Carl Dix Calling—From Baton Rouge
July 10, 2016 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us
Sent Saturday, July 9, 2016
Carl Dix (left) in Baton Rouge, July 9. Photo: Special to revcom.us
People here in Baton Rouge and around the country are continuing to stand up, not letting the focus be changed, not backing down, not buckling under to calls to go home. Let’s be clear, the egregious murders of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, on top of all the other cases of cops exonerated and of the savage oppression of Black people by the system, point to the reality of this system: They can’t stop this horror.
One reason, but only one reason, why we need revolution.
I’m here as part of a crew, including members of the Revolution Club, from around the country to bring the message that we are organizing for an actual revolution. As a crucial part of preparing for that, we are joining with and encouraging people to continue to fight.
Last night we joined 300 people protesting on three sides of an intersection near the Baton Rouge police HQ. This was a very angry crowd of mostly young people, both from the neighborhood where Alton Sterling was murdered and from Louisiana State University and Southern U. People were yelling and screaming their outrage at the murders by police and chanting “No Justice, No Peace.” There were many homemade signs. One poignant one was “I fear for Black sons... and I have not birthed yet.”
There was a battle for hours over whether the people’s anger would have initiative and continue being expressed. There were people urging the angry youth to go home. Some left, and many said no one could tell them to stop protesting. Police picked off some people one by one for a total of 30 arrests, as the local paper reported.
Many of the more defiant ones joined me in speaking out, telling their stories. The remaining crowd of 150 turned away from the police and marched along the road, leaving the cops behind and then sitting down on both sides of one of the main avenues in the city, blocking traffic. There was a back and forth with the police, and the march restarted.
Through all this, the revolution crew was meeting many of the most angry to get together in the next couple days to discuss more the cause of and solution, the need for revolution.
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