A meme can be an excellent way to communicate powerful messages with few words and sometimes images. At the same time, a meme can oversimplify or distort historical facts. GRIID will now regularly deconstruct memes, in part because memes continue to increase in number on social media, but also because they often engage in misinformation.
Two weeks ago, we deconstructed a meme that was clearly created to make a point about the 2024 Elections and the Presidential candidates, which was rather misleading. In today’s Deconstructing memes, I want to look at a meme that makes certain claims about what is means to be an anti-fascist.
There are no images with this meme, just text, which reads:
There is no organization called “ANTIFA.” Antifa stands for anti-fascism. World War II veterans were Antifa because they fought fascism. Anyone who is against fascism in Antifa. There is no membership card. Everyone should be Antifa.
There certainly are some parts of this text that I agree with, such as the fact that antifa is not an organization, but it is often small groups of people organizing against fascism. It is also true that there is no membership card, and that anyone can be an antifascist.
The parts of this meme that are problematic and misleading are the point about “anyone who is against fascism is antifa” and “World War II veterans were Antifa because they fought fascism.”
It is important that we understand the history of the anti-fascism. There are several good books on the topic, such as Mark Bray’s Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook, Jason Stanley’s How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them, and Gord Hill’s, The Antifa Comic Book: 100 Years of Fascism and Antifa Movements.
First, it is important that those who first identified as antifascists, were groups in Italy, Spain and Germany that were actively resisting the growing fascist movements led by Hitler, Mussolini and Franco. Those movements had been around for more than a decade before the US entered WWII. In each of these cases, the antifascists were made up of either anarchists, socialist or communist groups, all of which opposed fascism and capitalism.
Another common element about antifascist groups have been that they engaged in direct resistance, often using force. In addition, antifascist groups wanted to replace fascism with social and economic relations that were based on cooperation instead of competition.
A third element of what makes someone an antifascist is that whenever fascism gets organized, antifascists respond. In a contemporary settling, this means that when the Proud Boys, the KKK, or other ALT Right groups come to town, antifascists will confront them and kick them out of their communities. It’s an active form of resistance, one that doesn’t allow for people to sit back and just make statements.
On the matter of World War II veterans automatically being antifascists, it is a bit of a grey area. First, those in the US military during WWII were fighting against Hitler and Mussolini because they didn’t have a choice. Those soldiers were merely following orders, not helping to plan an antifascist plan. Equally important to note is the fact that the local Italian and French antifascist groups that were able to win back their communities and cities from fascist forces, were often removed from power by British and US forces who came through after the fact. As Noam Chomsky notes in his book, Deterring Democracy, US and and British military forces actively removed the socialist, anarchist and communist movements that had defeated the fascists in Europe. Chomsky states that these antifascist forces were often replaced by fascists collaborators they had defeated, “to weaken unions and other popular organizations, and to block the threat of radical democracy and social reform.” The fascist collaborators were more inclined to embrace capitalism and the social order that came with it.
I understand the sentiment reflected in the ANTIFA meme, but apart from being too simplistic, it is also misleading and doesn’t sever the public since it doesn’t provide a more robust history or understanding o what antifascism really is.
This week, the Acton Institute posted a story by one of their contributors, Mike Cosper, who does Christian podcasts for various religious media outlets.
Cosper posted an article entitled, There Shall Be None to Make Him Afraid: American Liberty and the Jews. In my opinion the article is all over the place, where the author is trying to make connections that make no sense.
The article begins with talking about the police murder of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, although Cosper doesn’t call it a murder and offers questionable information to justify the police murder of the 18 years old Brown. Cosper continues to make wild claims with the next paragraph, stating:
“The impact is easy to trace. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) departments were opened in academic, corporate, and government institutions. The New York Times published the 1619 Project, a Pulitzer Prize–winning work of revisionist history that reframes America’s founding myth around the institution of chattel slavery and not the personalities and ideas of the founding. A new race consciousness permeated Hollywood, reshaping unwritten criteria for casting and awards.”
Clearly, Cosper is of the persuasion that DEI practices are somehow radical and that Hollywood is to blame for much of the race-centered culture war. Of course this is nonsense, since the response to the police murder of Michael Brown was rooted in an abolitionist critique of policing which has existed for decades within the Black Freedom Struggle. DEI workshops and trainings had nothing to do with the Movement for Black Lives and the national outrage over the police murder of Black and other BIPOC people.
Cosper then makes another ridiculous claim that Black Lives Matter chapters around country “celebrated the Hamas massacre of Israelis on October 7.” It is true that the Black Freedom struggle and solidarity with the Palestinian struggle has deep roots (see article in the Nation), but to claim that the Movement for Black Lives is antisemitic is just not based in fact. I would also suggest that people read Angela Davis’ book, Freedom Is a Constant Struggle: Ferguson, Palestine, and the Foundations of a Movement.
Ultimately, the article that Mike Cosper posted on the Acton Institute site argues that BLM activists and Kyle Rittenhouse are the result of right and left “radical binaries.” Again, an absurd comparison, where Cosper offers no meaningful articulation of his claim.
