From the NYC Streets, Wednesday night, 9 p.m.

December 3, 2014 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us

9:00 pm, Times Square, New York City

Groups of people are coming to Times Square looking for a protest. Dozens of Mexican American activists are having a vigil in solidarity with the 43 students who have been disappeared in Mexico. They are a magnet for Black kids who have come to Times Square looking for a protest in response to the refusal to indict the cop who murdered Eric Garner. English-speaking Ayotzinapa protesters tell the Black kids how America's "war on drugs" has turned their country into a killing field. The whole group takes up chants, "Hands Up, Don't Shoot!" "No Justice, No Peace!"

A block or so away, nonviolence advocates are blocking the street in a peaceful protest. They calmly and sincerely explain to the police that they are making a nonviolent statement. Suddenly, from amidst the crowds at Times Square, a couple dozen riot police emerge and drag16 of the protestors into police trucks.

There's a delegation from Amnesty International documenting human rights abuses. Small groups of Black people are gathered with protest signs all around Times Square. Several foreign media crews are interviewing three Black youths standing on a corner. They ask the kids whether they agree with President Obama that police should have cameras put in their cars. One youth says, "Yes, that's the only way to stop them from killing us." The Revolution correspondent asks, "Wasn't the murder of Eric Garner caught on video and didn't the whole world watch it? What good did that do?" His friends respond, "That won't do it. One way or another, this has to stop."

On another corner, three Black women stand with union protest signs. Karen, a 43-year-old musician, says some of her friends are Black cops and she argues with them about how can they be part of police force. "Our Black boys are being hunted down and shot." She says the problem is the police don't live in our communities. They see us as animals and I'm tired of it." She is asked, "What about your Black police friends? Are they doing something other than what the rest are doing?" She says, "No, the Black cops are just as vicious as the whites."

A 24-year-old Black woman student is carrying a sign that says "Amerikka Hates Black People." She says, "This is as upsetting as it was expected. The time for civil disobedience is over. Things in this country come to a head every 50 years. We are overdue for a revolution. We don't want to sing 'We Shall Overcome' anymore. They are killing us and I can't take it anymore."

Word is spreading that a thousand protesters are shutting down the West Side Highway. Everyone is heading west.

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