Fight to stop police terror - justice for Michael Brown!

[BIXX]

I wanna communicate with folks who are there as well. Anyone live there/near there?

[bropasaran]

I watch Last Week Tonight with John Oliver and they covered Ferguson protests and police militarization, I watched some clips about that, man, that stuff's crazy, even we in eastern Europe don't have things like that, police looking like military, having military vehicles. Here the police uses rubber bullets and water cannons very rarely, in cases of some super-massive (like tens of thousands of people) protests that start turning into riots, even when there are huge football (/soccer) hooligan fights and riots, the police don't use rubber bullets, they just get a bunch of police cordons out with full body armor and shields (we call them turtles), and they split up and push back the fans, sometimes using tear-gas, but often not.

If someone wants to watch the show I mentioned:

+ YouTube Video

[coda]

Jail the killer cop is not enough. The cops (plural) need to be disarmed.
and the people need to be armed against them. It's urban warfare. How many more people need to die?

[warsie]

Some of the RCP people came to protest and apparently start some stuff, according to some 'community leaders' (mainly ministers and whatot). Those same minister said they weren't wanted. This is funny. The RCP may be many levels of bullshit but at least they provide a counter to the current system. Talk about shooting the person offering help......

(They didnt say it was 'RCP' but 'revolutionary communists' and I think the only people who were there now were the RCP. Source: I know RCP member who was there recently)

[ckaihatsu]

Milwaukee protest stands in solidarity with Ferguson

Demands justice for victims of police terror



By staff

Milwaukee, WI - Over 250 people gathered for a rally here, Aug. 16, to stand in solidarity with the struggle in Ferguson, Missouri, where more than a week of militant protests have erupted since 18-year-old Michael Brown was murdered by a Ferguson police officer. The Milwaukee demonstration also focused on the last couple years’ victims of police violence and white vigilantes. It was organized in coordination with the families of Dontre Hamilton, Corey Stingley and Derek Williams. Protesters demanded the immediate arrest of the racist killers. Dontre Hamilton, an unarmed 31-year-old Black man, was shot 15 times by a Milwaukee Police officer as he tried to take a nap on a public bench in Milwaukee this past spring. Corey Stingley – a 16-year-old Black child – was strangled by three adult white men after stealing and returning a bottle of alcohol at a corner store in the suburb of West Allis. Derek Williams, a 24-year-old Black father of three, begged for his life for over 30 minutes in the back of a Milwaukee Police squad car after he was violently arrested, eventually dying while an officer listened to music in the front seat of the squad, ignoring Williams’ cries for help. These cases happened in the last three years and none of those responsible for the murders have been held accountable for their actions. Protesters gathered in Red Arrow Park in downtown Milwaukee, the site of Dontre Hamilton's murder this past spring. Speakers pointed out that Michael Brown’s and the Milwaukee victims' murders did not happen in a vacuum, but rather these murders are part of the racist discrimination and national oppression African Americans have been facing for hundreds of years. Jorge Maya of Youth Empowered in the Struggle spoke, making the connection between the violence perpetrated against young Black men to that of the Milwaukee Police and Sheriff's Departments terrorizing immigrant communities in Milwaukee through deportation and racial profiling. "The police are not here to protect common people, they protect people with property. Just as innocent people like Michael Brown are arrested and killed for no reason, many immigrants are arrested and deported for having done nothing wrong. The system is not broken, it is working perfectly," said Maya. Micaela Magel of Students for Justice in Palestine spoke of the militarization of local police departments to U.S. imperialism, the ongoing assault on the Gaza strip and the occupation of Palestinian lands, stating, "From Milwaukee to Ferguson to Palestine, we demand the end to killings and oppression of innocent civilians." Police in the Saint Louis area as well as the Milwaukee County Sheriff have participated in a national ‘counter-terrorism’ training hosted in Israel to learn the newest techniques of their military. The protesters then marched in the street for several blocks to the Police Administration building where family members of Corey Stingley and Dontre Hamilton spoke. “See those police officers over there,” said Nate Hamilton, Dontre Hamilton’s brother, pointing towards two officers on motorcycles watching the crowd at the police station, “They don't give a fuck about us. We should be able to film them, ask them about their jobs but we can't … We have got to tear the walls down, that's what it said in the bible to tear the walls down.” The crowd, then about 100, marched toward the 43/94 highway to shut down the highway exit at 10th Street. The crowd stayed for an hour chanting “No justice, no peace” and “Hands up, don't shoot!” as cars began to pile up at the blocked exit. The Milwaukee County Sheriff's office was forced to eventually close the exit from the highway and allow the over a dozen cars to turn around to get back on the highway. The protesters had successfully shut down the major exit to downtown Milwaukee. The crowd then marched back towards the starting point of the rally, singing We Shall Not be Moved beginning the chorus with several of the names of murdered Black youth by police and white vigilantes in Milwaukee and the rest of the country. Demonstrators then shut down a major intersection in downtown Milwaukee at Water and Wisconsin Avenue, with Craig Stingley, Corey Stingley's dad, addressing the crowd. “Did my son deserve to die, because he stole some alcohol and then gave it back? Should Michael Brown have died for supposedly stealing some cigars? I know if that would have been a white boy he wouldn't have been killed…the plainest of all our civil rights is the right to life, and it was taken. These are hate crimes,” said Stingley. Everyone then marched back to Red Arrow Park for a moment of silence and closed the four-hour event out with a prayer for justice for families in Milwaukee, Ferguson and the world. This event was co-sponsored by Occupy Milwaukee, Occupy Coalition, Milwaukee Anti-War Committee, Youth Empowered in the Struggle, Students for Justice in Palestine, Ma'Ruf, the Milwaukee Committee to Stop FBI Repression and African American Roundtable.

