From the Revolution Club, NYC:

Revolution Club at Harlem U.S. Military Recruiting Center: 1,2,3,4, Slavery, Genocide & War—5,6,7,8, AMERICA WAS NEVER GREAT!”

June 25, 2018 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us

 

This Thursday, June 21, the Revolution Club returned to protest the Harlem U.S. military recruitment center, marching down from Revolution Books where a Refuse Fascism block party was just starting. As they marched down, chanting “1,2,3,4, Slavery, Genocide & War—5,6,7,8, AMERICA WAS NEVER GREAT,” waking up people having an afternoon snack at the restaurants along Malcolm X Boulevard, some people grabbed at the HOW WE CAN WIN —How We Can Really Make Revolution pamphlets to understand better what was happening, while a few others put their fists in the air in solidarity. As we stepped onto 125th street, the polarization became sharper. The Revolution Club, joined with people from Refuse Fascism, Revolution Books, musicians, immigrant activists, and others, was a radically different authority in Harlem—laying bare the brutality and wanton destruction of the U.S. military from its founding down to today and calling on people NOT to enlist with these murderers and thugs but to enlist with the forces of revolution and take up the cause for the emancipation of all humanity.

As recruiters for the military stepped out, Sunsara Taylor called out to them: “You guys need help recruiting. Let me help you. Hey everyone, you liked seeing the pictures of the children torn from their families at the Mexican border? Step right up and join the U.S. military. You too can take them from the arms of their parents. Hey sisters and brothers, you don’t want to be a petty thief or murderer on the street? You want to be a murderer for the biggest gangsters on the planet, the U.S. imperialists, the torturers, the only country in the world that has dropped nuclear bombs. You want to kill babies? Then step into these doors and enlist with the U.S. military....” Then she went on: “There is no pride in joining the U.S. military, but there is pride in stepping out and standing up to the crimes the U.S. military is committing at this very moment. There is pride is stepping in and enlisting and joining the revolution.”

Carl Dix went right into “thanking other GIs like me who stood up and said NO! to going and fighting for this bloody imperialist country, and I want to say FUCK YOU to those that did go and serve,” as some people cheered. “This system has a place for us, they have a place for our youth. They especially got a place for Black and Brown youth. What is that place? Prison and early grave OR you can come to these people, stand up and ‘be all you can be.’ Be all you can be dropping bombs on wedding parties in Afghanistan. Firing drone missiles that destroy whole villages in Iraq. Guiding Saudi Arabian bombing runs that especially target hospitals and stores of food.”

A woman shouted from the streets, “Yeah and creating concentration camps.” We called her over to the mike—a Black woman, her body shaking with anger over the thousands of immigrant kids separated from their parents and held in detention camps—“IT’S NOT RIGHT!”

Carl agitated: you got to stay and get organized into this revolution right now. And this woman stood next to him nodding her head and holding up the “America Was Never Great! We Need to Overthrow This System!” poster.

This is exactly what we need to do now—these weekly protests outside the Harlem Military Recruitment Center are part of the strategy for HOW WE CAN WIN. This is part of how

The organized forces and the leadership of this revolution must become the “authority” that growing numbers of people look to and follow—not the lying politicians and media of this oppressive system—not those who front for the oppressors and preach about “reconciliation” with this system—not those who turn people against each other when they need to be uniting for this revolution. While many people will do positive things in opposing the crimes of this system, we need to approach everything—evaluate every political program and every organized force in society, every kind of culture, values and ways of treating people—according to how it relates to the revolution we need, to end all oppression. We should unite with people whenever we can, and struggle with them whenever we need to, to advance the revolution.

The police were surprised we came back stronger. And a lawyer, who heard about the police trying to intimidate us the previous week and their attempts to silence us and restrict our right to amplified sound, came out to stand with us and make sure the pigs did not illegitimately try to shut us down. He said if we run into any troubles out there to call on him to assist, on behalf of the revolution—an important role he can play as part of the revolution.

We will be back next week and we need to be stronger—so everyone reading this and who is moved by the videos from this Thursday, join us next Thursday, 4 pm and spread the word!