Liberation Audio

On June 15, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that LGBTQ workers were protected under the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In a 6-3 ruling, representing the majority, Justice Gorsuch wrote, “An employer who fires an individual merely for being gay or transgender defies the law.” The majority ruled that the protection against discrimination based on sex by the CRA applies to queer folks. The ruling, while welcomed by the queer and progressive communities, was surprising given the conservative nature of the current court. While the political leanings of the individual justices who sit on the Court are not irrelevant, the ruling reveals that court decisions are based more on the social relations in society at a given moment than on personal views of the justices or the “purity” of the law. Read the full article: https://www.liberationnews.org/fearing-a-greater-rebellion-supreme-court-rules-for-protection-of-lgbtq-workers/

Since the lynching of George Floyd on May 25, cities and towns across the United States and internationally have erupted in righteous anger at a government and police force that has never once removed their knee from the neck of Black people. Mainstream media and politicians continue to intentionally misreport the facts to instill doubt in this movement, but Party for Socialism and Liberation members were on the ground across the country reporting for Liberation News, and witnessed a much different story. While this article reports on the protests in New England, these cities and towns are not unique — there is no where in the United States that is free from the epidemic of police terror. Read the full article: https://www.liberationnews.org/who-are-the-real-terrorists-mainstream-media-misreports-uprisings-across-new-england/

SOLIDARITY WITH THE PEOPLE IN THE US AGAINST THE RACIST THUGGERY OF THE CAPITALIST STATE! The cause of the mass uprising in the United States against the brutal execution of George Floyd is the cause of the international working class. We, as the Socialist Revolutionary Workers’ Party, join the clarion call being made by the revolutionary peoples’ camp in the United States in their cries for ‘Justice for Floyd!’. Read the full article: https://www.liberationnews.org/statement-south-african-solidarity-with-mass-uprising-in-the-us/

During a pandemic and a national uprising against racist terror the Trump administration handed down another devastating blow: the Department of Health and Human Services announced it had completed revisions to the Affordable Care Act removing anti-discrimination protections for women and LGBTQ people in healthcare. June 12 was a brutal day for the LGBTQ community. People learned of the brutal murders of two Black trans women – Dominique “Rem’Mie” Fells of Philadelphia and Riah Milton of Liberty Township, Ohio – even as we continue to fight for justice for Tony McDade, a Black trans man killed by police in Tallahassee, Florida, last month. It was also the fourth anniversary of the Pulse nightclub shooting, when a gunman killed 49 people and wounded 53 others at a gay club in in Orlando, Florida, in 2016. Then, in the evening, the DHHS announced it had finalized long-anticipated changes to Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, removing language that protected women and LGBTQ people from discrimination in healthcare. Read the full article: https://www.liberationnews.org/trump-administration-rolls-back-lgbtq-and-womens-healthcare-protections/

PSL Member Graciela speaks on being a teacher in the Bronx, and the state of her borough during the COVID19 pandemic and the ensuing economic crisis. PSL has public livestreams every week! Follow us at http://www.facebook.com/pslweb

PSL Member Cathy speaks on being a teacher in Queens, and the unique challenges facing her borough during the COVID19 pandemic and the ensuing economic crisis. PSL has public livestreams every week! Follow us at http://www.facebook.com/pslweb

On Sunday June 7, an armed man attempted to drive a car into the crowd at the intersection of 11th and Pine. Protesters chased the car and tried to erect a barricade but what saved countless lives was the heroism of a young Black man named Daniel Gregory who reached into the open window of the car and grabbed the driver, who shot Gregory in the arm. Gregory was treated on the scene by street medics and taken to the hospital; he has since been released. The gunman exited his car, brandishing his weapon and surrendered to the police at the barricades; he was taken into custody without so much as a scratch on his body. Not surprisingly, tensions on the line with cops increased; despite the Mayor’s promise, teargas was again deployed that night. The next day, protesters continued to face off and then, at one point, they just pushed through the barricade and entered into the zone in front of the police station. The police withdrew from the area and began evacuating the precinct building. Thus came into being what has become to be known as the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone or CHAZ. Read the full article: https://www.liberationnews.org/whats-the-chaz-about-in-seattle/

Hungary’s racist, homophobic, transphobic right-wing government has continued its efforts to divide the Hungarian working class by depriving transgender and intersex people of their right to legally change their genders. Across the capitalist world, LGBTQ rights have become a major target of attack by reactionaries, making it more imperative than ever that the working class rally in their defense. On May 19, the Hungarian Parliament passed a new omnibus bill that bans transgender or intersex people from legally changing their gender, just the latest attack by far-right forces aiming to firmly cement the rule of the capitalist class. Read the full article: https://www.liberationnews.org/far-right-hungarian-government-launches-new-assault-on-trans-rights/

June 4, 1977 marked the start of the Humboldt Park Uprising, in the predominantly working-class, Puerto Rican neighborhood on the West side of Chicago. Following a day of festivals at the Puerto Rican Day Parade, in which more than 3,000 people were in the park, a group of 100 police officers entered the park claiming violence was breaking out. As the police arrested one person suspected of violence, the picnickers tried to intervene on their behalf. Police officers began attacking everyone in the park, including families and children. They began firing shots as well. Read the full article:

PSL Member Kaleigh speaks on violence against women, its many manifestations, and its deep roots in capitalist society. PSL has public livestreams every week! Follow us at http://www.facebook.com/pslweb