Statement by the Party for Socialism and Liberation
Let there be no doubt. Without the people’s sustained daily protests, marches, rallies, agitation and even rebellion, there would have been no indictment of the cops responsible for the death of Freddie Gray.
The state prosecutor Marilyn Mosby said, “To the people of Baltimore and the demonstrators across America, I heard your call for ‘no justice, no peace.’”
Mosby and certain other officials hope that prosecution of the officers will end or muffle the struggle of the people.
But the police will now go on an aggressive counter-attack against protest and any official, including Mosby, who refuses to act as their mouthpiece.
In fact, the police in Baltimore are trying to replace Mosby with a special prosecutor. Any government official who listens to the cry of the people for justice becomes an immediate target by police organizations—not only in Baltimore but in New York City and in cities around the United States.
The police murdered Freddie Gray. Those are the facts. He was perfectly healthy until they stopped him, minutes later his neck was broken, and then he died. Usually, the facts don’t matter when the police execute someone or beat them or arrest them falsely.
This time is different because of the struggle of the people. A new movement is growing and the powers-that-be cannot fail to take notice.
Now we must continue to intensify the fight-back, because the police are determined to win freedom for those who killed Freddie Gray. We will continue to organize, protest, join together, agitate and mobilize our communities.
As the anti-slavery freedom fighter Frederick Douglass said, “If there is no struggle, there is no progress.”
