THE BRONX, NY, August 3—The racist, capitalist system struck again on July 21, this time robbing the working class of 18-years-young Latin teen Raymond Chaluisant. Dion Middleton, an off-duty Black kkkop shot Raymond in the face for playing with a toy water gun. The murderer then fled the scene, leaving Raymond dead in a pool of his blood. A system that breeds racist murders of our class does not deserve to exist. Seek justice for Raymond by smashing racism with Progressive Labor Party.
Racist system strikes again
Members of PLP visited Raymond’s family and friends shortly after the murder. We brought CHALLENGE to show support and draw a connection between what the family has endured and the experiences of other families terrorized by the criminal injustice system. These families include the family of Shantel Davis in Brooklyn who was also murdered by Black kkkop detective Phil Atkins in 2012 and the Rodwell-Spivey family who have been brutalized by police and face legal attacks in Newark. We also discussed the history of racist police murder in the Bronx specifically, including Ramarley Graham’s murder in 2012.
Raymond’s murder is another example of a senseless murder at the hands of a brutally racist system. Middleton, a cop in the Department of Corrections, has been trained to view Black and Latin children and workers as criminals that he can kill. PLP charges him and the whole system with genocide. It does not matter if the cop is Black or Latin if they are still carrying out racism. Having a city with a Black mayor, Black Attorney General, and a multiracial police force doesn’t change the fact that racist terror is the name of the game.
Family, friends and PLP confront fascist court system
PLP joined Raymond’s family and friends at the courts, where racist rule was on full display. Every time Middleton was brought into the courtroom, cops in uniform packed the room. Meanwhile, the judge told Raymond’s supporters that anyone who made a disturbance would be asked to leave, that we must remain silent, and that our movements would be read as a threat so remain seated until told otherwise. The family had pictures and protest signs that they were prohibited from bringing inside. The racist intimidation, along with social control that demands respect for an utterly disrespectful system, points to who the government serves and protects—the capitalist class.
For capitalists, public murder is a time-tested tool of social control and discipline of the working class. It is designed to frighten other workers into submission and stop rebellions before they start. In the U.S., the fugitive slave catchers are the ancestors of the police system. Yesterday's ku klux klan is today’s klan in blue.
Justice = no more racist murders
Middleton was indicted for second degree murder, first-degree manslaughter, and second-degree manslaughter. He has been suspended without pay, but he made $221,684 last year (New York Times, 7/22). Regardless of whether or not Middleton ends up being convicted, there is no justice in a racist system that makes such murders a daily occurance. Nonetheless, we will stand by the family at the next court appearance (which is scheduled for August 22) and never forget what happened to Raymond.
It is possible that the racist city government, whose officers regularly criminalize and brutalize Black and Latin workers and youth, may scapegoat Middleton for the murder since he fled the scene of the crime.
A city commissioner claimed his actions were “in no way a reflection of the [corrections and police] officers'' despite the racist and sexist jail practices that have left a trail of dead bodies in NYC. These include our working-class siblings Kyam Livingston, Layleen Polanco, and too many names.
KKKops and kkkourts blame the victim
The NYPD quickly came to Middleton’s aid by blaming Raymond for having a gel-bead water toy gun they considered an “air rifle” and illegal. The cops announced the same day on Twitter that anyone with such a water gun would be considered a criminal.
The kops, kourts, and klan officers’ union would love for us to ignore that Raymond’s water toy gun found with his body was white and orange. The racists also want us to ignore the lack of evidence that he even used the water gun on Murderer Middleton. The bosses’ media has also repeatedly blamed a TikTok trend for Raymond’s death, misleading workers to blame youth, rather than the killer kops for his death.
As Raymond’s sister Jiraida pointed out, local Black and Latin youth were “just having fun…The whole neighborhood was having a water gun fight. It was 90 degrees.” In a capitalist system that super-exploits Black and Latin workers, criminalizes the behavior of our children, and brutalizes the sections of the working class with the least to lose—even kids having fun is dangerous under capitalism. A system that criminalizes and KILLS youth for having fun does not deserve to exist.
Fight for communism
This is why PLP fights for communism, a system run for and by the whole working class, where racism and sexism will be the things that are considered illegal. True justice will mean not only jailing murderers like Middleton but ensuring that nothing like this ever happens again. We know this will not happen tomorrow, but we can fight and win a communist future where it is a reality.