I went to the Oakland protest about the murder of Tyre Nichols last night. It was a fairly good turnout and the speeches reflected that anger, and determination to put an end to this racist violence.

Note: Yes, it was black cops, but what is the background? The Scorpion police gang was organized to supposedly fight crime and violence in the black community. In reality, they were apparently just an out-of-control band of thugs. It’s guaranteed that they didn’t harass or brutalize any white people. Not only that, but the entire issue of crime and violence in the black community flows directly from racism in education and employment. So, yes, racism is at the core, as is capitalism itself.

Two points that really should be raised at these events:                           

Internationalism
First is the international aspect. Back in 2014, shortly after Michael Brown was killed by the Ferguson police, I went there and, among other things, did a series of interviews. Below, in this one, several young people talk about what was happening there and comment on the fact that at that very same time the Palestinian people were under assault by the Israeli police and army. Today, the same is true, not only for Palestine, but also Iran, Ukraine, and around the world. There is a rising level of violence and repression globally and police violence in the U.S. reflects this. We need to stress this and start to make direct international links.

Where were the unions?
Second is the total absence of the unions, the organized working class, from these events. That is because the union leadership represents the Democratic Party. That party, representing the capitalist class, hates and fears any mobilization of workers, since such a mobilization can easily get out of hand politically, and lead to the working class and the oppressed building a party of our own.

More photos