in which President Trump more than 1.5 million U.S. workers filed April, but Black workers saw their job- barred from getting federal unemployment has his investments—​has jumped by for new state unemployment checks that less rate climb. A broader measure of the benefits.. Even documented foreign nation- approximately 1.5 million workers. This week—bringing​ the total number of new impact of unemployment, which better als often have problems. might sound great, but employment in claims to nearly 40 million since the crisis takes into account discouraged and part- It can take weeks to open a UI claim. this sector is still only what it was in 1993. began. time workers, is 21.2 percent—one​ out of Most states have underfunded their sys- Without workers producing sur- In addition, some 700,000 workers who every five U.S. workers is unemployed. tems and haven’t had the staff, computer plus value in a functioning economy, were self-employed or otherwise ineligible In the United States, most workers who capacity or phone lines to handle the the capitalist class loses a major source for state jobless benefits filed new claims lose their jobs also lose health insurance. COVID-19 surge that began in March. of the wealth they expropriate. The for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, The much-praised “social safety net” is in Some jobless workers have waited 8 Congressional Budget Office, a nonparti- a federal aid program. However, the PUA tatters. to 10 weeks to get the first payments on san organ of the U.S. Congress, estimates is scheduled to sunset at the end of July, their unemployment claims. New York that from 2020 to 2030, unemployment threatening a huge income loss for tens of Social consequences of unemployment state supplies UI benefits on a cash card will cost the U.S. economy $15.7 trillion. millions of workers. The capitalist class in the United States or direct deposit for workers who have a That spells increasing misery for mil- Back in May, nonfarm payrolls actually now wants to force unemployed workers bank account that accepts such payments. lions of workers. ☐ Stop exploiting J-1 cultural workers

By Aleris Villegas and Lyn Neeley debt and are a catalyst for trafficking place. Essentially, J-1 workers are being and other labor abuses,” said Meredith exploited as a profitable replacement Each year about 300,000 cultural Stewart, an author of the ILRWG study. for the domestic workforce. Employers exchange workers—​students, schol- (tinyurl.com/y9zsn9va) avoid the costs of recruitment fees and ars and professors sponsored by U.S. The following statement was issued by travel expenses by hiring J-1 workers, employers—​enter the country as J-1 Philippine J-1 workers: “The COVID-19 who shoulder these expenses. Meanwhile workers. The J-1 visa program promises pandemic has severely impacted workers recruiters and visa sponsors amass profits job training for students, a way to share in the hospitality industry. This includes by charging them “program fees” of up to their culture, improve their English and foreign hospitality workers on the J-1 $10,000. stand with the J-1 Workers Network explore life in the U.S. visa, who have been terminated, indefi- J-1 workers have suffered exploitative in their demands for assistance and Last year, however, a study by the nitely furloughed, or are experiencing sig- conditions and are now without adequate accountability. We, too, call on the U.S. International Labor Recruitment nificantly reduced hours. J-1 workers who income. They are buried deep in debt and and Philippine governments, visa spon- Working Group, a consortium of labor have returned to the Philippines now find isolated from their loved ones. Despite sors, host companies and recruitment advocacy groups, including the AFL-CIO themselves deep in debt with no income these circumstances, they continue to agencies to immediately respond to their and the Southern Poverty Law Center, to recover. The majority who remain in fight. In April, hundreds of Filipino urgent needs. found that businesses are exploiting the U.S. are awaiting the uncertain possi- J-1 workers from across the U.S. came You can help by signing the peti- vulnerable J-1 visa holders. Companies bility of returning to their worksites.” together to form the J-1 Workers Network tion Support J-1 Workers across the like McDonald’s, Dunkin’ Donuts, Stop Thousands of J-1 workers are being to collectively call for protection, trans- United States Demanding Assistance & Shop, Hershey’s and Disney are defy- lured by false promises of “internship” parency and accountability from the U.S. and Accountability at bit.ly/j1petition or ing minimum wage laws and charging and “training” programs within the hos- and Philippine governments, visa spon- become a supporter of the J-1 Network: visa holders extra fees—​sometimes pitality industry only to find out that sors, host companies and recruitment bit.ly/J1CommunitySupport. For in the thousands of dollars. “We think internship and training plans are not agencies. more information go to facebook.com/ those fees can really plunge people into followed and no cultural exchange takes We are community members who SupportJ1Workers/. ☐ Multinational unity wins another battle at Harvard

By Boston Workers World bureau (SEIU) 32BJ custodians and security supplies after a dirty job is done —as if residency for all im/migrants. Harvard guards, UNITE HERE Local 26 dining they don’t matter. Many of them don’t TPS Coalition activists have stepped for- During the recent worldwide upsurge hall workers, Harvard Union of Clerical even have peace of mind about whether ward as the anti-racist leaders at Harvard for justice, the Black and Brown workers’ and Technical Workers (HUCTW/ they will still be in this country with their because they face racism—​Trump called fight to save their jobs—​at the flagship AFSCME) Local 3650 and Harvard families come January. the 13 Central American, Caribbean bourgeois enterprise Harvard—​led to Graduate Students (HGSU-UAW). The workers rallied to say they are not and African countries protected by the the university’s first anti-racist action on Harvard workers were outraged that, accepting the burden of making wealthy program “s---hole countries” as he ter- June 9. A multi-union worker-organizing after relying on these immigrants of Harvard more wealthy. They will not go minated TPS and threw their lives into initiative drew close to 70 rank-and-file color to do essential and dangerous work along with layoffs and furloughs at a time uncertainty with risk of deportation. But workers and community supporters to throughout the pandemic, the univer- when workers, especially janitors, have that has only unified these im/migrants Harvard Yard, all taking a knee and rais- sity was going to try to cover its “short- had to sacrifice so much, and as the Black in solidarity and love. ing a fist in a moment of silence and soli- fall” with a 60 percent purge of its mostly community, workers of color and immi- These workers know that anti-racist darity with the Black community. Black and Brown workforce. Harvard, grants are under attack. unity is needed for our class to win. Their They were mobilized by the stewards with a $40 billion endowment, wants Conscious of the optics, the adminis- action is an example for unions to follow: of the immigrant-led Service Employees to throw them away like used cleaning tration released an email a few minutes to destroy the perception that unions before the noon rally, indicating that lay- protect racists or have bread-and-butter offs were on hold. However, the email tunnel vision and no interest in respond- also announced early retirement and vol- ing to the burning issues of the moment. untary temporary hours reduction pro- Winning this latest battle against layoffs grams—​an ominous signal that layoffs in the centuries-old class conflict between will be threatened again if participation Harvard and its local working class—​ is insufficient. This is a near certainty as while others are winning concessions most workers will not find these offers in such as the right to display BLM slogans their interest. at work even at anti-union Starbucks—​ The SEIU 32BJ stewards are also the shows that anti-racist labor organizing is Salvadoran workers with Temporary an effective strategy. ☐ Protected Status (TPS) who led the Harvard University custodial staff take a knee. WW PHOTO: GENEVIEVE LECHAT, national struggle for permanent, legal workers.org June 18, 2020 Page 7

In the anti-police uprising in the class struggle YOUTH are the emerging vital force

movement is not strong, in terms of num- We must grasp the fact that this is not just Malcolm was strong on the question bers and organization, or progressive and one event; it’s part of a whole new phase of that we have the right to defend our- revolutionary politics. If these new young the global uprising of our class. selves. Malcolm talked about how our members of the working class were more Those of us who used to call ourselves people did not want to engage in struggle class conscious, the crisis would be alto- the vanguard must act together in a prin- and violence to get attention. People just gether different. cipled way to make sure that our class want to live their lives in peace, with love, Going forward, our job is to bring these gets ready to meet the tasks ahead of us. and know that they have health care and new forces into the working-class move- So that the road to revolution is not some- a roof over their head and the things that ment, either through unions, and where thing far off in the distance that we don’t they need to try to be happy. that’s not possible into workers’ assem- see. Our work brings it on the horizon. Terrible things have to happen to peo- blies, workers’ councils, unem- ple before they are pushed to By Larry Holmes ployment councils. And joining the wall and say, “The hell with organizations like Workers World All of us who understand the it.” Malcolm said, “As you sow, Larry Holmes, WWP First Secretary, Party will promote the anti-imperi- importance of class consciousness, so shall you reap.” If you reap gave this speech, which has been slightly alist, pro-working-class, anti-Dem- oppression and suffering and edited, on a Workers World Party webi- ocratic Party forces in the left. class orientation and swelling the terror, you should not be sur- nar June 4 on “No to Martial Law! Those forces exist by the hundreds prised when Burn, Baby, Burn Defend the Uprising!” of thousands, by the millions. numbers of our organized class and comes. The great writer James Now is the time to open up a having revolutionary potential on Baldwin almost 60 years ago What we’ve seen over the last week is big struggle in the organized labor wrote a famous book called “The the largest national uprising against the movement, while remembering our minds — need to step back, Fire Next Time.” Some of us older police and systemic police racism in U.S. they represent less than 10 percent people remember that, but the history. That’s all the more extraordinary of the workers. It makes it difficult reassess this. Understand that this is younger people study and they because it takes place during a pandemic, to do this job if the labor move- not just episodic. We must grasp the remember too, and it was a won- when we were supposed to stay home and ment, especially its leadership, is derful book. No one wrote prose be safe. But when there’s a struggle, it stuck in class collaboration tied fact that this is not just one event; as well as Baldwin. I'm sure most pushes the pandemic aside. to the Democratic Party. The next of us are familiar with it. time there is a rebellion against the it’s part of a whole new phase of the He was warning the capital- Uprising, pandemic and capitalist crisis police, against systematic racist ter- global uprising of our class. ists, the white supremacist hier- We’ve reached a critical bridge with ror, there has to be a general strike. archy, that the next time your this uprising against the police. It inter- cities are going to burn. I may sects with a number of other things. The Now anything is possible Moderator Judy Greenspan: Why not want it, it might not be what I want pandemic—which​ has been so brutal on For those who say it’s impossible does WWP call it a rebellion instead of a to do. But it’s a chemical, scientific, inev- Black and Brown communities, but also because the workers’ movement is just not riot? itable reaction. So you should not be sur- the entire working class—intersects​ with up to that, I say this rebellion that we’ve Larry: You know, none of us who live prised, and you should not blame it. the capitalist crisis and Depression-level been witnessing over the past week, who in neighborhoods are happy to see our I believe that we should struggle very unemployment. the hell thought that was possible? A police favorite grocery store trashed. In many strongly against the liberals who say, “Well, It intersects with the growing political station in Minneapolis was overtaken by instances, you know, it may be Pakistanis it’s all about the violence and we have to instability of the capitalist system and thousands, the police ran, and they burnt or Palestinians or other people of color separate them.” First of all, that gives the within the capitalist ruling class. the police station down. I don’t remember who own and run that store. I'm saying police and the military a justification. You Along with that, there are enormous that happening in recent U.S. history. that we need to look at all of this in a can have cops out there saying, “Yeah, we changes in the demographics and polit- What we thought was impossible larger political and historical context. don’t like what happened to George Floyd. ical makeup of the working class. The before, the events of the past week are There’s so much pain and suffering and But you know, we got to arrest those bad character of this rebellion is very different showing that it’s possible. If labor does oppression that goes on day in, day out, people and put them in prison by the thou- from other uprisings against the police. It not mobilize and solidarize itself, in a big year after year, generation after genera- sands. So we can torture them and don’t is more multinational. It is not only Black way with this uprising against the police, tion, century after century, it’s all pushed even give them masks. So they might even and Brown, there are many people of all it will help those neofascist forces who down. The news doesn’t cover it. You get the pandemic.” generations and all nationalities. want to stop the class struggle and the don’t see it on CNN or even MSNBC. And Which is an incredible and outrageous The capitalist crisis has forced a lot of struggle for socialism. so when there’s the spark that lights the fear. I keep thinking about it. Some of people into the working class, including Right now, the revolutionary left is rebellion, like this 9-minute torturing and those arrested have been in jail. a lot of young people who have college still marginalized, as is even the Sanders lynching of George Floyd, with people We have to have a revolutionary, con- degrees and graduate degrees. They were movement. We’re marginalized regarding standing around watching and begging textual view of the inevitability of vio- hoping to find a place in the petty bour- our size and influence. This is unaccept- that the cop stop, when something like lence, of militancy, of whatever people geoisie with some confidence and stabil- able, comrades and friends. Especially that sets off a rebellion, all of that pain, all feel they need to do. And where did they ity, but the crisis of global capitalism is now, this crisis is too great for us to of that suffering that has been quiet, that learn looting from? Wall Street loots! Day pushing them into not only the working remain marginalized. the bourgeoisie doesn’t address itself to, in, day out! All you have to do is live under class but into the gig economy, into the If we remain marginalized, it means that the news doesn’t cover, it blows up. this system and it’s hard not to want to lower rungs of the working class, with that Marxism, socialism class struggle, and And when it blows up, things get loot. What am I going to get, a container absolutely no security, no unionization, class consciousness will also be marginal- destroyed. Small stores, big stores, police of milk, maybe a couple of packages of no health care. That is part of the radi- ized. It means that the liberal bourgeoisie stations, and people want to stay in the meat or something like that, if you can, calization, the anticapitalism and some of will ultimately take over the leadership—​ street; they want to shut it down. If the a radio or a computer or something you the antiracism. and they’re very good at that. They know pandemic wasn’t on, they’d be stopping want to sell. Many of these young people do not what to say, the reverends know the traffic. We appreciate the contributions of Look at all this unemployment. Look at yet see themselves as part of the working speeches to give and how to take control. both Martin Luther King and Malcolm X, all the young workers who are losing their class. That’s where our job comes in. We That’s what they’re paid for. realizing that in the 60s, before they were jobs. I've heard interviews with those who must struggle to raise the class conscious- All of us who understand what I'm cut down, neither of them made it to the have been arrested for so-called looting ness of this new, very dynamic sector of talking about—​the importance of class age of 40. In many ways, they were youth, and stuff like that. What do you learn from the working class. consciousness, class orientation and swell- you know, and they were involved in a a society that pretends to be democratic, Young workers are statistically the ing the numbers of our organized class struggle of Black Liberation versus civil wonderful, the best thing on Earth, but in largest section of the working class, not and having revolutionary potential on our rights. They both made contributions, but fact is full of looting. It’s a looting criminal only in this country, but worldwide. One minds—​need to step back, reassess this. it’s important to underscore Malcolm’s system. So look in the mirror, bourgeoisie, of our obstacles is that the working-class Understand that this is not just episodic. role. and blame your looting self. ☐

