NEW YORK CITY, March 21 — “Whose Streets? Our Streets!” “The Cops, The Courts, The Ku Klux Klan, All Are Part of the Bosses’ Plan!”
About 2,500 demonstrators, mainly black and Latino youth, defied the NYPD and protested the February 26 racist murder of black teenager Trayvon Martin, by George Zimmerman — a racist one-man neighborhood watch vigilante in Sanford, Florida. At this writing, Zimmerman remains free.
Most demonstrators demanded Zimmerman’s arrest and conviction. While hundreds regrouped before a second march, a PLP member pointed out that racism won’t stop until we stop the racist system of capitalism. “They want us to elect Obama again. But Sean Bell, Oscar Grant, Patrick Dorismond, Amadou Diallo, Ramarley Graham — how many more people will have to die before we realize we need communist revolution?”
Block Police Convoy
Young working-class students chose to fight back instead of obeying “rules.” Without permission or a permit, young people led the crowd into the streets, literally leaving two black liberal City Councilmen behind. The march surged as thousands more workers and youth joined from the sidewalks. Protestors threw large plastic safety dividers into the streets to block a convoy of police cars that were using their blinding lights and blaring sirens in an attempt to push protestors onto the sidewalk.
At one point the City Councilmen’s staffers pleaded with PLP members using the bullhorn to take the crowd to the politicians. “The leadership of the march is this way,” they insisted, pointing in the opposite direction from where everyone was marching. PLP marched with the masses, defied the politicians and led with chants of “Racist Cops, You Can’t Hide, We Charge You with Genocide,” and “Asian, Latin, Black and White, to Smash Racism We Must Unite!”
‘A Badge Or A Swastika’
Some marchers taunted police with the chant, “Is that a badge or a swastika?” Most demonstrators aimed their anger at the racist NYPD, broadening a protest of one racist murder in Florida into a condemnation of the systematic racism of U.S. law enforcement.
“Don’t shoot me, don’t hurt me, for skittles and ice tea,” youth cried, referring to the candy and drink Trayvon carried as Zimmerman stalked him from the store. Rush-hour traffic was shut down as mini-marches spun off to Times Square, the Occupy Wall Street’s Zuccotti Park and circled Union Square.
The rally was organized online on short notice and gained national attention when Trayvon’s parents announced they would attend. Trayvon’s Dad told the young crowd, “You are all Trayvon.” His Mom said, “It’s not a black and white thing, it’s a right and wrong thing,” and told the crowd to “stand up for what’s right!” The family’s lawyer said that after the murder, the racist cops investigated Trayvon’s background but not Zimmerman’s.
One contingent returned to Union Square and opened a discussion about what to do next, march to Times Square or City Hall. A PLP’er said that in the future, we should march where the workers are: “Harlem, not Times Square; Flatbush, Brooklyn, not City Hall.” We invited people to our May Day march in Brooklyn on Saturday, April 28.
We reviewed the action with some new-found friends. We made several contacts and distributed CHALLENGES. We participated on short notice and gave political leadership. One teacher plans to teach a lesson about Trayvon’s case and the protest in class next week and we will have anti-racist actions on our jobs and in our schools.