The May 25 murder of an African man, 46-year-old George Floyd, by the state of Minnesota in the form of the Minneapolis police department continues to incite and ignite the world.
His being accused of paying with a fake 20 dollar bill in a store led to his public execution by killer cop, Derek Chauvin. Chauvin held his knee on George Floyd’s neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds, strangling him to death as he lay face down in the street, his hands cuffed behind his back. Two other cops appear to have knelt on his body and another stood by and watched.
Due to the ensuing rebellions, the State has attempted to quell our atrage by arresting all four of the cops, charged with various degrees of murder and arrested. This is not enough!
By May 30, African people held uprisings around the country with others joining around the world in protest of the killing of George Floyd, including in the city of Philadelphia.
Curfews were instituted in many cities, including Philadelphia, in an attempt to quell both the figurative and literal fires which had been sparked by the righteous rebellions. The U.S. military is now an ominous presence in nearly every neighborhood in Philadelphia, both in the street and in the air.
Ahead of the rest of the world, on May 29, the African People’s Socialist Party organized protests in response to the colonial violence and the often fatal police occupation which continues to plague African communities around the country and the world.
In Philadelphia, we set up on the steps of the “roundhouse,” i.e. the police station located at 8th and Race Streets.
There were African detectives present but they did not interfere.
We stood in formation in front of the roundhouse, in full Party fashion with banners, bullhorns, signs, comrades and others who were eager to get the message to the people that the Party, the Vanguard of the African working class, was there to lead the masses.
We spoke our demands:
- The immediate withdrawal of the colonial police force from the African community everywhere.
An end to the public policy of police containment, to be replaced with a public policy of economic development. - Reparations to the family of George Floyd and the entire African Nation from the U.S. and western imperialist countries.
- Black Community Control of the Police, to deconstruct the colonial relationship that brings in the colonial police as a standing army.
- Then we chanted, “One Africa! One Nation!”, “Fists Up, Fight Back!” and other powerful chants.
It was a powerful demonstration of socialist revolution!
To join the fight, go to: apspuhuru.org
