The White House is STILL the REAL Crackhouse!
Oppose the NY State Rockerfeller Drug Laws!

by Thairu Diop

NEW YORK, NY– On Thursday, June 4, over 50,000 young African workers marched on New York City Hall in protest of a set of drug laws known as the Rockefeller Drug Laws. These laws were designed to imprison African people for long periods of time simply for possession of small amounts of drugs.

The rally was organized by a coalition of white liberals and African middle class-led organizations such as the Urban League, Mothers of the New York Disappeared, the Hip Hop Summit Action Network, NAACP and the Nation of Islam. Among the speakers were Russell Simmons, Andrew Cuomo, Benjamin Muhammad, P. Diddy, Jay-Z and New York City Councilman Charles Barron.

While the rally benefited the political careers of the people who organized it, it did very little to represent the interests of the 50,000 courageous young African workers who came to stand in firm opposition to the drug economy that drains our communities.

In fact, Dr. Benjamin Muhammad, president of the Hip Hop Summit Action Network, occupied the first hour of the event. All he did for the first hour was warn the young Africans in attendance that any "misbehavior" would not be tolerated. He automatically assumed the crowd would be the cause of any problems at the day’s event. At the same time however, he commended the New York Police Department (NYPD) for its cooperation and support of the rally. This is the same NYPD who, over the course of the last 30 days, killed at least four innocent Africans in cold blood. It was a real life twilight zone.

African masses were the real heroes of the event

Despite this disgusting display of Uncle Tom grinnery at its worst, the courageous Africans in attendance ignored the chastisement. They were there for a far greater purpose – to make their voices be heard. Unfortunately, no clear leadership was given – and the frustration was felt in the restless stir of the crowd between each boring speaker.

There were some highlights of the day however. City councilman Charles Barron of East Brooklyn put forth a sharp criticism of the drug laws, declaring, "We refuse to go from the plantation to the prisons!" He then went on to propose a righteous alternative, demanding, "If you want to lock up some criminals, let’s start with George Bush for waging his illegal war!"

A strong sister named Elaine Bartlett delivered a strong testimonial. Sister Elaine spent over 15 years behind bars for possession of $5 worth of crack before receiving clemency from the State.

However, the true heroes of the day were the many young African students in attendance – many of whom cut class early to be there. The rally could never have been a success without the 50,000 young Africans whose very presence sent the strongest message of protest of the imperialist Rockefeller Laws.

How the law functions
The Rockefeller Drug Laws were introduced thirty years ago, immediately following the Black Revolution of the 1960s, by the State of New York. The laws require mandatory long prison terms, up to 15 years to life, for possession or sale of small amounts of drugs. These laws took away discretion in sentencing from trial judges and, as a consequence, thousands of Africans have been locked up.

The NY Rockefeller laws and their counterparts in other states, do nothing to stop the presence of drugs in the African community. On the contrary, it is the U.S. government that is responsible for the presence of drugs in the African community. Everyone knows that the brothers on the corner holding two or three rocks do not own or control the airplanes shipping cocaine to the U.S.

Through counterinsurgency, our community has been stripped of all its capacity for economic development. Today, the only immediate means of making money that many young Africans see is through selling drugs.

Furthermore, by punishing anyone with drugs in his/her possession, the State implies that prison would be an appropriate rehab program for someone addicted to crack.

The reality is that the State’s creation of a drug economy in our community has provided the basis the State needs to criminalize the African working class – particularly the generation who came up after the military defeat of Black Revolution of the 1960s.

This criminalization is necessary for one main reason: to keep the African working class out of political life and out of the revolutionary process that we so desperately need. Instead of building schools, hospitals and defending our community, more than one million young Africans are rotting away behind bars. Prison is the last place we need to be if we are concerned about getting free.

The ruling class and the State that places the drugs into our communities are the true criminals.

Rockefeller laws instrument of slave/prison system
However, the Rockefeller Laws are only one tool used by the U.S. government to maintain this imperialist grip on the poor and oppressed African working class community. In fact, this law has single handedly supplied the state of New York with a vast pool of young Africans it can exploit for slave labor.

Through the prison system, slavery has remained legal, despite the emancipation proclamation of 1865. In fact, it was in December, 1865 that the 13th Amendment to the U.S. constitution made slavery legal when punished for a crime.

Today, the U.S. government, alongside the white communities of small prison towns like Binghamton, NY, as well as the owners of corporations like Chevron, IBM, Motorola, Compaq, Texas Instruments, Microsoft, Victoria's Secret and Boeing all enjoy the wealth produced off African slave labor in prisons.

If the Rockefeller Laws are repealed, it is certain that the State and ruling class will search for alternative methods to exploit our labor and prevent us from organizing ourselves in our own interests.

The African People’s Socialist Party supports any effort to free Africans from the prison system. However, it is also our belief that our freedom will not be granted by U.S. law. Genuine African liberation can only be achieved by African workers organized in their own revolutionary party guided by the revolutionary theory of African Internationalism.

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Contact the African People’s Socialist Party in Brooklyn,NY:
apsp.nyc@hotmail.com or 347-385-1574