High Tech, Low Pay Low-Wage Capitalism A Marxist Analysis of the Describes in sweeping detail the ­drastic Changing Character effect on the working class in the of the Working Class United States of new technology and Capitalism the restructuring of global capitalism in at a Dead End By Sam Marcy with an updated the post-Soviet era. It uses Karl Marx’s Job destruction, overproduction introduction by Fred Goldstein, law of wages and other findings to and crisis in the high-tech era author of Low Wage Capitalism. show that these developments are not For more information on these books and other Free download at workers.org/books only continuing to drive down wages but are creating the material basis for writings by the author, Fred Goldstein, go to future social upheaval. Books are available at major online booksellers. LowWageCapitalism.com Page 8 June 18, 2020 workers.org Students, workers say: ‘Cops off our campus!’

By calvin deutschbein campus workers, a private police force that reports directly Service Employees: ‘Defund campus police!’ to their bosses creates an additional layer of oppression, On June 12, the international body of the Service Abolitionists are renewing their calls to abolish or at not unlike that experienced by city workers. Employees’ union called for defunding the campus police least defund campus police departments. This was first Workers act: North Carolina, California, Chicago and for supporting all the demands in the platform of raised in Minneapolis, and now the demand is starting in the Movement for Black Lives. Three days later, mem- Austin and Dallas, Texas. Campus police departments are From the #StrikeDownSam action by instructors at bers of Local 32 pledged to redirect what they produce as rarely less viciously racist than city police and have less UNC-CH to #COLA4ALL strikers at UC Santa Cruz, to workers—their​ research and educational capacities—to​ predictable behavior, but they are often better funded. the Graduate Student Union at the University of Chicago, launch an abolitionist campaign targeting the campus, Campus cops have been in the spotlight in recent years. which provides nearly all the instruction on campus, work- city and county law enforcement agencies. In Baltimore, site of some of the largest Black Lives Matter ers have exercised their power against these injustices. This refocusing of the unionists’ work came a few days uprisings, student organizers staged a 35-day sit-in at They have experienced political violence in return. after the latest in a series of hate crimes directed against Johns Hopkins University (#JHUsitin) opposing the for- But workers continue to struggle alongside students Black and Jewish community members was once again mation of a private campus police force. It would operate and community members. Even in the most reactionary met with silence by self-styled “public safety” departments. as a de facto colonial force over neighborhoods surround- locales, such as Alamance County, N.C., workers are tak- Meanwhile, in the midst of the school’s shutdown caused ing the school and would coordinate with Immigration and ing direct action against the police. This county has a by the viral pandemic, adjuncts were educating students Customs Enforcement to deport campus workers. great tradition of Black and multiracial, anti-racist orga- directly without the university as the intermediary. A Black queer student led the movement at the nizing. But it also has very strong, openly white-suprem- With classes suspended for the summer, and in-person University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to topple acist, repressive institutions. classes likely suspended indefinitely, the union turned its Confederate monuments and abolish the police. It won Alamance County recently made national headlines for work to answer renewed calls by Black feminist abolition- the removal of that monument, and the student govern- having the fastest growing coronavirus outbreak in the U.S. ists to end the racist tradition of “AmeriKKKan” policing. This was a few months after the county got major news ment voted to bar cops on campus in the spring of 2019. As at Elon, workers have mobilized around the coun- coverage for being reinstated into ICE’s 287(g) deporta- try against campus Wildcat strikers in San Diego tion program. That came after the Justice Department police. This has Wildcat strikers at the University of California, San had banned it from the ICE program in 2012 for being too been shown in sit- Diego mobilized to defund campus police throughout the openly racist even by federal government standards! ins at police head- UC system, as officers from their own and other agen- Elon University is one of the largest private employ- quarters in Chicago cies collaborated to surveil and beat striking instructors. ers in Alamance County and is the only one with its own and at demonstra- This was eerily similar to events a few months earlier at police department. It is a predominantly white country tions supporting UNC-CH. club, whose board of trustees heavily overlaps with mem- urban uprisings A coalition of community groups, including the bers of the Trump administration. Many of them own in Baltimore and Graduate Student Union, the Hyde Park Tenants Union some of the country’s most exploitative businesses. California. and Good Kids Mad City have organized for years against Just over a year ago, adjunct faculty members, whose Workers every- the University of Chicago Police Department. This is a labor the university exploits as its primary industry, where say: “Abolish force so violent and racist it stands out, even in a city voted by a large margin to unionize as Service Employees campus police!” under the CPD’s punitive grasp. Southern Region Workers United Local 32 to protect WW PHOTO: DURHAM WW BUREAU Students and workers have both spearheaded struggles themselves, their co-workers, students and the surround- “Disarm the univer- sity!” “KKKops off deutschbein holding anti-campus- to free their campuses from police forces. Who can blame ing community. They wanted union protection for every- cop banner at Durham N.C. police KKKampus!” ☐ them? Police are dangerous enough on their own, but for one exploited by the school. headquarters. 35 years after MOVE bombing Communities denounce police terror By Betsey Piette up apologies for prior blatant acts of racism, as if they BLM Philly, Philly for REAL Justice, Human Rights Philadelphia were enough to stop the growing movement. “The politi- Coalition Philadelphia, Abolitionists Law Center, cians are dragging their feet as if nothing has happened. Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, Ubuntu Philadelphia A protest against Philadelphia Police Terror on June 13 People want justice, and we want it now!” Africa said. and Mobilization4Mumia. ☐ drew around 1,500 demonstrators to the Osage Avenue “And we want Mumia free now!” site where Philadelphia police dropped a military-grade Following the rally, a spirited march made its way bomb on the MOVE organization on May 13, 1985. Eleven through predominantly Black neighborhoods in West Black men, women and children were murdered after Philadelphia. The response from community residents police and city officials ordered fire fighters to “let the fire was electrifying. People came out on their porches to burn.” Police shot at MOVE members who tried to escape. cheer and join in chants. Several joined the march. While remembering the MOVE victims, today’s pro- At a closing rally at Malcolm X Park, speakers raised test stood in solidarity with George Floyd, Breonna 13 demands from the radical Black organizing commu- Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade and countless nity in Philadelphia. Among the final speakers were high other Black people murdered by various states’ police in school students from the Philadelphia Student Union who recent years, and with the growing movement to defund demanded that “every single cop in schools must be out and abolish the police. by the time schools reopen. The $30 million used to keep Mike Africa, whose parents, MOVE 9 members Mike police in schools should go to have safe learning environ- Africa Sr. and Debbie Africa, spent over 40 years in ments. We want police abolition—​not more reforms!” prison, called out city officials who are currently offering Event organizers included the MOVE Organization, June 13 march, Philadelphia. WW PHOTO: JOE PIETTE Austin, Texas ‘We marched against the system’ By Ananya Sabharwal and Isabella Ricks protest spanning two miles from Huston- man murdered by the Austin Police in front of the locked gates of the Capitol Austin, Texas Tillotson University to the Texas State Department in April while his hands were and on the steps of the APD headquarters. Capitol to expand awareness of the Black in the air, addressed the crowd in front One man told the crowd, his voice cracking On June 7, the Austin Justice Coalition, Lives Matter movement. Its goal is to of Huston-Tillotson, thanking them for with emotion, “We are fighting for my life!” an activist-led organization founded defund the Austin Police Department. caring about her son. Caravans of cars Folks from the Black revolutionary by Chas Moore and oriented toward While a few hundred people were followed and supported us with water group 400+1 set up a tent under the over- battling institutional racism, led a expected, the sea of several thousand bottles, masks, sunscreen and snacks, pass and carefully watched the collected people surpassed everyone’s expectations. while honking and raising fists in solidar- group of protesters in front of APD head- The multinational crowd marched for ity as we marched from the east side of quarters. Members of 400+1 stepped into Black lives in 90-degree heat. Masks hang- I-35, historically a corridor of segregation, action when the APD arrested a houseless ing limply on people’s lips, sweat trickling toward the Capitol. man for “fighting” and “not showing his down anonymous faces, hoarse voices People shouted out reminders to take ID.” They immediately videotaped the rang out, “BLACK LIVES MATTER.” care of ourselves and called out the names encounter with the arresting officer and More than the discomfort of the heat, of Sandra Bland, Trayvon Martin, Mike contacted 400+1’s legal aid. more than APD’s guns locked, loaded and Ramos, George Floyd and many others, The swift camaraderie and solidarity aimed at us, more than the eyes of the demanding we remember their names and among the crowd reverberated throughout Texas State Troopers, the message uni- their stories. And that we remember each downtown and united us all. We marched fied us all to rise up against the system, lived life of hope, of fear, of laughter, of against the system. We marched as a comfort be damned. sadness, of joy and of pain. Some urged reminder to the system that we will not and Brenda Ramos, the mother of Michael the crowd on as it moved toward the state cannot be silenced. ☐ Austin, June 7. WW PHOTO: ANANYA SABHARWAL Ramos, an unarmed Black and Latinx capitol; others gave impassioned speeches workers.org June 18, 2020 Page 9

