Cops’ Racist Murders — No Justice Under Capitalism

FERGUSON, MO., August 11 — “Ferguson police just executed my unarmed son” reads a sign held here by the stepfather of Michael Brown, another black youth who’s become the latest victim of racist police murder. At a vigil angry protestors chanted “No justice, no peace” and “Stop police terrorism!”
Soon a rebellion erupted. Hundreds of youth, tired of police terror, smashed cop cars and storefronts in reaction to the blatant murder. “The only good cop is a dead cop” was painted on the walls of businesses. “RIP Mike” and “burn the city down” appeared on the side of a burned-down store. Youth fired gunshots at cops and police helicopters attempting to quell the rebellion. In response, the police have turned the town into a war zone.
We should applaud these black youth for sending a strong, violent message against racist murder. We need more such reactions when the bosses’ media, politicians and preachers are telling youth to “be patient” and “wait for answers” from the same people who are responsible for these murders.
No Justice in Bosses’ Courts
In NYC, antiracists are reacting in horror to the video of Eric Garner being choked to death by an NYPD officer as Emergency Medical Services stood by, despite Eric’s pleas of “I can’t breathe.” The Brooklyn District Attorney has shown us in the cases of Kimani Gray, Kyam Livingston and Shantel Davis that we need communism. Neither elections nor grand juries will stop racist police murders. Democratic Mayor Bill de Blasio’s election didn’t save Eric Garner, and it didn’t bring killer cops who roam the Flatbush neighborhood or any part of NYC closer to justice.
Brooklyn District Attorney Kenneth Thompson has announced that no indictment will be brought against officer Mourad Mourad who murdered Kimani Gray with eleven bullets and watched him bleed to death on an East Flatbush sidewalk in March of 2013. The same district attorney has told the Shantel Davis family that unless witnesses present themselves at his office the case of Shantel’s murder at the hands of racist detective Phillip Atkins will also be closed. And the same authorities have refused to do anything about the murder of Kyam Livingston who was left to die in Brooklyn Central Booking while pleading for medical attention.
Brooklyn’s black DA Thompson’s actions prove the working class should not rely on any agents of the capitalist state.
Members of the Shantel Davis Committee for Justice and Beyond and PLP secured witnesses months ago, but they have been lost in the shuffle of a cynical legal system in which justice is an afterthought at best. On TV, liberal mayor de Blasio tells us to look for justice in the courts. Meanwhile, politicians like Jumaane Williams, Al Sharpton, and Charles Barron show up at the scenes of racist murders and in the living rooms of the survivors to deliver the same racist message, attacking black youth. They give the family false hopes of justice while blaming youth for being murdered by cops.
We need More Rebellions
As the frustration mounts with each new message that black youth are — in the words of Kimani’s mother Carol Gray — “expendables,” more and more rebellions will occur. Their only missing ingredients are communists and antiracists who see the problem as the system of capitalism, not black or Latin youth. This exploitative system spawns racist unemployment, wars and police murders which no amount of voting or reforming departments can change.
Kimani’s friends and family rallied two consecutive nights when the news was announced that his killer would go free. The following Monday a picket line was held at the Brooklyn DA’s office. Kyam Livingston’s family and supporters confronted the cops outside Brooklyn Central Booking last month on the anniversary of her death, demanding justice and an end to the hellish conditions at that site.
The Shantel Davis Committee organized the second annual Hoops for Justice basketball tournament in both Shantel’s and Kimani’s memory in these recent weeks. Players waiting to compete looked through CHALLENGE as announcers mixed in play-calling with political consciousness. Teachers determined to see their students as more than suspects united with Shantel’s sister and local coaches to pull off the event. Young people in attendance wanted to know the date of the next demonstration at the 67th precinct.
CHALLENGE is not only connecting the dots of racist, senseless murder — from Gaza to Ukraine to New York City to Missouri. It’s also become the news source for many youth. The youth are listening. Families stricken by racist cop murders are forming new bonds with each other. We refuse to forget our working-class brothers and sisters taken from us. PLP will carry the call for justice forward to the only solution that can put a stop to racist cop murders: communist revolution.