Next Step: Chapter Response Meeting on February 13th, 1pm over Zoom. Register here.
All of us in DSA are devastated by the killing of Amir Locke – yet another murder at the hands of the Minneapolis Police Department. While shocking, Amir’s death is the sadly predictable result of the continued existence of a violent and white-supremacist police force and a political establishment that relies on the legitimacy of police power. On Thursday morning, we released the statement below over our social media channels (some edits made for accuracy and clarity). [Ed. note – the first demand, release of body-cam footage, has since been complied with.] On Friday, over 30 of our members gathered over Zoom to grieve, discuss, and identify our next steps. Based on the discussion in that meeting, the Steering Committee voted to endorse the Saturday coalition rally in downtown Minneapolis. Thank you to the many comrades who turned out in the streets on a cold day to express our rage, our grief, and our solidarity. On Sunday, February 13th at 1pm, we have a meeting scheduled to hold a space to reflect as a chapter and plan the next steps of our response. Register here.
By Ian R., TCDSA co-chair
Photo credit – Michael B., TCDSA member
Thursday morning’s social media posts from TCDSA:
May the family of Amir Locke find support from their community in this tragic hour. He was only 22 years old. He was sleeping on a family member’s couch. Not even a suspect. The Minneapolis and St. Paul Police Departments keep showing they are the #1 gang in our cities.
TCDSA recognizes racist police killings as the continuing violence against Black and Indigenous people that has been central to U.S. capitalism. From genocide and settlement to slavery & Jim Crow, the police have been used to strike fear and divide us. To terrorize us.
TCDSA stands in solidarity with Amir Locke’s family. We stand with our comrades on the streets to demand justice! We affirm the people’s right to confront a profoundly unjust and unresponsive state! The voices of the people must be heard! Their demands must be met! We echo the community demands:
– Immediate release of body camera footage by Mayor Frey and MPD
– The end of “no-knock” police & SWAT deployment by MPD and SPPD
– Defunding MPD & SPPD and funding a public safety workforce that meets the needs of our communities
Let us reiterate where we stand, from the DSA Political Platform:
“The origins of policing and prisons and their present-day effects demonstrate that they are are white supremacist institutions.” “For all of the working class to achieve collective liberation we must constrain, diminish, and abolish the carceral forces of the state — from prisons and police themselves, to their manifestations in all forms throughout society.”
Say his name! Amir Locke!
No justice! No peace!
Abolish the police!