A young Black man has been brutally beaten by the police – and not only have his attackers gone unpunished, but their victim has been sent to jail instead.

On the evening of March 5, Joshua Robinson was stopped by police, allegedly for a traffic violation, while driving home from his girlfriend’s house on Providence’s South Side. By the police department’s own account, officers began beating the 21-year-old Joshua while he was still behind the wheel of his car, first striking him in the forehead with a flashlight, then choking him, dragging him out and throwing him to the ground, punching him repeatedly in the face, kneeing him in the ribs, and pepper-spraying him.

In mug shot photos which have circulated on social media, the extent of the police abuse is painfully apparent: Joshua’s left eye is swollen shut, dark bruises spread over both cheeks, and lacerations run above his eyes and across his forehead. And yet it was Joshua who was arrested that night, charged with – and later in district court, convicted of – assault and resisting arrest.
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Paul Hubbard comments on the crisis of rape culture in Steubenville, the Catholic Church, and throughout capitalist society.

On March 8th, we celebrated International Women’s Day, a day that highlights not only the progress of women in society, but most importantly how far we still have to go to achieve real emancipation.

On March 17th, two Steubenville, Ohio football players, Trent Mays, 17, and Ma’lik Richmond, 16, were found delinquent and sentenced to at least one year in juvenile jail for the rape of a 16 year old young woman at a party last summer. The two teenagers could also be held until they are 21 years old. Only massive pressure and outrage forced the authorities to prosecute. Attorney general Mike DeWine has now announced the convening of a grand jury to further investigate the circumstances of the crime.
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Paul Hubbard comments on the passing of the Venezuelan president, the meaning of his legacy, and the significance of the Bolivarian Revolution.

While the vultures on Wall Street and in the US State Department celebrated the death of Hugo Chávez, millions of workers, peasants, indigenous peoples, and the poor stood for hours in lines that stretched for miles to mourn, pay their respects, and honor their beloved leader.

We stand in solidarity with the masses of Venezuela and Latin America and say clearly at the start: the death of Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías is a blow, not only to the working classes and poor of Venezuela, but to working people and poor across Latin America and the World. We have to state this unequivocally and without reservation. Yes, Chávez was full of contradictions, his project of “socialism for the 21st century” had many problems, but at heart, Hugo Chávez was a true, honest, and genuine man of the people.
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