Cosper then makes another leap in his so-called analysis, to suggest that the existence of antisemitism should be how we measure the social fabric of the country. In a section subtitled, The Canaries in the Coal Mine, Cosper states: “Anti-Semitism’s reemergence here and now ought to serve as final, damning proof of the corruption of the political ideologies that have come to dominate our culture.” While I agree that antisemitism should be rejected and not tolerated in social justice movement politics, it is not the only measuring stick. Anti-Blackness, white supremacy, xenophobia, transphobia, anti-Islam and any form of collective discrimination and systemic oppression should be rejected.
Lastly, Cosper then uses George Washington as a model for rejecting antisemitism, based on some letters he wrote to Jewish communities after he became President in 1790. While I get the sentiment reflected in the letters that Copser cites, we should not forget the fact that under Washington’s presidency, chattel slavery was legal, that women were the legal property of their husbands and those who didn’t own land couldn’t vote. In fact, the only people who could vote when Washington was President were white men who owned land. In addition, Washington was part of a landed gentry system that continuously engaged in the theft of Indigenous land, which was reflected in how Washington saw Indigenous people when he said, “Indians are both beasts of prey, tho’ they differ in shape.”
If Mike Cosper thinks that George Washington is a model for how to treat people, because he wrote welcoming letters to Jewish communities, while simultaneously marginalizing Black, Indigenous, immigrant and non-christians communities, then that is a pretty fucking low bar for what liberty means.
Once again, a contributing writer to the Acton Institute displays both their ignorance and ideological bias, thus making it clear that the Acton Institute always supports the dominant narratives of the Capitalist Class within the US.
Last Thursday was the 2nd anniversary of the murder of Patrick Lyoya at the hands of the GRPD. April 4th, 2002, the GRPD had Lyoya pulled over after they ran his plates. The GRPD cop who confronted Lyoya chased him for a while then got him on the ground, where Patrick was face down, and then shot him in the back of the head, execution style.
The lawyers representing the GRPD cop who killed Patrick Lyoya have used the legal system to delay having a try, they even attempted to have the courts determine that no trial was necessary.
Over the past 2 years, GRIID has been following the case and regularly commenting on the boas that the local commercial news media has practiced concerning justice for Patrick Lyoya. Last week, I saw a very similar type of reporting from the local commercial news media, specifically on the 2nd anniversary coverage, plus the two actions that were organized by the autonomous group Comrades Collective.
2nd anniversary coverage
All four of the local daily commercial news agencies did their obligatory 2nd anniversary stories. Thew MLive story did sort of a comparison between the case of George Floyd and Patrick Lyoya, citing legal experts, the lawyers representing the cop who murdered Patrick, the lawyer representing the Lyoya family and one judge. It is important to note that Patrick’s family was not cited in the story, nor any of the numerous groups and organizations that have been fighting to demand justice for Patrick Lyoya.
The TV news coverage for the 2nd anniversary of Patrick’s murder was not much better. The WOODTV8 story provided a summary of the legal case, along with use of the body cam video from the day that Patrick was murdered. The reporter said they were going to speak with people who had been marching, but instead the story cited the lawyer representing the Lyoya family, along with Dee Jones, who has been to protests, but also commented that the City has been listening, a sentiment that most people who have been organizing on behalf of Patrick would not agree with. The 6 minute story then shifts to comments from Cle Jackson with the NAACP, who criticized the delays in the trial. In addition, WOODTV8 used a quote from Chief Winstrom about what his department has done since the murder, although the reporter doesn’t question the validity of the comment. The 2nd anniversary story ends with a preview of the candlelight vigil.
The WZZM13 story on the 2nd anniversary was much shorter and relied exclusively on the lawyer representing the Lyoya family and local law professors. The WXMI 17 story was also shorter and they cited no one for their story, simply providing a rehash of the body cam footage and an overview of the legal case.
Candlelight Vigil
All four of the daily news agencies reported on the candlelight vigil that was organized by the Comrades Collective. The MLive article provided an overview of the candlelight vigil, plus they did provide an excerpt from the statement that the Comrades Collective had released to the news media. In fact, MLive was the only local commercial news agency to include at least part of that statement.
WOODTV8 included a short overview of the legal case, but most of the story was about the Comrades Collective organized vigil. Unfortunately, the channel 8 reporter talk to former Kent County Commissioner Robert Womack, who said just the opposite of what the statement the Comrades Collective had released for the 2nd anniversary.
The WZZM13 story used too much of the body cam video, but at least the centered the voices of Patrick’s family who also spoke at the candlelight vigil. Lastly, the WXMI 17 story spent almost half of their coverage rehashing the case, also using lots of body cam footage. However, the story then did include several comments from Patrick’s father and brother, along with comments from one of the local activists.
