SAN FRANCISCO, May 31 — “We plan on being here until we get justice or we’re hospitalized,” said one of the Frisco Five hunger strikers at San Francisco’s Mission police station. Five brave members of the working class, women and men, started a hunger strike on April 20 in response to the viciously racist police murders in San Francisco (see box). The multi-racial group of fighters is inspiring working-class brothers and sisters to fight back against San Francisco’s blatant terrorization of Black, Latin and immigrant lives. Putting actions into words the #Frisco5 bravely took over City Hall on May 6 (see CHALLENGE, 6/1). The events described here are from a PLP member whose collective organizing has helped lead to the eventual city hall shutdown. The growth of this anti-racist struggle is symbolized by the fighters’ new name, #Frisco500.
After months of working in the Mario Woods Coalition (see box noting the cop murder of Mario Woods), I got to know a few of the hunger strikers and many supporters. Based on this, the Coalition asked me to organize an action at a discussion led by kkkops Adachi and police chief Suhr. I agreed and planned on using this opportunity to organize the young people in the Coalition to lead the action — it’s the youth who’ve been systematically excluded from leadership positions and responsibilities even though they are the spirit and bodies of the Coalition.
The meeting lasted all of two minutes and we shut it down. We went back into the streets where lots of the older “leaders” gave speech after speech, ranging from reformist “solutions” such as “not all cops are bad” to “we just need a new mayor.”
The crowd was large enough to block one lane of traffic on a major street. Seeing our numbers, I proposed to some of the young organizers blocking the entire street as a symbol of our power. They agreed but wanted approval from the hunger strikers. I went to the striker who I’m closest to and asked if they’d be okay with that. They agreed, but by that time we had decided to take the entire intersection of 17th and Valencia. I made a quick speech and 100 workers and students seized the intersection, chanting, “Whose streets? OUR STREETS!” and “Black cop, white cop all the same. Racist murder is the name of their game!”
The latter chant directly opposed the mis-leaders’ ideology about the cops “of color” and female cops not being our enemy. The Party continuously puts forward the truth about the racist history of police forces in the U.S., going back to 19th-century slave patrols, and how they serve a critical role in terrorizing, intimidating and dividing the working class for their capitalist masters.
We controlled the intersection. Many youth, particularly young women, stepped forward to lead a multitude of chants and show San Francisco the power we possess when organized. After an hour, we finally gave the street back. Young people talked about how “powerful” they felt and that “it was a part of healing” to organize the action.
Afterwards many of us decided to stay the night to provide security for the hunger strikers while they slept. On the strike line we had hours of political discussion, emphasizing the question of reform vs. revolution. I distributed 15 CHALLENGEs and introduced myself to this new group of young people as a member of PLP.
The youth would no longer be silenced. This group would become the leadership of the #Frisco500 and the seizing of City Hall.
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Police Murders in San Francisco
KENNETH HARDING, age 19 (July 16, 2013): Multiple witness state SFPD shot Harding in the back while fleeing a transit fare evasion. Cop Richard Hastings, who received a Medal of Valor for shooting Kenneth Harding, is later arrested and charged with repeatedly molesting a 15-year-old boy.
ALEX NIETO, age 28 (March 21, 2014): The SFPD killed off-duty security guard Alex Nieto, shooting him 14 times in the head and body.
MARIO WOODS age 26 (December 2, 2015): Mario Woods had 20 gunshot wounds, including six in the back, killed by multiple SFPD officers in broad daylight.
LUIS GONGORA age 45 (April 7, 2016): Homeless immigrant Luis Gongora was shot seven times and killed within 16 seconds of contact with police.
AMILCAR PEREZ LOPEZ, age 20 (March 21, 2016): A witness statement and an autopsy report show that Perez was shot a dozen times, six from behind, four times in the back, once to the head and once in the right arm. Perez-Lopez was employed, living in a small boiler room paying $300 a month in rent.
Jessica Williams, age 29 (May 19, 2016): A mother of five, pregnant at the time, shot and murdered by Sergeant Justin Erg.