San Francisco Bay Area Organizations
On June 2nd, 2020, on the eve of a major protest
against the curfew in Oakland, this statement was written to help
organizations unite around a common understanding at a moment when the
government and much of the media are looking to divide us from within.
There are real conversations to be had about strategy and tactics, and
the hope is this statement will help to begin that process in a way
that moves away from blaming and criminalizing to acting with
discipline, integrity and understanding. As we look to a future of
powerful movement building in the interest of justice, let us also hold
ourselves accountable to each other in new ways. Thank you for taking
the time to read this statement, and please consider endorsing.
The murder of George Floyd has sparked a
nationwide movement, and our cry for justice is echoing
internationally. Powerful protests are erupting worldwide. And the
global police state is pushing back.
The main method the government uses to suppress
major protests is overwhelming force and aggression, including flash
bangs, chemicals, projectiles, and tanks.
The other method is to divide us from within.
During every period of upsurge and resistance --
from Rodney King, to Oscar Grant, to Occupy, to Standing Rock -- the
government has exploited differences between us to divide and suppress
the growth of our movement.
After the first night of every upsurge, the police
and government officials use the exact same playbook and blast it
through the media:
- Label people who have been arrested as
"outsiders" and "opportunists."
- Divide people into "good" vs. "bad" protesters.
- Send in provocateurs and thugs to cause harm and
send in infiltrators to learn our weaknesses and differences so they
can exploit them later.
- Encourage white supremacists and others to
attack and disorient us.
They discredit our movements and keep us looking
for enemies from within instead of building solidarity and our movement.
The most extreme example of this today is
classifying "Antifa" as a terrorist organization. Make no mistake, the
target is "Antifa" and "white anarchists" now, but they are going to
apply the label of "Black Identity Extremists" to others next. And
black and brown anarchists could be labeled as both.
These are the same red baiting tactics of the
1950s and the violence baiting used against the Black Panther Party,
the American Indian Movement, and Puerto Rican independence movement,
which left comrades still serving out life sentences today.
We cannot resolve every difference of opinion
regarding protest strategy overnight -- and we must always consider how
various approaches impact those already most targeted by police -- but
we can agree to engage in good faith questioning and principled
struggle when differences arise.
We can agree to resolve disagreements in private
and offline, and to not share footage that could be harmful to the
movement. Our strength and solidarity should be public and our
differences should be kept amongst ourselves.
The brutal murder of George Floyd has unleashed
fury and pain in ways we haven't seen before. We still have waves of
coronavirus infection to survive and over 100,000 funerals to attend.
We are heading into an economic crisis worse than the Great Depression,
and the United States is jockeying for world domination in an election
year. And the military is literally occupying our communities.
But the repression we face is only happening
because the people have stood up and stood together. In a few short
days we have made one thing crystal clear: there is no going back to
so-called "normal." Let us keep our sights on the world we want to
create, while we continue to build and grow and heal. Let us all meet
the challenges ahead with discipline, integrity and understanding.
In the words of Assata Shakur:
It is our duty to fight for our freedom.
It is our duty to win.
We must love and protect one another.
We have nothing to lose but our chains.
Endorsers as of June 11, 2020 click
here.
This article was published in
Volume 50 Number 21 - June 13, 2020
Article Link:
San Francisco Bay Area Organizations
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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