By African American Commission of FRSO
The African American Commission of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization condemns the occupation of Washington DC by Trump in his deployment of the National Guard and federal police to DC’s streets. Trump, at the press conference announcing his decision Monday, evoked Section 740 of the DC Home Rule Act, which allows for the federal government to take direct control of the DC Metro Police. Trump in his press conference talked about giving DC police the power to do “whatever the hell they want.”
Washington DC, a city on the upper edge of the Black Belt, has a large Black population, with Black people being 43% of the city as of the previous census. The people of DC have long been victim to a lack of home rule in their own democratic affairs and a lack of Black democratic representation in Congress. Demands around DC statehood have been raised and supported by various strands of the Black Liberation Movement, with legislation like HR 51 stalling in Congress for years.
The FRSO African American Commission sees this occupation as an escalation in Trump’s police terror agenda and a blatant tool of national oppression. If in 2020, Trump’s attacks on DC Black Lives Matter protesters for a photo op was a dress rehearsal for what unleashed police terror would look like, this was potentially the opening act. This isn’t the threat of open police terror. This is Trump’s push towards the implementation of it.
We can’t ignore Trump’s other attacks on Black Liberation Movement during his 2024 presidency. Trump’s anti-George Floyd Act executive order seeks to expand the police and prison state. From federalizing local police to be ICE agents to occupying LA with National Guard troops, the Trump administration is advancing its agenda at a rapid pace, and this is another extreme provocation. The occupation of Washington DC should be seen as a direct attack on the Black Liberation Movement and what was gained through sacrifice and struggle. These attacks will continue and spread to other cities, and the people will have to fight back. Trump understands the power our movement holds and is doing all he can to prevent our advance.
Currently in Texas, right-wing Governor Greg Abbott and his right-wing legislature are seeking to further strip away more Black congressional districts with racist gerrymandering, a plan of attack that states like Florida, along with Alabama, are seeking to mimic.
From attempts to implement even more police impunity in DC, to stripping away Black political representation in Texas, these attacks are all connected, and we stand against them. The African American Commission of FRSO continues to support the demand for community control of the police and we see Trump’s actions as the direct opposite of those demands, putting policing of Black communities directly under his control. We call on all forces in the Black Liberation Movement to stand against these attacks on Black democratic rights. We must unite all who can be united against the white supremacist agenda of Donald Trump.
Stop the DC Occupation!
DC Statehood Now!
Defeat the Racist Trump Agenda!
