• June 2020 Newsletter

HOUSTON – You don’t need the Green Party of Texas (GPTX) to tell you that the current moment is a crisis of authoritarian capitalism. Abuse of authority, police brutality, white supremacy, systemic racism – heartbreaking economic & social conditions – sheer incompetence and waste, all are on full display for anyone to observe.  How can we navigate a pandemic without healthcare for all? How can we loosen environmental restrictions and disregard responsible climate action in a time of looming climate crisis? How can we be so completely dysfunctional?

BALTIMORE – In a few short weeks, a vibrant and powerful movement has erupted in this country, with reverberations and solidarity actions across the globe. Not just bystanders, Maryland Green Party members took part in actions and demonstrations in counties throughout the state. In addition to the rallies, protests and vigils, here is a brief snapshot of other events and activity the Maryland Green Party is involved in support of  the uprisings and movements proclaiming “Black Lives Matter”.

PHILADELPHIA – On March 23, the members of the Green Party of Philadelphia (GPOP) announced their endorsement of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement as well as the protests that are a response to the murder of George Floyd. They encouraged people to get in the street and make their voices heard. However, they also asked participants to take precautions. Please be sure to follow all social distancing guidelines (6 feet apart, wear a mask, hand sanitize). The spread of COVID-19 is still a primary concern, though the need for social justice takes precedence. As Maya Angelou said, “The truth is, no one of us can be free until everybody is free.”

By Don Fitz

Scenes of sorrow spread across the US. Football teams apologize. Cops march with demonstrators. Democratic Party politicians call for "structural change" in police departments.

Some of these are sincere. Others are crocodile tears shed in hopes that people will be pacified with assurances that turn out to be vague rhetoric devoid of meaning or else empty promises that will never be fulfilled. Yet, there are changes that would cost little, could happen quickly, and be reminders to future generations of what happened in 2020.

ST. PAUL, Mn. — Minnesota's Black Lives Matter chapter took to the state Capitol on Friday to mark Juneteenth with a demand for reparations and real police reform in a continued push for racial justice following the death of George Floyd.

Juneteenth, the traditional commemoration date of the emancipation of enslaved African Americans, has taken on new resonance this year. There have been protests around the U.S. and beyond stemming from Floyd's death after being restrained by Minneapolis police officers.

• An appeal from the Universal African Peoples Organization / Green Party of St. Louis

ST LOUIS – Statues are coming down and street names are changing. This means that it as important to say what we foresee for the future as it is to dismantle the old.

University City offers a unique opportunity to make "Black Lives Matter." In 2008, policeman Mike King was murdered on Leland Ave. When the police asked that a street be named after him, no one objected. The City Hall of University City is now at the corner of Delmar Blvd. and Sgt. Mike King Dr. We ask this question: If it is good to name a street after a policeman killed by a civilian, would it not be just to name a street after a civilian killed by a policeman?

The Green Party National Black Caucus honors the legacy and collective power of the community and has been building up to today's celebration of Juneteenth (June 19).

Juneteenth recognizes the time when freed slaves in Texas were finally aware of their freedom and the end of the “Civil War”. That day came nearly two and one half years after the Emancipation Proclamation.

• An Illusive Freedom

• Latest news from the Green Party of Santa Clara County

It was 155 years ago on June 19, 1865, that an "end to slavery" was declared in Texas. Juneteenth celebrates this historic event, but are Black people really free in the 21st century? The disenfranchisement, systematic racism and oppression of Black and Brown communities across our country are still very present.

• George Floyd's murder is not an aberration. Ahmaud Arbery's murder is not an aberration. Breonna Taylor's murder is not an aberration. Tony McDade's murder is not an aberration

• By Alan Smith, Co-chair, Green Party of Pennsylvania

PHILADELPHIA – For the past four months we have stopped what we were doing. We have taken drastic, life altering, paradigm shifting changes in order to deal with a global pandemic. The same energy is needed now in dealing with a 400 year old pandemic called white supremacy. It's the brutal treatment by white enslavers on ships sailing across the Atlantic, and the bombing of dark skinned peoples by a Black president with drones flying high in the sky. It's 17 year old Antwon Rose, Jr, killed by a white police officer in Pittsburgh and a black neighborhood in Philadelphia bombed by a Black mayor. White supremacy is a world-wide disease characterized by the dehumanization and devaluation of Black life.

• Statement from the Indiana Green Party Black Caucus

INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Black Caucus stands in solidarity with every community that has experienced recent police murders, especially in the past 30 days, and releases the following statement:

As Black and Brown people are being brutally beaten or murdered with the perpetrators getting free passes and paid vacations, the Indiana Black Caucus calls for an end to police brutality and for a review of the laws, procedures and policies that impact community policing.