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Vol. 79/No. 38 October 26, 2015
Rally spurs discussion on
fight against racism
BY JAMES HARRIS
WASHINGTON — Many tens of thousands gathered at the National Mall here
for the “Justice or Else” demonstration Oct. 10. Called by Louis
Farrakhan, the leader of the Nation of Islam, it was also billed as a
commemoration of the 1995 Million Man March.
Many of those participating saw the action as a way to advance the fight
against police brutality. Signs and T-shirts with photos of people
killed by the cops dotted the crowd.
Others came to reaffirm the theme of the Oct. 16, 1995, rally when
hundreds of thousands of African-American workers, youth and
middle-class men turned out to demonstrate Black pride and reject an
image of Black men as violent criminals and an irresponsible “underclass.”
The Justice or Else website opened with the demand, “We want Justice for
Blacks in America who have given America 460 years of sweat and blood to
make her rich and powerful.” The second demand was for “an immediate end
to police brutality and mob attacks” followed by calls for “justice” for
Native American Indians, Mexicans and Latinos, women, the poor, the
incarcerated and veterans. The overwhelming majority of participants
were Black men and women.
On stage were family members of many of those killed by the cops or
vigilantes, including Michael Brown, Sr., father of Michael Brown;
Sabryna Fulton, mother of Trayvon Martin; and Sharon Cooper, sister of
Sandra Bland, who died in police custody in Texas. “The world has shown
us that we have to control our own narrative. I want to thank you and if
I could ask you to do one thing, say her name,” said Cooper. “Sandra
Bland,” responded the crowd.
Farrakhan spoke for two hours, denouncing racist discrimination, but
also raising demands and politics that undermine the interests of the
working class. Among his reactionary themes was opposition to women’s
right to choose abortion, the notion that the road forward for Blacks in
the U.S. is “for America to let us go, not integrate us,” and conspiracy
theories that take the eyes of fighters off the real enemy, the
capitalist class and their politicians.
At one point Farrakhan criticized those in Charleston, South Carolina,
who took the moral high ground when they refused to call for vengeance
against Dylann Storm Roof, the white supremacist who killed nine people
at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. Farrakhan said that
those who forgave Roof showed “cowardice.”
Near the end of the speech the Nation of Islam leader also slandered
Malcolm X.
The month before the rally, the U.S. Capitol Police sent out a
provocative email to its 1,800 officers claiming that there was
potential for violence from participants in the rally. But that attempt
to bait the event backfired and the cops were forced to disavow the
slander.
“I came to find others who want to fight against police injustice as
well as other injustices and to let people know what happened to my
son,” said Delphine Matthews, mother of Frank McQueen, who was killed by
the cops in Chester, Pennsylvania, on June 2, 2014. She distributed
leaflets about his death and an organization she formed to fight against
police injustice called “Direction, Voice and Light.”
Kwame Rose, 21, came with a group from Baltimore. Rose said he was
recently arrested at the second pretrial hearing for the police who
killed Freddie Gray in Baltimore. “It was what I call a ‘targeted
arrest’ because I was protesting,” he said. “Marching in the streets is
the kind of action that’s needed.”
“Probably the best thing that happened in 2015 was taking down the rebel
flag,” said Todd Barber, who drove up with 11 friends from Forest,
Mississippi. “You have to remember the violence it stood for. I’m here
to show unity, with my people.”
“For me, it’s necessary that we try to show young folks the legacy of
the struggle,” said Warren Price from Laborers Local 332 in
Philadelphia, who helped organize two union buses to the rally. “They
are the ones who hold the future.”
Janet Post and Arlene Rubinstein contributed to this article.
Related articles:
‘Jail Chicago cops who killed my son and lied!’
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