Read more News and Views from the Peoples Struggle at http://www.fightbacknews.org. You can write to us at [email protected]

[ckaihatsu]

---

Jail the killer cop is not enough. The cops (plural) need to be disarmed.
and the people need to be armed against them. It's urban warfare. How many more people need to die?

The Black Panther Party or BPP (originally the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense) was a black revolutionary socialist organization active in the United States from 1966 until 1982. The Black Panther Party achieved national and international notoriety through its involvement in the Black Power movement and U.S. politics of the 1960s and 1970s.[4]

The Black Panther Party's most widely known programs were its armed citizens' patrols to evaluate behavior of police officers and [...] their confrontational, militant, and violent tactics against police.[7][8][9]

Huey Newton and Bobby Seale founded the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense on October 15, 1966. They drafted the party's first 10-point platform. Sixteen-year-old Bobby Hutton was their first recruit. The organization initially set forth a doctrine calling primarily for the protection of black neighborhoods from police brutality.[16]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Panther_Party

[Hagalaz]

Fight to stop police terror - justice for Michael Brown!

By Freedom Road Socialist Organization

On Aug. 9, Michael Brown was murdered by the police in Ferguson, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis. The African-American youth was only 18 years old. He was unarmed and committed no crime, yet was brutally shot by the police after they stopped and harassed him while he walked to his grandmother's house. Michael had a bright future ahead of him, as he was set to start classes at Vatterott College just a few days later. His family was proud of their son.

Two witnesses say that Michael had his hands up in the air when the police officer fired several shots, killing him. After murdering him, the police left his body for hours on the street, showing a total lack of respect. The next day, during a candlelight vigil, clashes broke out once again in Ferguson. The people's rebellion lasted late into the night. The police had wrongly murdered a community member and the people of Ferguson wanted justice.

The murder of Michael Brown, as well as the murder of others like Eric Garner, Jordan Davis and Trayvon Martin, shows that the system of national oppression is alive and well in the U.S. The police are the day-to-day enforcers of this system and they remind us of this with every Black man they murder.

Just as one of the foundations of the U.S. economy was profits from slavery, the U.S. legal system began with a constitution that said that African Americans were only three-fifths of a person. In 1857, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that African slaves and their children have no rights in the U.S., in the case of Dred Scott v. Sanford. Then in 1896, the Supreme Court ruled that segregation was constitutional in the case of Plessy v. Ferguson. And early last year, the U.S. Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act, opening the door for racist local and state governments to exclude Black and Brown voters from the polls.

Even though an African American man has been elected president and there is a Black Attorney General, the law, the police and the courts are not about justice. They are there to protect the property, privilege and power of the monopoly capitalists - the richest 1% who own and control the companies and government that dominate the economy and society. They enforce the national oppression that African Americans face: the all-round, social, political and economic inequality of oppressed nationalities in the U.S.

