.jpg) Sign at a rally following the 2016shooting of Philando Castile | |
| Meaning | contested but either:
|
|---|---|
"No justice, no peace" is a politicalslogan which originated during protests against acts ofethnic violence againstAfrican Americans. Its precise meaning is contested. The slogan was used as early as 1986, following thekilling of Michael Griffith by a mob of youths.
.jpg)
LinguistBen Zimmer writes that use of the slogan "No justice, no peace" during protests goes back as far as the 1986killing of Michael Griffith.[1] Griffith, aTrinidadian immigrant, and three friends, all black, were assaulted by a mob of white youths in theHoward Beach, Queens,New York City. Griffith fled the attackers onto a nearby highway, where he was fatally struck by a passing car.[2] In 2014, civil-rights activistAl Sharpton recounted: "In the midst of the protest, someone yelled the slogan, 'No justice, no peace'. Others began doing the same, and from then on I adopted it as a rallying cry each and every time a grave miscarriage of justice has befallen the disenfranchised."[3]
Other sources suggest that the phrase was actually popularized by activistRobert "Sonny" Carson, who is quoted on February 12, 1987 as stating, "'No justice! No peace!' [...] 'No peace for all of you who dare kill our children if they come into your neighborhood...We are going to make one long, hot summer out here...get ready for a new black in this city!,"[4] while theNew York Times reported on July 6, 1987: "'No justice, no peace,' said Mr. Carson repeatedly in what he said he hopes will emerge as the rallying cry for his cause."[5] Carson appears to have used the phrase conditionally(see§ Conditional or conjunctive, below).[4]
The phrase appears even earlier on a painting byJean-Michel Basquiat,Created Equal, in 1984.[6][non-primary source needed].
The1992 Los Angeles riots are remembered for the use of the slogan,[7] which expressed collective frustration with the existing political order.[8]
The slogan isparaphrased in the songBaltimore byPrince.
The meaning of "no justice, no peace" may change betweenconditional andconjunctive depending on the speaker.[1] In the conditional interpretation, the slogan is rendered as an "if-then" statement, which implies that peaceful action is impossible without justice, and which urges citizens to demonstrate against injustice even if doing so results in violence.[4] Ben Zimmer writes that during the 1980s and '90s,"'No justice, no peace' was unequivocally understood as conditional, not conjunctive",[1] such as in a 1988 statement by lawyerRon Kuby before theU.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Criminal Justice:
'No Justice, No Peace' [...] summarizes the frustration and anger of New York's Black and Latino communities. 'No Justice, No Peace' remains the solemn promise of an increasing number of people in an increasingly polarized city.[1]
After the 2014shooting of Tamir Rice, journalistGlen Ford wrote:
More than just a threat against Power, the slogan brings clarity of purpose to the participants in the movement. If the existing structures of governance and social organization cannot possibly provide justice for Black people, then those structures must be pushed aside – or there will be no civil peace.[9]
By contrast, in the conjunctive interpretation, one is stating that neither peace or justice can exist without the other.[4] After the acquittal in theTrayvon Martin murder case, the chaplain of theUniversity of Pennsylvania said, "A lack of justice has resulted in a lack of peace", "Heavy hearts now lack peace because of the lack of justice in our nation", and "No peace because of no justice."[10] Sharpton writes,"'No justice, no peace' [...] is a way to expose inequality that would otherwise be ignored."[3]
.jpg)
Yuvraj Joshi traces a longer history of "peace-justice claims" made by activists includingMartin Luther King Jr.,Bayard Rustin andA. Philip Randolph.[11] In 1967, King visitedSanta Rita Jail in California, whereprotesters against the Vietnam War were imprisoned. There, he drew an explicit parallel between the anti-war movement and theCivil Rights Movement. Using a phrase that is explicitly conjunctive, King said, "There can be no justice without peace. And there can be no peace without justice."[4]
King had previously used the same phrase in a letter toWillem Visser 't Hooft following King's receipt of theNobel Peace Prize,[12]: 51 and in a 1965 television appearance where he reaffirmed his call for an end to the war, stating:
There can be no peace in the world unless there's justice, and there can be no justice without peace. I think in a sense these problems are inextricably bound together.[12]: 101
During the January 1972World Day of Peace celebrations,Pope Paul VI said, "If you want peace, work for justice."[13][14]
_8690_(50081688752).jpg)
The variant "No justice, no peace, no racist police" has been recorded in print since at least 1995.[15] This followed themurder of Joseph Gould, a homeless black man, by an off-duty white Chicago police officer, who fled the scene of the crime while Gould lay dying.[16] Related variants include "No justice, no peace, no more racist police"[17] and "No justice, no peace. Fuck these racist-ass police."[18][19]
A homophonic variant isknow justice, know peace.[20] It is used for aDr. Martin Luther King Jr. Early College podcast,[21] the 2020 Know Justice Know Peace Resolution by theDenver Public Schools Board to better include persons of color in district school curriculums,[22][23] and a U.S.Jesuit anti-racism retreat.[24]
.jpg)
The variant "no justice, no street" or "no justice, no streets" relates to a disagreement about the fate ofGeorge Floyd Square, created in the aftermath of themurder of George Floyd in May 2020. In early August 2020,Minneapolis announced that they would reopen the intersection that the Square is located on. However, activists who maintained the barricades around the intersection demanded $156 million in various anti-racism initiatives before they would release control.[25][26]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)