Andrea Kirby, Working Class Party congressional candidate for 2018, contributed the following statement.
Media outlets will depict a version of the murders at the hands of the police and of the protests that erupted with opinions of a few powerful individuals who run the networks.
As a proud black mother and wife, their opinion can never block out the anguish I feel every time another black life is unjustly and horrifically taken. Or the feeling of looking into your son’s eyes and seeing his fear after being pulled over by the police.
The current protests taking place across the nation and world are a breath of fresh air. A renewed sense of hope in the power that our collectiveness can bring about real change to our society.
George Floyd is not the first Black man to be killed at the hands of the police. Not too long ago we were screaming outrage at the deaths of Freddie Gray, Philando Castile, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Sandra Bland and countless others. Many Black people have been feeling the pressure leading up to the most recent protest for decades.
This outrage is one we have suffered for hundreds of years. The tyranny over Blacks is ingrained in the fiber of this country. The oppression of Blacks and the poor are woven into policies and laws of this country since its creations. Blacks were once legally considered not a whole person.
This has been a narrative that we have been trying to change for far too long, with small and far in-between successes. This narrative cannot be changed in the same system that created it. The same system that once threatened, has learned how to retreat, regroup, rebrand the same message.
The gatherings we are seeing across the state, country and world are signs that Blacks are not the only ones tired of the same old narrative. No matter how big or small they report the number of participants, it shows that we are able to stand together for a common cause. The cause is not simply to have people agree that Black Lives Matter or that Juneteenth should be a national holiday. We need to come together to change the system that fights to keep us divided. This capitalist system thrives only by dominating over all the different parts of the population.
The real fight has to go beyond protesting to fix only one part of the problem, racism. We must organize beyond individual protests and hashtags by forming our own political party. A party that unites us as a class of working people, to stand independent of the two-party system that has dominated our political system for too long. These two parties have used our issues as pawns to advance the capitalist agenda, but our problems go unaddressed.
The current protests are shining the light on the many issues that the Black community has suffered from for many, many years. Just like how the Covid-19 virus has put the spotlight on many of the social disparities of those in the poorer communities to basic lifesaving essentials such as clean running water or adequate medical facilities.
Workers have proven over the past few months that we are the ones needed to keep this country running. We are the ones that have made the sacrifices every day to care for one another during this crisis. We have the power to change the narrative and transform this society forever.