Statement by the Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism
May 23, 2001
The April 7, 2001 killing of an unarmed black youth, Timothy Thomas, by a Cincinnati police officer has drawn the attention of millions in the United States and throughout the world to the sharpening racial crisis of this American city. This event and the tensions gripping the city since have dramatically revealed the depth of the racism that has had this major city of the Mid-West in its hold for years.
Thomas was one of four African Americans shot to death by police in the past six months and one of fifteen killed in the past five years. No white persons have been killed by police during the same interval. What has happened symbolizes the continuing national menace of police violence directed against Black and Latino people, a menace perpetuated by the failure of the ruling corporate-political complex to protect the constitutional rights of people of color. This violence maintains racial subordination, keeps in place existing patterns of racial inequality in housing, employment, health care, education, the "justice" system and the electoral process. It is no coincidence that this episode erupted soon after the installation of George W. Bush in the White House, an installation following the exclusion of thousands of Black Floridians from the polls.
The Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism joins all persons of decency in condemning the murder of Timothy Thomas and demanding that those guilty of this crime be brought to justice. Individually and through the organizations we are affiliated with, all of us have a responsibility to speak out. The labor movement, with its millions of African American, Latino, Asian American, Native American, and white members, has a particular responsibility to make clear it will not tolerate official lawlessness. In the same way, religious institutions, educational centers, and community organizations must also take a strong stand on this crisis.
The various manifestations of violence that today mark our society tear apart the demagogic claims of contemporary racist ideologists that racism is only a matter of the past, that affirmative action is some kind of reverse discrimination, that claims for reparations by African Americans should be ridiculed and dismissed out of hand. For instance, the marketplace of ideas is polluted by the argument that racial disparities in the educational system will not be affected by increased public investment. Some have made a shibboleth of the words "political correctness" and have employed it to argue against educational institutions doing anything to check racist humiliation and insult of African Americans.
The United States stands as the great superpower of this era, taking up the role of global judge, jury and executioner. And much of our foreign policy also reflects the deeply imbedded racism of our culture. Instead of seeking constructive resolution to the ongoing conflicts of the Middle East, the U.S. government stands by as a massive anti-Arab campaign unfolds. Closer to home, Washington persists with its policy of economic and political Cold War against the Cuban people. Globalization is embraced as the formula for establishing the world hegemony of corporate conglomerates, while demands from the U.S. dominated World Bank and International Monetary Fund lead to drastic cuts in all social spending in most of the developing world.
While elected officials and business leaders speak of the moral leadership the United States is supposedly giving the world, here at home the "other America" persists. It is the America of millions living below the poverty line, millions denied access to health care, and the countless young people denied opportunity and destined for prisons. The current Administration in Washington, DC builds on this decades-old reality and expresses its contempt for the public by seeking to put into place an economic policy whose core is huge tax breaks for the wealthy. By contrast, we stand with the growing numbers of people throughout this country who are working to put the energies and resources of our nation into policies of democratization at home. And there is nothing more urgent than ending the reality of racism. Numerous studies resulting from commissions and innumerable verbal gestures have not led to change. Now, more than ever, action must be taken. Such action will not occur until there is a powerful multi-racial movement that will generate the creative tension needed for the battles of the next stage in the struggle for democracy.
In the aftermath of the police killing in New York City of Amadou Diallo two years ago, the Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism joined with others to demand that the U.S. Justice Department intervene to put an end to police killings. Today, with great urgency, we demand that U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft immediately: 1) bring changes against the police officer who killed Timothy Thomas and to investigate the Cincinnati Police Department for its murderous denial of the civil rights of the city's African American citizens; 2) vigorously and publicly condemn and work to undue the racist "shoot first and ask questions later" policy of the Cincinnati police department.
The struggle to stop police violence is being waged around the country. We urge trade unions, religious and community organizations, student groups, elected officials and others to call for immediate changes in policing practices to curb and finally end racist police tyranny in our cities, including: a) the establishment of Civilian Control Boards, b) residency requirements to ensure that police live in the cities they work in, c) re-institution of policing models where police officers literally walk the streets and community and police know one another, d) active recruitment of minorities for police forces, e) comprehensive training of police, including educating police officers about the communities they work in.
The CCDS joins in support of the "March for Justice" on June 2, 2001 in Cincinnati, organized by a coalition of organizations to demand an end to police killings and the police department's pattern of racist practices. All who cherish democracy must make their voices heard to end police killings in Cincinnati and throughout the country.
(For more information about the June 2nd protest, call 513-588-8883, or email the organizers at mfj@che-2000.org, or visit their web site at www.cincymarch.org)
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