the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
Sep 17, 2018
Rahm Emanuel dropped a bombshell at a press conference, when he announced he was dropping out of the Mayor’s race.
Working people in the city have plenty of reasons to say “good riddance.” Emanuel closed over 70 schools in his first two years, almost all of them in working class, black neighborhoods. He closed six mental health clinics, in the same neighborhoods. He took a raise away from teachers, while at the same time blaming them for the poor performance of the schools. At the same time that he was crying that the school system had no money, he handed tax moneys that should have gone to schools over to wealthy developers. And then, most notoriously, his police suppressed the release of the video of officer Van Dyke shooting Laquan McDonald 16 times.
So yes, many are happy to see him go. Emanuel was a tool of capital–but when he leaves, they will replace him with another who will do their bidding. The oppressive system will remain. The TIF zones will continue, siphoning money from schools and services. The police will still weigh most heavily, and violently, on the black population. The schools will continue to operate without the necessary resources–until the working class fights back to change its situation.