Decades of struggle Dallas-Fort Worth pushes back racism By Alex Colwell and Mark Herrera people mobilized en masse to express their anger with the Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas current racist state of affairs and demand justice for those who had been killed by police officers. June 2—Throughout​ the U.S., people have been both During the struggle against South African apartheid in very afraid and outraged by what is happening at this the late 1980s, Black Dallas activists mobilized to oppose moment of crisis—whether​ it’s the economic instability a day honoring that country then ruled by white suprem- of capitalism that COVID-19 has exposed or the recent acists. During the Civil Rights Movement, Black activists rise in police violence against Black lives. Then, on May in Dallas fought hard for the desegregation of Fair Park 25, police killed George Floyd in Minneapolis, and later and the Texas State Fair. One leader was Juanita Craft, David McAtee in Louisville, Ky., and people were hit a sponsor of the local NAACP Youth Chapter who led the with a tidal wave of grief, sadness and righteous anger. State Fair protests in 1955. Here in Texas, there has been a massive pushback Cops surround and arrest hundreds of Dallas protesters The DFW area has been an important part of the polit- against injustice through protests and outright rebel- who marched onto the Hunt Hill Bridge while ical history of the struggle for social justice in the U.S. lion against the police state and acts of repression by demonstrating against police brutality on June 1. Now the multinational youth of Dallas-Fort Worth are the police. Dallas-Fort Worth has shown solidarity with becoming even more conscious and radicalized by the those most affected in this struggle and been a hotspot main police station for violating the curfew. world struggles around them. Dallas-Fort Worth, a huge for political action and outrage. Police repression in DFW is ramping up in response metropolitan area of 7.6 million people in 2019, is devel- On Monday, June 1, protesters marched in response to public outrage against racism and police brutality, as oping as a strong center of revolutionary ideas and a vital to the wrongful death of George Floyd and were met with it becomes increasingly clear that the curfew was not part of a revolutionary movement fighting to bring jus- opposition by the Dallas Police Department. The protest imposed for the safety of the people of Dallas. Instead tice to workers and oppressed people around the globe. was dispersed by police officers for “violating a curfew” the curfew is designed to silence those who wish to speak Whenever there is oppression, the growing DFW imposed by Police Chief Renee Hall. Although most pro- out against unjust police violence. movement can be counted on to show solidarity with testers were not arrested, nearly 200 participants were This is not the first time the people of DFW have partic- those trapped under the heel of capitalist injustice. To temporarily detained and bused back to the group’s orig- ipated in public action against economic and social injus- the workers and marginalized people of Dallas-Fort inal meeting place, a courthouse just outside the curfew tice, and it is far from the last. After the murder of Botham Worth, Black lives do, and always will, matter. ☐ zone. Three protesters were arrested close to the Dallas Jean by ex-Dallas cop Amber Guyger in September 2018,

Close to victory Campaign to end the Oakland School Police

By Judy Greenspan and orchestrate the final leg of their cam- need to abolish school police. Oakland, Calif. paign, dubbed the “People’s Plan for A 7-year-old girl, whose sister is an Police-Free Schools.” outgoing student representative on the June 14—​For nearly 10 years, the BOP unveiled that plan for 2020 last board, said it plainly, “Why are cops get- Black Organizing Project has been fight- fall in front of the school board and con- ting paid more money than my teacher? ing to defund and dismantle the Oakland tinued to collect data about the harmful Defund the school police now!” WW PHOTO: JUDY GREENSPAN School Police Department. impact of disciplinary policies and the BOP’s plan was summarized in a mul- Black Organizing Project banner, Oakland, Oakland is the only school district use of the school police force inside the ticolored flyer: “Police Do Not Equal Calif., June protests. in Alameda County with its own police Oakland public schools. Safety!” The plan includes divesting from system. Then the Oakland struggle was pushed school policing by eliminating the school said that teachers support the BOP pro- After years of organizing, fueled by a center stage by rebellions protesting the police department; reorganizing campus gram and also do not want any police in massive wave of protest against police police murders of George Floyd, Breonna safety under a Department of Equity; the schools. terrorism and murder, BOP and the Taylor and other victims of police terror. restructuring the role of security person- Since the George Floyd resolution has entire Oakland community may finally On June 10, Rosie Torrres, District 5 nel to be that of mentors; reinvesting in not yet been adopted by the school board, win this campaign. School Board Director, in collaboration mental and behavioral health staff; and BOP plans 10 days of actions before the Activists have collected invaluable with BOP, presented the “George Floyd establishing a Community Oversight June 24 vote. data about how Black and Brown stu- Resolution to Eliminate the Oakland Committee to review student and family Then, hopefully, OUSD will join the dents are disproportionately disciplined, School Police Department” during a vir- complaints regarding law enforcement. many other districts that, under pressure suspended and expelled in the Oakland tual school board meeting. BOP’s security plan does not include from the mass movement in the streets, Unified School District (OUSD). There Earlier that day, BOP held an extraor- any reliance on the Oakland Police are renouncing collaboration with the have been countless testimonials and dinary press conference and rally outside Department. When an elected official said police. protests at school board meetings, with La Escuelita Elementary School, where the district doesn’t need school police What’s clear is that only continued no attention paid by board members and the school board usually met before because they always have the Oakland pressure from courageous community elected officials. Now, even the district COVID-19 virtual meetings. Police Department, Jessica Black, BOP organizations like BOP will ensure police- superintendent is talking about how to Over 100 people came to show sup- organizing director, replied that BOP free schools, and the health, welfare and transition to a school system without its port, including many Oakland teach- does not want any police in the Oakland safety of Black and Brown students all own police department. ers, members of the Oakland Education schools: “We want police-free schools!” over the country. With everything moving quickly in Association. Student members of BOP’s In a short solidarity statement, OEA For more on BOP’s campaign, check the last week, BOP continues to organize organizing team also spoke out about the representative Maurice Andre San-Chez out facebook.com/BlackOrgProject. ☐ Black Lives Matter in Alpine, Texas

This protest march and rally, in the small town of located in far West Texas, in the remote Big Bend Alpine, Texas, might have been a common scene in region of the state. Three and a half hours from El the tumultuous summer of 1968, but this was June 6, Paso and six hours west of San Antonio, it is located 2020. Not Dallas or Houston or San Antonio, but in in Texas’s largest county—​Brewster County, Alpine. Hundreds mobilized in solidarity with Black named for a confederate colonel. Lives Matter and against the police murder of George The town is about half white and half Latinx, with Floyd and all forms of injustice, oppression, police less than 1 percent African American. The university, brutality and racism all over the country. with a multinational population of 2,000 students, is Led by Sedia Woods, an African-American student named for a confederate general. Nevertheless, peo- at Alpine’s Sul Ross State University, over 300 peo- ple from all walks of life, ages and races, including ple, including the mayor and county judge, marched many students, marched with a passion, determina- through town to the Brewster County Courthouse. tion and message that Black Lives Matter. Woods told the crowd gathered on the courthouse From small towns in the United States to the lawn, “For generations, African Americans have been metropolitan areas, from the local governments to fighting this fight. It is unfair that I am 22, have a the leaders in Washington, our message is that rac- whole life to live and I am ready to die for it. That’s ism and police brutality will no longer be tolerated. a problem.” This is not 1968, it is 2020. All human beings are Alpine is not where one would expect a Black created equal! Lives Matter event. It is a town of only 8,000 people — Report and photo by Oscar Cobos Sedia Woods on bullhorn in Alpine, Texas, June 6. WW PHOTO: OSCAR COBOS Page 10 June 18, 2020 workers.org Seattle 60,000-strong march propels anti-racist movement By Jim McMahan were forced to make accommodations for The police evacuated the precinct the Seattle workers to take the day off. In one of the night of June 8 with no place to go. Some city’s sections, West Seattle/White Center, public and private schools said that the June 13—​ Some 60,000 people, pro- 65 businesses closed down because of the East Precinct cops couldn’t stay on their pelled by the ongoing global struggle strike. (The West Seattle Blog) property. against racist police repression, took part One action the march encouraged is the in Seattle’s June 12 march and statewide ongoing protest and organizing at Seattle’s Area becomes ‘Organizing Project’ center general strike. The march, called and boarded-up East Police Precinct, which the It’s clear that the Seattle city govern- led by Black Lives Matter of Seattle and cops were forced to evacuate on June 8. ment of Mayor Jenny Durkan took the Martin Luther King County (BLMSKC), move to evacuate to moderate the angry Thousands march in Seattle, June 12. followed two weeks of protests and con- Daily anti-racist protest at struggle of Seattle’s oppressed working sciousness raising. Seattle’s East Police Precinct class. When police left, however, they left racist, sexist and antilabor. Seattle police In cities and towns across Washington Anti-racist demonstrations went on the barricades, which the activist commu- have a monster budget of $350 billion. state, people held 38 marches and protest daily for 10 days in Seattle’s East Police nity has rearranged as the perimeter of a The Durkan regime has used police to actions from north to south and east to Precinct in the Capitol Hill neighborhood. six-block area around the precinct, which lead sweeps and evict hundreds of home- west, according to BLMSKC. Labor con- The police were stuck in their fortress, is now called the “Organizing Project.” less camps. tingents also marched. apparently fearing some attack like the This blocked-off area is now an orga- Durkan claims she marched in the The youthful and multinational June 12 one on May 25 in Minneapolis when the nizing center, which has already drawn Black Lives Matter march on June 12. mass march began in Seattle at 1 p.m., police precinct burned down. angry remarks from Trump, who attacked Since up to half of the homeless are Black, pushing through steady rain from Judkins Police had to deploy in front of the Mayor Durkan as he has done to any pol- it means the mayor is running a de facto Park to Jefferson Park in Seattle’s multi- precinct for most of the day, setting up iticians who advocate even the mildest ethnic cleansing campaign against Black national south end. With uniformed cops barricades to block traffic. Many mass concessions to the movement. people and others. absent, solidarity bike brigades controlled marches originated from or arrived at Although she has drawn this attack Openly pro-socialist City Councilperson traffic. the barricaded precinct. Trapped inside from Trump, Durkan is a law-and-order Kshama Sawant led a march of thousands The march helped promote the general the perimeter, the cops were forced to lis- politician who has represented the giant last week from the Capitol Hill barricades strike on June 12. The Boeing Company and ten to the speeches and chanting of the monopoly Amazon and its corporate to occupy City Hall and demand Durkan’s Amazon, with tens of thousands of workers, demonstrators. empire based in Seattle, itself notoriously removal. ☐ CHOP Seattle: Imagining a police-free future By Joshua Hanks police brutality, we thought moving here Seattle would be different. Having the police turn our neighborhood into a violent zone and In the wake of George Floyd’s murder at seeing Black and Brown neighbors being the hands of Minneapolis police May 25, attacked by the police was retraumatizing. demonstrations, protests, marches, ral- “Once the police left, things changed dra- lies and rebellions have spread across the matically. We were not asked to stay home. U.S. This is now the largest display of civil Not asked to show our IDs to get into our unrest in decades, a true revolt against apartment. We can approach protesters the racist police state that has occupied and ask questions about what’s going on this stolen land for centuries. In every and get information. We’ve witnessed pro- large city and innumerable small towns, testers going to businesses and making sure anti-racist activists have organized a myr- they’re okay, communicating with them. As iad of actions, night after night, with tens of right now, this seems more peaceful for a of thousands coming out onto the streets Memorial to victims of police violence in front of building inside CHOP. WW PHOTO: JOSHUA HANKS person of color living in Capitol Hill.” after months of pandemic lockdowns. Another resident said, “There is more In Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, police building now reads “Seattle People Mayor Jenny Durkan and Washington’s compassion and willingness to build bet- a gentrified artistic and cultural hub and Department.” Democratic Governor Jay Inslee for not ter futures together than anything I’ve the historic center of Seattle’s LGBTQ2+ doing enough to crush the zone. seen out of leadership in the White House community, various groups and individ- Police-free living Yet when this writer visited CHOP on in the last few years, and specifically out of uals have created a powerful response Organized by a loose, unofficial, decen- June 13 with a delegation of Workers Seattle’s City Hall in the last two weeks.” to racist police violence: an autonomous tralized collective of activists and orga- World Party members and friends from There are barricades with volunteers zone spread over six blocks and a city nizers, CHOP does not have a defined Portland, Ore., it quickly became very standing guard on the streets along the park, Cal Anderson Park at the zone’s leadership or hard borders, but rather clear that this was not the bloody, terrorist zone’s perimeter. (Cal Anderson Park does north end. a system of collective responsibility and dystopia concocted by the propagandists not have any barricades, though, and looks Protests in Capitol Hill began imme- accountability, centered around the con- at Fox News. Far from it. like a normal park.) Some conservatives diately after George Floyd’s murder and cepts of mutual aid and direct democ- In reality the area was much calmer say this shows the hypocrisy of leftists have been ongoing. Police, unsurprisingly, racy. The organizers quickly erected tents with the police gone, with no more nox- who denounce Trump’s racist border wall, responded with heavy-handed, violent where donated food and supplies are col- ious clouds of tear gas drifting through Immigration and Customs Enforcement, tactics. A citywide curfew was declared, lected and distributed free based on need, the streets and into people’s homes. Gone and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. with anyone outside after curfew subject not ability to pay. Dozens of tents provide were the constant grenade explosions Yet the nature and purpose of the bar- to arrest. Images emerged of a young child everything from medical care to legal and police loudspeakers barking threats. ricades at CHOP are far different from maced by Seattle police. advice to literature, all for no charge. Pictures of Capitol Hill under heavy police those on U.S. borders. Police and far-right Residents in the neighborhood endured Gardens were quickly planted, some repression resembled a dystopia, while individuals have a sordid record of inten- clouds of tear gas invading their apart- reviving Indigenous agricultural practices CHOP has the air of a summer block party tionally plowing cars and trucks through ments as the police deployed copious such as “The Three Sisters” consisting of with a social justice focus. A speaker who crowds of anti-racist protesters, killing and amounts in the streets of this densely an ingenious, synergistic combination gave his name as “Richard” described it as injuring people, and the barricades help populated area. (This writer, living in of corn, beans that grow up corn stalks, “a party with a purpose.” prevent that. They also allow volunteers to downtown Portland, Ore., also had the and squash that provide ground cover People from all walks of life freely stroll monitor who enters the zone in case police unfortunate experience of tear gas get- to suppress weeds. There’s an area with about with their dogs and children in the and white supremacists attempt to vio- ting inside his apartment.) Constant a sound system set up for speakers and now car-free streets, marvelling at the lently retake the area or cause harm. noise from police loudspeakers, grenades musicians. Outdoor film screenings take spectacular art that adorns the streets and The corporate media’s biased, fact-chal- and helicopters made life difficult for the place nightly, featuring films with themes facades of buildings, memorializing those lenged reporting on CHOP should raise residents, as well as police barricades and of anti-racism and social justice. murdered at the hands of police and listing eyebrows for everyone who values truth checkpoints that severely disrupted travel Corporate media has seized on the demands for justice. Locally owned restau- and accuracy in journalism. It also raises within, into and out of the area. events in Capitol Hill, spinning wild tales rants in the CHOP, previously shuttered questions about the quality and accuracy of But on June 8, something changed. that resemble nothing about the real- when the police occupied the neighbor- reporting on countries the U.S. considers The police abandoned their East Police ity on the ground. Fox News used digi- hood, were up, running and doing a brisk enemies, such as Cuba, Venezuela, China Precinct building located in Capitol Hill tally altered photos of the autonomous business. Tear gas has been replaced with and the Democratic People’s Republic of (some say they ran out of tear gas and zone that even the Seattle Times, a busi- soap bubbles floating through the air. Korea. Most people here have never visited other weapons), and activists and orga- ness-friendly newspaper, called out as those countries, and their views are shaped nizers, from communists and socialists fake. False stories of violence perpetrated ‘More peaceful for a person of color’ almost entirely by the corporate media, the to anarchists and other leftists, quickly by activists against residents, so-called In a June 1 article in The Stranger, a CIA and the U.S. State Department, among secured the area to prevent police from “warlords” running the area, and extor- local Seattle paper, some of the zone’s others. regaining control. The East Police Precinct tion of local businesses have all made 200 permanent residents voiced their If these entities shamelessly lie about building is now under control of what is their way into the corporate media. support for what’s happening. A resident what’s going on at home, at a place some- being called the “Capitol Hill Organizing Trump called the activists and orga- who preferred to remain anonymous one can visit for themselves, can the Project (CHOP)” or “Free Capitol Hill.” nizers of CHOP “domestic terrorists” had this to say: “Coming from a Latin public really trust what they have to say The sign above the entrance to the former and excoriated Seattle’s Democratic American country where there’s a lot of Continued on page 11 workers.org June 18, 2020 Page 11

