The murder of George Floyd: All lives can’t matter until black lives matter

Latest

Protest, Black Lives Matter, Lansing, MI
Photo/daymonjhartley.com

 
We are living in a history-changing moment. The brutal, heartless public lynching of George Floyd touched a nerve worldwide. Hundreds of thousands of people of all colors, ethnicities and genders have hit the streets of US cities day after day, demanding that America confront the institutionalized racism that American capitalism has been built upon. Millions more are demonstrating across the world.
The central demand of the demonstrations is that America recognize that black lives matter. This includes that killer cops be tried for murder; that the campaign of police terror against black Americans be stopped; and that money be shifted from policing and mass incarceration to financing economic development in communities of color to help bridge the staggering racial wealth gap. Others call for disbanding the police.
The broad-based demand for real change sparked by George Floyd’s murder is profound. A huge number of the protesters are white, especially white youth. Protests are occurring in every state, and from small towns to big cities. In many cases the demonstrators face vicious, unprovoked attacks by the police, but refuse to back down. All this is taking place in the context of a systemic economic crisis that has evolved over decades, and which is leaving hundreds of millions of Americans in poverty and young people with no future.
Today we see millions of Americans rejecting racism as immoral, and rejecting an economic system that offers them no future. This is of critical importance. Racism—particularly anti-black racism—has historically been used to get the American people, especially the whites, to support the policies of the billionaires, keeping the whole of America divided and under the heel of the powerful. Thus, the multi-color character of the demonstrations and the repudiation of racism reflected in them is significant: It is a threat to the powers that be. A people united across lines of color and nationality can get control of this country and run it in the people’s interest. Repudiating racism is key to the unity needed to create a new America. All lives can’t matter until black lives matter.
 

Fifth of 7 days of protest organized by New Orleans Workers Group and Take ‘Em Down NOLA.

 
http://peoplestribune.org/pt-news/2020/06/voices-from-the-fight/

Breonna Taylor’s boyfriend speaks out

Jacob Blake’s sister: ‘I want change!’


 

PT Logo collage
+ Articles by this author

Free to republish but please credit the People's Tribune. Visit us at www.peoplestribune.org, email peoplestribune@gmail.com, or call 773-486-3551.

The People’s Tribune brings you articles written by individuals or organizations, along with our own reporting. Bylined articles reflect the views of the authors. Unsigned articles reflect the views of the editorial board. Please credit the source when sharing: ©2024 peoplestribune.org. Please donate to help us keep bringing you voices of the movement. Click here. We’re all volunteer, no paid staff.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Featured

A Love Letter to Altadena

Our elected officials seem unable or unwilling to keep the financial vultures out of Altadena. We can only win if we fight together to ensure our future.

The Urgency of Unity to Tackle Climate Destroyers

As thousands remain homeless and vulnerable to the negative effects of global warming, Trump is doubling down on opening new leases to fossil fuel corporations.

Where’s Trump? America’s Poorest Counties Devastated by Historic Flooding Speak Out.

West Virginia people devastated by the flooding are crying out for help from the Trump administration. They speak on whether FEMA should be abolished, as Trump is proposing.

An All-American Nightmare

The machinery of mass deportation has been set up in a nightmarish fashion. It is meant to be impossible to stop — or to appear that way. But, like any machine, it can be brought to a halt, when understood.

As ICE Jails Palestinian Protester, Universities Must Commit to Academic Freedom

University faculty call on everyone, on behalf of Mahmoud Khalil, Columbia graduate detained by ICE, to organize on behalf of those who are today's targets, supporting academic freedom and free expression before it is too late.

More from the People's Tribune