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Editorial ¡Abolir la policía! 12 La lucha gana concesiones 12 Workers and oppressed peoples of the world unite! workers.org Vol. 62, No. 27 July 2, 2020 $1 Win in California Cops out of schools! By Judy Greenspan little Black group that has done extraor- Oakland, Calif. dinary things.” The beginning of the dream was won In the midst of a dangerous pandemic, this past week. Leading up to the vote, the Black Organizing Project has won BOP conducted an ambitious 10-day an unprecedented victory for the entire campaign of actions, including both vir- Oakland community. On June 24, the tual and in-person events. There were Oakland School Board voted unanimously two marches in solidarity with Black and to completely defund, dismantle and ter- Brown youth led by BOP youth organiz- minate their own Oakland School Police ers in Oakland and a rally and car caravan Department. This action came from a by teachers and educators in front of the school district that up until a month ago Oakland school district offices. refused to consider this possibility. The What the school board passed was next day, BOP had a celebratory post-vic- called the George Floyd Resolution to tory virtual press conference. Eliminate the Oakland School Police For 10 years, BOP has worked tirelessly Department. It was a collaborative effort to bring attention to the racist and unfair between BOP and District 5 Oakland treatment faced by Black students in the School Director Rosie Torres. Torres has Oakland Unified School District. been the one board member who has con- Jessica Black, BOP Organizing sistently supported BOP in its campaign Director, gave some historical perspec- for police-free schools. Black Organizing Project’s youth organizers, Oakland. WW PHOTO: JUDY GREENSPAN tive when she spoke at a press conference Black stated that it was the pandemic before the June 24 vote. Speaking of their of racism and police murders that pushed two pandemics in our community. During out hundreds of teachers, educators and 10-year campaign, Black said, “BOP had a BOP to fight harder for victory during this time of COVID-19, we are still march- school district workers who decorated the dream that Black children could walk into COVID. She labeled policing in schools ing in these streets.” sidewalks in front of the school district schools and be valued as human beings. and the community a pandemic. She said, BOP called upon allies in the commu- building with demands for “police-free BOP had a dream that people would stand “Just because we are in a health pandemic nity who came out in great numbers to schools.” in solidarity with us. We have fought for does not mean that we will stop fighting support them. A rally dubbed “Educators Not only was the power of labor that. We were too radical. We were the to be seen as humans. We are faced with for Black Sanctuary” on June 22 brought Continued on page 8 Free Mumia! Abolish the FOP! This statement was issued by the Prisoners Solidarity Committee of Workers World Party. Contact the PSC at [email protected]. THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY THE POLICE Abu-Jamal— the most famous political pris- DICTATORSHIP OVER PHILADELPHIA oner in the world and a living symbol of the CAN BEGIN TO END AND THE MESSAGE struggle against racist police repression and OF THE GLOBAL UPRISING BE HEARD: for the Black Liberation movement— must FREE MUMIA ABU-JAMAL NOW! walk through to freedom. And it must hap- pen now! At this moment of a global uprising against There can be no further real discussion in systemic police racism sparked by the pub- Philadelphia about reining in police racism lic torture and lynching of George Floyd, this until Mumia is free. If the system fails to do injustice of historic and global significance that, then the system is the enemy of those must finally be reckoned with. marching everywhere for justice. If that is not done, there is no way that Philadelphia, or this country, can move for- The injustice system On the move ward from this moment toward a future with- Removing Frank Rizzo’s statue from out racist police terror. Center City was a symbolic gesture. But it • Save the Post Office! 4 The prison gates must open, and Mumia Continued on page 7 • STEM workers for BLM 4 • Temporary Protected Status 5 45 years for property damage? 9 Editorial Battling white supremacy Demands for COVID economy 10 • Racist N.C. government 2 • Monuments, flags brought down 3 Shaka Sankofa’s legacy 6 • Reflections on Black liberation 3 Ohio jail 100% COVID+ 6 • Justice, not apologies! 5 Leonard Peltier 7 • Pride and BLM 8 Voice from Texas prison 7 • Leeds, England 9 • State repression 10 COVID and socialism 11 Haiti 11 Page 2 July 2, 2020 workers.org COVID, cops and white supremacy in N.C. By calvin deutschbein Sheriff Johnson has pledged not to enforce masking this week laws, which reduce COVID transmission rates signifi- Durham, N.C.