On August 15th, at approximately 2:35 PM, a black man was found hanging from a tree in downtown Raleigh, NC. This happened just blocks away from Raleigh’s annual CaribMask Carnival, a vibrant celebration of Caribbean culture. While as of writing, the man’s identity has not been disclosed, reports said that leading up to the murder he was seen walking around and had asked for water to drink. Raleigh PD quickly deemed his death a suicide, but given the nature of his death and the similar, tragic trend across the country, we must speak out. Diminishing this atrocious loss of life ignores the long history of racism in the South. Black and brown bodies are systematically oppressed by the capitalist state, maintaining the divide between white workers and workers of color.

This horrific death is not a mere accident. Over the past several months, more Black bodies have been found hanging in public places. This is a violent escalation from racists across the United States who feel more emboldened than ever by the reactionary Trump administration’s policies. Even still, these tragedies are not solely because of Trump as an individual. It is the system at large that is the cause of these tragedies. Systemic racism has plagued our nation since its founding. American imperialism was constructed on the backs of Black and brown people. It is now our collective responsibility to build a new system in its place: a socialist system.

We call on workers of every ethnicity and nationality to unite around the struggle for the self determination and true liberation of all workers of color. The capitalist system does not produce the answers to resolve the issue of systemic racism. It cannot, since racism is intertwined with capitalism itself. The only way to truly eradicate the systemic oppression of Black workers is socialism.
Our hearts go out to those who knew him and loved him. Whether he was a son, brother, father, cousin, or friend; his life was tragically and unnecessarily cut short. Rest in peace, and may this be the reminder to never stop fighting for a worker led, multi-racial society.

The opinions of the author do not necessarily reflect the positions of the CPUSA.

Image: Black Lives Matter. Fibonacci Blue on Flickr. Creative Commons.