Black Agenda Report
Black Agenda Report
News, commentary and analysis from the black left.

  • Home
  • Africa
  • African America
  • Education
  • Environment
  • International
  • Media and Culture
  • Political Economy
  • Radio
  • US Politics
  • War and Empire
  • omnibus

Freedom Rider: Revolutionary Change and COVID-19
Margaret Kimberley, BAR senior columnist
25 Mar 2020
Freedom Rider: Revolutionary Change and COVID-19
Freedom Rider: Revolutionary Change and COVID-19

The genie has escaped from the bottle, revealing the deep injustices and cruelties that are embedded in US capitalism and its warped relationship to the peoples it rules, and the world.

“COVID-19 is an opportunity to demand change while the people are paying attention to the crisis.”

The coronavirus pandemic has upended the economy and the lives of millions of people. In so doing it has exposed the wreckage of a country living under the rule of billionaires and the military industrial complex. The health care system is controlled by corporations and therefore cannot meet human needs. The United States gave up its large scale manufacturing to China, the country which it both demonizes as the source of infection but also begs to produce more ventilators, masks and other medical equipment.

The response is what one would expect from a politically backward nation like the United States. The president is unqualified for his position and offers no leadership. Although pointing out Donald Trump’s faults is too easy and cannot be the sole basis of any analysis. The systemic shortcomings impacting us now were all in place before he was elected. The oligachy’s rule over government is obvious and can no longer be kept hidden. The governmental remedies proposed to date are an effort to give corporations a massive bailout with no strings attached, but only meager crumbs for the people.

“The oligachy’s rule over government is obvious and can no longer be kept hidden.”

The chaos will eventually end but life will not be the same. A system that is inherently antagonistic to human needs is unlikely to return the few public benefits we had left. Disaster capitalism is quite real. Just as the New Orleans school system was replaced with charter schools after hurricane Katrina in 2005, the closing of schools due to COVID-19 may end with the same result across the country.

Charter school profiteers will argue that online learning is just fine and that children won’t need class rooms or teachers anymore. Jobs that disappeared in the wake of business closings may never come back. If workers can function at home and communicate via teleconferencing, they may be told not to return to their places of employment again. Those who cannot utilize these systems will become redundant. The means of getting rid of the few benefits we still had will be endless.

It would be quite tragic if 2020 ended like any other year, with a belief that an electoral victory for one part of the duopoly will save us. The machinations of the democratic wing have been disgraceful, as they coalesced around an obviously ill man in order to crush demand for even a small bit of reform.
“Disaster capitalism is quite real.”
The presidential election must be one part of a wider campaign to bring true justice to this country. COVID-19 is an opportunity to demand change while the people are paying attention to the crisis. A return to normalcy is the opposite of what we need. This is a moment to think about what should be the new normal and what should be jettisoned forever. 

In order to minimize the post-COVID-19 damage the list of demands must be formulated right now. These should include monthly payments for every person for the duration of the pandemic and continued support for those in need afterward. The health care system must be permanently placed under full public control. Medicare for all is a small part of what we need. Rent and mortgage payments must be suspended, and loans should be forgiven. Water and electricity shut offs should end and a right to these services must be established. The internet must become a regulated utility too.

It is a positive sign that some states are freeing prisoners. These actions are proof that the prison population could be cut in half at the very least without posing a danger to the public.This is another demand that must outlive the pandemic.

“Medicare for all is a small part of what we need.”

Most importantly, we cannot allow the removal of any pre-COVID-19 protections or claim that public education or other public benefit can be diminished at all. Schools must be reopened and fully staffed. The laid off must be returned to their old jobs. 

The idea of American exceptionalism must die. China and Cuba are sending medical teams all over the world while the United States scrambles to provide for the basics. If Americans learn nothing else from this crisis they should observe that the countries they are told to hate and fear are doing what their “great” nation fails to do.

The genie cannot be stuffed back into the bottle. All the contradictions must be exposed and opposed. The demands for justice and real democracy should outlive this pandemic. If we wait and hope for one $1,000 check the deaths and illness will have been doubly tragic. This historic opportunity for transformational change must not be lost. 

Margaret Kimberley’s Freedom Rider column appears weekly in BAR, and is widely reprinted elsewhere. She maintains a frequently updated blog as well at patreon.com/margaretkimberley and she regularly posts on Twitter @freedomrideblog. Ms. Kimberley lives in New York City, and can be reached via e-Mail at Margaret.Kimberley(at)BlackAgendaReport.com. 

COMMENTS?

Please join the conversation on Black Agenda Report's Facebook page at http://facebook.com/blackagendareport

Or, you can comment by emailing us at [email protected]

Do you need and appreciate Black Agenda Report articles. Please click on the DONATE icon, and help us out, if you can.


More Stories


  • “Muerte o Tierra”:  Rosalino Flores’s Death and Comuneros Win Land Struggle, Remain Vigilant
    Clau O'Brien Moscoso
    “Muerte o Tierra”: Rosalino Flores’s Death and Comuneros Win Land Struggle, Remain Vigilant
    29 Mar 2023
    Rosalino Flores is just one of the Peruvians who died in the struggle against the coup government. Clau O'Brien Moscoso continues her dispatches from Peru. A Spanish translation follows.
  • The Balanta Mandate and the UN's Permanent Forum on People of African Descent (PFPAD)
    Efia Nwangaza
    The Balanta Mandate and the UN's Permanent Forum on People of African Descent (PFPAD)
    29 Mar 2023
    The UN Permanent Forum on People of African Descent must uphold the 2001 Durban Declaration and Programme of Action (DDPA). A recently written mandate affirms the importance of DDPA and the need to…
  • We Demand Jail for Dominican Military Members Responsible for Tilory Massacre
    Socialist Movement of Workers of the Dominican Republic
    We Demand Jail for Dominican Military Members Responsible for Tilory Massacre
    29 Mar 2023
    The Dominican Republic does not restrict its assaults on Haitians and its Haitian descended citizens. Its military feels free to enter Haiti itself and to commit killings there.
  • The ICC Is A US-Controlled Kangaroo Court
    Jacqueline Luqman
    The ICC Is A US-Controlled Kangaroo Court
    29 Mar 2023
    The International Criminal Court (ICC) has no legitimacy. It has always acted on behalf of the U.S. and its allies. 
  • The Honey Trap: The FBI Used an Undercover Cop With Pink Hair to Spy on Activists and Manufacture Crimes
    Trevor Aaronson
    The Honey Trap: The FBI Used an Undercover Cop With Pink Hair to Spy on Activists and Manufacture Crimes
    29 Mar 2023
    In 2020 law enforcement continued their practice spying on activist groups and attempting to entrap them. Police infiltration of movement spaces never ended.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us