Defender

Having seen what large groups of working-class people can do when they’ve been pushed too far, those in power are on high alert, ready to beat back radical action wherever they see it. As police repression mounts, we must think critically about our goals and tactics, be mindful of how we marshal the crowd, and accept criticism that helps us build better actions in the future.

Fellow educators and I encountered many former and current students in the street at the end of May fighting for justice, and now our workplaces are bringing in so-called experts from everywhere but Minneapolis to introduce us to the ABC’s of identity and privilege. These paid hacks are not the leaders we should be turning to.

During the opening months of the COVID 19 pandemic, frontline healthcare workers at St Paul's United Hospital (part of the Allina Health system) took measures to protect themselves, their families and the public they serve. These efforts were vehemently opposed by management. Among other positions they took, management insisted workers use their personal scrubs instead of the scrubs readily available at the hospital and used by doctors, physician assistants and some nurses.

In the wake of George Floyd’s murder and the resulting Uprising in the summer of 2020, neighborhoods in South Minneapolis were thrust into a world without state imposed policing. While this in some respects was a welcome change of life with less fear of police violence, it did, however, come with its own challenges.

The most clear lesson I learned (or re-learned) this summer is that if we wait for policy change or permission from capitalists and politicians we will never end houselessness. On the other hand, If we continue to assert our human right to housing through occupations and direct actions we can make sure every person in our region has a warm home. 

With the economy spiraling in the pandemic, we face a looming evictions crisis, with not enough aid for the thousands already houseless. Somewhere between 20-50% of Minnesota households are facing potential eviction from missed rents - held back only by emergency protections that Walz has kept in place, for now. 

The backlash from white Minneapolis progressives to radical demands/actions like the encampments, the George Floyd Autonomous Zone, and abolishing the police has taught me a lot about how a lack of real solidarity makes it easy to abandon radical ideas when comfort, control, and security are threatened. 

I have learned through living in homeless camps that the true war on fascism and the state starts with feeding and sheltering the people you were taught to fear and learning to love those who have suffered the most.

This past moment revealed the true face of America – mask off – and has brought many of our friends, family, and communities into the struggle. Building this core understanding is important to keeping them with us and protecting them from harm. It's no secret that often we have better insight and active intelligence than the state does. With the state’s arms wide open, our new comrades might be tempted to collaborate or try to use law enforcement against the fascists in retreat. Not only does this strengthen our enemy, a confidential informant is one of the very worst positions you could ever be in. This goes double for a state obsessed with destroying anti-fascist and revolutionary movements.

Copwatch is a form of direct action, in which members of a community organize to observe and record police interaction as a means of holding police accountable for misconduct, as well as advocating for people’s legal rights, particularly those who are more vulnerable to police repression due to their race, class, gender, sexual orientation, or housing status.