March for Patrick Lyoya
Unfortunately, the only local commercial news agency to report on the march that was held on April 6, was WXMI 17. The march was also organized by the comrades collective. The Fox 17 reporters were present for several hours during the march, yet the story was only 2 minutes and 26 seconds long. The story provides an overview of the march and mentions the two times that the GRPD either detained or arrest people who were safety cars behind the march, but they never mentioned the charges or why the GRPD was so hell bent on harassing and intimidating the marchers. The WXMI 17 story did cited members of the Lyoya family who participated in the march, a former cop who marched and a member of the Grand Rapids School Board who also showed up to protest the lack of justice for Patrick Lyoya.
Overall, the coverage of the 2nd anniversary of Patrick Lyoya’s murder mostly rehashed information the public already knew. The coverage of the candlelight vigil and the march did center the voices of the Lyoya family, but mostly ignored or excluded the perspective of the group that organized both events. More importantly, the local news coverage failed to further investigate the impact Patrick’s murder has had on the community, along with failing to question the ongoing function of policing in Grand Rapids, which continues to suppress activists and target the most marginalized communities.
The housing market in West Michigan has been unaffordable for more than a decade now, and it keeps getting worse.
Last week, WZZM 13 ran two stories which reflect the unjust and inhumane nature of the current housing market. On April 4, channel 13 aired a story about an 80 year old woman who has been living in the same apartment for the past 30 years. She was one day late with her rent and was charged an additional $225 because she was late by less than 24 hour hours. The 80 year old woman was quoted as saying, “I just, I want help. I want to know, why did they turn like this? You know, I’m a person, I’m human. And what can I do?”
Then, on April 5th, WZZM 13 ran another similar story, this time about a senior citizen couple who has seen their rent costs increase significantly. The couple is on a fixed income and doesn’t know if they will be able to afford the rent costs any longer. They were also quoted in the story saying: “If one of us should perish, the other one couldn’t stay here. We lose our pension and social security of course,” said the husband. “You wanted to retire, but now you think ‘wow, maybe we should have waited until we’re 90 or something.'”
These two stories are both heartbreaking, but they are a reflection of the larger housing market, which is unaffordable for thousands of people living in the Greater Grand Rapids area.
What is even worse is the fact that in both stories the channel 13 reporter cites rent.com as a source for rent increases, and in one of the stories WZZM 13 interviewed the Rental Property Owners Association of Kent County. The Rental Property Owners Association of Kent County spokesperson justified the increase in rental costs, because of the added costs that landlords have in repairs and supplies. In the other channel 13 story, they included the Grand Rapids Housing Commission and Housing Kent as resources. It’s too bad that the channel 13 reporter did not cite the National Low Income Housing Coalition on rent increases in Michigan, specifically because they would then know that for people living in the Grand Rapids/Wyoming area, they need to earn $25.50 an hour to afford the average cost of rent in this market.
What is unfortunate is the fact that WZZM 13 did not include as a resource or interview anyone from the Grand Rapids Area Tenant Union (GRATU) as a resource, especially since both stories dealt with people confronted with rent increases. Equally frustrating is the fact that WZZM 13 probably doesn’t know about GRATU and their upcoming Tenant Assembly on Saturday, April 13. You can still register for this free event by going here tinyurl.com/GRTenantPower. For more details on the event, check out Grand Rapids Area Tenant Union Facebook event, where you we find out that the purpose of the Tenant Assembly on April 13 is to build tenant power and confront exploitative landlords and property management companies.
Nearly 50 people marched yesterday in Grand Rapids to demand justice for Patrick Lyoya on the 2nd anniversary of his murder by a GRPD cop.
The Comrades Collective organized the event, just two days after the hosted a candlelight vigil for Patrick Lyoya. And just like the vigil, Patrick Lyoya’s family was there demanding justice for their son and brother.
The march began at Fish Ladder Park on the westside of the Grand River, moving north initially, then turning right to cross the river on the Sixth Street bridge. Just as the marchers began walking on the bridge, three GRPD cruisers stopped the safety car that the Comrades Collective was using. Safety cars have been standard practice for marches that take the streets for years now, in order to prevent motorists who want to hit marches with their vehicle.
The cops surrounded the safety car and immediately demanded to see his ID. Crowd Safety members quickly came to the aid of the car safety person, but were also rebuked by the GRPD with threats of arrest if they didn’t get out of the street or if they got too close to the car. After 10 minutes, the GRPD ended up giving the car safety person a ticket, but told him that he would need to leave if he didn’t want to get arrested.
The march then continued across the bridge, while the three cop cruisers left and went in the opposite direction. On the other side of the bridge, Comrades Collective members who were using bullhorns let people know what happened and then asked the marchers and Patrick Lyoya’s family if they wanted to continue in the street or on the sidewalk. Everyone said, “In the streets!”
The march was then moving south on Monroe, with a new safety car following the marchers. There was at least a dozen cars backed up behind the march, but those in the cars were moving and would only be disrupted for a couple of minutes.
Just as the march was about to go under the 196 overpass, 6 GRPD cruisers showed up and the safety car person was again stopped and targeted. This time the GRPD removed the car safety person and put them in a cop cruiser, but not before them put them in handcuffs.
