Revolutionary change is possible, Thushani Manthilaka
#Revolutionary change is possible With an internationalist mass movement against policing, Thushani
Manthilaka dives into why this time around the Black Lives Matter protests are unprecedented in nature.
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N JUNE 2020, GEORGE Floyd, a black man living in America, was murdered at the hands of the police. No arrests were made and so the people of Minneapolis took to the streets to protest against policing. Protestors marched. Looted stores. Spray painted ACAB (All Cops Are Bastards) and Fuck 12 on the walls. Burnt down a local police precinct.
and went on to refer to Ferguson protestors as ‘thugs’. Obama’s administration called in the US National Guard. The police reacted violently to the unrest in Ferguson and employed rubber bullets, smoke bombs, tear gas against the protestors. A protestor was shot in the midst of this battle.
Meanwhile, the police used military grade weapons like rubber bullets, smoke bombs and tear gas. They beat up protestors, threatened people, mass arrested crowds and set curfews. The US National Guard was also called in by the Trump administration.
Due to media suppression, the protests in Ferguson failed to create a mass movement across America but laid the groundwork for the Black Lives Matter movement today. Moreover, what makes the protests in Minneapolis unprecedented in nature was that these protests took place in the midst of a global pandemic. At a time where black people are disproportionately affected by COVID-19. Where unemployment is at an alltime high. Where people are being evicted from their homes and where material conditions are worsening each day for poor and working-class people.
It is fair to say that protesting against policing has led to more acts of fascist and violent policing, but it’s worth noting that this kind of civil unrest is not unprecedented. In 2014, Michael Brown, an 18-year-old black man, was murdered by the police. The grand jury did not indict the officers, and no arrests were made. So the people of Ferguson took to the streets. Obama responded to the protests by ultimately respecting the decision of the jury 96
