With recent worldwide mass protests around the world against police terrorism against the African masses, and the capitalist system’s violent responses to those protests, many people are openly raising questions about disparities in state responses. The question being raised is why U.S. police and intelligence forces always demonstrate a violent and coordinated response to our demands for justice while seemingly ignoring the terror that has been and is regularly directed at colonized people by white supremacists for centuries? The recent white, right so-called protests against coronavirus restrictions are often being raised as an example of the disparity. In those so-called protests, white supremacist militias appear at state houses with automatic and semi-automatic weapons while seeming to have a cooperative relationship with police on the premises. These same armed white terrorists appear at peaceful demonstrations against police terror brandishing weapons and even appearing to stage to attack demonstrators, with no resistance or response from police agencies to their activities. For observers of this phenomenon, the optics are that armed white supremacists have license to intimidate peaceful voices against injustice while those same voices are harassed, brutalized, and systemically prevented from having their voice.
The intentions behind raising these contradictions are sincere, although somewhat naïve about the framework of this racist system. Its already been widely documented through this blog and many other credible sources how police departments as institutions evolve from posse patrols designed to terrorize Africans simply seeking a better way of life away from slave plantations in the Southern U.S. The so-called Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) evolved in the form of the so-called U.S. Department of Justice. In 1919, the 24 year old newly appointed director of this new department – J. Edgar Hoover – cut his teeth in U.S. law enforcement by tackling the task of dismantling, sabotaging, and discrediting Marcus Mosiah Garvey and the growing Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) which Garvey was building as a worldwide Pan-Africanist organization at that time. The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was created in 1948, specifically to serve as a violent and clandestine operation designed to sabotage any efforts worldwide that were and are working to develop socialist movements that, by their very existence, pose as threats to the U.S. led worldwide capitalist network. A network that owes all of its wealth to the systemic theft of Africa’s human and material resources.
Clearly, there is no so-called law enforcement entity within any capitalist society that exists to serve any interest beyond ensuring that the capitalist system is upheld. And, upholding the capitalist system means repressing and attempting to destroy any social justice movement. Whether it’s the worldwide revolutionary Pan-African movement, Black Lives Matter, Standing Rock, or any movement fighting to challenge the capitalist power structure, this is true. In other words, social movements for justice are attacked by the U.S. police and intelligence apparatuses simply because those government entities exist to uphold the oppressive nature of the capitalist system. The confusion is so many people desire to see these institutions as entities that can be reformed to represent justice. This desire is not realistic. When police terrorize us and shoot us down, they are engaging in behavior that is completely consistent with their founding as terrorists against our people who were just seeking peace. When the FBI engages in its counter intelligence program (COINTELPRO) it is only carrying out the mission its long time leader – Hoover – stated clearly in 1968 when he said the greatest threat to U.S. security is “Negro unity.” Even if we are confused, Hoover understood that the capitalist system can only exist and thrive by keeping Africa and Africans oppressed and disorganized. He understood that his role as director of the U.S.’s largest internal intelligence organization was to ensure we did not organize to challenge the foundations of this backward system. When the CIA plots to assassinate revolutionaries from Che Guevara to Patrice Lumumba to Muammar Qaddafi, they are only fulfilling their primary function of ensuring the entire world is left wide open to capitalist imperialist domination.
These points all true champions for justice must acknowledge because once you do, the confusion is easy to clear up. The Ku Klux Klan, neo-nazi groups, right wing militia/Trump supporting people, etc., represent a very different reality. Regardless of whether they organize to terrorize us. Regardless of whether they carry out that terror. No matter what these people do, nothing they are doing poses any challenge to the capitalist power structure. Zero challenge. In fact, much of their activities actually supports and upholds capitalism. When they “demand” that the economy opens up, who is really going to benefit from that demand being fulfilled? Obviously, the first benefactors will be the capitalist businesses who can open and continue to profit. Certainly, the highest risks in this scenario are being held by colonized people who perform most of the most dangerous jobs that regularly expose them to becoming sick in this society. Nothing about any of that does anything to change the basis of how this oppressive system operates. And, when those same people show up to challenge and/or intimidate protests against police terror, capitalism, etc., by carrying out their terrorist activities, they are actually assisting the works of the organized state institutions who, again, exist only to ensure capitalism’s interests are protected.
With this ill refutable analysis, its ill logical to expect capitalist police and intelligence agencies to do anything to challenge the forces of white supremacy who are enacting the same interests that the policing agencies are sworn to protect. It’s a simple equation. One side upholds this backward system while the other side challenges it. Even with historical examples where the FBI has placed a infiltrator within groups like the Klan, that was only done due to the intense pressure being placed against the federal government to do so by the mass movement that was being terrorized by Klan (etc) activities. There are numerous examples to illustrate this point, but there is no evidence to substantiate that the FBI was truly committed to challenging the Klan or any white supremacist organization. Most of the records of this so-called “infiltration” show a complete lack of production in terms of doing anything to stunt the terrorism of these groups. All of the major crimes against civil rights activists from the Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. church bombing to the assassinations of activists like Sammy Younge, Herman Lee, and Medgar Evers, very little was done to confront and address that. And, in the case of the white Detroit mother Viola Luizzo, who was murdered in Alabama attempting to support organizing efforts against white supremacy, she was killed by a Klansman shooting at her from a vehicle in which the FBI informant was seated in that same vehicle.