Of course, this decision by the GRPD got the marchers all roused up and nearly everyone was filing the incident. Next, the GRPD decided to search the car of the safety person, the front seat, under the floor mats, followed by the back seat and then the truck of the car. The cops were going through personal belongings of the car safety person, while the marchers yelled, “what probably cause do you have to search this car?”
By then, another 6 GRPD cruisers showed up, totaling 12 cop cars, with 15 GRPD cops. In fact, the GRPD blocked off Monroe, meaning the motorists who had been behind the march were now delayed way longer than the march would have delayed them. In addition, the GRPD, instead of letting someone else take the keys and driver the car, the GRPD called for a tow truck and impounded their vehicle.
Forty minutes later, the Comrades Collective asked the Lyoya family if they still wanted to march in the streets down to the Grand Rapids Police Department. The Lyoya family said yes. So, the march continued south on Monroe and then made a left onto Breonna Taylor Way. The Comrades Collective stopped at Rosa Parks Circle to give everyone a break and a chance to get some bottled water from the cart they brought with them.
After a few minutes, the march resumed and walked up to the GRPD headquarters. As soon as the march arrived at the police station, several more GRPD cruisers showed up, with 3 cops getting out and approaching the marchers who were standing in front of the police station. One cop said, “if you remain on the sidewalk you will be fine, but if you walk in the streets again, we will arrest you.” Once they said this, they promptly left.
Members of the Comrades Collective then spoke briefly about what has happed and what has not happened in the 2 years since Patrick Lyoya was murdered by the GRPD. After consulting the Lyoya family on what to do next, Patrick’s family felt that we should probably just return to the Fish Ladder Park. Everyone agreed, since the march had accomplished what it set out to do, which was to demand justice for Patrick and disrupt business as usual in downtown Grand Rapids.
Once the marchers arrived back at the park, the Comrades Collective thanked everyone for showing up and continuing the fight for Patrick Lyoya. Patrick Lyoya’s family also communicated their gratitude to everyone who organized and participated in the march.
From there, members of the Comrades Collective went to the Kent County Jail to wait for the release of the car safety person who had been arrested earlier. Their bond had already been paid and the person who had been taken by the GRPD was released Saturday evening.
If yesterday’s action by the Comrades Collective meant anything, it certainly communicated two things to this writer. First, there is no doubt that people will continue to fight for and demand justice for Patrick Lyoya. Lastly, the GRPD once again demonstrated that they only car about maintaining order and could car less about the safety of people who were non-violently protesting the GRPD murder of Patrick Lyoya. As the Comrades Collective pointed out in a statement they released for the second anniversary of Patrick Lyoya’s murder, “As police abolitionists, we want far more than what the system that killed Patrick Lyoya can offer – because the system that killed him is not set up to provide justice for his family and loved ones.”
Palestine Solidarity Information, Analysis, Local Actions and Events for the week of April 7th
It has become clear that the Israeli government will continue their assault on Gaza and the West Bank. The retaliation for the October 7 Hamas attack in Israel, has escalated, therefore, GRIID will be providing weekly links to information and analysis that we think can better inform us of what is happening, along with the role that the US government is playing. We will also provide information on local events and actions that people can get involved in. All of this information is to provide people with the capacity of what Noam Chomsky refers to as, intellectual self-defense.
Information
‘Obscene’: Biden Quietly OKs More 2,000-Pound Bombs, Warplanes for Israel
Israel Has Formed a Task Force to Carry Out Covert Campaigns at US Universities
What is behind the US Army’s Gaza pier project?
US Has Redefined “Human Shields” to Enable Israel’s Slaughter of Gaza Civilians
Israeli source of “executed children” lie admits story was untrue
HOW THE GAZA WAR IS RESHAPING SOCIAL MEDIA
Complicit in Genocide: Where Israel Gets Its Weapons From
Analysis & History
“MAN-MADE HELL ON EARTH”: A CANADIAN DOCTOR ON HIS MEDICAL MISSION TO GAZA
Conversation on the Gaza Genocide with Norman Finkelstein and Chris Hedges
Israel Has a Long History of Trying to Starve Gaza
This Is About What Has to Happen to Stop This Genocide’:
Local Events and Actions
Power the Palestine: Weekly Protest in Grand Rapids
Wednesday, April 10 at noon, Monument Park
Organizers hold space for Patrick Lyoya during candlelight vigil on the 2nd anniversary of his murder
Last night, about 50 people gathered in front of the Kent County Court building to collectively grieve over the murder of Patrick Lyoya. It has been two years since a GRPD cop shot Patrick in the back of the head, while sitting on top of the Congolese immigrant.
The Comrades Collective hosted the event last night and one of the Collective members addressed the crowd. They talked about what happened to Patrick on April 4th, 2022. They also spoke about what justice for Patrick Lyoya might look like.
The speaker would often break up their talk by inserting chants, which the crowd quickly responded to. The speaker asked question of those in attendance, eliciting various responses that also motivated those who had gathered on the chilling evening in downtown Grand Rapids. There were also long pauses from the speaker, which might have made some people uncomfortable, but we all should feel uncomfortable with the fact that the GRPD can shoot someone in the back of the head without any real accountability or consequences.