WW Commentary Why the police cannot be reformed By Monica Moorehead As someone whose roots are in the is the state.” segregated South, this was so uplifting This speaks to what is going on today, These edited remarks were made at a June 11 webinar for me to see. because not only the police, but the mil- sponsored by Workers World Party: “Why we must The 72-year-old NASCAR (National itary are armed to the teeth, to repress abolish the police.” Association for Stock Car Auto the rebellion of the people who threaten What a historical, earth-shattering shift just three Racing)—​with deep roots in the white fragile capitalist peace and stability for months has made! Who would have thought the main segregationist South—​announced only Wall Street bosses and bankers. debate in the country and the world would be whether yesterday a ban on Confederate flags at This quote explains succinctly why the police should be defunded, dismantled or even abol- its events, unheard of three months ago. we say, “Abolish the police!” This is not ished, due to not one but two pandemics interconnecting When top Pentagon officials about good cops and bad cops. The police with each other—resting​ on the ever-crumbling founda- announced the possibility of removing cannot be reformed because, historically, tion of capitalism and its permanent crisis since 2008? Confederate generals’ names from 10 there can be no reconciliation between

The COVID-19 pandemic, which accelerated in early military bases, Trump denounced that. WW PHOTO: G. DUNKEL them and the masses. The police are an March, kept millions of people indoors, wearing masks Not surprising since his base is com- May 30 protest, Union Square, armed force created not to protect and and social distancing, while killing over 100,000. Now posed of KKK members, neofascists and New York City. serve the people but to protect and serve there is a grim estimate that another 100,000 people in white supremacists—many​ of whom are the private property of the rich. the U.S could perish before September. cops or cop sympathizers, as we saw in Charlottesville, But this task of abolition cannot be completely and ulti- COVID exposed how capitalism was not able to meet Va., in 2017. And Trump’s first campaign rally was to mately achieved unless the economic system the police and people’s most basic needs like health care, income, food, be held in Tulsa, Okla., site of a racist white vigilante state “protects and serves” is also abolished. You can’t carry housing and more. Billions of dollars in emergency bail- massacre of hundreds of Black people 99 years ago. Four out one abolition without the other. outs went to the corporations at the expense of the suf- years ago it was the scene of the police murder of Terence fering and pain of the masses, including Black and other Crutcher. The white police officer was never charged. Working-class power can change everything oppressed peoples who are dying at alarming numbers, You know that the ruling class’s profits are threatened Only the working class, the class that produces every- disproportionate to whites in their overall representation when they send out messages pledging to support “Black thing and owns nothing, can achieve this, with the guid- in the population. Lives Matter”—​even the union-busting, trillion-dollar ance of a revolutionary program of united, organized And then, only weeks later, came another pandemic—​ corporation Amazon! This ploy is all about trying to revolutionary forces. At this juncture, a majority of the another terrible outbreak of racism, the May 25 pub- co-opt the mass movement. masses may say “Defund the police” because they want lic torture and lynching of George Floyd by cops in Local, state and federal legislators are scrambling to some relief from the pain they witness and experience Minneapolis, sparking a rebellion that still continues. come up with police bandaid “reforms” to try to quell the on a daily basis. But even if the rebellion wins this con- The country was already sitting on a potential powder protests. But right now there is a grassroots groundswell cession, defunding the police is just the first important keg with the vigilante lynchings of Ahmaud Arbery in that goes beyond reforms—​reforms that will not funda- step forward. Brunswick, Ga.; Breonna Taylor, shot eight times while mentally change the untenable relations between the The direct intervention of the masses goes through sleeping in Louisville, Ky.; Tony McDade, a Black trans police and the masses, especially communities of color. various phases, with spontaneity being only one phase. man in Tallahassee, Fla., and more. Another phase may be some necessary assessment of next Floyd’s murder lit the fuse of the powder keg that Marx and Lenin analyzed how to abolish the police steps to move forward, in order to sustain momentum, exploded worldwide and uncovered the ongoing war that From a Marxist perspective, the capitalist system until ultimately there is a national independent, revolu- Black and other oppressed peoples have suffered from depends on the police and Immigration and Customs tionary, developed program for real socialism—​and not for decades—​police terror. Enforcement, as well as mass incarceration, the courts, the social democracy that the Democrats hope to steer the The masses have been risking their health and the bru- prisons and biased laws, to maintain class dominance so masses toward with Biden as their 2020 candidate. tality of police to resist in the streets day and night—​ billionaires can hold onto profits and to keep the masses Workers World Party is ready to play a vanguard role in and say, “Enough is enough” about unpunished police powerless, defenseless and isolated. this struggle. First, in being with the masses in solidarity lynchings. Here’s a quote from V.I. Lenin’s “State and Revolution,” with their transitional demands for community control. written over a century ago, that still resonates today: And at the same time, in bringing a down-to-earth Marxist ‘A grassroots groundswell rebellion “According to Marx, the state is an organ of class rule, program that exposes the root causes of white supremacy, that goes beyond reforms’ an organ for the oppression of one class by another. The the role of state terror and also shows how the fight against What makes this rebellion so unique is its multina- state is, therefore, by no means a power forced on soci- capitalism will break down barriers and build the class tional character, led by angry young people, which is ety from without. Rather, it is a product of society at unity to meet all basic human needs. changing the political landscape forever on a global scale. a certain stage of development; it is the admission that From everything we have seen over the past three Every sector of society has been impacted with protests this society has become entangled in an insoluble con- months and before, the masses are ready for real social too numerous to mention. tradiction with itself, that it has split into irreconcilable change. They are ready for revolutionary change which is However, this is more than a rebellion against police antagonisms which it is powerless to dispel. monumental. If those who are reading these words are terror. It is also a rebellion against white supremacy. Look “But in order that these antagonisms, these classes with also ready to make history, and you are looking for a revo- at the pro-slavery, pro-cop and pro-colonial monuments conflicting economic interests, might not consume them- lutionary, socialist party that has been preparing for over and statues that have been burnt, torn down, defaced selves and society in fruitless struggle, it became necessary 60 years for what we see today, please join our ranks with or beheaded—monuments​ that glorified butchers from to have a power, seemingly standing above society, that your ideas, energy and skills to make us stronger for our Christopher Columbus to Belgium’s King Leopold to would alleviate the conflict and keep it within the bounds class, the movement and the struggle. Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee and Philadelphia Mayor of ‘order’; and this power, arisen out of society but placing Black Lives Matter! Abolish the police and ICE! Frank Rizzo. itself above it, and alienating itself more and more from it, Smash white supremacy! Build a Workers World! ☐ CHOP Seattle Justice for Rayshard Brooks! Continued from page 10 Continued from page 1 On Sunday, June 14, the community man, cops killed Lamin Sisay, a man came out again for Brooks. Hundreds of from Gambia, right outside of Atlanta on about countries thousands of miles away and Pryor Avenues, where the Wendy’s was protesters returned to Wendy’s and then May 29, only four days after the lynching that have resisted U.S. imperialism for located. Despite a show of force by police began marching to the Zone 3 Precinct. of George Floyd. decades? in riot gear, who formed a line to block the Around 10 p.m. it was reported that over Organizers continue the fight to get It’s impossible to know how long nearby interstate highway, protesters were 100 cars had been parked in nearby roads, justice for these people. CHOP will last. Police and the National able to charge the police line and run uphill blocking police reinforcements from get- Because of these murders and the bru- Guard could swiftly and violently retake to take I-75/85 around 9 p.m. ting to the station. Late-night marches to tality that define the APD, Atlanta activ- the area at any moment, although they Protesters interlocked arms and were downtown Atlanta were also taking place, ists have for years called for APD Chief will meet stiff opposition. But this spec- able to block both sides of traffic—​12 as the righteously outraged set fires and Shields to resign. Shields is now gone, but tacular experiment in autonomy and a lanes—​for hours until police arrived in the poor and oppressed—who​ have been the long-standing community demands of police-free environment shows what is SWAT gear and arrested 36 people. robbed of the wealth their work has cre- closing the city jail and funding the sur- possible, and the lessons learned from it Almost immediately after hearing that ated—​proceeded to redistribute goods rounding community—which​ faces great won’t soon be forgotten. It has already the APD had lynched another Black man, from The Beacon, a gentrified shopping poverty as gentrifiers continue to flood inspired revolutionaries, workers and the community and protesters also sur- district. Atlanta—have​ yet to be met. oppressed peoples around the world. rounded the Wendy’s where Brooks was More actions are planned in Atlanta to The torching of the police precinct murdered. At the same time demonstrators The struggle will continue protest the murder of Brooks by the APD, building in Minneapolis just a few weeks were taking over the superhighway, other The murder of Brooks by the APD gener- with some occurring even as this article ago showed the ruling class that the peo- protesters were setting fire to Wendy’s, ated feelings of sorrow and anger, unfortu- is being written. Organizers have made it ple are capable of destroying their insti- where the call was made that ended Brooks’ nately all too familiar to Atlanta organizers, clear they will not stop until there is jus- tutions of repression, while CHOP shows life. By 10 p.m. it was engulfed in flames. the Black community and those who care tice for Brooks and all people murdered that the people are capable of construct- Later that night, some protesters made and fight for Black lives in the city. by the APD. ing something entirely new. These two it to Zone 3 Precinct, the police station Anthony Hill, Kathryn Johnston, Their demands will eventually have to events represent a dialectical dance of down the road from Wendy’s. Protesters Jamarion Robinson, Oscar Cain, Alexia be met—​because the Atlanta Black com- revolutionary destruction and construc- gathered outside the precinct demanding Christian and Nicholas Thomas—​these munity will continue to struggle, as it has tion—​of destroying the old system of justice for Brooks until, past midnight, are only a few of the Black people whom for hundreds of years. racism and inequality and constructing police threw tear gas and shot rubber bul- the APD has murdered throughout the Do not forget Rayshard Brooks! Fight a new society of justice and fairness. ☐ lets at the unarmed demonstrators. years. In a less-reported murder of a Black for him and all Black lives! ☐ Page 12 June 18, 2020 workers.org Learning from history Labor vs. police By Martha Grevatt began to surround the building. Led by oppressed Supporters picketing youth, a working-class outside then swarmed revolt has erupted, ini- the gate, while strik- One step closer to freedom tially over the police ers inside forced the lynching of George gate open. Police retal- Floyd. It needs and iated by firing tear gas for Ana Belen Montes deserves the uncon- and vomit-inducing ditional solidarity GM strikers battle police on Jan. 11, 1937. gas (from GM’s pri- By Jason Cohen before she was incarcerated. of organized labor. vate stockpile) into the During her trial Montes stated: “I Unfortunately, what top labor officials have plant. A striker’s wife, Genora Johnson, For close to 20 years Ana Belen engaged in the activity that brought me delivered is something much less. took the microphone on the sound car and Montes, a Puerto Rican woman, has been before you because I obeyed my con- Consider a recent statement signed by New called on the women to charge through the held hostage in a federal prison located in science rather than the law. I believe York City leaders of the Service Employees police barricades—which​ they did. Fort Worth, Texas. Due to the hard work our government’s policy toward Cuba is (SEIU), American Federation of State, The strikers inside turned on fire hoses and of dedicated activists an international cruel and unfair, profoundly un-neigh- County and Municipal Employees, United showered the cops with ice-cold water, along movement in solidarity with Montes has borly, and I felt morally obligated to Auto Workers, Communication Workers with a barrage of two-pound hinges. Outside, forced the federal government to grant help the island defend