From Detroit To Ferguson: Being Broke Is Killing Us

In the aftermath of Ferguson’s transformation into an armed camp, supposed oppositional figures within the political establishment, led by the millionaire political huckster Al Sharpton accused the protesters themselves of provoking the violence. These same forces are lined up behind the bankruptcy of Detroit.

Allied with the Sharptons and Jesse Jacksons, operating in the orbit of the Democratic Party and the Obama administration, are a host of pseudo-left organizations who see their central task as preventing the working class from breaking free of the political establishment.

The growth of mass opposition cannot and will not remain confined to this framework. The events in Ferguson are a sign that the working class is moving in another trajectory. In interviews with reporters, protesters saw their situation as part of a broader, systemic problem. Many pointed to the hypocrisy of the claim that America is waging wars for human rights and democracy overseas while it is suppressing democratic rights in the US itself. Many denounced the allocation of billions of dollars for wars and the militarization of the police while no money is provided for decent-paying jobs, housing, education or health care.

The most pressing question is the building a new a new Black leadership to give conscious political expression to the emerging resistance of the working class. This is the basic question arising out of the experiences in Ferguson and Detroit.

Article Appeared @http://www.africanglobe.net/headlines/detroit-ferguson-broke-killing/

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