At 9:00 p.m. on Wednesday, September 24, someone shot young activist and poet Matthew Hall in the back. The bullet hit vital internal organs, leaving Matthew lying on the corner of 125th Street and Lenox Avenue in New York City. He was rushed to Harlem Hospital for treatment, but at 4:30 the next morning, in spite of doctors’ efforts and the hope of family and friends, our dear comrade Matthew Hall was pronounced dead. 19-year old Matthew was a peace-loving and popular student at City University’s Hunter College. News of his murder spread quickly stirring outrage and sadness. A number of news articles and television reports spoke of the b-boy activist who excelled in and out of school, who had earned the respect of his fellow students. Throughout the city there was mourning for a man too young to die. Both the City University of New York and New York City government have offered rewards for information on Matthew’s murder, but as of yet, no leads in the case have been found.
Friends and family remember Matthew as a peaceful young man who spent his short life helping others. A b-boy, talented MC, graffiti writer, and break-dancer, Matthew saw these gifts as means of communication with the people. Even as a young man, Matthew put his faith in the people. He believed in the human spirit and its need for its expression. He believed in the common people and their need for revolution. Matthew was committed to changing the poverty, misery and hopelessness in which his generation lives.
Matthew could have sought a career in the music industry, but he never saw his talents as assets that could be traded in for cash. He saw them as supplies for building a new world where the people he cared for so much could expect better than just hard times. In his freshman year at Laguardia High School, Matthew joined the social action club, organizing various events at the school, and organized student contingents to important demonstrations in the city. It was not long before there was a real movement at Laguardia and Matthew was at the center of it. Matt was active around New York City in various artistic and political gatherings. He was a regular contributor at the open-mic poetry nights hosted by the Uptown club of the Young Communist League of which he was a member.
Matthew’s death came at a time when violence in the city has been on the rise. Whoever took Matthew’s innocent life is a danger to our community. We call on anyone who knows information about Matthew’s senseless murder to come forward so Matthew and his family can have some justice. But we also know that deep poverty and hopelessness, and easy access to drugs and guns makes violence a reality in many working class communities of color. Under capitalism, black and brown lives have little value. We also know that the policies of the Bush White House set the tone for violence world-wide from Iraq to Harlem.
What poisoned the mind of another person to the extent that they could take Matthew’s life? What has created an environment where the young people have nothing left but their pride, and some are willing to kill for it? What kind of system makes some young people not value life, not even their own? How could the illegal violence against foreign countries perpetuated at the top levels of our society not trickle down into the streets? How can we stop this?
A reporter for the New York Daily News recently asked if Matthew Hall’s killing and an unrelated stabbing murder on the train that same week would affect Harlem during its "unparalleled Renaissance." The writer misses the point that although the new gentry that is making its way in is doing so through a process of displacement—rent increases and more discriminatory policing. This "Renaissance" leaves youth of Harlem more desperate then ever, with an estimated 40 percent unemployment rate, much higher than the city average. Many young people have no hope of getting a job or finding legal means of survival. Often times the illegal economy, drugs and violence are the only option.
Matthew Hall was a shining example of what courageous young people can do in the face of the brutality of capitalism. Matthew never gave up hope; never saw his brothers and sisters as the enemy. He always blamed the capitalist system for the violence and poverty he grew up around. And Matthew committed himself to the revolutionary struggle to find a real solution. Matthew would be the first to remind us that bringing his murderer to justice is important, but it won’t stop the violence, only ending capitalism will bring peace to the world. Matthew, the struggle continues.
We miss you, brother. Stop the violence.
Estevan Nembhard is a member of the National Council of the YCL and a leader of the Uptown YCL Club.
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