How to Rebuild the Movement

In 2020, the video of George Floyd’s death under the knee of Minneapolis cop Derek Chauvin sparked millions to protest nationwide. “Black Lives Matter” signs were everywhere, and in a rarity, Chauvin was convicted of murder. Many had hopes that the tide was turning for black America. But those hopes were quickly dashed. Murderous cop terror against black people and Latinos kept climbing to record levels—long before Trump’s re-election. Just last month, three Memphis cops who beat young black motorist Tyre Nichols to death in 2023 were acquitted of all state charges. The Democrats who kneeled for George Floyd in 2020 have dropped any pretense of caring about black rights. The movement against police brutality has all but disappeared, leaving activists isolated and demoralized and racial segregation untouched.

Why didn’t the BLM protests do anything to improve conditions for black people in the U.S.? Everybody has an answer: the movement was hijacked, its leaders were corrupted or its organizers didn’t work hard enough. All these explanations miss the key point. From the get-go, BLM was completely hamstrung by its dead-end liberal program of police reform, calling on the racist rulers, their politicians and even their killer cops to “do the right thing.” “Black Lives Matter” was not a call for freedom or power, but an appeal to the bosses to “care” about black people. Everyone from Biden/Harris to the Bank of America embraced this empty sentiment without changing a thing. Because the country’s rulers lean so heavily on black oppression to divide the working class and maintain their hold on society, it is impossible for the black struggle to take a single step forward without going up against the interests of the entire ruling class. A liberal movement like BLM—which seeks allies among the ruling class—will always betray.

The problem with BLM liberalism did not end there. BLM put the blame for racial oppression on racist ideas and the supposed “privilege” of white workers. That was both false and self-defeating. White workers have every reason to fight against black oppression. The capitalist rulers forcibly segregate black people at the bottom of society in order to drag down everyone’s conditions and prevent a collective fight for better conditions. Instead of encouraging white workers to throw in with the black struggle to improve their own situation, BLM helped drive them into the arms of MAGA, reinforcing racial divisions in the working class.

The Open Police Archives (OPA) campaign aims to rebuild the movement against racist cop terror on a basis that can win, by showing in action the necessity of mobilizing the working class to fight for justice against the capitalist rulers. This is the very opposite of relying on the courts and prosecutors or pushing cop reform schemes that promise “accountability” and “transparency” or community control when the cops will only ever be accountable and transparent to their capitalist masters. Such schemes only entangle black people and Latinos in the very repressive state apparatus that is gunning for them—and are especially suicidal at the very moment Trump is ramping up repression across the board.

With the attacks escalating daily, it is more important than ever to link the struggles of the working class and all the oppressed in order to survive these turbulent times with minimal damage. The raw and justified anger expressed in the drive for justice for the cops’ victims must be fused with the discontent simmering in the working class.

Our demand to open the archives is popular among victims of cop terror and their families, who are looking for answers and justice. Exposing the crimes of the capitalist state is an elementary act of self-defense for the black community. Many activists, though, still cling to so-called progressive and liberal forces, which only undermine the fight against cop terror. OPA helps break those chains by exposing the true face of the liberals, who smile and stab us in the back. For example, when “progressive” Alameda County DA Pamela Price was facing recall last year, we posed the question to her point blank: would she jail killer cops like she had promised and open the police archives or would she betray? Guess which one she did. This proved that her promises were just lip service to get into office by riding the BLM wave.

In recent months, OPA committees have brought our campaign into the unions. On June 3, Chicago OPA activists, including several relatives of victims of cop terror and racist frame-ups, were invited to report to the Region 4 UAW Civil & Human Rights Council, representing unionists from 12 North-Central states. Our campaign was extremely well received, and the Council endorsed OPA.

In the Bronx, we have held several united-front protests in solidarity with Eric Duprey’s family at court dates for the cop who killed him, Erik Duran. Members of the Transit Workers for a Fighting Union were among the union members who have participated in the rallies. At the June 10 court date, the prosecutors admitted they had botched disclosure of hundreds of pages of evidence, claiming that the NYPD had hidden the files. This delayed the trial again and gave the defense arguments to exclude evidence or even dismiss the case. These developments only underscore that we cannot rely on the cops, prosecutors or courts for justice. All the files in these cases must be opened to public scrutiny!

In Los Angeles, the Committee for One Fighting Transit Union was part of an OPA contingent at a May 10 Mother’s Day rally calling for justice for families of inmates who were killed at the L.A. Men’s Central Jail. Earlier this spring, one of the protest organizers, Terry Lovett, addressed a meeting of the Bay Area’s International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 10 executive board, which voted to donate funds for a second autopsy for her son, Jalani Lovett. “I was a member of ILWU Local 6 for the twelve years that I worked at local warehouses, so I know how valuable a union is,” Terry wrote in a letter to Local 10. “I thank Local 10 for supporting the call to Open All Police Archives, something I’ve been fighting for because I want to know what’s in Jalani’s records that they’re not showing me.”

Recently, the Freedom Socialist Party endorsed the OPA campaign, and the International People’s Democratic Uhuru Movement has endorsed the Bronx Eric Duprey rallies. We encourage the rest of the left and everyone who wants to take a stand against racist cop terror to join or start an OPA committee. The OPA committees are united fronts, allowing people of different political tendencies to engage in common struggle while discussing and debating how best to fight cop terror, as well as the broader strategy for black liberation and the emancipation of the whole working people. Build OPA committees! For united multiracial class-struggle defense!