Photo: Liberation photo credit Nathan Schmidt
On the eve of the verdict of the Derek Chauvin trial for the murder of George Floyd, and in the aftermath of the police killings of Daunte Wright, in Brooklyn Center, Minn., and Anthony Alvarez and Adam Toledo in Chicago, people in Milwaukee took to the streets.
“As the weather gets nice, springtime brings out joy. But it also brings out pain. At the same time that we see the joy of kids playing on swing sets, people playing basketball and people having cookouts, we also see more violence in our communities. Specifically, more violence from police brutality,” said Lex Marquez Nutile of the Party for Socialism and Liberation Milwaukee as he spoke to a crowd of about 100 people.
It began at Dontre Hamilton Park — named by the community after Dontre Hamilton, a Black man killed by Milwaukee police in 2014. People spoke out against police terror and violence, white supremacy, imperialism, and all forms of bigotry and oppression. Speakers like Nutile and others emphasized the need for systemic change from revolution rather than transient and ineffective reforms.
“We are fighting for the abolition of the police, of white supremacy and of the capitalist state because they all need to go. And we need to build a movement that is intersectional. … When we’re fighting in the struggle, we need everybody. Because the only way we will get justice is if we come together and abolish the system,” Nutile told participants.
Directly after the speeches, a moment of silence was held for all those lost at the hand of police killers. The names of Daunte Wright, Adam Toledo, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Jonathan Tubby, Syville Smith, Joel Acevedo and others were memorialized by participants.
As demonstrators occupied the streets on foot and in cars, chants of “Daunte Wright,” “Adam Toledo,” “Black lives matter,” “Brown lives matter,” “Asian lives matter,” “Black women’s lives matter,” and “Send killer cops to jail, the whole damn system is guilty as Hell” resounded throughout Milwaukee’s downtown area.
The protest paused as it passed the Milwaukee Police Administration building and city hall. Turning out in force and in solidarity, the community showed it is no longer willing to accept the status quo and that revolutionary change is on the table.
Tony, a participant from the community told Liberation News that he was ecstatic to be a part of organized action working for the abolition of the police and for revolutionary change.
In light of the jury finding Derek Chauvin guilty on all charges and sending him to jail to await sentencing, it was working people around the country, and the world, that forced justice for the murder of George Floyd. It is a hard-earned and well-deserved victory for the working class and the Floyd family. It is one that should be celebrated. However, it is small consolation to the Floyd family who lost a father, brother, uncle and son forever. It is just one round in an ongoing fight.
“For abolition of the police to happen, you have to abolish the whole capitalist system, because no amount of reform or money can amount to the justice these victims truly deserve. We must overthrow this system with a revolutionary movement. In order to achieve revolution we have to continue to build a radical revolutionary movement organized to resist the power structure,” said Christiaan Cocroft of Milwaukee PSL speaking to the crowd.
