Freddie Gray another example of US injustice against blacks: Activist

Press TV has conducted an interview with Yejide Orunmila, member of the African People's Socialist Party in Washington, to discuss recent protests in the US city of Baltimore after a mistrial was declared in the case of a young African American who lost his life while in police custody.

What follows is a rough transcription of the interview.

Press TV: I want to get your reaction. How do you feel about this?

Orunmila: Of course this was going to be a mistrial designated, because people all want a rule against the police officers. This is another example of the injustice system, being served for our people in this country and putting our people to this sort of circle where we have to always be relying on this system that does not ever work out for us. 

Press TV: I want to talk about police brutality because certainly you know officer William Porter himself is also an African-American and obviously the victim here Freddie Gray was also African-American. Is this an issue of racism or is this simply just an issue of police brutality because many people on social media are sort of battling that out?  

Orunmila: No, it is not a racial issue and we at the African People's Socialist Party never said that race is the problem. It is the question of colonialism and when you are a black officer working for the state, you are going to carry out what the state wants and that means going out into our communities and beating up African people. That is what you are going to do. I think people have a misunderstanding around black officers and black military like somehow that is better. The reality is that they carry out the same duties as white officers and other officers who continue to carry out terrorism in our communities.

Press TV: What does the Freddie Gray case teach us then? What things need to change going forward to prevent more Freddie Grays?

Orunmila: There needs to be a total overhaul of this system. Actually, it needs to be destroyed because it just does not work. Well it works but not for African people and I know that it might be a big type of solution, but the reality is that we have to build organization and build ourselves up to a capacity that we can actually drop our own laws and have power in our own communities and that is why we say we want a black community control over the police. And that maybe one of smaller remedies at the moment, but ultimately we are saying that we want power in the hands of African people so that we can defend ourselves against an occupying army in our communities.

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