BALTIMORE, October 19—Powerful “West Wednesday” rallies continue to demand justice for Tyrone West and for all working-class victims of systematic capitalist police terror. Such rallies have been held every single week since the vicious, racist police murder of Tyrone in July 2013. Among fighters who participate in the weekly West Wednesday rallies, there is a growing understanding, due to PLP’s continual presence and influence, that the root of the problem is the system of capitalism.
Black Bosses, Enemy of Workers
The police—along with City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby and Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, both Black women and both of whom have refused to prosecute the killer cops that took Tyrone’s life—are part of capitalist state power. Along with the military, courts, prisons and federal government, this state power is, in reality, an apparatus that exists for the purpose of violently suppressing the working class. And, since Black workers are the most oppressed and the boldest in fighting back against injustice, state power terrorizes Black workers and students most violently of all.
Recently, Tyrone’s family has asked that many of us send letters to the national Attorney General, Loretta Lynch (fitting name) – another Black woman, who heads the Department of Justice (DOJ) – demanding that the case be reopened, and that the guilty cops be prosecuted and incarcerated.
But the national Department of Justice (DOJ), as part of that state apparatus, is guilty, on a nationwide level, of mass incarceration of largely (but not only) Black workers. Activists that regularly participate in West Wednesday know that Loretta Lynch will likely ignore our demand to prosecute Tyrone’s murderers. Nevertheless, as Tyrone’s family has requested, we’re giving the effort our best shot! If Lynch fails to respond, it will only further illustrate the way the entire capitalist system is stacked against the working class.
Student’s Uncle Lynched by KKKops
One teacher-fighter had discussions with her sixth-grade students about the death of Tyrone West, in preparation for letter-writing. During one of those discussions, it came out that a member of her class is a nephew of Anthony Anderson who, like Tyrone, was also murdered by Baltimore cops, both while unarmed. The cops deliberately held Anthony upside down and dropped him on his head, killing him right in front of his mother!  Even the Medical Examiner’s office labeled Anthony’s death a homicide (by the police), but the cops were never charged, and those racist killers remain on the force. During the class discussion Anthony’s nephew broke down in tears, causing also the teacher to cry in front of her class.
Students at Johns Hopkins University aim to get 300 signatures on a letter to Loretta Lynch. Other fighters, including a PL’er, have begun canvassing door to door in Sandtown/Winchester, the neighborhood where Freddie Gray was killed by the police, giving all 3,000 residents an opportunity to sign one of the letters. After just two days, there has been a mighty response.
No Such Thing as a Good Cop
Meanwhile, the federal Department of Justice, City officials, and the Police Department are negotiating an agreement, while admitting no past guilt, pretending that the cops are now going to all be “Officer Friendly.”
Last August a 163-page DOJ report admitted that the Baltimore Police Department is guilty of widespread racism, brutality, and general disregard for women complaining of sexual abuse. The last five pages argue that the solution is “community policing.” They claim that racism, brutality and sexism on the part of police will thus be rectified. They claim that now cops will instead attend neighborhood meetings and help solve problems.
However, past experience shows that “community policing,” at best, is a way for the police to gather intelligence on target communities, even in the absence of any crime. They then use this intelligence to disrupt activities of those they fear might pose a threat to the capitalist order.
No matter how long it takes, Progressive Labor Party (PLP) intends to lead the working class to smash the bosses’ cops and courts. We will establish a worker-led communist society worthy of Tyrone, Anthony, and the other countless victims of police murder—Black, white, and all other workers. Join us.