itself from our (CWA), Professional Staff Congress and the pickets overturned police cars. This became her early release in 2022. efforts to impose our values and our New York State Nurses Association. Overall, known as the “Battle of Bulls’ Run” because To support Ana Belen Montes in her political system on it.” the statement is laudable. But these generally of how fast the police ran away. struggle to transition back into society, Montes was persecuted because she progressive union leaders felt compelled to Would today’s union leaders condemn an amazing social media campaign has believed that the imperialist intrigues include a caveat that “we do not, and never this heroic action as “violence against been launched by ProLibertad and La against the Cuban Revolution were crim- will, condone violence against police nor police” or a crime against property? Mesa de Trabajo por Ana Belen Montes. inal, and unlike the capitalist ruling class, property.” (seiu32bj.org) Although the state suffered a defeat, police The campaign consists of supporters tak- she felt a fraternal bond with the Cuban By separating out “violent” protest- brutality continued against the union, not ing a picture of themselves holding a sign people and with humanity as a whole. ers from others who are “peaceful,” these only in Flint but in Saginaw and Bay City. with the rallying cry “Ana Belen Montes It’s really heartening to see the work unionists have fallen into a trap set by the Police looked the other way while vigilantes Is Ours! ¡Ana Belen Montes es Nuestra!” that ProLibertad and La Mesa have done capitalist media to divide the movement. terrorized union supporters in Anderson, Ind. This campaign is meant to help in defense of Montes. They have strug- They admit that the so-called violence Donald Trump would have approved of spread awareness about this prisoner of gled to educate the public about her case has been directed only at police and prop- the Indiana governor’s decision to declare conscience and help raise money that and have fully commandeered a cam- erty. Repeatedly, it has been the police martial law and ban public gatherings. will be needed once she is free. This paign that will free her years before her who initiated violence with their attacks on is an amazing campaign that will help original sentence would be completed, anti-racist demonstrators. But those who Police never a friend of labor an anti-imperialist who dared to fight along with a nice fund that will ease her engaged in self-defense and inflicted dam- While the UAW’s battles with Flint’s police against the criminal ambitions of the transition back to civilian life. age on hated instruments of oppression—​ are well known, they were hardly unique. United States. It is important to emphasize this police buildings and vehicles—​were the In the 19th century police routinely So what did Ana Belen Montes do? because each political prisoner freed ones castigated as “violent.” attacked strikes. Unionists, falsely charged During her tenure as an official in the bolsters the movement to free the rest of To fall for violence-baiting is to embark in killings of police, faced the gallows. The Defense Intelligence Agency she learned our comrades who are wasting away in on a collision course with the long, militant five Haymarket martyrs, now honored every about the numerous strategies the these concentration camps of the work- history of organized labor. Since their incep- year on May Day, were executed in 1887 for United States had been using to destabi- ing class. In 2022, Ana will be free! May tion in the late 19th century, U.S. unions the death of a cop even though it was proved lize Cuba. Montes has something that is those fortresses of capital collapse under have had to engage in class warfare—​not that they were not involved in it. The same hardly found in most people who work in the weight of the workers struggle! always peaceful—​with both the owners of fate befell 19 Pennsylvania mine union orga- capitalist intelligence agencies—​a con- ¡Ana Belen Montes es Nuestra! private property and the police whose job nizers between 1877 and 1879. The last two science. She allegedly shared classified ¡Que Viva Puerto Rico Libre! is to defend it. were hanged just minutes before a reprieve information about imperialist ventures ¡Long Live Cuban-Puerto Rican was issued by Pennsylvania’s governor. with the Cuban government for 16 years Solidarity! ☐ Flint 1937: Battle of Bulls’ Run Throughout labor history, one finds innu- Anyone who has studied labor history merable accounts of cops engaging in anti- is familiar with the famous Flint sit-down union violence. Police viciously attacked Woman veteran of Long March strike. For 44 days—​Dec. 30, 1936, to unarmed pickets during the 1994 Staley strike Feb. 11, 1937—​General Motors work- in Decatur, Ill., as well as the 1995 Detroit ers occupied key company plants in Flint, newspaper strike, to name a few examples. Mich. They marched out of the plants tri- They arrested and harassed UAW members Wang Dingguo ¡presente! umphantly after GM agreed to recognize the during last year’s strike against GM. By Lyn Neeley United Auto Workers union. These uniformed goons have been, and Any illusions about police impartiality always will be, the enemy of the working Wang Dingguo, the oldest female vet- were shattered on Jan. 11, 1937. Until then class and oppressed. They will side with the eran of the Chinese Red Army’s Long the union’s Women’s Auxiliary had been able bosses whenever we organize and strike. March, died at the age of 107 on June 9. to deliver food to the strikers inside. But on It is time for organized labor to remember (China Daily, June 11) that day, plant guards blocked the deliveries its history, break with phony police “unions” When Wang was 20 years old in 1933, to GM’s Fisher Body Two plant. Flint police and defend the resistance in the streets. ☐ she joined the Chinese Communist Party after running away from a five- year marriage she had been sold into. The next year, she joined the Fourth Raleigh protests demand justice Red Army Front and went on the Long in charge of the troupe’s props and March from October 1934 to October makeup, as well as serving as a fighter. By calvin deutschbein 1936. Red Army soldiers marched At the end of the march, Chinese 6,000 miles through the rough Chinese communists set up a new base at Yan’an June 13 marked the beginning of the third countryside to combat the Kuomintang in the isolated mountains of northern week of protests in Raleigh, N.C., the state regime and flee Chiang Kai-shek’s Shaanxi. It was here, during the next 10 capital and home of the murderous Raleigh Nationalist Party army. Wang was one of years, that the Chinese Party developed Police Department and more than 70 other only 30 women among the 86,000 men their constitution based on Marxism- law enforcement agencies. Different days on the Long March. Leninism and where they solidified the have drawn different groups with vary- Wang fought in battles with leadership of Mao Zedong. ing goals, but not a day has gone by with- Nationalist Party troops and endured In 1959, Wang became a member of out hundreds of people turning out on the WW PHOTO: DURHAM WW BUREAU freezing Chinese winter conditions that the Supreme People’s Court, the high- streets to support Black Liberation and caused her to lose a toe to frostbite. est court in mainland China. In 1964, oppose the police. police killings around the city. She reflected on the Red Army forces she became a secretary in the National Protests have focused on contesting city On June 11, hundreds of demonstrators marching at night: “The line of torches Committee of the Chinese People’s sites glorifying white supremacy. From the marched on the Central Prison in Raleigh looked like a long dragon with flames. Political Consultative Conference. She moment protests began at 5 p.m. on May 30, during shift change. They blocked the exits They lit up the winding roads. For me, retired in 1993. hundreds of people immediately besieged for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, the amount I saw hope.” (tinyurl.com/y7a5bb9b) Wang Dingguo’s long militant life is the Wake County Detention Center. Others of time Minneapolis police officer Derek Wang was part of a theatrical troupe a testament to the power and determi- gathered around Confederate monuments Chauvin knelt on George Floyd’s neck, killing designed to raise troop morale. The nation of the young communists who in the state capital, the Raleigh Municipal him. On the day of this protest, Thomas Lane, troupe marched ahead of the troops, fought for and built what has become Building, which holds the offices of the former police officer who has been charged then caught up with them after all one of the most powerful and rapidly mayor and city council, and the governor’s with aiding and abetting this horrific murder, had passed, marching the same route developing countries. ☐ mansion. They also went to many sites of was released from custody on bail. ☐ twice. (tinyurl.com/y7l5q5s4) She was workers.org June 18, 2020 Page 13 Conflict arises over renaming military bases By John Catalinotto and other people of color in the Army and movement inside the military that would June 9 that he will follow the example of Marines, the potential exists for massive have massive civilian support, are offer- the Marine Corps regarding removal of June 14—​The massive Black Lives dissension, disaffection and even revolt at ing symbolic concessions to defuse any public displays of the Confederate battle Matter uprising has aroused demands a time when antiracism is at the top of the internal uprising. flag. that the U.S. Armed Forces rename the masses’ agenda. The Army has 10 bases named after 10 military bases named for Confederate Since the movement among civil- Confederate generals, including the Symbols and struggle generals and ban the use of racist sym- ians has many active supporters among major facilities of Fort Benning, Fort The simple removal of racist symbols, bols—such​ as the Confederate battle flag. young white workers and students, the Bragg and Fort Hood. Confederate Army which would mark a progressive advance, For the second time in weeks, top mili- same may be true among members of the Gen. Henry L. Benning was a leader of would still leave intact the basic reaction- tary officers must confront the president. Armed Forces—​given the pervasiveness Georgia’s secessionist movement and an ary nature of the U.S. Armed Forces. The Earlier the Pentagon’s highest generals of racist ideology of U.S. society. open advocate of preserving slavery. Gen. Pentagon pretends its role is to defend and admirals denounced Trump’s threat Braxton Bragg first fought the Seminole freedom and democracy. Its real main to use active-duty troops against anti-rac- No more acceptance of open racism Nation in Florida and later the Union task, however, is to impose the rule of ist demonstrations. This time Trump said The top officers realize that the move- Army. U.S.-based banks and giant monopoly he would refuse to rename any military ment that arose after George Floyd’s mur- Today’s movement is saying they all corporations on the people of the world—​ bases. der has made it impossible for the Armed must go, along with the monuments to that’s U.S. imperialism. Both recent conflicts involving Forces to continue to accept or stonewall Confederate officers it’s removing by For the new movement now underway, Pentagon officers vs. Trump reflect the decades of insulting racist treatment of hand, where city and state governments however, whose aim is to smash not only innate class and racial contradiction its people of color members. Troops of don’t move quickly enough. the symbols of racism, but to eliminate within the U.S. military. The military color have had to tolerate the gut-wrench- The righteous fury against all rac- structural racism in all its forms, these recruits rank-and-file troops and -non ing pain of training and serving in bases ist symbols has also impacted the U.S. developments in the Armed Forces should commissioned officers from the work- named for racist, proslavery officers who Marine Corps and the U.S. Navy. send a signal. They provide an opening to ing class, with high concentrations from committed treason by supporting seces- In a June 5 ruling, the USMC said: support anti-racist movements within the oppressed communities. sion in the 1861-65 Civil War. “The Marine Corps shall remove the Armed Forces and to support any individ- With 17 percent of troops in all the Now the largest protest movement in Confederate battle flag from all instal- ual service members who speak out or act forces African Americans, and an even U.S. history is saying, “No more.” And lation public spaces and work areas in against racism. greater concentration of Black Americans the Pentagon officers, fearing a potential order to support our core values, ensure As this battle against racism in the unit cohesion and security and preserve Armed Forces develops, it brings people good order and discipline.” (CNN, June into struggle, open to new ideas, including Turn the Guns Around 5) And added in a Twitter comment: “The the troops. Trump’s racist orders mean a by John Catalinotto Confederate battle flag has all too often sharp conflict may occur. This struggle Draftees and enlistees—​eighteen-year-olds from the been co-opted by violent extremist and can provide an opportunity to explain the South Bronx, factory workers from Buffalo, miners’ sons racist groups whose divisive beliefs have central reactionary role of the U.S. Armed from Kentucky, unemployed youth from Watts—hate​ no place in our Corps.” Forces and to organize resistance, includ- the military and the Vietnam War. They throw a wrench The ruling names no specific date for ing among rank-and-file troops. into the Pentagon’s war machine, becoming leaders of this action nor any consequences if the the anti-war movement and organizing a union in the rule is flouted. That is, there are no teeth Catalinotto is author of “Turn the conscript military to battle war, racism and their officers. in the rule—at​ least not yet. Guns Around: Mutinies, Soldier Revolts The Navy’s top admiral announced and Revolutions.” Available at major online booksellers.

