Some lessons in the battle against corporate dictatorship

 
A major battle against corporate dictatorship and for democracy has been won in Benton Harbor! Rev. Edward Pinkney is free at last! Now, after spending 2-1/2 years in jail for a crime he always denied committing, the Michigan Supreme Court unanimously ruled he should never have been prosecuted. This victory could not have happened without people all over the country rallying in defense of Rev. Pinkney, the people of Benton Harbor and the fight for democracy.
But the war is not over. Benton Harbor is still poverty-stricken and under the thumb of the giant corporations, as is much of America. We must stand on this victory to carry the fight forward for a democratic America. Democracy is the rule of the people as this victory shows. But until the people, not corporations, rule society, we can’t have true democracy. And, we can’t rule if we are living in the streets or working two or three jobs just to survive. Benton Harbor showed that the corporations, their government and police forces control everything—whether we eat, live or die, whether we are housed or whether we get justice in the courts. The only way we’re going to achieve true democracy is if we build a huge movement to take power away from the corporations.
The defense of our leaders is critical to building such a movement. People fought for Rev. Pinkney’s freedom because of the injustices; because of his warnings of the dangers of Michigan’s emergency manager dictatorship; and because he exhibited the characteristics of a new kind of leader—one who cannot be bought off or side tracked from a consistent fight for the needs of the people. When leaders like Rev. Pinkney come under attack, we must always defend them—or else we can’t win.
The People’s Tribune has been in this fight from the beginning. We opened our pages to Rev. Pinkney and the people in Benton Harbor because their struggle crystalized the fight against the growing corporate dictatorship all over America. We urge you to take this paper out and help awaken America before it is too late. Learn more about the Benton Harbor struggle by ordering copies of the People’s Tribune pamphlet Benton Harbor, MI: Fighting the Corporate Dictatorship in America’s Rust Belt. To order, e-mail info@peoplestribune.org or call 800-691-6888. A $5 donation is suggested for each pamphlet.
To schedule Rev. Pinkney as a speaker, contact Speakers for a New America at 800-691-6888 or e-mail info@speakersforanewamerica.com.

the Editors, People’s Tribune

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