The struggle for full equality and liberation by African Americans has been a powerful force for progress in the U.S. The sit-in by four African American college students at a segregated Woolworth’s lunch counter on Feb. 1, 1960 started a national movement of direct action to desegregate the South and to fight for Black political power. This movement, and the organization that arose out of it, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), was an inspiration to other oppressed nationalities, especially Asian Americans, Chicanos, Native Americans and Puerto Ricans, as well as the women’s movement, and the struggle of LGBTQ people.

Our experience has shown us that justice does not mainly come from the courts or elections. Nor does it mainly come from economic struggles, like boycotts. The fight for justice advances when the masses of working class people organize and show their power in the streets through militant mass actions such as rallies, marches, pickets, occupations, strikes, etc.

The way to get justice for Michael Brown lies through these militant mass actions. The Freedom Road Socialist Organization is calling for rallies and marches to demand justice for Michael Brown and to demand that the murderous cop be jailed. The people, not the police, are the makers of history and they will make their justice in the streets.

Stop Police Terror!

Jail the Killer Cop!

Justice for Michael Brown!

Read more News and Views from the Peoples Struggle at http://www.fightbacknews.org. You can write to us at [email protected]

Not that I condone the situation but most of your "facts" are wrong.

[Ele'ill]

which ones

[ckaihatsu]

Miami protest demands: ‘Justice for Michael Brown’



By Alekos Zambrano

Miami, FL - Around 100 protesters met on the Wolfston campus of Miami-Dade Community College, Aug. 14, to demand justice for Mike Brown. Led by groups like Dream Defenders, Miami Workers Center, and Power U, protesters held signs reading “Hands up don’t shoot!” and chanted “No justice, no peace, no killer police.”

In addition to demanding justice for Michael Brown, they also focused on the case of Israel Hernandez. Israel Hernandez, 18, known as Reefa to his peers, was murdered by Miami Beach Police a year ago to the day.

After chants and holding signs, the crowd formed four columns and marched silently through the small campus and into the Federal Building housing the U.S. Attorney’s office. They filled the lobby of the building and amid chants of “Hands up, don’t shoot,” and demanded to speak with U.S. Attorney Wilfredo Ferrer, who oversees the southern district of Florida. The group’s spokesperson presented a list of demands which included: Obama visit Ferguson; Jail the cops that killed Israel Hernandez and Mike Brown; Make Police wear body cameras, and for there to be an independent investigation of these teens murders.

“It is time for the federal government to reign in the Miami Beach Police Department, the Ferguson Police Department and other bigoted departments around the country with an established history of targeting and terrorizing communities of color," said Phillip Agnew of the Dream Defenders.

The group hoped to highlight the state violence Latino and Black communities face in America. They connected the Israel Hernandez case with Mike Brown’s case, as well as that of Eric Garner, Jordan Davis, Javon Neal, Trayvon Martin, Sean Bell and others.

After two hours of waiting, Wilfredo Ferrer failed to address the protesters. Police officers and U.S. Marshalls were then ordered to clear the lobby as the building was set to close for the night. Eight protesters, five women and three men, refused to move until they got an answer to their demands. They were arrested with their hands up and held on federal charges of disobeying a law enforcement officer and excessive noise. They were all released later that night and all vowed to keep fighting until justice was won for victims of police terror and the killer cops were jailed.

Read more News and Views from the Peoples Struggle at http://www.fightbacknews.org. You can write to us at [email protected]htbacknews.org

[ckaihatsu]

ARREST DARREN WILSON NOW!

JUSTICE DELAYED IS JUSTICE DENIED!

A well-orchestrated and coordinated campaign to protect and immunize Darren Wilson, the police officer who murdered Michael Brown, is well underway. It has several facets:

· Drag out the legal procedures for determining whether Wilson should be charged with a crime;

· Portray Wilson as a competent cop with an excellent record and a good family man;

· Focus not on the violence of the state but the disorder on the streets;

· Hold Brown responsible for what the police claim was a scuffle with Wilson over the officer's gun, which preceded the officer's execution of Brown;

· Publicize widely Brown's alleged robbery of cigarillos at a convenience store shortly before the officer shot him in the street; issue to the media a videotape and a 19-page police account of the robbery in a transparent attempt to divert attention away from Wilson's crime;

· Withhold Wilson's written report of the confrontation, other than the alleged struggle near and in the police car;