France Massive mobilization Toppling a charges racist police murder mass murderer By Deirdre Griswold By G. Dunkel It seems that in Britain, similar to here in the U.S., the Ever since Adama Traoré, a person from the West ruling class has made sure to sing the praises of those African country of Mali living in a northern suburb of who have committed the worst crimes against humanity Paris, died in 2016 while being questioned by three in their “service” to the empire. members of the French national police, the coalition And, as here, the truth about them is finally seeing the The Truth About Adama Traoré has been campaign- light of day. ing to expose this as a significant example of the racist One such figure was Edward Colston, a wealthy English violence that French cops dispense. merchant and Member of Parliament who died in 1681. While French cops don’t kill many people com- For years a statue paying tribute to Colston as a great pared to cops in Brazil or the U.S.—the 10 to 15 on “philanthropist” looked out over the harbor at Bristol on average a year is nowhere near the over 1,000 killed the English Channel. in the U.S.—​they have beaten, maimed and blinded Paris protest, June 12. How did Colston amass enough wealth to give a little hundreds in recent years. The extent of French police away and become a “philanthropist”? brutality has been well documented in lawsuits filed Businessman Colston was head of the Royal African by Yellow Vest protesters. for the coalition, said that “the system in France was Company. This very profitable venture shipped about Authorities issued the final autopsy report on the same as the system in the United States” and both 100,000 captured women and men from West Africa to Adama Traoré’s death as May ended. The coalition have to be overturned. According to the coalition, the the Americas and the Caribbean. then called for demonstrations on June 2 in Paris, huge turnout was the result of four years of strug- About 20,000 of them, stuffed into stinking holds Marseille, Lille, Lyon and Bordeaux. gle over the death of Adama and decades of struggle aboard ship, died during the voyages of disease and dehy- The coalition expected about 1,000 people to turn against racism in France. dration. Their bodies, branded on the chest with the com- out. But the protest on June 2 followed the news of And indeed their voices were heard. pany’s initials, RAC, were unceremoniously thrown into the brutal killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis and The next week Christophe Castaner, the minister the ocean. the beginning of mass demonstrations in the U.S. of interior who is in charge of the police throughout Those who survived the sea voyage were then sold into According to the cops over 20,000 people came out—​ the country, went on television to announce that cop slavery, mostly in the southern part of what has become the coalition estimates 60,000. Many placards and chokeholds were forbidden and cops caught engaging the United States, but was at that time an English colony. banners were expressions of solidarity—​George/ in racist violence would be severely punished. Colston’s wealth, dripping with the blood and suffering Adama, the same fight (in French). Protesters also At the next demonstration the Adama Traoré coali- of so many victims, went on to pay for his seat as a Tory purposely carried signs in English, such as “#Black tion called, a slightly smaller response in Paris was still member of Parliament and change his image from mass Lives Matter” to make their solidarity clear to the militant. The people came out despite warnings from murderer to benevolent businessman. Hence the statue. world. the cops that large assemblies were forbidden because Until this June 7, when it was toppled off its base and All who have been demanding system changes—​ of the danger of contamination from the coronavirus. rolled into the water by an enthusiastic and angry crowd youth from suburban neighborhoods (French suburbs At the start of the Paris march, a group of right- shouting, “Black Lives Matter!” are filled with poor and working-class Black and Arab wing “white rights” activists dropped a banner from How many more statues are there that need to be top- communities) came out side by side with cultural and an apartment house. People living in the apartments pled in imperialist countries that to this very day oppress sports personalities, Yellow Vest protesters and cli- ripped the banner down, while marchers below and exploit hundreds of millions of people all over the mate activists—​and stood in front of the Paris court- chanted, “We despise fascists!” The whole scene was world? house to make their anger over police violence heard. covered on French Television’s national news. Even more to the point, how soon will these symbolic White workers with steady jobs, who, according to the Major solidarity actions supporting the anti-rac- acts be followed by the kind of mass movement that can major daily newspaper Le Monde, are beginning to see ist movement in the United States also took place in actually topple the profit-driven economic system that the “relevance of this struggle,” also joined. England, Scotland, Germany, Spain and Italy. ☐ produces the Edward Colstons of today? ☐ Assa Traoré, the older sister of Adama, speaking Page 14 June 18, 2020 workers.org

