Chicago—"We must make this into the first day of the beginning of the end of this system"
July 22, 2013 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us
July 20—Revolutionaries, including people from the Revolution Club, went out to the thousands of people who packed Federal Plaza at the "Justice for Trayvon" rally in downtown Chicago to bring the message: "The Whole Damn System Is Guilty! Now is the Time to Stand up: We Need Revolution—Nothing Less!"
Chicago, July 20, 2013, protest against verdict in Trayvon Martin case. Photo: Special to Revolution
The rally was one of over 100 nationally called by Al Sharpton and locally by Black radio station WVON. Ninety percent of the crowd was African-Americans, largely middle class, many families with children, many people from the '60s generation, smaller numbers of people in their late teens and twenties. Busloads came from some churches and community groups, two buses came from a family reunion. One man with a large hand-made sign "Latinos for Justice for Trayvon" stood out.
Many people said they had come because they felt they had to take a stand and not let this die down and show to the world that they are determined this has to stop—that this horrible direction must be turned around so that this never happens again. Repeatedly chants went up "No more, No more!" and "No Justice, No Peace." Many people expressed there was something wrong with the "justice system" that such a verdict could happen and that things were still so stacked against Black people. People who came out from one church wore the sign "Trayvon Martin, murdered again by the Injustice system." A woman whose kids were wearing this sign said, "Our kids should be able to go anywhere freely, like anybody else, and not have to fear for their lives." She and many others compared the murder of Trayvon Martin to the murder of Emmett Till. A younger cousin of Emmett Till spoke at the rally, saying that after the verdict of not guilty for Zimmerman, she finally understood what it must have felt like 58 years ago when Emmett Till's killers got off scot free.
Over and over people in the crowd expressed that this has to STOP—and confusion over why it hasn't stopped after all the struggle of the civil rights movement, with huge numbers of Black people voting, even with a Black president, this is getting worse. Some women pointed out that the position of women is reversing as well.
The response to the beautiful color 11 x 17 poster with the "3 Strikes" quote from Bob Avakian was electric. We soldout all the 430 posters we had brought, and this was the focus of much discussion. We also had thousands of a small black and white version of this poster for everyone. Thousands of "We are All Trayvon, The Whole Damn System is Guilty" stickers were grabbed up, distributed, and worn by most of the people at the rally. Thousands of copies of Carl Dix's statement issued in the wake of the verdict traded hands. Copies of the film BA Speaks: Revolution—Nothing Less! Bob Avakian Live were sold on the spot.
In the crowd there was a sense that something is deeply wrong, and people were very open to the revolutionary message—at the same time many were advocating for signing up to vote and saying that Obama did a good job in his speech the night before, and that what is needed is a federal civil suit. One illustration: people were lined up to register to vote and one revolutionary challenged them that "voting is not going to change this situation, a new civil rights movement is not going to change this, we need to end this once and for all, we need a revolution." He held up the "3 Strikes" poster and said, "First there was slavery, then Jim Crow, now the New Jim Crow and they are still murdering Black people with impunity. We need a revolution." Many people bought the poster while staying in line to register to vote.
The politicians, professional firemen (like Jesse Jackson), and preachers on one hand reflected the crowd's outrage, declaring that this cannot stop here... but then framed it as the beginning of a new civil rights movement. In contrast the message of the revolutionaries was: "We must make this into the first day of the beginning of the end of this system. We need to build a movement for revolution, to uproot the cause of this horrendous centuries-old oppression of Black people along with all the oppression this system perpetuates here and around the world."
A table with the "3 Strikes" posters, stickers, flyers with Carl Dix's statement, and palm cards of the BAsics quote 1:13 and for the film BA Speaks: Revolution—Nothing Less! was a magnet for many in the crowd. Around it revolutionaries, including people from the Revolution Club, engaged many people on the meaning of this verdict and the need to continue the struggle and take it farther, why what's needed is communist revolution. People asked about the meaning of the slogan "the whole damn system is guilty" and what it means to say we need revolution.
The rally ended with a prayer benediction. But there were people who wanted to take this to the streets. Two separate marches took off toward the crowds on State Street, a major shopping district in downtown Chicago. A group of revolutionaries were joined by about 30 other very determined people. One Black woman said, "We're not going to take this shit anymore… This revolution cannot come soon enough because what will I do with my son tomorrow?" At State Street, this group met up with the other march and joined together to march through downtown. Revolutionaries led chants "Trayvon Martin did not have to die, We all know the reason why, The whole damn system is guilty!" and "The Only Way to Get Out of This Mess is REVOLUTION—NOTHING LESS." These chants contended with the banner from the other march which was about violence and "We Need Jobs." By the time the march reached Millennium Park, a major tourist spot, it had grown to over 200 people.
If you like this article, subscribe, donate to and sustain Revolution newspaper.