· Withhold information about gun residue on Brown's clothes -- if any -- which are in possession of the police;

· Withhold evidence, if there is any, of Brown's DNA on the gun;

· Withhold comment on Wilson's whereabouts when he suddenly disappeared from view;

· Make clear that Wilson remained in good graces with the authorities by placing him on paid administrative leave; and the police have never announced whether he was asked to surrender his gun and badge;

· Not announcing the results of the St. Louis County autopsy of Brown, other than leaking that he had marijuana in his system (Washington Post, August 18) when we were told that a toxicology report would take weeks;

· Spur the organizing of a right-wing, racist movement in defense of Wilson.

The list above is certainly not exhaustive. But it suffices to make clear that the police, the politicians and the power structure are prepared to wage an all-out fight to prevent Wilson from being arrested and brought to justice.

What is the legal requirement for making an arrest at this point? Or, as Brown's mother, Lesley McSpadden, asked in the aftermath of the autopsy performed by Dr. Michael Baden, a former New York City medical examiner, what else do they need to arrest the killer of my son?

The answer to her question is that nothing more is needed. All that has to be shown to justify an arrest is that there is "probable cause" to believe that a crime has been committed and that the perpetrator is the one being arrested for committing the crime. The results of the Baden autopsy and the statements of eyewitnesses are more than enough to show probable cause in this case.

The Wall Street Journal article of August 19 on the slaying of Michael Brown states "Probe Likely to Take Weeks, Officials Say." NBC News quotes prosecutors as saying it will likely take months.

This will not fly. Justice delayed is justice denied! "NO JUSTICE, NO PEACE!" is the chant most widely heard on the streets.

Need for the Labor Movement, the Civil Rights Movement
and All Progressive Forces to Mobilize

We in the labor movement have a great stake in the outcome of this fight. The same is true of the civil rights movement and all progressive forces. This is a showdown between the racists and those committed to equal rights, human rights, dignity for people of color, and due process.

We cannot depend on politicians and authority figures to make right what is so shockingly wrong. President Barack Obama, Governor Jay Nixon of Missouri and Captain Ron Johnson of the State Highway Patrol are the three most-quoted figures in this conflict. All three have one thing in common: None call for the arrest now of Wilson. Each, instead, urges people in the streets to be calm, orderly, patient and let the investigations run their course. They would like nothing better than to have protesters abandon the streets. But the opposite is what's needed. The streets should be flooded in solidarity with Michael Brown, his family, and with the African American community in Ferguson and their allies, marching behind a banner that demands "Arrest Darren Wilson Now! Justice for Michael Brown!"

The labor movement and our community partners can make the difference. We cannot afford the kind of defeat experienced in the Trayvon Martin case. It's time now to organize a March on Ferguson and give meaning to the word SOLIDARITY. Let's urge the protesters in Ferguson to hang in there and -- in the words of the great labor song -- "Hold the Fort, For We Are Coming!"

Issued by the Labor Fightback Network. For more information, please call 973-944-8975 or email [email protected] or write Labor Fightback Network, P.O. Box 187, Flanders, NJ 07836 or visit our website at laborfightback.org. Facebook link : https://www.facebook.com/laborfightback

Donations to help fund the Labor Fightback Network based on its program of solidarity and labor-community unity are necessary for our work to continue and will be much appreciated. Please make checks payable to Labor Fightback Network and mail to the above P.O. Box or you can make a contribution online. Thanks!

[ckaihatsu]

Mayor Rahm Emanuel speech disrupted at pro-Israel event



By staff

Chicago, IL - 150 protesters confronted the Jewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago as it rallied in support of the murderous Israeli war on Gaza, Aug. 21. Palestinian flags flew alongside a big cardboard sign that read, “Occupation is a crime, From Ferguson to Palestine.”

The Students for Justice in Palestine organized a die-in on the sidewalk in front of the Hilton and Towers hotel. Meanwhile, a dozen activists with Jewish Voice for Peace, the Anti-War Committee, and others repeatedly disrupted the speeches by Mayor Rahm Emanuel and an Israeli Defense Forces soldier who had participated in the attacks on Gaza.

