A global movement has erupted in the wake of an ever-growing chain of black American deaths. The death of George Floyd on the 25th<\/sup> May in Minneapolis at the hands of the police, sparked international rage<\/a>, giving new life, strength and momentum to the Black Lives Matter movement as protests of solidarity have taken place in 50 states, over 700 U.S. cities and across multiple cities in 18 countries. A movement that started in 2013 after the murderer of 17 year old Trayvon Martin<\/a> was acquitted, Black Lives Matter started as a response and fight against state and vigilante violence against black communities, and has now become one of the biggest civil rights movements in history.<\/p>\n The power and force behind today\u2019s movement is in its worldwide solidarity, as the last month has seen people of all colour, race and background stand together as one in order to tackle the horrors of racism and discrimination in our societies. To fight for personal justice is powerful, but to recognise that someone else\u2019s struggle is also your own struggle, is a force beyond the empathetic capabilities of capitalism and the elite. Many people (in particular non-black people) are facing up to their own lack of action, empathy and historical knowledge and are re-educating themselves about the way that racism has evolved to exist within the fabric of our societies. These realisations come hand in hand with a clear criticism of capitalism itself, as we discover that the demands we make to eradicate racism cannot be fully met without a complete re-evaluation of the structures and foundations that capitalism exists on.<\/p>\n America and Racism<\/b><\/u><\/p>\n If we look back at the history of racism in America, dating back to slavery, black people were seen and used as property and as a force of labour, they were commodities that functioned as a productive means within the economy, rather than as individuals. The abolishment of slavery was therefore a huge threat to the economy, as a huge population which had previously acted as an economic engine were suddenly released into American civilization as human beings who required welfare and support. In order to fully integrate the black population into society, America would have to fund a huge rehabilitation scheme, providing trauma therapy, education, social housing, financial support, employment support etc. Instead, a loophole in the law, known as the 13th<\/sup> amendment which was approved by Abraham Lincoln upon the abolishment of slavery, saw that black people were returned to slavery through the penal system.<\/p>\n The 13th<\/sup> amendment stated that: \u2018neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime<\/i> whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States.\u2019 Therefore after the abolishment of slavery, America found a way of maintaining economic success by reintegrating black people into the labour of capital through mass incarceration. In southern states, laws known as Black Codes were passed which gave black Americans the legal right to marry, sue in court and own property, but most significantly, the Black Codes made it illegal for African Americans to testify against whites or to serve on juries, which created a wave unjustified arrests. They continued to dehumanize the black population in harmful narratives which bled into the homes of America and allowed slavery to continue under the guise of law, order and justice, as black arrests rose to alarming numbers, and prison labour became a justified course for the American society and economy to flourish once more. In today\u2019s America there are six million people under correctional supervision and over two million people are incarcerated. There are more black and brown people caught in the current criminal justice system than there were slaves in the 1800s. Despite the abolishment of slavery, the state continued to actively pursue racial inequality by putting the wants of the economy before the welfare of people for the purpose of profit. The chain that commands the progress of our economy and structures of our civilization operate on a basis of supply, demand, price and profit. When personal profit, self-interest and competition are the leading force of a society; social unity, equality and welfare become mere token gestures, and will forever fail to be connected with adequate funding, planning and result. This reliance on black inferiority has been maintained up until today and in order to question racism, we need to understand and question the system that thrives on discrimination and hate. How can social welfare and equality ever be placed at the forefront of a society that relies on racial and class divides? A society that thrives on crime is fundamentally incapable of meeting the social needs of its citizens, because ultimately funding discipline and policing is more beneficial (profitable) to capitalism than funding welfare.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wpiran.org\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/BLM-protest-Pars-.jpeg\")
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