Vol. 80/No. 16 April 25, 2016
Why race-baiting weakens fight against cop brutality
Among the 20 people who came to hear Socialist Workers Party presidential candidate Alyson Kennedy and SWP candidate for Congress David Rosenfeld were several activists from the fight to prosecute the cops for the November killing of Jamar Clark, an unarmed young Black man. The district attorney announced March 30 he would not file charges against the officers, sparking renewed protests.
Thandisizwe Jackson-Nisan said she disagreed with the position of some protest leaders that Caucasians can’t participate in the fight as equals. She said at a recent demonstration a high school student wasn’t allowed to speak about organizing students “because they said he was white.”
“The multinational character and participation in the protests is a strength,” Rosenfeld said, pointing to the participation of Bill Kirvelay in a demonstration March 26, where he spoke about the killing of his brother Michael by the St. Paul police. The Kirvelays are Caucasian. “That strength is totally undermined by denying those considered to be white from speaking and participating in the leadership of the protests against police brutality.”
Marty Knaeble, an airline worker who came with another airport worker active in the fight for $15 and a union, commented, “Every worker who wants a union is up against obstacles. It’s important to bring workers from that fight to the Jamar Clark fight.”
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