— While the “second wave” of corona- cantly, but has enforced— and been sued for enforcing— ◆ In the U.S. virus has received much coverage throughout the U.S., a ban on #BlackLivesMatter demonstrations in public Win in California: Cops out of schools! ........... 1 North Carolina, under the brutal, totalitarian rule of spaces in the county. Free Mumia! Abolish the FOP! .................. 1 North Carolina Republicans, has barely slowed the out- Further, while saying the demonstration ban was for break’s “first wave” since March 10 when the state first public safety, Johnson refused to comply with laws disal- COVID, cops and white supremacy in N.C. ........2 entered a state of emergency. lowing events at the Ace Speedway— a site that has now The monuments of racism continue to fall.........3 North Carolina is a perfect storm of health crises. White become an infection cluster, as wealthy white enthusiasts Reflections on the protests and Black Liberation . 3 nationalists seized control of the state apparatus in 2010 infect Black and Brown workers throughout the county. Coast to coast: Keep U.S. Postal Service viable .....4 in an anti-Black insurgency against the election of a Black Alamance County is also home to Elon University, which Portland: Save our Postal Service! ...............4 president. Since then, they systematically shuttered rural notably “reopened” after the last day of exams, with no hospitals and urban public health initiatives, defunded classes on campus, but forcing vulnerable dining hall, res- STEM workers join call to ‘Strike for Black Lives’...4 medical research— especially around racial disparities in idence hall and facilities and other workers to leave their ‘We don’t accept their apology, we want action!’ ...5 health care— and burned billions on corporate wealth- homes without personal protective equipment to labor in Road to Justice with im/migrant TPS holders .....5 fare and police militarization. And while the workers have service of an inactive university. Elon also operates a pri- Ohio jail 100% COVID-positive ..................6 fought back and pushed back the racists, many options— vate police force at Sheriff Johnson’s beck and call. Legacy of Shaka Sankofa lives ...................6 such as Medicaid expansion— remain off the table. The future of North Carolina remains ambiguous, as a So when the first reported coronavirus cases in the 2 a.m. vote by white supremacist legislators on June 26 has Free Mumia; push back Fraternal Order of Police! . 7 state emerged in early March, hospital visits and deaths now ruled masks illegal— under a law meant to weaken 45 years ... Leonard Peltier must be freed ......... 7 for “influenza-like illnesses” had already been climbing, the Ku Klux Klan in less openly racist times. Other sher- Dead or in prison .............................. 7 especially among Black, Indigenous and Latinx workers iffs are following Johnson’s pattern of selectively enforcing SCOTUS rulings: fightback win concessions .......8 who were denied access to preventative health care. laws to maximize danger to Black people. The situation worsened after the state Department of But whatever the future holds, North Carolinians will Cleveland LGBTQ2S+ for Black Lives.............8 Health first reported the degree to which coronavirus was continue to struggle for liberation in solidarity with move- Broad support for Colin Mattis and Urooj Rahman. 9 disproportionately harming Black people. Within 72 hours, ments around the world. ☐ True nature of the capitalist state revealed .......10 large mobilizations by white business and home owners to “ReOpenNC” took place across the state—mobilizations that ◆ Around the world included many known neo-Nazis, neo-Confederates and Leeds, England: Black Lives Matter ..............9 other designated hate-group members. While many of the COVID figures reveal stark contrasts .............11 first “ReOpenNC” extremists have since contracted the virus, large amounts of untraceable funds have continued to prop U.S. deports mortgage fraudster to control Haiti ...11 them up, even in the face of Black-led uprisings. ◆ Editorial Alamance County, situated between Greensboro and Durham, recently made national headlines for having the Working-class demands in COVID economy .....10 fastest time for cases to double in the entire U.S. Alamance ◆ Noticias en Español County is controlled by fascist Sheriff Terry Johnson, best known for being excluded from Immigration and Customs Corte Suprema: la lucha ganan concesiones ...... 12 Enforcement’s deportation program by the Eric Holder PHOTO: A. CRIDER Editorial: ¡Defund significa abolir la policía! ...... 12 Justice Department for racial profiling before being rein- Alamance County sheriff and Graham police make an arrest stated under the Trump administration. for holding a sign on county property. Workers World 147 W. 24th St., 2nd Fl. New York, NY 10011 Phone: 212.627.2994 Join us in the fight E-mail: [email protected] for socialism! Web: www.workers.org Vol.