The Comrades Collective then invited people to join a march they are hosting this Saturday, with details you can find on their Facebook event.
Afterwards, other people were invited to share some thoughts. Several people offered up some words of solidarity, plus Patrick Lyoya spoke through an interpreter. He said the he was delighted with the turn and expressed gratitude for those who organized the event.
Lastly, the Comrades Collective put out a statement for the event, which I’m including here below.
Comrades Collective Statement on the 2nd Anniversary of Patrick Lyoya’s murder at the hands of the GRPD
As police abolitionists, we want far more than what the system that killed Patrick Lyoya can offer – because the system that killed him is not set up to provide justice for his family and loved ones.
It has been two years since GRPD cop Christopher Schurr, while sitting on top of a face down on the ground Patrick Lyoya, shot him in the back of the head. In the past two years Patrick Lyoya and his family have not received an ounce of justice.
The GRPD released Christopher Schurr has a member of the GRPD, but that was meant to pacify us. Schurr’s lawyers have been playing legal chess games to keep him from going to trial and the Kent County Prosecutor doesn’t seem to be bothered by the constant delays of the legal system.
As abolitionists, the Comrades Collective understands that Patrick Lyoya and his family haven’t received justice, because the current legal system cannot provide real justice. We are not calling for better training for the GRPD or mild reforms, we are calling for the abolition of policing in Grand Rapids.
Now, we know that abolition is a process and won’t happen over night. As we work towards abolition, we are demanding that the City of Grand Rapids end the practice of traffic stops, particularly for BIPOC individuals. Patrick’s murder wouldn’t have happened if there was no traffic stop that morning.
We want an abolition focus, with accountability to the whole system, not just for Christopher Schurr being held accountable, because it will just happen again with another officer if we don’t look at the whole picture. When Christopher Schurr shot Patrick Lyoya in the back of the head, it was not about some character flaw in Schurr, it was because of how policing functions in this city.
We want to live in a city where everyone’s needs are met. We want community care, not cops. We demand the abolition of the GRPD because we believe that the $64 Million of taxpayer money that went to the GRPD for FY2024 could be used for real harm reduction and community care. Imagine how many lives could be uplifted if $64 Million was going to the most vulnerable in our city and not to a system that is rooted in punishment and violence.
The great abolitionist Angela Davis once said, “We have to be consistent in our analysis and not respond to violence in a way that compounds it. We need to use our radical imaginations to to come up with new structures of accountability beyond the system we are working to dismantle.”
Justice for Patrick Lyoya!
For people who were part of the Civil Rights and Black Freedom Movement between the 1950s and the 1970s, the murder of organizers was all too frequent.
White Supremacists, which were often part of the law enforcement community, were the ones responsible for the assassination of many of the leaders and organizers within the Civil Rights Movement. They took the lives of people like Medgar Evers, Bobby Hutton, Malcolm X, Fred Hampton and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Today is the 56th Anniversary since they took the life of Dr. King in Memphis Tennessee, while he stood on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel.
Dr. King had been receiving death threats for years and he knew it was just a matter of time before they took his life. People are somewhat familiar with the death threats against Dr. King and other organizers in the South during the Montgomery Bus Boycott and later with the Freedom Rides. However, what is less known, were the threats that Dr. King received in the North, especially after he moved his operation to Chicago. Dr. King often noted that there were larger crowds and more hate-filled verbal assaults on his life in cities in the North than there were in the South.
When Dr. King was a passenger on a bus or a plan, the departure times were always delayed, because of bomb threats against him, his family and other members of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. It is hard to quantify the amount of stress that Dr. King had to endure. However, we do know that after Dr. King was assassinated, the medical examiner who preformed the autopsy, reported that he was surprised to see the 39-year old’s heart had the wear and tear of a 60-year old man.
In addition to the white public backlash against Dr. King, the FBI had been monitoring and threatening Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for several decades. This history of FBI surveillance is well documented in Michael Friedly and David Gallen’s book, Martin Luther King Jr.: The FBI File.
FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, often referred to the Civil Rights leaders as, “that burrhead King” or “the most dangerous Negro in America.” At one point the FBI even sent Dr. King a letter, suggesting that he kill himself, as you can see in this partly redacted letter.
It is no surprise that the FBI saw Dr. King as the “most dangerous man in American,” considering his own evolution. Dr. King was referring less in his speeches about having a Dream, instead he came to the conclusion in his 1967 speech, Which Way It’s Soul Shall Go, to say: I’m sorry to have to say that the vast majority of white Americans are racists, either consciously or unconsciously.
Dr. King realized that demanding an end to racial segregation was not enough. The fiery minister came to see that racial justice was demanded, that the US should pay reparations to black Americans, that economic exploitation was a crime and that the US war in Vietnam was immoral. In fact, Dr. King had come to believe that, “the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today was my own government.”
What Brought Dr. King to Memphis?
