BROOKLYN, October 21 — Members of Progressive Labor Party joined the Committee for Justice for Kyam Livingston in a demonstration marking twenty-seven months since Kyam was killed by medical disregard in a holding cell.
On the 21st of each month, the Committee holds an event to call for the arrest and punishment of all those responsible for Kyam’s death. Tonight, family members of others killed by the racist NYPD joined in. Among those remembered was Shantel Davis, a 23-year-old Black woman murdered by racist kkkop Phillip Atkins on June 14, 2012. The unity of these families is an important part of the growing movement against racist police terror. That’s why we chant: “Kyam means we’ve got to fight back! Shantel means we’ve got to fight back!”
We heard from a mother and a sister who lost a family member to police murder. Black women are leading the fight against racist police terror. Their strength and stamina and fearlessness inspire us all.
Several members of PLP spoke about how all cops serve the interests of the capitalist ruling class. Racism is the bosses’ main tool to prevent workers from uniting in our class interest. As part of this plan of divide and conquer, Black, Latin, and immigrant workers face brutal oppression by police on a daily basis, from metal detectors in schools to stop-and-frisk in communities to mass incarceration in U.S. prisons and jails. Murder by cops—whether the weapon is a bullet or the denial of urgent medical care—is all racist terror. From New York to California, from Ayotzinapa, Mexico to Palestine, the bosses cannot and will not provide justice for our class. Their cops are free to kill again and again.
The rulers know they are vastly outnumbered by the working class. They cannot keep exploiting workers—and super-exploiting Black, Latin, Asian and immigrant workers—without using racist state terror. That’s why we chant, “Shut it down, shut it down, shut this racist system down!”
Tonight, when one speaker tried to argue that not all cops are bad, his remarks were swiftly rejected by the crowd. PLP doesn’t argue about individual cops; our job is to expose the role cops play in maintaining capitalist class rule. Our duty is to build working-class fightback. As Kyam’s mom said, “I still haven’t seen my daughter’s killer. How do I know which one did it?”
This struggle is a school for learning how to put communist ideas forward, to advance our vision of a world without racism, sexism, or inequality. We are unmasking the killers in blue and the killers in suits, along with the capitalist system that enables them. Our teachers are the women leading struggles for Kyam, Shantel and so many others.
We encourage all CHALLENGE readers to take the struggle for Kyam and Shantel into their schools and workplaces. Share this article with friends and start the discussion about who and what the cops serve. Turn your anger against capitalism into organized fightback. If you are in New York City, come out at noon Saturday, November 21, for the next Kyam demonstration. We will rally at Church Avenue and East 18th Street in Brooklyn.