Hatem Abudayyeh of the Chicago Coalition for Justice in Palestine and the U.S. Palestinian Community Network reminded the crowd at the end of the protest of the victory scored in Oakland, California when Palestinians and their supporters, along with the members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union stopped an Israeli ship from unloading at the docks. Kait McIntyre of the Anti-War Committee urged people to come to court Aug. 26 at 9:00 a.m., 555 W. Harrison, to support those arrested at the protest against Boeing Company in July.

Read more News and Views from the Peoples Struggle at http://www.fightbacknews.org. You can write to us at [email protected]

[ckaihatsu]

Tampa community fights police brutality, shows solidarity with Mike Brown



By Jared Hamil

Tampa, FL - On a rainy afternoon, Aug. 23, 70 people rallied in downtown here, demanding justice for Mike Brown of Ferguson, Missouri. Gathering at Lykes Gaslight Park, the people protested outside the Tampa Police Department and the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Middle District of Florida. Protesters showed solidarity with the people fighting back in Ferguson by demanding the jailing of killer cops in Tampa.

Alekos Zambrano of Tampa Dream Defenders said, "We are here today to demand justice. We demand the immediate arrest and prosecution of the officer that shot Mike Brown. The immediate arrest and prosecution of the officer that killed Javon Neal. The immediate arrest and prosecution of the officer that killed Arthur Greene. We believe that these demands are reasonable. We believe that these demands are just. We also demand that here in Tampa, the police wear forward facing cameras so we no longer have to take their word for it, when they tell us that our young sisters and brothers forced them to pull the trigger. And we demand the police records of arrest, detainment and questioning, not ending in conviction. This way we can prove that stop and frisk exist in Tampa, and that harassment and profiling exist in Tampa as standard practice. And in this way we can have a fighting chance at changing racist policies and demanding justice for our murdered children."

Tampa police gunned down Javon Neal, a 16-year-old African American with no criminal record on July 22. In another deadly incident, Arthur Green, a 63-year-old African American man, suffered a medical emergency due to diabetes. The diabetic episode caused him to swerve while driving and sideswipe two cars. Police pulled Green from his car and handcuffed him. While handcuffed Green stopped breathing and though EMTs revived him, he later died at the hospital.

In the rain, people chanted, "Hands up, don't shoot!" and "No justice, no peace, no killer police!" Catherine Lim, a local activist with Raices En Tampa said, "We will never see the end of racism unless all those who are oppressed are liberated. The enemy - whether it's racist police, the National Guard in Ferguson, or the U.S. military in my home country of the Philippines, they're counting on us to stay divided. While our struggles might not be the same, we need to remember the power of staying united. From Ferguson to Palestine, to the Philippines, and to Tampa, Florida, solidarity!"

From Lykes Gaslight Park, the protesters marched to Tampa Police headquarters. They threw open the doors and marched up to the front desk. They demanded to speak with top police administrators. The protesters kept on chanting, as more police entered the lobby. The police refused to meet with the protesters and kept saying there was nobody in the multiple-story building to meet with them. After the police refused to meet and hear their demands, protesters kept chanting. As more police came downstairs, the protesters regrouped outside of the building.

Tampa Dream Defenders and the community will fight again. Their current campaign is against police brutality in Tampa. They're demanding the jailing of local killer police, release of police records on arrests of local African-Americans, external investigation into TPD, and forward facing cameras placed on all local TPD officers.

Read more News and Views from the Peoples Struggle at http://www.fightbacknews.org. You can write to us at [email protected]

[ckaihatsu]

Salt Lake City: Justice for Dillon Taylor, Mike Brown, Danielle Willard



By staff

Salt Lake City, UT - More than 30 people marched through the streets here, Aug. 25, to demand justice for Dillon Taylor, Danielle Willard and Mike Brown. Protesters were outraged at the recent killing of Dillon Taylor, an unarmed man, at the hands of the Salt Lake City Police, as well as other killings by the police, such as Danielle Willard and Ferguson, Missouri’s Mike Brown. Gregory Lucero of the Revolutionary Students Union stated, “We have to stand against police brutality now, to demand that these killer cops get proper punishment and prevent this from happening ever again.” Protesters marched to several Utah landmarks, including the federal building, the state courthouse and the police department to make their voices heard. Speakers at each stop told of their stories about harassment and grief at the hands of Salt Lake City’s cops. At the police station, Dillon Taylor's aunt relayed a message of hope and support to the protesters, thanking them for their determination to fight police brutality. Fatima Badran, the organizer of the protest, also spoke to those in the march, saying, “This is how justice is won. By making our voices heard and standing up against police brutality, we can make a difference.” The march is one among many across the county this past week in a show of solidarity with protesters in Ferguson. The demands of the march included justice for the people of Ferguson and removing the National Guard. The crowd also called for harsh punishment for the officer who killed Utah’s Dillon Taylor. Christopher Manor, of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) stated, “These actions show people locally that the same systems of oppression that are being faced around the country are still present and problematic here and that we can fight them.”

