Brooklyn, NY, November 21 — Today the Justice for Kyam Livingston Committee held the latest monthly demonstration in its campaign to hold the racist prison kkkops accountable for the death of this 37-year-old Black woman in a Brooklyn Central Bookings holding cell.
Kyam’s family and the committee have guaranteed that each month there has been some action to mark the date of her death. Although there are similarities in the monthly actions, change has occurred as well. A core leadership has formed closer political and personal ties.
PL’ers in the committee have supported family members who have turned their grief and anger at their personal loss into organizing efforts. We have connected the dots from this racist murder to the other murders of Shantel Davis and Kimani Gray in Flatbush to the murder of Mike Brown in Ferguson and Eric Garner in Staten Island. Each was a case of systemic police terror.
Tonight, speakers from Church committees, unions, and neighbors joined the family in calling for Justice for Kyam. Speakers, including PL’ers, called for demonstrations when the grand jury’s verdict was announced. PL’ers reminded everyone of the history of no indictments in the past and not guilty verdicts when cases against cops came to trial. We also called into question the nature of capitalist society. Racism, it was pointed out, is the main way the capitalist rulers are able to exploit the entire working class. They divide both to conquer each. Terror is their weapon of intimidation.
What we see, after more than a year of demonstrations and speak-outs, is that the bosses’ tactics and lies can be defeated.
Months of struggle against being penned in during our demonstrations resulted in the barricades being removed.
Our regular presence has led to more neighbors, Black, Latin and white, stopping on their way home to listen to our speeches and chants, getting CHALLENGE and joining our demonstrations. Moreover, more participants agree that this racist system has got to go!