One of the strongest criticisms that King had developed in the last few years of his life, was a criticism of poverty, economic exploitation and capitalism. In King’s famous speech, Beyond Vietnam, he provides his own commentary on the story of the Good Samaritan, see here on the right. Restructuring the edifice that produces beggars means we need to change the economic system.
In addition to King’s increasing critique of capitalism, King was in the midst of working on the last campaign he was organizing, the Poor People’s Campaign. Dr. King and the other organizers of this campaign were planning on using direct action in the nation’s capital, by having a tent city, where poor people from all over the country would be occupying land in Washington, DC to not only draw attention to the issue of poverty, but also to demand the promissory note that King spoke often about, which is just another way of saying reparations.
Considering Dr. King’s increased focus on economic justice and the Poor People’s Campaign, it’s no surprise that he would support the black sanitation workers in Memphis.
Michael Honey’s well research book, Going Down Jericho Road: The Memphis Strike, Martin Luther King’s Last Campaign, provides critical insight into King’s support for the striking sanitation workers. Honey provides detailed background material on the black population in Memphis and how that community was plagued by poverty and white supremacy.
The sanitation workers were paid substandard wages and were not permitted to organize a union. On top of that, the work conditions were horrid, with white supervisors constantly harassing black employees.
On top of the general climate of exploitation, the black sanitation workers were often forced to seek refuge inside the garbage trucks, just to get out of the rain. On February 1st, 1968, while some of the workers were inside the garbage truck, the compactor malfunctioned and killed Echol Cole and Robert Walker, crushing them. On February 11, 700 sanitation workers attended a meeting and decided to go on strike. A week later the NAACP passed a resolution supporting the strike, as did King’s organization, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC).
Dr. King arrived on March 18 and that same day gave a speech, where he told the crowd, “You are demonstrating that we can stick together. You are demonstrating that we are all tied in a single garment of destiny, and that if one black person suffers, if one black person is down, we are all down.” At that same speech, King not only endorsed the striking workers, he joined others in supporting a city-wide work stoppage on March 28th.
The March 28th city-wide work stoppage also included 22,000 students who boycotted going to school. These students, along with the sanitation workers and people from all over the city marched to demand justice for the dead workers, for the right to organize a union and for better wages and working conditions.
However, the march was disrupted by violence and a 16 year old was shot and killed by Memphis police. Police also followed marchers to a local church, entered the church, released tear gas inside the sanctuary, and clubbed people as they lay on the floor to get fresh air.
The next day, the Mayor of Memphis, Henry Loeb, a Democrat, called for Marshal Law and had 4,000 National Guard Troops brought in to the city.
In response, striking workers and Dr. King decided to organize another march. Dr. King came back to Memphis on April 3 and delivered what would be his last speech that evening at Bishop Charles Mason Temple.
The next day, while Dr. King, and those with him, were getting ready to go to dinner, he was shot while standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel.
Who Killed Dr. King?
For years the US government presented conclusive information that lone gunman James Earl Ray had shot and killed Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. We were always led to believe that this individual racist had taken the life of Dr. King in a fit of rage over what the man had stood for.
Considering how much Dr. King, and those closest to him, were being monitored by the FBI and local law enforcement, how is it possible for a lone gunman to have shot and killed Dr. King in such a public setting as outside hi motel room? The police were constantly nearby and the motel had been checked by local police for bombs the day before his assassination. Something didn’t seem right.
Along comes William Peppers, a lawyer, who decided to look at this case in greater detail. Peppers interviewed dozens of people who were there in Memphis that day and was able to gain access to lots of documentation and reports on what local law enforcement and the National Guard were doing at the time of Dr. King’s assassination.
After years of research and investigation, William Peppers published a book in 2003 entitled, An Act of State: The Execution of Martin Luther King. In this book, the author provides a detailed analysis, along with evidence that 1) either the government was directly involved in the assassination of Dr. King, or 2) the government turned a blind eye to what had happened on April 4, 1968.
What Pepper’s argues is that at a minimum, the US government had turned a blind eye to the assassination of Dr. King. However, what seems more plausible, is that law enforcement agencies and the National Guard had collaborated to participate in and allow the assassination of Dr. King.
How People Reacted to King’s Death?
There were demonstrations and riots all across the US in the aftermath of Dr. King’s assassination, with dozens of cities reporting that people were taking out their rage on white-owned businesses.
In Washington, DC, Stokely Carmichael and SNCC were going around the city demanding that businesses close for the day out of respect to the black community. However, the crowd of protestors grew larger by the minute and eventually people were smashing windows and taking items from stores. The National Guard was called in to suppress the uprising.
The scenario repeated itself in cities all across the country, in places like New York, Chicago, Baltimore and Detroit. Michigan Governor George Romney had called in the National Guard to stop people from protesting, much like he had done the previous July during the uprising in July of 1967 in both Detroit and Grand Rapids.
How did Grand Rapids Respond to the Death of Dr. King?
On April 5, the Grand Rapids Press put the assassination of Dr. King on the front page.
