Philadelphia, PA—The Black Community Control of Police (BCCP) working group of the Black is Back Coalition (BIBC) organized a march and rally for Black Community Control of the Police on Saturday, June 24th
The mobilization was entitled “Pigs in Our Hood Aint No Good—March on Ridge Ave!”
The rally was held at the community lot on 24th St and Cecil B Moore Ave deep within the oppressed and exploited North Philadelphia section of the city.
This lot was recently liberated by the Coalition, as we took initiative to clean up the trash from the grounds and decorate the wall with the red, black and green flag.
Several other organizations and collectives joined the BIBC, including the Philadelphia REAL Justice, RBG Fridays, Philly Socialists and others, some of whom made solidarity statements during the rally and other points of the mobilization.
The rally was followed by a march up Ridge Avenue, a major conduit normally relied upon by white power to transport black workers from our communities to the downtown section of the city.
Ridge Avenue: where our jobs exploit us; where we are forced to shop at opportunistic stores.
Action held in response to colonial oppression
Although the action came in the aftermath of the recent acquittal of the pig that murdered Philando Castille, and the recent acquittal of three other killer cops, the action was called before these high profile decisions were made by the colonial court system.
The march and rally enabled us to present the program (what we want and how to get it) of the organization we are calling on the people to join.
The program is based on the 19-point platform for Black Political Self Determination and is as follows:
Immediate withdrawal of the police from the oppressed and exploited Black Community
Black Community Control of the Police–the power to hire, fire, train and subpoena police forces in our community.
Right to armed self defense of the Black Community.
Bread, peace and Black Power for the Black Community. An end to the violence of police containment, poverty, drugs (chemical warfare) and colonialism (white foreign rule). We want reparations and self determination.
Pigs show up in force in an attempt to intimidate the community
Over an hour before the mobilization was scheduled to have started, the pigs flooded the area.
Undercovers rolled by on Rollerblades taking pictures of the organizers.
At the same time there were at least 10 marked cars parked on the block and nearby blocks where the rally was to be held.
Most striking however, was the body of 60 pigs on bicycle lined up in formation, looking as though they were prepared for some type of military confrontation.
Seasoned activists from the various groups who attended remarked at how they had never seen such a response from the police to actions they held in the past.
Our march and rally represented the resistance of black people from within the most oppressed sectors of our community.
Our program goes beyond hollow petty bourgeois slogans like “hands up don’t shoot” and “black lives matter.”
Our demand for Black community control of police, the right to armed self defense and reparations was informed by the reality that BLACK POWER MATTERS.
Reawakened black militancy and resistance in our oppressed community
The rally was a success and featured solidarity statements from attending organizations, as well as a political overview and chants led by the BIBC.
The highlight was when we took to the streets! We showed the people that we have a right to resist while explaining why we had a responsibility to resist.
As we made our way up Ridge Ave, the people were coming out of their homes to take video and pictures with their phones.
People’s heads came out of windows in project housing units and fists were raised high in militant solidarity! It was beautiful.
When we reached 29th and Ridge, we shut down the intersection and held a rally where more supporters spoke on the spot.
Comrade Nana Yaw Grant of the African Peoples Socialist Party called out neocolonial city councilman Darrell Grant and the people went wild-nodding their heads in agreement and shouting out “he’s a house nigger!”
We then made our way back down Ridge chanting some more, at last reaching our final destination and point of origin: the community lot on 24th and Cecil B. Moore.
Hundreds of copies of the BCCP newsletter entitled “Fist Up Fight Back” were distributed to the people and many signed our petition for Black Community Control of the Police.
A follow up meeting will occur on Sunday July 2 where our goal will be to win the masses in attendance to join the BCCP working group and participate in our efforts to build organization block by block, hood by hood.
To join the BCCP working group is to join an apparatus of block and neighborhood organizers through which the people now have leadership to turn to when dealing with struggles with the police in their respective areas.
If you’re interested in joining the BCCP working group in Philly or other locations, please contacts us: 267-504-6756
Uhuru!
