BROOKLYN, NY, March 21—More than two and a half years have passed since Kyam Livingston was killed in Brooklyn Central Booking. The police killed Kyam, in a filthy holding cell, by ignoring her pleas for medical care. She had been arrested on a minor charge and never even came before a judge. Each month members of the Progressive Labor Party, along with relatives, friends, neighbors, members of churches and unions, and the Justice for Kyam Committee rally for justice for this racist, sexist police murder.
In the beginning of these monthly rallies, we used to chant, “We want the names! We want the tapes!” In the course of the struggle, the tapes that “didn’t exist” were found and showed the final heart wrenching hours of Kyam’s life as she pleaded with her jailers. Recently, through the court case, we obtained the names of the cops who were Kyam’s jailers in the central booking jail, and the names of all the cops who arrested her and transported her until she was in that cell.
Today, Kyam’s mom read the KKKop’s names to the crowd.
From Brooklyn Central Booking, they are: Shanika Howard, Charles Arthur, Alberta Dennison, Vanessa DeDanzine, Sergeant Linda Deena-Hornick, and Lieutenant Kareema Nevels.
From the 70th Precinct, they are: Michael Defede, Sergeant Matthew Fried, and Lieutenant Kurvin Manwaring.
From the 62nd Precinct: Hiram Riffas.
Kyam’s mother then said that she wanted to see their faces, and ask them why they let her daughter die.
An earlier speaker had spoken about the many other Black and Latin men and women who have been murdered by the police from NYC to Cleveland to Chicago, from South Carolina to Texas to California. We chanted, “white cop, black cop all the same racist terror is the name of their game!” Here in Flatbush, the racist killers of Kimani Gray, Shantel Davis as well as that of Kyam have gone unpunished. Now, Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson, whose office won a conviction of ex-cop Peter Liang in the killing Akai Gurley, is recommending no jail time for Liang.  Once again, the racist capitalist system—the courts, DAs, Mayors, Governors, and Presidents—protect and encourage killer kkkops.
After the officers’ names were read, the frustration built in the crowd and in Kyam’s family. A new chant arose, “If we don’t get it? Shut it down! For Kyam! Shut it down! Shut this racist system down!” With that, the multiracial crowd marched into the intersection and blocked traffic. Kyam’s mom led the crowd in the release of balloons of remembrance for the loss of this daughter of the working class. The bosses’ system may protect killer cops, but this working class neighborhood strongly supports our monthly demonstrations. Over 200 copies of CHALLENGE were distributed at the rally, and nods of agreement were evident from the various corners as we stopped traffic.
After the demonstration, several of the leaders and family friends got together to plan future events including PLP’s May Day March. Each month we call for justice, but must ask, is there justice for the working class under capitalism? Black workers, especially Black women workers, are hit the hardest under the profit system—and face constant demonization by the bosses’ press.
When the bosses’ kkkops murder one of our youth, the bosses’ media drag their name through the mud. 16 year-old Kimani Gray was murdered by the NYPD in East Flatbush, Brooklyn, on March 10, 2013. The bosses’ top newspaper, The New York Times, immediately ran an article entitled “Police Kill 16 Year-Old They Say Pointed a Handgun.” Not one eyewitness supported the police’s claim, despite the police claiming to have recovered Kimani’s gun.
More than three years later, the bosses’ media admitted that the NYPD had not found Kimani’s fingerprints on his alleged weapon. As witnesses submit testimony against the police during the wrongful-death lawsuit by Kimani’s mother, the evidence that the police framed Kimani continues to build.
These are just some of the examples of why workers must challenge whenever the bosses’ media slanders our youth, especially when the bosses’ kkkops are involved. How many more years will do we wait to for the bosses to admit they were wrong about so many other murders? The bosses’ justice system will never do justice for the working class. Joining in PLP’s fight for communist revolution is the best way to get justice for Kyam, and all of capitalism’s victims.