However, most of the Press coverage framed the reaction to the death of Dr. King in a negative way. The GR Press did interview people from the community to get reactions.
It states, in an article from the Grand Rapids People’s History Project:
Reggie Gatling, referred to as a black power militant, said, “Members of the black community had a meeting last night and decided we would not give out a public statement that would be reflective of feelings. We’re in mourning for Dr. King, but to say anything further would only give comfort, or possibly discomfort, to white racists.”
What is instructive about Grand Rapids, is how the White Power Structure responded. Again, we refer to the Grand Rapids People’s History Project:
It is vitally important that we continue to morn the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In addition, we must not forget this history. We must not forget that Dr. King was in Memphis to be in solidarity with sanitation workers who were striking. We must not forget that Dr. King was working on the Poor People’s Campaign, which was a direct action campaign designed to gain reparations for the black community and poor people in general. And we must not forget that the US government was spying on Dr. King, making threats against him and most likely involved with his assassination.
To honor Dr. King’s Legacy, we should practice the same kind of justice and love in our actions and campaigns today. Anything less would be dishonorable.
Grand Rapids African Diaspora Meets in Historic Event; Calls on Community to Stand Against Western Complacency in DRC Violence
Editor’s note: This post was written by Kellan Martin, who identifies as a Communist journalist.
On Saturday, March 23rd, members of the Michigan Congolese Refugee Community put on a historic event concerning the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the likes of which have not occurred in Grand Rapids for at least thirty years. The event centered around the question, which was also the event’s namesake, “What is Happening in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Why”? Kawiye Jumale took the role of emcee and guided in-person and virtual attendees through the informative and at times incredibly difficult conversations about issues affecting people on the ground in the DRC.
Mass displacement of families, direct targeting of women with sexual violence as a tactic of war, and wanton destruction of lives were all described as abysmal effects of an international power struggle waged on African soil. Proxy militias aided by Rwanda and Western governments such as the United States were said to be fighting for control over areas in the Kivu region of the DRC that are flush with minerals containing copper and cobalt.
Cobalt can be obtained as a by-product of large scale copper mining. Both elements are used everywhere in the world to produce high-tech products like phones and computers. The U.S. in particular has a great demand for these materials as it reportedly contains one third of the $5 trillion global IT market. The panel pointed out that due to this mad dash for minerals in the Congo, there are negative effects on the spirituality of the country, and there is no help provided for even this aspect.
West Michigan religious leaders and institutions were criticized for not doing enough to try and stop the violence. Israel Siku and Pastor Banza both stated religious entities were choosing not to express their opposition to the violence in the Congo and call for peace. “Churches will go to Ukraine but not to Congo,” said Pastor Banza. He also pointed out racial disparity in U.S. immigration practices. It is commonly known among refugees in America that Ukrainians have a much easier time going through the immigration system and becoming naturalized citizens, while it is notoriously difficult for refugees from the DRC to even be allowed in.
Questions from the audience were taken by panel members near the end of the event. When one attendee asked “What will it take for the US to help the Congo,” responses from the panel centered on the fact that the U.S. benefits from this destabilization. “The world is delighted we are suffering because it [divides Africa and] helps [foreign investment] interests,” said Didas Mbongya, who also provided interpretation services for the event.
The discussion concluded with commitments by the panel to have more events of a similar nature and to improve outreach among the community. The panel feels it is necessary for people’s consciousness to be raised towards the issues in the DRC and all of Africa, and to promote of Pan-African unity so people can see the issues in Africa affect all Africans.
Anti-Immigration hysteria in Kent County: Part II
Within the last week there has been a great deal of hysteria over the murder of Ruby Garcia, a young woman who was murdered by a man who was in a relationship with the victim. The death of Ruby Garcia is a tragedy, but her death has nothing to do with the killer’s immigration status.
In Part I, I looked at how the immigration hysteria has played out in Kent County regarding the issue of whether or not Kent County is a sanctuary for undocumented immigrants. Several Republican members of the Kent County Commission, along with the Kent County Sheriff and a Kent County Administrator made it clear that this county in not a sanctuary for undocumented immigrants. It is true that Kent County is ideologically opposed to undocumented immigrants and that they continue to fully cooperate with ICE in the arrest and detention of those immigrants. Today, I want to address what Michigan members of Congress are saying on this matter, specifically on the matter of the recent death of Ruby Garcia.
Knee jerk reactions from West MI members of Congress
On Friday, March 29th, MLive ran another piece with the headline, Michigan Republicans blast immigration policies after man in U.S. illegally accused of murder.
The article begins with a jingoistic comment from the Chair of the Michigan GOP Pete Hoekstra saying: “West Michigan is not going to accept the open southern border causing murders in our backyard.”
The MLive article continues with details on how the man that killed Ruby Garcia had been deported under President Trump, but then re-entered the country without documentation. The MLive reporter knowingly or unknowingly was setting up their story to provide responses by elected officials to engage in anti-immigrant rhetoric that was never challenged. The MLive piece then says, “Former U.S. Rep. Peter Meijer, R-Grand Rapids, wrote Wednesday on social media that the federal government failed Garcia. “Ruby Garcia was shot and killed, her body dumped on the side of US-131,” wrote Meijer, who is running this fall for an open U.S. Senate seat in Michigan. “The man who confessed to her murder was deported in 2020, and came back into the US illegally.”