Read more News and Views from the Peoples Struggle at http://www.fightbacknews.org. You can write to us at [email protected]

[ckaihatsu]

Chicago students rally for Michael Brown on first day of school



By Kait McIntyre

Chicago, IL - On, Aug. 25, 250 people gathered in the University of Illinois-Chicago (UIC) campus quad to commemorate Michael Brown. UIC was one the colleges across the U.S. to hold demonstrations and student walk-outs on the day of Brown's funeral. At UIC, speakers read a list of Black lives lost as a result of police brutality. The UIC action was called by the Black Student Union (BSU). The national call for protests said Aug. 25 should have been Mike Brown's first day of college had he not been the victim of a racist police murder.

Evan Taylor, outreach chair of the BSU, challenged the university to reaffirm its alleged commitment to diversity. Taylor explained that, while UIC claims to be one of the most diverse universities in the country, the Black student population, in addition to their graduation and retention rates, has been declining. And, although UIC is a research institution, little to no research has been done on this issue.

The demonstration ended with the chant that Brown's death has inspired, “Hands up; don't shoot!”

Read more News and Views from the Peoples Struggle at http://www.fightbacknews.org. You can write to us at [email protected]

[Decolonize The Left]

^ ... and... banned.

[ckaihatsu]

Black and Brown solidarity rally condemns deportations, police brutality in Milwaukee



By staff

Milwaukee, WI - More than 100 people gathered at a rally, Sept. 26 at the Milwaukee Area Technical College (MATC) to condemn deportations and police brutality. Timed to coincide with a talk by Michelle Alexander, the author of The New Jim Crow, the rally brought together two of the largest movements in Milwaukee. One is the movement against the mass deportations of undocumented immigrants, gathered around Youth Empowered in the Struggle (YES) and its parent organization Voces de la Frontera. The other important movement is against police brutality and mass incarceration, gathered around a number of community leaders and the families of police brutality victims. Speaking to the gathered crowd, State Representative-elect David Bowen condemned the deaths of young African-American men at the hands of police. Next from Voces de la Frontera, Executive Director Christine Neumann-Ortiz denounced “the private prison system that profits from filling its beds with undocumented immigrants.” Then Angela Walker, socialist candidate for county sheriff, explained, “The historic tactic of the ruling class is to divide oppressed peoples against one another. By holding rallies like this we are challenging oppression and exploitation.” Nate Hamilton, brother of Dontre Hamilton who was murdered by the Milwaukee Police Department, implored, “We need unity between Black and Brown communities. We call on all forces to rally this upcoming Tuesday at Red Arrow Park, the site of my brother’s murder, to mark the fifth month anniversary of his death.” MATC community college students led the rally. Youth Empowered in the Struggle at MATC founder Mario Gomez laid the foundation for the rally by looking at the common denominator between mass deportation and mass incarceration - class exploitation and national oppression. Gomez spoke directly, “Let’s be honest, they’re targeting the working class. They’re not targeting just anybody. They’re not out here targeting and deporting rich Europeans and Canadians. They’re targeting the working class, and as a proud member of that working class, at the largest working class college in Wisconsin, we’ve got to start fighting back!” The rally maintained a high level of enthusiasm throughout, and ended with YES leading the crowd in a Unity Clap, inspired by the farmworkers struggle of the 1960s and 1970s. All participants were invited to a lunch social afterward, hosting by the MATC student organizations. Co-sponsors of the rally included: Youth Empowered in the Struggle, Youth Empowered in the Struggle - MATC, MATC Black Student Union, MATC Latino Student Organization, Voces de la Frontera, and the African American Roundtable.

Read more News and Views from the Peoples Struggle at http://www.fightbacknews.org. You can write to us at [email protected]

[ckaihatsu]

DEMAND JUSTICE FOR MICHAEL BROWN -- DEMONSTRATE IN FERGUSON ON OCTOBER 10-13!

