------------------------- Via Workers World News Service Reprinted from the June 7, 2001 issue of Workers World newspaper ------------------------- EDITORIAL: ANTI-RACIST ACTION IN CINCINNATI Solidarity is not simply a good sentiment or the right thoughts. It exists only when there is action, when those who may not be faced personally with a problem step forward and take a stand alongside those in the hot seat. Solidarity is what is needed in Cincinnati, and solidarity is what will be on display June 2 when people from all over the country join residents of that city in demanding an end to police brutality and killings. The African American community in Cincinnati has been under virtual siege, or lockdown, since protests there against the police murder of Timothy Thomas--the fifth Black youth killed this winter--were brutally repressed, provoking a long-simmering rebellion. The cops shot at, tear gassed, beat and pepper sprayed protesters to restore "calm," but it is the calm of police terror, not the calm of justice. Under these circumstances a progressive coalition endorsed by 50 groups and prominent individuals formed in Cincinnati. It called on people around the country to show their support for the besieged Black community by joining a March for Justice. It was the right thing to do. While the rich national media won't train their spotlight on racist injustice in Cincinnati, progressives should show the authorities that they know exactly what is going on there and will not rest until the city heeds the demands of the African American community. The March for Justice calls on the city to stop police killings and the abuse of police power, end the police department's racist patterns and practices, and build social and economic justice. No one with any social conscience could fail to support such a broad and basic program. It was racist police repression that sparked the protests over Timothy Thomas's death, and it was racist police repression that escalated the protests into a four-day rebellion after demonstrators were maced, shot with rubber bullets and clubbed. More than 800 people were arrested during the rebellion, and 50 Black youth are still in jail. Many young people who have been part of the growing movement against globalization will be going to Cincinnati to demonstrate their solidarity with the African American community. Many of them will also be demanding amnesty for those arrested and the release of the people still behind bars. Amnesty is a proper demand. The young people now incarcerated or awaiting trial took part in a rebellion justified by years of oppression, exploitation and disenfranchisement of the Black community. Some of them are accused of theft, looting or the destruction of property. But a struggle for justice and liberty, when frustrated by overwhelming violence on the part of the state, usually takes the form of an attack on property. In 1773, the Sons of Liberty dumped 9,569 pounds sterling worth of precious Darjeeling tea into Boston Harbor to pro test the unjust taxes imposed by the British crown on the colonists. What was at issue in the Boston Tea Party was not really the value of that tea, but the right of a colonized people to govern themselves. In the same manner, the issue in Cincinnati is not the value of some sneakers or shop windows. It is the unremitting, centuries-old subjugation, exploitation and repression of African American people, and the particular brutality of the police that prevented the people from expressing their demands and grievances in an orderly and peaceful way. Under those circumstances, a rebellion was inevitable, just as it had been in 1773 and 1776. End racist police brutality! Build economic and social justice! Amnesty for all those arrested--to rebel against oppression is justified!! - END - (Copyright Workers World Service: Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document, but changing it is not allowed. For more information contact Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For subscription info send message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web: http://www.workers.org) ------------------ This message is sent to you by Workers World News Service. To subscribe, E-mail to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, E-mail to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To switch to the DIGEST mode, E-mail to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Send administrative queries to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
