Photo: Facebook
The Green Party of Philadelphia released the following statement following the march for Reparations on Saturday in Philadelphia:
The Green Party of Philadelphia (GPOP, www.gpop.org) endorsed the March for Reparations on October 16 in Clark Park, University City, Philadelphia. This was not a difficult endorsement because the Green Party holds that the national problem of white supremacy can only be resolved through Reparations.
From the Green Party point of view, Reparations should be offered to rectify three types of white supremacy: the forced slavery of kidnapped Africans beginning in the colonial era; the resulting violence and discrimination against citizens of color since the formal end of chattel slavery in 1865; and the continuing punishment of people of color by “the ideology of white supremacy which permeates our institutions today.”
Those institutions include healthcare, housing, education, finances, law enforcement, employment and food distribution. As a result, the Green Party in 2018 endorsed the call for a National Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African-Americans (HR 40).
The March for Reparations on October 16 was sponsored nationally by the Uhuru Solidarity Movement, which held similar events in Oakland, CA; Saint Petersburg, FL; Saint Louis, MO; and Portland, OR.
There were five demands made by the marchers: Philadelphia must provide housing for the homeless; Temple, Penn and Drexel Universities must pay Reparations for their land-grabs from the community; Philadelphia must pay Reparations for the 1985 bombing of Osage Avenue and the incarceration of the Move 9; the immediate release of Mumia Abu-Jamal; and Philadelphia must pay Reparations for “mass incarceration, police murder, violence of poverty, hostile colonial schools, and a genocidal healthcare system.”
Chris Robinson, a member of the Green Party of Philadelphia from Ward 29 (Germantown) spoke at the rally following the march. Here is what Robinson said:
“Uhuru! And thank you for inviting the Green Party to participate.
“I was prepared to give the Green Party’s arguments in favor of Reparations, but I believe that will not be necessary for your crowd. [Laughter]
“Therefore, I will instead make a suggestion to you. Next year, the citizens of Philadelphia will elect 23 people to the PA House of Representatives. The Uhuru Solidarity Movement’s demand for reparations and the five local demands of today’s March for Reparations may all be found in the Green Party’s platform. Therefore, the Uhuru Solidarity Movement should consider asking the Green Party to nominate some of your members for State Representative on the Green Party ballot line. Just think of the publicity for both of our organizations if the mass media began to ask Democratic and Republican Party candidates for their statement about Reparations!
“Uhuru!”
The Green Party of Philadelphia (GPOP, www.gpop.org) is an independent political party that stands in opposition to the two corporate parties. GPOP candidates promote public policy based on the Green Party’s Four Pillars: grassroots democracy, nonviolence, ecological wisdom, and social justice/equal opportunity.
For further information about GPOP, please follow GPOP on social media: Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/GreenPartyOfPhiladelphia/, Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/green_party_of_philadelphia/ and Twitter, https://twitter.com/GreenPartyofPHL.
For more information, please see:
“March for Reparations, October 16, 2021,” Uhuru Solidarity Movement