August 9, 2014 -- that is truly a day that will live in infamy. It is the day when a Ferguson police officer gunned down unarmed teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. His body was left unattended to for hours on the street in the hot summer sun, and neither family nor friends were even able to cover him.

Darren Wilson, the cop that did the killing, is still a free man, drawing full pay from the Ferguson police force. He has yet to tell his story publicly as to what happened, so the public is left in the dark. Meanwhile, in a highly provocative action, police in Ferguson began wearing "I Am Darren Wilson" bracelets until federal officials persuaded them to take them off.

In the past two months, the African American community in Ferguson, together with its many supporters, has been seething with anger. But along with that, activists have been organizing, and have called "A Weekend of Resistance" for October 10-13. Among the actions planned during those days is a march to the prosecutor's office, which is certainly needed in view of his record of shielding white police officers from prosecution, despite their having killed unarmed Black people.

From the beginning, the Labor Fightback Network, along with countless other organizations and individuals, has been demanding the immediate arrest of Wilson. He must be held accountable for what eyewitnesses on the scene -- whose version of the events has not been refuted publicly so far by Wilson or the police -- have described as his flagrantly unjustified shooting.

We strongly believe that the key factor in determining whether the Grand Jury will allow Wilson to walk is the magnitude of the movement demanding justice for Michael Brown. That is why the actions called for October 10-13-- and the ones that will surely follow -- are so critically important.

The key to the situation, in our judgment, is the extent to which the labor movement, particularly in the states contiguous to Missouri but also in other parts of the country, together with its allies and partners, will make the October actions as massive as possible. Surely the racist character of the Brown killing, together with the pattern of oppression, discrimiation, and victimization of the African American community in Ferguson, warrant such labor action now. Brown's mother is a member of the United Food and Commercial Workers union. The situation underscores the importance of the age-old labor principle that an injury to one is an injury to all.

The whole world is watching what is transpiring these days in Ferguson. If Wilson is allowed to walk free of the charges without so much as a trial, the hypocrisy of the U.S. "justice system" will be apparent to all who are not blinded by racist poison. But in addition, if labor, with the exception of progressive local unions here and there, is passive and fails to mobilize its ranks in solidarity with the Brown family and the working class in Ferguson, it will be subject to sharp criticism -- and legitimately so.

To our brothers and sisters in the labor movement, we urge you to pull out all the stops at this moment of crisis. Let us together do everything we can to win our unions to galvanizing a turnout so large as to help make the difference. Demanding Justice for Michael Brown without combining that demand with action will not win the day.

Join us in Ferguson on October 10-13!

Issued by the Labor Fightback Network. For more information, please call 973-944-8975 or email [email protected] or write Labor Fightback Network, P.O. Box 187, Flanders, NJ 07836 or visit our website at laborfightback.org. Facebook link : https://www.facebook.com/laborfightback

Donations to help fund the Labor Fightback Network based on its program of solidarity and labor-community unity are necessary for our work to continue and will be much appreciated. Please make checks payable to Labor Fightback Network and mail to the above P.O. Box or you can make a contribution online. Thanks!

[ckaihatsu]

Milwaukee needs a new sheriff: Interview with Angela Walker

By staff

Milwaukee WI - For the first time in Milwaukee's history, an African American woman is running as a socialist candidate for the office of Milwaukee county sheriff. The following is an interview that that Fight Back! conducted with Walker. For more information about her campaign, see Angela N Walker for Milwaukee County Sheriff

Fight Back! asked Angela Walker to describe her campaign. Here is her response:

I believe a socialist can play a big role in the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office. The sheriff is primarily an administrative position, overseeing the operations of the office in the jail, House of Correction and county entities, including parks and transit. I believe there is a need for an approach that considers the needs of the people of Milwaukee County as well as the people who are employed in the sheriff's office. If we look at this office as part of the infrastructure of our county and its role as true public service rather than the customer-oriented view the current sheriff takes, we will get a different result.

I decided to run for sheriff’s office because I think a social justice approach needs to be taken to address the poverty and systemic racism that keeps people trapped in circumstances they did not create and do not want to live in. If we want a safer, healthier county, the needs of all residents must be addressed.

