National Guard in Minneapolis – Mass, Coordinated Action Needed to Win #JusticeForGeorgeFloyd
No Trust in the Same Political Establishment That Killed George Floyd!
George Floyd gasped “I can’t breathe,” again and again, for nine long
minutes. This is murder. It is murder at the hands of the Minneapolis
Police. Yet the recent racist killings of Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud
Arbery, and the countless cases of racist police murder over the last
few years show how commonplace this is in America.
Minneapolis now resembles a police state. The National Guard is
occupying key points of the city with tanks and automatic weapons,
including bridges and intersections which have been occupied by
protestors in recent days. The Third Precinct police station is still
smouldering, and the nearby 5th Police Precinct is surrounded by barbed wire and barricades. Thousands of volunteers are cleaning up the streets and most businesses remain boarded up, yet in an inspiring display of the deep solidarity that still exists, painted on top of the boards are statements of ongoing solidarity.
What’s happening in Minneapolis is a working-class rebellion, headed
by young people of color. They fearlessly confronted heavily armed
police officers during 24-hour protests and occupations, winning an
indictment of the officer that killed George Floyd in the process, and
sparking a new wave of the black freedom movement which is spreading
nationally, with solidarity protests taking place internationally too.
The Democratic Party establishment that runs Minneapolis, and currently
runs the state, is working overtime to repress the protests, and channel
the movement into more established channels which have routinely failed
black and brown people.
We need to be clear about who’s “ruining our city”: the racist
police, the political establishment, and big corporations. There is a
real danger of the far right being emboldened with Trump tweeting things
like “looting starts, shooting starts.” There have been examples of
genuine threats, but the political establishment has amplified the
threat of “outside agitators” and right wing militia interference as an
excuse to crack down on the genuine protesters.
Media outlets claim that the protests are being directed by “outside
agitators” or anarchists and “antifa.” Anyone who’s participated in the
Minneapolis rebellion knows this is absolute nonsense. How could
“outside agitators” be the key factor in protests that have spread to
every major city? What’s happening is an uprising of working-class
people with youth of color at the forefront. Trump is threatening to
designate “antifa” as a terrorist organization as a distraction to whip
up his right-wing base and to try to divide the movement. We need to
respond with unity, solidarity, and mass action.
So far, the National Guard has shown no credible proof of actually stopping a white supremacist threat, yet the political establishment and corporate media
continues to emphasize this because it provides a useful pretext to
suppress the ongoing protests and solidarity. For example, people have
been told to take solidarity signs out of their yards because of the
threat of vigilante attacks on their homes. Of course with Trump’s
tweets and events like the white terrorist attacks in Charlottesville in
people’s minds, there is a threat, but the organized working-class
community defense committees that have sprung up are a far more
effective tool to address real threats than the National Guard.
Mayor Frey’s and City Hall’s use of the National Guard threatens to
cut across the very protests that already won important victories.
Initially, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman delayed arresting the
cop that killed George Floyd, claiming he had undisclosed “additional evidence” that pointed away from prosecuting the officers. The day after the Minneapolis Police fled the 3rd Precinct station,
which was subsequently occupied by protestors and lit on fire, Officer
Derek Chauvin was arrested and charged. The lesson here is direct
actions gets the goods.
Working-Class Struggle
The following day, mass protests continued chanting “one down, three
to go,” referencing that the other officers who helped murder George
Floyd still had not been charged. In addition, City Hall has made no
indication that they have any intention to make any structural changes
to policing in Minneapolis. There is still much work to be done, and it
would be a critical mistake to put any faith in the same political
establishment that got us here to resolve the crisis.
Minneapolis’ own history offers valuable lessons on how to address
the intervention of the military. During the 1934 Teamsters Strike, the
National Guard mobilized to suppress the strike. They shot striking
low-wage truck drivers, terrorized strike organizers’ families, and
arrested the entire leadership of the Teamsters. It was ineffective
because the socialists who organized the strike
had set up truly democratic structures for the movement, which could
both carry on the strike under repression, and also handle questions of
public safety.
Already, thousands of people in Minneapolis’ working-class
communities are organizing committees to clean up the neighborhoods,
provide medical aid to those attacked with tear gas, rubber bullets, and
mace; notify each other of potential threats; and keep people safe
from both the National Guard and the threat of vigilante violence. The
local labor movement should play an active role in this process as well,
putting in real resources to help.
To win #JusticeForGeorgeFloyd, we need mass, coordinated protests and
days of action which are prepared to resist attempts by the military to
suppress the demonstrations. The wider working class, and especially
the labor movement, should fully mobilize its membership to these
actions, and should find ways to disrupt the military’s use of our
workplaces to suppress calls for justices. If last night’s violence at
the hands of the military are any indication of what’s coming, with
community members being shot with rubber bullets for simply standing on
their porch, unions should also make immediate preparations for a one
day general strike, which would enjoy widespread sympathy from the wider
community and even small businesses that are already expressing solidarity with the movement.
