Carrying out a political assessment one month after the murder of the African-American worker George Floyd, at the hands of the United States Police, was the subject of a telematic discussion held this Friday with Afro-Colombian activists Ajamu Baraka and Yvette Modettini (Panama), and Kali Akuno (United States).
The virtual meeting entitled ‘George Floyd: Human rights and blockade against Venezuela’, by Diógenes Díaz (Venezuela), served to unveil the role of the police forces in the US, who “are here to protect the interests of the private and not of the majority”.
“We want to see changes in the structures and the system. We are facing a racist system. It is time to repair the damage that has been done, the injustices. The system cannot continue to ignore us”, said Ajamu Baraka.
Along the same lines, Yvette Modettini denounced that the COVID-19 pandemic exposed the racist system, which left most of society, especially vulnerable sectors, without guarantee of health care.
Similarly, she said that the murder of Floyd helped to visualize hatred as a State policy, for which reason she suggested that in order to achieve structural changes, it is also necessary to articulate with movements of Afro-descendant women.
Both activists agreed that “racial discrimination is not only about the United States; it is a problem in the world. In Colombia, Afro-Colombian leaders are being assassinated and this is happening in other countries of the continent. All societies must face their history of racism.”
During the discussion, they pointed out the importance of the “divestment of the military industrial complex”, since countries have been invaded through the prevailing system.
For his part, Kali Akuno highlighted the “favorable situation”, since “regardless of whether or not they are in favor of the rights of Afro-descendant communities, the issue is on the street and in constant debate, something that has not happened since the 60s”.
He agreed in denouncing the current system that places the economy above human lives. And he pointed out that the racial problem must be approached in a global way.
“The problem is global and the answer must be global (…) Black lives matter here in the United States and throughout the world”, said Akuno.