Photo credit: Quinn Clark
Christian, a member of the Party for Socialism and Liberation, leads the march with chants such as “Black lives matter” and “This is revolution, not a riot.”
On Sunday, Aug. 30, a group of young people in red shirts that read “Party for Socialism and Liberation” gathered in Sherman Park in Milwaukee. Above them, a large, yellow sign declaring, “This is a Revolt Against Racism! Stop the War on Black America!”
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Matt Lind, member of the Party for Socialism and Liberation, believes that rather than reforming the current system, the United States needs an entirely new economic and political system.
Matt Lind, member of the Party for Socialism and Liberation, immediately made the organization’s message clear: to truly achieve justice for Jacob Blake and other victims of police brutality, the United States needs an entirely new system. “There’s no way we can reform when the system, at its core, is racist,” Lind said. “Police are built on the grounds of slave catchers and today we see they are practically targeting marginalized communities.”
As time went on, more people gathered on the grass to show their support. They carried large protest signs that demanded justice for Jacob Blake and justice for all of those who have suffered under, as the PSL calls it, an oppressive capitalistic society.
Photo credit: Quinn Clark
Members of the Party for Socialism and Liberation lead the group’s march through neighborhoods on the North Side of Milwaukee.
Studying Black History
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Christian, member of the Party for Socialism and Liberation, speaks to a group of protesters, announcing that it is time for the people of the United States to take matters into their own hands. “Slavery did not end,” he said.
Christian, who’d rather not have his last name shared, stood with others from Milwaukee’s chapter of the PSL. He’s been a member since January. As a student at UW-Milwaukee, his eyes were opened to socialism after learning of the systematic and institutionalized racism in the United States. As a young black man, he studied black history and learned of his heroes: the Black Panther Party, Malcolm X, Stokely Carmichael, H. Rap Brown and Martin Luther King. “What people don't realize is that Martin Luther King was a socialist by the end of his life,” Christian said.
Like others in the PSL, Christian believes that, in order to stop the killing of minorities, the United States needs to adapt to an entirely new socialistic system. He says that, before people immediately think of socialism as a scary word, to remember that it is for the people, with the everyday American person’s life in mind. “Most of the reforms in the capitalist system, you know, they put obstacles in front of you, which prevents you from achieving the ultimate goal, which is liberation,” Christian added.
Underneath the PSL’s yellow sign, protesters shared their experiences of interacting with the police in Kenosha. Among the people who spoke, a couple, Oscar “Spaidez” Walton and Mimi Ahmed, shared their story of Walton being arrested.
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Photo credit: Quinn Clark
Oscar “Spaidez” Walton and Mimi Ahmed tell protesters the story of Walton’s arrest. The couple claims that officers had previously told them they would not be making arrests.
Ahmed said that one night after protesting, the couple, along with a small group of others, were in a park in Kenosha. Since they were out past curfew, they were afraid that they’d be arrested while walking to their cars. Three officers walked up to them and told them they wouldn’t be arrested if they stayed in the park. However, later on in the night, the National Guard “came marching out” into the park. “It was the scariest moment of my life,” Ahmed said. “They all had guns and M16’s and big, huge guns and armor on.”
Through a megaphone, Walton asked the National Guard why they were there if the group was sitting peacefully. He demanded to know why they were being threatened. It seemed that the police did not want to answer his questions—instead, they arrested him. “They don’t give you a mask. There’s 13 to 12 people to a pod,” Walton said. “It's people that have been in booking for three days straight.”
Walton told the group that the police interrogated him, demanding to know when and where the next march would be. He felt like the police thought of Black Lives Matter as a terrorist organization.
Stop the Killing
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Matt Lind, member of the Party for Socialism and Liberation, raises a fist in response to passersby honking their horns in solidarity.
After speakers shared their stories, the group began to march into the neighborhood next to Sherman Park. Christian and other protesters led chants like, “Stop killing us,” “1, 2, 3, f**k 12” and “Black is beautiful.” Cars passed by and blared their horns and raised their fists out of their car windows in solidarity. The group raised their fists back in response.
Marching with the group, it was clear that they were fed up with having their lives at risk and were ready for a major change. It was also clear that they showed no signs of stopping until they were heard. The march ended back at Sherman Park, where the group announced that they could take change into their own hands if they wanted t— they didn’t have to wait for those in power to do so. Inspired by the message, supporters yelled and erupted in applause.
To learn more about the PSL, visit https://www.pslweb.org/.
Photo credit: Quinn Clark
The protesters finish their march back in Sherman Park with final messages, inspiring the crowd to believe in their own strength to change the system.
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