editorials Celebrating Juneteenth during an uprising

On Juneteenth, commemorated on June 19, African U.S. population at almost warp speed. Police brutality pay. Some of these same corporations have “pledged” to Americans mark the anniversary of the day in 1865 when in all forms—but​ especially the murders of Black peo- hire more Black workers and to donate millions of dollars union troops arrived in Galveston Island to inform the ple —has​ been put on trial. And so has racism in general, to community organizations. Massive grassroots pressure enslaved people in Texas that the heinous system of past and present. won these concessions from the profit-driven CEOs—​it slavery had ended. The delayed announcement forced Confederate statues and proslavery symbols have did not come from the goodness of their hearts. an estimated 250,000 African descendants to languish been taken down, torn down or banned from Richmond, Trump attempted to defame the legacy of Juneteenth under the lash for almost three more years after the Va.—infamous​ for its Confederate Row statues includ- and to minimize the 1921 Tulsa, Okla., white suprem- Emancipation Proclamation became law on Jan. 1, 1863. ing Robert E. Lee—​to New Orleans, from Birmingham, acist massacre of the neighborhood called “Black Wall While Texas was the last southern state to legally Ala., to Memphis, Tenn. Confederate flags have been Street” by holding an ultra-right-wing campaign rally recognize the Proclamation, it was the first state to banned from NASCAR’s stock car racing events, thanks on June 19 in that city. Yielding to heavy criticism, he make Juneteenth an official holiday in 1979. Currently, to the courageous Black driver, Bubba Wallace, who postponed the rally for one day. We can expect righteous 47 states recognize Juneteenth as a state holiday, but raised this demand. anti-Trump protests in Tulsa and other U.S. cities. Congress has not made it a federal holiday. However, the Black college football players at big schools like Iowa This uprising, now three weeks old, has emboldened current mass rebellion—going​ into its third week as of State University and Clemson State University in South and drawn the masses of all ages and nationalities into June 15—may​ force its passage. Carolina say they feel more empowered to speak out the streets to defend Black Lives Matter and put neo- A lot has happened between 1865 and today for due to the countrywide protests and to expose the rac- fascist Trump and his CEO cohorts on the defensive. African Americans such as: Black Reconstruction, Jim ism they face from their white coaches. Some Clemson Millions of people here and worldwide will come to Crow lynchings, segregation and other forms of racist football players, Black and white, led a campus march appreciate the historic role of Juneteenth in the ongo- oppression. of thousands on June 13 to demand slaveowner John C. ing struggle for social justice and equality for African Sparked by reaction to the racist police lynching of Calhoun’s name be removed from the school’s Honors Americans. And millions of workers and the oppressed George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25, the uprising College. They won the demand. across the globe will begin to grasp this struggle’s essen- against police terror and the white supremacy it rests Nike, the National Football League, Twitter and other tial role in uniting the working class to fight to end the upon has moved consciousness to the left among the corporations are giving their workers Juneteenth off with exploitation of all working and oppressed peoples. ☐ Stonewall means unite & fight back! Continued from page 1 SCOTUS unexpectedly upholds Two rulings, one yes, one no—​designed housing.” discrimination protections to drive a wedge between those joined in The manifesto ended: “We want a rev- of the 2016 Pulse Massacre in Orlando, In a surprise June 15 ruling, the con- this massive movement. olutionary peoples’ government, where Fla. Forty-nine people were killed there servative-majority U.S. Supreme Court Yet we know that when we fight transvestites, street people, women, on June 12, 2016, at an LGBTQ2+ night- appears to have contradicted Trump’s together, we win! This Pride Month we homosexuals, Puerto Ricans, [Indigenous club—​mostly young queer people of attack. SCOTUS held that existing fed- are in the middle of a historic struggle people], and all oppressed people are color, 90 percent Latinx. eral law forbids job discrimination full of hope and fightback against big- free, and not fucked over by this govern- The HHS order gave bigots the on the basis of sexual orientation and otry—​an unprecedented multinational, ment who treat us like the scum of the go-ahead to deny queer, gender non- transgender status—​a major victory for multigendered mass uprising against rac- earth and kills us off like flies, one by one, conforming and trans people access to a LGBTQ2+ activists who’ve fought for that ism and police repression. In the U.S.—​ and throws us into jail to rot. This govern- doctor’s appointment, a COVID-19 test, for decades. from Los Angeles to Pensacola, Fla., to ment who spends millions of dollars to go abortion and reproductive services, the The victory was wrung out of this cap- New York City—​LGBTQ2+ people are to the moon, and lets the poor Americans emergency room and health insurance. italist state only because the masses are part of this uprising and are linking the starve to death.” (zagria.blogspot.com) The timing of the HHS order was cyni- in tremendous, angry, rebellious motion struggles shared by many communities of With the U.S. uprisings against the cally designed to be demoralizing. There’s against multiple oppressions—​with bril- oppressed people. lynching of George Floyd by cops, mil- no doubt that in the middle of a global liant participation and leadership from The roots of Pride Month are in rebel- lions around the globe have come out into pandemic, this decision means more LGBTQ2+ people of color. Such a conces- lion—​the Black Cat Tavern, Compton’s the streets—together​ in solidarity for the LGBTQ2+ people will die. Already more sion has happened before; the 1973 Roe v. Cafeteria and Stonewall Bar uprisings of liberation of oppressed people and work- than 50 percent of queer people experi- Wade decision that granted the right to the 1960s when queer people, led by trans ers everywhere. ence some form of health care discrimina- abortion was also forced by a mass move- women of color, fought for liberation. In the early 1970s, YAWF—​Youth tion; one in five trans people are without ment out of a conservative SCOTUS. Members of STAR (Street Transvestite Against War & Fascism, a Workers World health coverage simply because of their But the ruling class strategy of divide- Action Revolutionaries), combatants Party mass unit—carried​ a huge banner: trans identity. (tinyurl.com/yb4t4a6x) and-conquer continues. It was revealed at Stonewall, issued a 1970 manifesto “Stonewall Means Fight Back!” Tia Sherèe Gaynor, a University of in another ruling the same day as the that foretold the demands now shouted Yes, this is how the struggle is won: Cincinnati political science professor, victory: SCOTUS rejected a hearing in 2020. STAR demanded an end to To fight for each other’s liberation as if emphasized that for Black trans people for cases that challenged immunity for homophobia, racism, incarceration, it were our own—​because that solidarity being denied health care: “It’s layers of police officers. One key demand of the police harassment and job discrimi- will bring liberation for us all. oppression—​it’s transphobia on top of Black Lives Matter movement is an end nation, and said: “All oppressed peo- Stonewall still means fight back. Smash racism on top of economic oppression.” to cops being protected from prosecution ple should have free education, health oppression! Fight for socialism!! ☐ (npr.org, June 12) for their brutal and murderous actions. care, clothing, food, transportation, and U.S. ‘ethnic cleansing’ The 1921 Tulsa massacre By Monica Moorehead Mass graves of at least 300 Black victims of racist vio- lence have been uncovered, according to the Tulsa Race Since Trump announced that his first campaign rally Riot Commission. would be in Tulsa, Okla., on June 19, there has been The official report had stated that 36 people died. Yet renewed interest in the 1921 racist Tulsa massacre that many historians now say that more Black people were targeted “Black Wall Street.” The rally has since been killed in Tulsa than in any other recorded “riot” in U.S. his- rescheduled for June 20. Decades later, Tulsa has con- tory. Excavations of the grave site will begin this summer. tinued its white supremacist legacy with the lynching of Terence Crutcher, an unarmed 40-year-old Black Racist & economic roots motorist gunned down on Sept. 16, 2016, by a white What was the root cause of this terrible massacre? Tulsa police officer, who was not charged with murder. Survivors of Tulsa, Okla., massacre. Millions of Black people were forced to leave the On June 4, two 13-year-old Black youth were arrested Pentagon contractors, General Electric. South at the turn of the 20th century to escape the sav- for “jaywalking” by white police officers. Their body But the U.S. government has never cared about the age lynchings, wretched poverty and other remnants of cameras show the police choking a youth as they tried plight of any oppressed grouping. Its policy is to pit one slavery. Thousands of Black people migrated to Tulsa. to put him in handcuffs while he is yelling, “I can’t oppressed group against the other to secure its brutal Oil had been discovered throughout the Southwest, a breathe and call my mama.” class rule. region once known as “Indian Territory” that had been a This article first appeared in the June 10, 1999, issue A specific incident in U.S. history that exposes the part of Mexico. Glenn Pool, 14 miles from Tulsa, became of WW during the U.S. bombing of Yugoslavia. hypocritical nature of the racist, imperialist U.S. govern- known as the “richest small oilfield in the world.” By ment—and​ is rarely talked about—​took place in Tulsa, 1907, Oklahoma had become the center of the country’s The main argument for the U.S./NATO bombing Okla., in 1921. oil production, producing 300,000 barrels a day. of Yugoslavia supplied by President Bill Clinton, the Before the righteous rebellions of the oppressed Black Black Tulsans were trying to take advantage of this Pentagon generals and the big-business media is the masses in Watts, Newark, Detroit and elsewhere in the economic boom by establishing their own businesses in alleged “ethnic cleansing” of Albanians in Kosovo. This late 1960s, there was the “Tulsa Race Riot of 1921.” the Greenwood area. can only be stopped if the United States and NATO inter- Never heard of it? A lot of people have not. Tulsa was an extremely segregated city. Black people vene, say NBC, CBS and ABC. Investigations begun in 1997 concluded that this “riot” were forced to live on the north side of town. Whites NBC, of course, is owned by one of the biggest could more appropriately be described as a massacre. Continued on page 15 workers.org June 18, 2020 Page 15 Organizing for revolutionary power By Makasi Motema revolutionaries have to be committed to going among the masses and diligently providing the necessary polit- When the Third Precinct burned, the world trem- ical education. bled. The sacking of the Minneapolis police station by Revolutionary theory and history also provide a model unarmed demonstrators last week was an unprece- and a path to victory, giving the working class the con- dented act of resistance. Never in living memory have fidence they can succeed. Despair and defeatism are the the masses of oppressed people in the U.S. struck such a most dangerous threats during an uprising, and they can devastating blow against the ruling class and their police only be warded off by political education. guard dogs. It is also critical for revolutionaries to organize the This rebellion, which began in Minneapolis following people into political bodies which practice proletarian the horrific murder of George Floyd and quickly spread democracy and democratic centralism. The history of across the country, has taken the battle to the doorstep of socialist revolutions is the history of political base build- the state’s oppressing army. The masses have made clear ing. The working class must be organized into Workers’ strategy. Diffuse and dispersed action squanders the who their enemy is; they have struck righteously at the Assemblies—​highly structured political bodies that energy of revolutionaries and hampers unified action. police and the corporate powers whom they serve. They stand in opposition to the capitalist system. What the Without a clear strategy, revolutionaries, and the move- have resisted police violence with collective strength and ruling class fears most is working-class communities ment at large, cannot seize opportunities as they emerge, retaken the products of their labor from the outposts of banding together to determine their own destiny. In exploit divisions within the ruling class or effectively capital where stolen profits were so long hoarded. Russia, China, Korea, Cuba and Vietnam, the assemblies respond to setbacks. The character of the rebellion is clear to all who look. and councils of the working class were the engines which Its focus on the brutality of racist policing shows that drove socialist revolution. This powerful revolutionary Do not abandon the people it is Black led. The masses of non-Black people of color engine must be brought to the U.S. The people who are most in need of political orga- and white demonstrators who surged forth to join the Only when the masses are organized can true proletar- nization are the most oppressed. Decade after decade, uprising shows that the movement is multinational. And ian democracy be achieved. Only then can the Workers’ Black people have had their movements and organiza- the total defiance of the demonstrators toward police Assemblies of the masses provide the needed counter- tions smashed by the bosses, the police and the federal and corporations shows that the movement is solidly balance against the capitalist dictatorship of the U.S. government. The capitalist ruling class has made the anticapitalist. Such working-class organization will need to be orga- destruction of Black political organizations—​whether These are the makings of a revolutionary uprising. In nized under the principles of democratic centralism in they be radical groups like the Black Panthers or within the U.S., any successful revolutionary movement must order for all nationalities and special oppressions to be the mainstream union movement—​their first priority. be anticapitalist and it must understand the defining role represented, and for those diverse views to be synthe- Revolutionary socialists who claim to stand in solidar- that the oppression of Black people has played in our sized into united revolutionary action. ity with the Black working class must labor diligently history and in capitalist wealth production. All those ele- The ruling class will use any divisions among the work- to organize oppressed communities. You cannot claim ments have fallen into place during the current rebellion. ing class to undermine and destroy the uprising. With a to support Black lives if you don’t organize Black peo- Whether or not this movement will succeed is not a mat- grasp of revolutionary theory, and practicing democratic ple to withstand deadly state repression. If you stand on ter of fate. The outcome will not be determined by luck centralism, revolutionary socialists can assist the masses the sidelines during an uprising and shout your support, or chance. Nor is it in the hands of the ruling class. With in navigating their internal contradictions. Organization you are only encouraging other people to go out and die. the deterioration of the capitalist state, the U.S. lacks the is the only means of preventing the division and disin- “Defending the people” means organizing the people. power to crush a movement of sufficient strength. There tegration that so often occurs in diverse multinational This also means organizing the unorganized. For is only one question which will determine whether or not movements under attack from capitalism. decades, the U.S. left has been primarily concerned with this movement makes the decisive transition from rebel- Political organization also strengthens the masses mobilizing other activists—​the most politically conscious lion to revolution: Will revolutionary socialists rise to the and enables them to endure state violence. Spontaneous members of the working class. Revolutionary socialists challenge of organizing the masses? groups of demonstrators can be easily dispersed. A dis- must dig their roots far deeper into the working class. A The primary responsibility of revolutionary socialists ciplined mass of demonstrators is much more powerful. true mass movement must be composed of the masses. It during a national uprising is to immerse themselves in Organization allows for the physical manifestation of is more difficult to organize those who have never partici- the masses, to engage in deep organizing, to develop political power as the masses move in one unstoppable pated in political action—and​ also more necessary. During the organizational spine which allows the movement unit on the streets. a time of national upheaval, revolutionaries do not have to weather the trials of state repression. Spontaneous the privilege of shirking their duty to organize. uprisings have a short lifespan. Only an organized revo- Be decisive, be strategic lution can defeat the capitalist ruling class. In times of calm, there is no greater error than fail- Organize, struggle, win ing to deliberate. In times of chaos, there is no greater Revolutionary socialists must move immediately to Two tasks for revolutionaries error than failing to act. During an uprising, revolu- immerse themselves in the working class. The people The role of revolutionary socialists during any rebel- tionaries must not be slow to move. Rapidly changing are already in motion, and they will gravitate to those lion is to provide political education and political orga- conditions require speed and decisive action. When the who are committed to helping them build working-class nization. Political education is vital for helping the enemy brings to bear all its enormous resources against power. Organize the people around the struggle—​both masses process the traumatic societal changes that the movement, vacillation on the part of revolutionaries national and local. Develop Workers’ Assemblies to facil- take place during a revolution. Through the explana- means death—hesitation​ means defeat. Revolutionary itate the people’s struggle against police violence, bosses tion of revolutionary theory and history, the masses will socialists must spring into action now. and landlords. be able to contextualize the current conflict. This con- Revolutionaries must also ensure that their action, This is the only way to win, the only path to victory, text is intentionally suppressed by the ruling class, and no matter how rapid, is in strict accordance with a clear the only road to socialism. ☐ The 1921 Tulsa massacre Continued from page 14 in an elevator shaft. He was arrested immediately. carry green badges saying “Police Protection.” The next day the Tulsa Tribune ran an editorial enti- In the meantime, whites were given a free reign to lived in the southern part. Black people were prohibited tled “To Lynch a Negro Tonight.” continue their looting and rampage of Greenwood with- from doing business with whites. A white mob numbering 2,000 gathered outside the out interference from the police or the National Guard. The educator Booker T. Washington characterized the jail in an attempt to lynch Rowland. A heroic group of Once the internment was over, a thousand Black Greenwood section as the “Negro’s Wall Street.” Racists 50 to 75 armed Black men, dressed in their World War Tulsans were dislocated and forced to spend the win- referred to Greenwood as “Little Africa.” I Army fatigues, confronted the racists. As a white man ter in tents and board shacks. The city was not legally The people of Greenwood were attempting to carry tried to physically disarm a Black man, a shot was fired. obligated to restore the houses and businesses of out their own brand of post-Civil War Reconstruction. The Black men fired back in self-defense. But they were Greenwood. Greenwood included a Black newspaper, two doctors, overwhelmed by the armed mob of racists. Not one white person was ever arrested for taking a Black labor union, three grocery stores and barbers. For the next several days, gangs of armed whites went part in this racist attack. The young white woman whom Three-quarters of the Black children attended the lone into the Greenwood section setting fire to homes and Rowland supposedly attacked never pressed any charges Black school. Tulsa had the second-lowest Black illiter- businesses and shooting every Black person in sight. Dr. against him. He was eventually released from jail. acy rate of any county in Oklahoma. A.C. Jackson, one of the top surgeons in the country, The truth about the Tulsa massacre should be publicly Many other Black people were forced to work in the was murdered after surrendering himself to a group of exposed. And the U.S. government should be made to white areas as domestics or shining shoes. This was a whites. The racists also went into their own white neigh- pay reparations to the Black people of Tulsa and to all testament to the fact that whites still dominated the borhoods searching for Black domestic workers. the living descendents of slaves. overall economy. The Chicago Defender reported that Black neighbor- And not only should the United States immediately The white political establishment attempted to whip hoods in Tulsa were bombed from the air by a private stop its bombing of Yugoslavia—​but the United States up hostility against the organizing efforts of the Industrial plane equipped with dynamite. Other reports said the and NATO should be held responsible for paying repa- Workers of the World and against Jewish people. The pre- police had commandeered private planes to fly over the rations to the Yugoslav masses. dominantly white police force forged a relationship with area. This is the first report in history of airplanes being the Ku Klux Klan and other white vigilantes. used to drop explosives. Some material for this article was taken from “Death On June 1, some 6,000 Black Tulsans, including chil- in a Promised Land: The Tulsa Race Riot of 1921” Reminiscent of apartheid dren, were rounded up and imprisoned by the racists. by Scott Ellsworth (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State On May 30, 1921, Dick Rowland, a young Black shoesh- Reminiscent of apartheid South Africa, Black people University Press, 1982). ine man, was falsely accused of accosting a white woman who were not imprisoned or interned were forced to Correspondencia sobre artículos en Workers World/Mundo Obrero El capitalismo en un pueden ser enviadas a: [email protected] callejón sin salida Fred Goldstein utiliza las leyes de la acumulación capitalista de Marx, y la tasa decreciente de ganancia, para demostrar por qué el capitalismo global ha llegado finalmente a un punto de inflexión. ¡Proletarios y oprimidos de todos los paises unios! workers.org Vol. 62 Núm. 25 18 de junio 2020 $1 LowWageCapitalism.com ¿Tropas USA contra manifestantes estadounidenses?