These protests should be linked to national days of action across the
country, especially in cities that are dealing with emboldened police
actions to suppress non-violent protests. Already cities across the country are under similar curfews and the National Guard has been sent into Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Detroit. With nearly 40 million unemployed people, disproportionally people of color,
across the country and countless examples of racist police violence
everywhere, this sets up a tinderbox, especially with Trump fearing
re-election defeat and looking for ways to pander to his base.
Role of the Democratic Party
The bulk of the cities where this rebellion is concentrated are run
top to bottom by Democratic Party politicians, and it’s outrageous that
they have resorted to fear-mongering about the protests and mobilizing
the military rather than addressing the out of control police and deep
inequality that flourish in their own cities.
Socialists by contrast, including the socialist leaders of the bus
drivers union in Minneapolis, are showing the way, pointing to the
critical role of a united, multiracial working class in fighting racism.
Look at socialist Alternative Seattle City Councilmember Kshama Sawant’s speech in solidarity with #JusticeForGeorgeFloyd,
where she calls for real structural reforms to policing that have
teeth, taxing billionaires to build permanently affordable housing, and a
green jobs program.
Unfortunately, this stands in contrast to even the left-wing figures
in the Democratic Party, including Bernie Sanders and Alexandria
Ocasio-Cortez, who have done little more than issue statements of
support for the protests. We need more elected officials, like Kshama
Sawant, who actually side with the movement when push comes to shove!
This means breaking with the Democratic Party, which is tied by a
million threads to billionaires, corporate interests, and the police.
We are entering into a new phase of explosive struggle. While we
resist state repression against this rebellion, we can lay the seeds for
a wider movement this summer and beyond. Determined direct action will
be needed to stop housing evictions, Trump’s deportations, unsafe
working conditions, cuts to public education and social services, and
climate catastrophe. Young and working-class people are moving into
action, and we should continue this fight against not only racist police
killings, but also all the injustices inherent in this system of
exploitation and oppression.
What happened this week in Minneapolis has clearly struck a nerve
with working class and oppressed people across the globe. Protests have
spread across the U.S., and in cities across the world. Capitalism is a
system of brutal violence and oppression, and while the specifics may
change from country to country, working class and oppressed peoples
identify with George Floyd, and the movement for real justice that has
sprung up. It shows the potential for international solidarity against
all forms of exploitation and oppression, and against the capitalist
system itself. An injury to one is an injury to all!
Socialist Alternative calls for:
One Down, Three to Go – Immediately prosecute all four killer cops.
National Guard Out
– So far the National Guard presence has achieved nothing but
terrorizing working class communities, injuring journalists covering
non-violent protests, and protecting banks and police precincts. Time to
go!
Expand The Struggle – Mass, coordinated protests and national days of action for #JusticeForGeorgeFloyd.
An Injury to One Is an Injury to All – Unions
should fully mobilize their memberships to the protests, assist with
solidarity contingents to protect the protests, and lay plans for a one
day general strike.
Community Councils –
Organize community councils to discuss next steps, protect against the
threat emboldened vigilante violence as well as the National Guard, and
distribute aid and resources.
No Trust in Mayor Frey –
Launch an elected community-led restructuring of the MPD, including an
elected civilian board with real teeth, including over hiring, firing,
reviewing budget priorities, and the power to subpoena. Spread this
model nationally.
Fund Schools and Affordable Housing, not the Police
– Police violence is part and parcel of the capitalist system, which
rests on structural racism and inequality. Tax the rich to invest in
green jobs, social programs, public education, and permanently
affordable social housing.
The Whole System Is Guilty!
Malcolm X said: “You can’t have capitalism without racism.” To win
lasting change, the fight against police racism and the corporate
political establishment must be expanded into a fight against the
capitalist system itself. Join Socialist Alternative today!
A night America should never forget. Our people are hurting, they have been for hundreds of years, and yet we continue to value property over lives. Minneapolis said with a clear voice last night that enough is enough. George Floyd is dead, you can rebuild stores and replace merchandise, but you cannot bring back a life. Martin Luther King Jr. said that a riot is the language of the unheard, well are you listening now America? Why does fire and pepper spray get your attention but innocent black people slaughtered by police get nothing more than a pause and then return to normal? We can’t return to normal because normal means continuing to terrorize communities of colour and that is unacceptable. No justice, no peace should be common sense so let’s not act shocked by these pictures, instead let’s see the pain being expressed and do something about it.
This blog is mostly so I can vent my feelings and share my interests. Other than that, I am nothing special.
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