What’s going to be essential going forward is pursuers of justice must come to terms with the reality that once you take your stand, you are standing with the masses of people who you are standing with. And, even if you don’t realize it immediately upon your entry into the work, what you are really fighting against is the entire capitalist system, not just manifestations in it like police, etc. Everyone must learn about and accept this cold hard reality. This government isn’t going to investigate, arrest, and punish police and/or white supremacists who terrorize us unless we mobilize mass pressure them to do so. And, even then, we are only going to be treading water until the next terror act is committed against us. Resolving this oppression will only ever result from our mass organizing efforts to build capacity for revolutionary organization and violence that will serve as the only mechanism that will ever effectively address these questions once and for all.
The intentions behind raising these contradictions are sincere, although somewhat naïve about the framework of this racist system. Its already been widely documented through this blog and many other credible sources how police departments as institutions evolve from posse patrols designed to terrorize Africans simply seeking a better way of life away from slave plantations in the Southern U.S. The so-called Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) evolved in the form of the so-called U.S. Department of Justice. In 1919, the 24 year old newly appointed director of this new department – J. Edgar Hoover – cut his teeth in U.S. law enforcement by tackling the task of dismantling, sabotaging, and discrediting Marcus Mosiah Garvey and the growing Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) which Garvey was building as a worldwide Pan-Africanist organization at that time. The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was created in 1948, specifically to serve as a violent and clandestine operation designed to sabotage any efforts worldwide that were and are working to develop socialist movements that, by their very existence, pose as threats to the U.S. led worldwide capitalist network. A network that owes all of its wealth to the systemic theft of Africa’s human and material resources.
Clearly, there is no so-called law enforcement entity within any capitalist society that exists to serve any interest beyond ensuring that the capitalist system is upheld. And, upholding the capitalist system means repressing and attempting to destroy any social justice movement. Whether it’s the worldwide revolutionary Pan-African movement, Black Lives Matter, Standing Rock, or any movement fighting to challenge the capitalist power structure, this is true. In other words, social movements for justice are attacked by the U.S. police and intelligence apparatuses simply because those government entities exist to uphold the oppressive nature of the capitalist system. The confusion is so many people desire to see these institutions as entities that can be reformed to represent justice. This desire is not realistic. When police terrorize us and shoot us down, they are engaging in behavior that is completely consistent with their founding as terrorists against our people who were just seeking peace. When the FBI engages in its counter intelligence program (COINTELPRO) it is only carrying out the mission its long time leader – Hoover – stated clearly in 1968 when he said the greatest threat to U.S. security is “Negro unity.” Even if we are confused, Hoover understood that the capitalist system can only exist and thrive by keeping Africa and Africans oppressed and disorganized. He understood that his role as director of the U.S.’s largest internal intelligence organization was to ensure we did not organize to challenge the foundations of this backward system. When the CIA plots to assassinate revolutionaries from Che Guevara to Patrice Lumumba to Muammar Qaddafi, they are only fulfilling their primary function of ensuring the entire world is left wide open to capitalist imperialist domination.
These points all true champions for justice must acknowledge because once you do, the confusion is easy to clear up. The Ku Klux Klan, neo-nazi groups, right wing militia/Trump supporting people, etc., represent a very different reality. Regardless of whether they organize to terrorize us. Regardless of whether they carry out that terror. No matter what these people do, nothing they are doing poses any challenge to the capitalist power structure. Zero challenge. In fact, much of their activities actually supports and upholds capitalism. When they “demand” that the economy opens up, who is really going to benefit from that demand being fulfilled? Obviously, the first benefactors will be the capitalist businesses who can open and continue to profit. Certainly, the highest risks in this scenario are being held by colonized people who perform most of the most dangerous jobs that regularly expose them to becoming sick in this society. Nothing about any of that does anything to change the basis of how this oppressive system operates. And, when those same people show up to challenge and/or intimidate protests against police terror, capitalism, etc., by carrying out their terrorist activities, they are actually assisting the works of the organized state institutions who, again, exist only to ensure capitalism’s interests are protected.
With this ill refutable analysis, its ill logical to expect capitalist police and intelligence agencies to do anything to challenge the forces of white supremacy who are enacting the same interests that the policing agencies are sworn to protect. It’s a simple equation. One side upholds this backward system while the other side challenges it. Even with historical examples where the FBI has placed a infiltrator within groups like the Klan, that was only done due to the intense pressure being placed against the federal government to do so by the mass movement that was being terrorized by Klan (etc) activities. There are numerous examples to illustrate this point, but there is no evidence to substantiate that the FBI was truly committed to challenging the Klan or any white supremacist organization. Most of the records of this so-called “infiltration” show a complete lack of production in terms of doing anything to stunt the terrorism of these groups. All of the major crimes against civil rights activists from the Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. church bombing to the assassinations of activists like Sammy Younge, Herman Lee, and Medgar Evers, very little was done to confront and address that. And, in the case of the white Detroit mother Viola Luizzo, who was murdered in Alabama attempting to support organizing efforts against white supremacy, she was killed by a Klansman shooting at her from a vehicle in which the FBI informant was seated in that same vehicle.
What’s going to be essential going forward is pursuers of justice must come to terms with the reality that once you take your stand, you are standing with the masses of people who you are standing with. And, even if you don’t realize it immediately upon your entry into the work, what you are really fighting against is the entire capitalist system, not just manifestations in it like police, etc. Everyone must learn about and accept this cold hard reality. This government isn’t going to investigate, arrest, and punish police and/or white supremacists who terrorize us unless we mobilize mass pressure them to do so. And, even then, we are only going to be treading water until the next terror act is committed against us. Resolving this oppression will only ever result from our mass organizing efforts to build capacity for revolutionary organization and violence that will serve as the only mechanism that will ever effectively address these questions once and for all.
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