Por John Catalinotto a la posibilidad de que el movimiento the War) ha hecho circular una petición de que la resistencia es posible, incluso llegue a los soldados rasos. Debilitar la dirigida a los miembros de la Guardia dentro de un ejército “profesional” no Traducción: redroja.net moral de las Fuerzas Armadas de EE.UU. Nacional que dice: “Les pedimos que conscripto. significa debilitar el control mundial de defiendan las vidas de los negros yse Consideremos al líder revoluciona- 5 de junio – Hace cuatro días, la Casa los monopolios y bancos de EE.UU. Esto retiren. Sabemos las consecuencias que rio africano, Amílcar Cabral, cuando se Blanca pidió al ejército estadounidense sería un paso adelante para la gente de los puede tener la desobediencia a las órde- enfrentó a un desafío similar. Cabral fue que se desplegara por las ciudades nor- EE.UU. y del mundo. nes. Muchos de nosotros nos hemos el jefe de la organización que dirigió la teamericanas para “dominar” las calles. enfrentado a ellas.” El 4 de junio, unos guerra de liberación contra el colonia- A lo largo de los tres días siguientes, dos Disidencia desde arriba 700 veteranos habían firmado esta lla- lismo portugués en Guinea-Bissau y Cabo antiguos integrantes de la Junta de Jefes El Secretario de Defensa Mark Esper, del mada para negarse a cumplir con “su Verde. del Estado Mayor conjunto de los ejérci- que se rumoreaba que ya estaba a punto de deber”. (fuente : tinyurl.com/y9xkxxnc) En 1963, a pesar de sus enormes tareas tos (JCS) se pronunciaron en contra de salir, contradijo abiertamente a Trump el Veteranos por la Paz, otra de esas orga- en la construcción de un movimiento gue- este despliegue. También lo hicieron el 4 de junio. “La opción de utilizar las fuer- nizaciones, distribuyó una declaración rrillero y el gobierno de algunas partes de antiguo y el actual secretario de defensa zas de servicio activo en el papel de man- en la que pedía a “todos los dirigentes su país, Cabral se tomó su tiempo para de Trump, este último a sabiendas de que tenimiento del orden sólo debe utilizarse militares y al personal que se negaran a escribir un llamamiento a los soldados y probablemente lo despedirían. como último recurso”, dijo, “y esto sólo en desplegarse. Nosotros, como veteranos, oficiales reclutas portugueses que estaban En reacción a la amenaza de Trump, las situaciones más urgentes y graves. No conocemos las terribles consecuencias de ocupando Guinea-Bissau. al menos tres organizaciones de vetera- estamos en ninguna de esas situaciones participar en acciones moralmente equi- Su mensaje, minuciosamente expli- nos militares anti-guerra pidieron a los ahora. No apoyo la invocación de la Ley de vocadas contra comunidades de otros cado, se puede resumir así: 1) Las tropas miembros del servicio de las Fuerzas Insurrección” de 1807. (CNN) países. Ahora es el momento de negarse portuguesas que siguen luchando contra Armadas de los Estados Unidos y de la Esper, normalmente un incondicio- a participar en órdenes que son injustas.” los africanos en interés de las corporacio- Guardia Nacional que se negaran a des- nal de Trump, no hablaría así si no fuera (fuente : veteransforpeace.org) nes imperialistas no pueden esperar salir plegarse contra los manifestantes que se bajo la presión de la jerarquía militar La organización Courage to Resist nunca con vida de África. (2) Aquellos oponían al racismo. para detener el uso de las tropas esta- “actualmente está ayudando a miem- que deserten o resistan obtendrán todo Aunque el presidente dejara de profe- dounidenses en las ciudades. Los oficia- bros de la Guardia Nacional que se resis- el apoyo y protección del movimiento de rir sus habituales amenazas y se hayan les superiores retirados, que hablan más tieron a las órdenes de Trump de atacar liberación. retirado algunas tropas de la Guardia libremente sobre cuestiones políticas que violentamente a la gente que protestaba Fueron necesarios otros 11 años de Nacional y federales, todavía pueden ser los oficiales en activo, dieron más prue- pacífica y legalmente por las calles de lucha, pero los militares portugueses, éstas utilizadas contra la población civil. bas de ello. Entre ellos, los ex presiden- Washington, contra la injusticia racial”. cansados de la guerra, finalmente se El conflicto dentro del aparato militar tes de la JCS, el Almirante Mike Mullen Un miembro de la Guardia, que se rebelaron contra el gobierno fascista de por la amenaza de Trump plantea dos (jubilado) y el General Martin Dempsey resiste a las órdenes de Trump, en princi- Portugal, derrocándolo y poniendo fin a preguntas clave: ¿De dónde viene esta (jubilado), así como al ex Secretario de pio esperaba unirse a las misiones médi- las guerras contra las colonias africanas oposición? ¿Qué significa la reticen- Defensa James Mattis, todos los cuales cas de asistencia en desastres naturales. de Angola, Mozambique y Guinea-Bissau. cia de los generales para el movimiento arremetieron contra Trump. En relación con la situación actual, dice: Aunque es difícil predecir lo que suce- antirracista? Nadie debe desdeñar los motivos de “No puedo hacerlo. Incluso me siento mal derá en EE.UU., los acontecimientos de Respondiendo a la primera pregunta: estos oficiales militares. Han pasado sus al mirar mi uniforme y verme implicado las últimas semanas muestran que nada Los generales y almirantes temen que el vidas sirviendo a los intereses del milita- en esto, sobre todo después de que una es imposible. Un movimiento que alienta uso de la fuerza militar contra la comu- rismo y del imperialismo de EE.UU. Han unidad de la Guardia Nacional le dis- y defiende a los soldados que resisten y nidad afroamericana y sus aliados pueda mandado a las tropas en guerras ilegales parara a ese hombre que era dueño de apela a las tropas, incluso cuando las destruir la cohesión que existe en las y ocupaciones contra Yugoslavia, Irak, esa tienda de barbacoas” en Louisville, desafía, puede marcar la diferencia. Fuerzas Armadas de los Estados Unidos. El Afganistán y Siria y han amenazado a Kentucky. (fuente: couragetoresist.org) Pentágono ha construido en los últimos 45 Irán y Venezuela. Esta vez creen que las Catalinotto es autor de “Turn the Guns años, desde la debacle de Vietnam, un ejér- órdenes de Trump, de desplegar tropas Cómo actúan los manifestantes Around: Mutinies, Soldier Revolts and cito profesional – es decir, no conscripto. federales contra los manifestantes anti- Nadie puede predecir con certeza cómo Revolutions”, Foro de Visión Mundial, El uso de tropas – en un 40 por ciento o rracistas, amenazan a sus militares. reaccionarán los soldados disciplinados 2017. El apéndice del libro contiene una más, gente de color – contra la población a las órdenes del presidente. Que haya traducción al inglés del llamamiento de civil podría destruir su moral y tener un Resistencia desde abajo disensión en la cúpula y que ya haya resis- Cabral de 1963 a las tropas portuguesas. efecto boomerang contra los jefes. La organización de Veteranos contra tencia por parte de miembros individua- La reticencia de los generales apunta la Guerra About Face (Veterans Against les de las fuerzas armadas es una señal Morales habla: ‘Áñez se aferra al poder’ Por Resumen Latinoamericano realización de elecciones. Socialismo (MAS), Diferentes candidatos a la Presidencia Luis Arce, también ha Según concluyó una investigación de Bolivia han cuestionado a la autopro- reprochado la deci- independiente, el informe hecho por la clamada presidenta de Bolivia, Jeanine sión de Áñez. “Al no misión de observación electoral de la Áñez, por no promulgar la ley que aplaza promulgar la ley (…) OEA a las elecciones del 20 de octubre las elecciones hasta el 6 de septiembre confirma que es un de 2019 en Bolivia, y que sirvió a la opo- y solicitar un informe médico y epide- gobierno de facto que sición para generar un golpe de Estado miológico para justificar la fecha de los utiliza la pandemia contra el presidente Evo Morales, tenía comicios. como excusa para serias deficiencias. A las críticas se ha sumado el exmanda- vulnerar derechos”, El estudio elaborado por expertos con tario quien, mediante un mensaje en su ha asegurado. base en un minucioso examen de los cuenta de Twitter, ha denunciado que la Las elecciones esta- datos de la elección boliviana, y que fue dictadora Áñez pretende perpetuarse en ban convocadas para publicado el domingo en The New York el poder tras su negativa a promulgar la el pasado 3 de mayo, Evo Morales, depuesto presidente de Bolivia. Times, sugiere que el análisis inicial de ley que viabiliza las elecciones generales. pero el órgano elec- la Organización de Estados Americanos “Alertamos a la comunidad internacio- toral las pospuso (OEA), que planteó dudas sobre un pre- nal sobre las intenciones del gobierno de sin fecha cuando a finales de marzo el pasado entre denuncias de fraude a favor sunto fraude electoral, fue defectuoso. facto de impedir la realización de elec- gobierno interino declaró emergen- de Morales, que fue proclamado vencedor (Cuba Debate, 8 de junio) ciones, profundizando la crisis política e cia sanitaria por el coronavirus, que ha para un cuarto mandato seguido, antes impidiendo que las bolivianas y los boli- dejado 559 fallecidos y 16.929 contagia- de denunciar que fue forzado a dejar el 15 de junio de 2020 – El depuesto pre- vianos ejerzan sus derechos”, ha escrito dos en el país andino de unos 11 millones poder por un golpe de Estado en medio sidente de Bolivia Evo Morales, denun- este sábado el líder indígena. de habitantes. de presiones de militares y policías, entre cia ante la comunidad internacional que En ese mismo sentido, el candidato Los comicios están pendientes desde otras, para negarle una nueva victoria y el gobierno de facto pretende impedir la a la Presidencia por el Movimiento Al que se anularon los de octubre del año derrocarlo. ☐