The jingoistic trope was allowed to stand and was never challenged by the MLive reporter. During the Obama Administration 3 million undocumented immigrants were deported, while the number of deportations under the Trump Administration decreased, according to the ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Annual Reports, which you can see in the graphic below.
In addition, numerous people who have been deported will often re-enter, primarily out of desperation because it is either too dangerous to remain in their country of origin or the economic conditions are so grave that they would rather risk being arrested, detained and deported again if it means they can earn money to send home to family members. In fact the majority of undocumented immigrants that come to the US work their butts off – often two jobs – doing difficult work that doesn’t pay well, so they can support their families, a point that is well documented in books like Aviva Chomsky’s, “They Take Our Jobs!”: And 20 Other Myths about Immigration.
So, the MLive reporter doesn’t question the claims of the Republicans they cited in the story, instead, they would rather just provide a response from the Democrats, thinking this balances out the reporting. The article then quotes Rep. Hillary Scholten who says:
“My heart breaks for Ruby Garcia and her family as they grapple with this unspeakable tragedy,” Scholten said. “The individual who committed this heinous crime should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. I’m continuing to push for bipartisan immigration reform that both secures our border and makes sure that individuals who come to our country are fully vetted to keep our communities safe.”
The bipartisan immigration legislation that Rep. Scholten is referring to is the Dignity Act, which GRIID has previously critiqued. The Dignity has some positive elements to it, but it also has an emphasis on enforcement, which Scholten spoke to. She said, “Crossings have increased, but so has enforcement. Border agents do have adequate technology resources, which means more enforcement.” Rep. Scholten discussed the need to enforce the existing US immigration laws, but failed to bring up the issue of why so many people are fleeing Mexico and Central American, to come to the US.
Scholten also talked about having bipartisan support for the Dignity Act, specifically with Rep; Salas from Florida. However, the Dignity Act is not Comprehensive Immigration Reform, nor does it address more structural elements of root causes of immigration, such as the US role in supporting military and trade policies in Latin America that have destabilized most of the region, along with the fact that more and more people are being displaced and forced to flee their homelands because of Climate Change. (See Todd Miller’s excellent book, Storming the Wall: Climate Change, Migration and Homeland Security.)
The MLive reporter then gives space to Rep. Huizenga, who states: “President Biden can act right now using the same executive action to improve border security that he used to open the border.” Again, this comment is not verified, even though it is completely not factual. The reality is that the primary difference between the Trump Administration’s immigration policy and the Biden Administration’s is rhetorical. In a post from last year, I methodically documented that the Biden Administration was detaining immigrant children and holding them in awful conditions, increasing funding for US Border Patrol, continuing to build the wall that Trump set out to build, along with many other policies that have been similar. Even during President Biden’s 2024 State of the Union address he referred to undocumented people as illegals, which is the same rhetoric coming out of the Trump camp.
Still no independent perspectives
The rest of the MLive article then continues to support the GOP claims by discussing at length one other case where an immigrant who had been deported came back to the US again and murdered someone in Georgia, along with more details on the Ruby Garcia murder. As I said earlier, there is no real correlation between undocumented immigrants and homicides in the US. Hell, even the libertarian think tank, the Cato Institute, which was founded by the Koch brothers, recently posted a study entitled, Illegal Immigrants Have a Low Homicide Conviction Rate: Setting the Record Straight on Illegal Immigrant Crime.
This is exactly why we need to have journalism that not only verifies the claims of those with political and economic power, we need journalism that investigates critical issues like US immigration policy.
Unfortunately, the MLive article does neither of what I am suggesting, instead they finished the article by including comments from a GOP candidate who is running against Rep. Scholten in the 2024 Election. GOP candidate Michael Markey, Jr stated:
“Inaction by Joe Biden and Hillary Scholten have left another innocent American dead at the hands of an illegal immigrant,” Markey wrote Monday on social media. “Washington is failing the American people and it’s time to disrupt the status quo. Under Joe Biden, every state is a border state.”
Once again, the MLive reporter doesn’t question or verify the rhetorical claims by the GOP candidate, thus leaving the public in the dark about what the actual record is of the Biden Administration or previous US administrations on the matter of immigration policy. Equally important is the fact that rarely does mainstream commercial media ever talk about the root causes of immigrants entering through the US/Mexican border. Those root causes have been because of the longstanding US commitment to support military dictatorships in Latin America, which has cause people to flee their own countries, US initiated trade policies like NAFTA and CAFTA, which has increase poverty in Mexico and Central America, and the serious issue of Climate Change, which has displaced thousands of people, making them climate refugees. These root causes and the history of US policy are addressed in a GRIID popular education document, which is based on an 8 week course on the history of US immigration policy that I offer.
Grand Rapids Institute for Information Democracy 