Journalist: Blacks subjected to brutality for the US ruling class

An African American journalist and political analyst said since the inception of the police in the United States African people have been “subjected to brutality and death in the interests of the ruling class.”

Abayomi Azikiwe, an editor at the Pan-African News Wire, made the remarks in an interview with Press TV on Saturday while commenting on new reports of police violence against Black people.

An Ohio police officer fatally shot an unarmed Black man within a second of opening his bedroom door early on Tuesday morning during an attempt to serve an arrest warrant.

People on Friday took out to the streets in Columbus, Ohio, to protest the killing.

Protesters, including family members, friends, and community members of 20-year-old Donovan Lewis, who was killed on August 30, rallied in the Columbus Division of Police Headquarters to demand justice for him and other Black victims of police brutality.

“These attacks on the African American people have not stopped. The emphasis on the unjust policing tactics resulting in injuries and deaths has been taken off the national media outlets in order to create a false notion that the problems of law-enforcement misconduct has declined significantly,” said Azikiwe.  

“The administration of President Joe Biden denounced the idea of defunding the police and called for additional resources for law-enforcement agencies. In cities like Detroit the police already drain the municipal budget by 30%. Unfortunately, the police are being given American Rescue Plan monies which are designed as COVID-19 relief assistance from the federal government. The brutal police action in Columbus that took the life of Donavan Lewis is representative of the character of racism and national oppression that African Americans experience daily,” he added.

Black people dying at the hands of US police have ignited widespread protests against racism and demands for police reform.

‘Biden administration not delivered on promises’

Azikiwe said, “These demonstrations which peaked during the summer and fall of 2020 in the aftermath of the brutal execution of George Floyd by the Minneapolis police were historic.”

“Since this time period there has been a national election where a new administration has taken over the institutions of authority. Yet fundamental change has not occurred. The Biden administration has not delivered on any of needs and desires of the African American people,” he added.

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“At present Biden is pointing to the excesses of the ultra-right forces represented by former President Donald Trump. However, the current administration has ignited a full-blown war in Ukraine involving the Russian Federation. Biden and the Congressional leadership are provoking a military conflict with the People's Republic of China over the status of Taiwan among other issues. The Biden administration must be held politically accountable for the current recession which was spawned by high rates of inflation. Biden has not imposed any effective anti-inflation measures. The bill which passed Congress and the Senate last month is a convoluted series of minor initiatives which will not effectively end inflation, reduce the cost of most prescription drugs and stem climate change,” he said.

When asked how he thinks racial injustice and police brutality against African Americans would come to an end, Azikiwe said, “Such an end will be the result of a complete transformation of United States society.”

“There needs to be guarantees in the areas of housing, environmental quality and education which takes into account the actual history and social conditions in the US,” he said.

“Any law-enforcement structures must be created by the people and for their interests. Since the inception of the police in the US African people have been subjected to brutality and death in the interests of the ruling class. The radical shift in law-enforcement will ensure that African Americans and everyone else not be victimized by the police,” he concluded.

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