57 Years After the 1963 March on Washington.

 

  

Today, it is 57 years after the 1963 March on Washington. On this day (on August 28, 2020), many protesters are at the Lincoln Memorial to protest police brutality, racial injustice, and oppression in general. Many people are right to mention the fact that poverty, health care disparities, and unjust police conduct are acts of violence against human beings. We know of the sociological proofs of economic and racial disparities involving the criminal justice system, education, health care, and the wealth gap. That is why moderate prescriptions won't solve these problems. Only structural, revolutionary change is the necessary solution to eliminate structures of oppression. The deaths of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and other black people outline the pure reality that black lives aren't respected by many quarters of American society. John Lewis peacefully protesting 65 years ago and still being brutalized by the police proves that respectability politics won't eliminate police misconduct. The 1963 March on Washington was not only about fighting to end Jim Crow apartheid (which ought to be gone, because it is unjust for the government to force people against their wills to experience second class citizenship). The proposals of the 1963 march wanted a living wage, an end to police brutality, fair education, investments to end poverty, and developing workers' rights. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and other people (like John Lewis, Cleveland Robinson, Bayard Rustin, Daisy Bates, Anna Arnold Hedgeman, A. Philip Randolph, etc.) were involved in creating the march in the first place. 

 

The 1963 March on Washington showed how grassroots organization can work to confront injustice. Dr. King's I Have a Dream speech proclaimed not only the dream but a condemnation of how society functions. It was about how society was insufficient in dealing with the blatant oppression that black people were going thorough. Many women were in the march, but some women were fortunately restricted to speak. Even John Lewis was told to moderate his speech about the Kennedy administration. Lewis did it out of respect for A. Philip Randolph. Randolph wanted to have a March on Washington back in the 1940's, but FDR promised changes in confronting discrimination policies during WWII. Today, in 2020, the March on Washington certainly allows people to focus on how class oppression, racial injustice, and other evils still plague the world. Martin Luther King III and her daughter spoke powerfully and eloquently on their goal to make liberty real socially and economically. They oppose gun violence and police brutality too. As Dr. King moved more into the left before his passing, many of the establishment (including some moderate/conservative civil rights leaders plus far right extremsits like Reagan) criticized him for his anti- Vietnam War stance and his promotion of the Poor Peoples's Campaign (which was a multi ethnic movement for the fundamental ending of poverty in the world). Today, we are still witnessing violence like the man Jacob Blake being shot 7 times. That is why we want a stronger 1965 Voting Rights Act, and the fundamental creation of the Dream made real for all. 

 

We should realize the new times that we in. Kamala Harris said that we won't let vigilantes stop the goal of justice. She is right on that issue. Many of the people, who scapegoat protesters, are silent on vigilantes who travel state lines to harm human beings. The vigilante is Kyle Rittenhouse. Reports are showing that one protester who tried to save lives was Anthony Huber of Silver Lake. The police in Kenosha ignored people saying that Rittenhouse was guilty of taking the lives of 2 people. Rittenhouse supported the militia group called Kenosha Militia. In Kenosha, once cop said that he appreciates the militias and offered them some water. Such far right groups like the Proud Boys and the Boogaloo boys have gone into Kenosha too. Kenosha is a rust belt city that had closure of factories and a decline of manufacturing jobs. Trump has not only demonized protesters. He has praised candidates with links with the cult group of Qanon. That is why we should not only reject reactionary nonsense from Qanon and others. We should develop our political and social consciousness to stand up for real liberty.

 

 

Many sports athletes have been emotional about the recent events in Wisconsin and nationwide. Some have boycotted their games, and some have shown their experiences with fear that the next day could be their last days on Earth. From basketball, baseball, soccer, and football, many people have shown a willingness to oppose police brutality and oppression. Kenny Smith leaving the stage from the TNT basketball set represents the frustration with the status quo. Since the dawn of human history, black people have always stood up for freedom. This time is no different.

 

Yes, we have to protect our civil liberties. When the Patriot Act was passed in the States back in 2001, I opposed it on civil liberty grounds. When the NSA was caught using warrantless searches, I was opposed to that. Today, we have a President allowing agents without due process snatching people in the streets of Portland. We have a President who compares progressives to mob rule or even extremists. While the far right is wrong because of obvious reasons, the moderates are wrong too. They advocate the status quo when black folks had the status quo for hundreds of years without liberation. This social crisis has been further intensified with the coronavirus and the increase of record protests. The police institution has been created to protect the state and the enforcement of class rule. Many of them defend the property interests of the wealthy.  One member of Trump's campaign advisory board, named Mary Ann Mendoza, was caught promoting the anti-Semitic hoax of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. Pompeo promotes his war mongering, and we will continue to keep our eyes on the prize.

 

By Timothy