Wed 12/8 at 7pm
in Savery Hall Room 139
Handcuffed and pinned to the ground, Oscar Grant, an unarmed young Black man, was shot to death by an Oakland police officer Johannes Mehserle on New Year's Day of 2009. Even though the murder was recorded by an onlooker’s cellophane, at his November, 2010 sentencing Mehserle only received a two year jail sentence that will likely be reduced to just 72 days with time served.
The attack on immigrant communities continue to mount as raids and deportations have accelerated passed the levels even under George W. Bush. Anti-immigrant bashing has been most visible with Arizona’s “Juan Crow” laws—like the racial profiling HB 1070 and AZ's banning of ethnic studies programs from the public schools.
While the media hailed the election of Barak Obama as signaling a “post-racial” era in the U.S., people of color are facing jobless rates at twice the level of whites. Meanwhile, we have seen Obama distance himself from any explicit fight against racism while simultaneously witnessing Tea Party right-wingers launch racist attacks against Muslims, immigrants, and African Americans.
It’s time to organize a fight against racism.
Socialists have been at the front of some of the most important struggles against racism in US history—from the Communist Party in the 1930s to the Black Panther Party in the 1960s and 70s. With the economy in crisis, the relationship between race and class is increasing visible and new possibilities exist to rebuild a class struggle for racial justice.
Join the international Socialist Organization to discuss the history of racism in America and develop strategies for fighting against it today.
