HUNDREDS of people marched through Brixton on Sunday 3rd May to
show solidarity with the people of Baltimore in their struggle against police
brutality and racism.
Baltimore has erupted in protests after a 25-year-old
African American, Freddie Gray, died in police custody with a broken neck – the
most recent in a long litany of black victims of shocking police brutality made
public through social media.
The people of Brixton in south London have also had their
share of clashes with racist police. Brixton is noted for its diverse ethnic
mix and has had a thriving West Indian since the 1950s, now joined by a large
African community.
Brixton has seen riots against police brutality in 1982 and
2011.
Last Sunday, in the event organised by the Black Revs (Black
Revolutionaries), the banners proclaimed: “No justice, no peace”, “Africans
have a right to resist,” and “Reclaim Brixton”.
The community is also engaged in a titanic battle against
“gentrification” of the area, soaring rents and the destruction of working
class homes and communities to be replaced by luxury apartments that no local
can afford.
In Baltimore, a curfew was lifted on Saturday after scores
of arrests were made over the week, with over 3,000 security forces on the
ground, backed up by the National Guard.
The tensions there eased after six policemen involved in
Freddie Gray’s death were arrested and charges were brought against them.
But they were renewed again earlier this week after another
black man was reported to have been shot in the back while running away from
police. Police are claiming that no one was hurt but video footage shows a
black man being taken away in an ambulance.
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