Capitalism impacts policing in a variety of different ways I think. One way is through residency requirements. The people policing the streets here do not want to live in the city in which they serve and that makes a difference. There is class conflict exacerbated by racism that results in officers who don't understand or care for the people who live in this city. The federal government's policy of giving military equipment to local law enforcement entities is a huge problem, because when you have the weapons, you need to find reasons to use them. The epically failed ‘War on Drugs’ and mass incarceration, the systematic defunding and closing of public schools, the industry that is prison construction and staffing - you are talking about the commodification of human beings and human suffering. It is disgusting.

I think that as we see more people being denied access to living-wage work, safe and healthy housing, good healthcare, robust transit and public schools, all the things that people are supposed to have in a functioning society, you will keep seeing the kind of violence on our streets that we are seeing now. Add to that the removal from communities of people who could be productive and present for their families through over-incarceration, you have instability. Social safety nets like food stamps and unemployment insurance are being cut past the bone and people are seriously in need and not being helped. Poverty is a direct cause of crime and that is not being addressed here now.

I am opposing the current sheriff because his approach is completely wrong for the issues this county is facing. This is not the time for political pandering to right-wing forces that have no interest in the well being of the inner city or the people affected by hurtful policies. This is what the current sheriff has done and continues to do. We who live in this county need elected officials who are fully aware of the impact of punitive and restrictive policies on marginalized communities. There has to be an awareness of the role systemic racism and class conflict play in keeping people from accessing the resources to live better lives. The current sheriff does not believe in alternatives to incarceration, working cooperatively with other county government and city government agencies, or with community groups that work for social justice. He blames the poor for their condition, and does not consider the structures in place that keep poor folks poor. There is no time for that kind of thinking here, not when so many are suffering. His "tough on crime" stance has not alleviated crime on our streets.

My primary plans for the sheriff's office include working with community groups to address ways to end mass incarceration in this county. Manpower is being wasted in locking up people for nonviolent marijuana offenses, and assisting in ICE raids that terrorize our communities. I'd be interested to see how deputies are being deployed and where they could better serve. I want to restore programming to the House of Correction and revamp policies so inmates have educational options and services available. I am interested in expanding programs like the Huber work program, so inmates who can be productive have that opportunity. I will do what I can to keep people from being removed from their homes by banks. There is too much blight in this city, and foreclosed homes do nothing to add to the community. I am very interested in creating a work environment for deputies and other staff that fosters open communication and clear objectives, as well as mutual respect and respect for the members of this community at large. I want to work with groups addressing human trafficking and help end it here.

As to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids, unless there is a specific warrant for a specific individual that has committed a specific crime; I have no intention of expending manpower to help terrorize members of this community. There is a county ordinance on the books that gives the sheriff's office latitude on this. I do not believe in the indefinite detention of people, especially not of folks who have not committed violent crimes.

Excessive and/or lethal force must be addressed by law enforcement. I want to explore nonlethal and more effective ways of dealing with conflicts in the jail and the House of Correction, and on the street when applicable. We cannot forget that public trust and accountability are essential.

I believe that advocating for living-wage work, fully funded and available educational opportunities, particularly for youth, and services that help families sustain themselves are necessary to reduce recidivism. People who have been incarcerated need strong communities with resources that will help them get back to work or school, and be productive where they are. I also want the voting rights of people who have been incarcerated restored to them immediately upon release. We need to be able to respect the humanity of those who have been locked up, and the presence of community support will help with this. I would be able to implement these policies by working with organizations and legislators to build them and put them in place.

I think the biggest challenges, from where I am standing, for people who are incarcerated right now are reintegration into the community, family restoration and finding living-wage work or educational opportunities. Many, if not most, people who are released from jail or prison are reentering the community with the burden of financial obligations to the county and state hanging over them. How are they supposed to address this when there are no structures in place to help them? And currently, there are very few. We can work on that.

If I am elected, I will be the first African-American woman socialist elected as Milwaukee County Sheriff. That is pretty historic, especially at a time when people are realizing that the two-party system this country uses is not working for them. There are a whole lot of folks looking to independents to make the changes they want to see, and I think that it is empowering. When people realize their own power, realize that they can stand up outside of this system, without money or corporate backing, and run candidates who stand for what they believe in, it is awesome. People who truly represent people whose issues have been ignored can make giant impacts across this country. I am excited about the prospects.

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