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In the wake of the George Floyd Uprising, many neighborhoods began to organize themselves. Mass meetings were held in parks across the city. In most places the main concern was community safety - and in many neighborhoods this was reduced to typical and reactionary concern for the property of homeowners. But in several neighborhoods, there was serious conversations about fighting racism, not relying on the cops, and allying with the protest movement.

On June 27th, Sophia Rashid, a Muslim woman, took her four-year old daughter out to eat in Stillwater, a town on the St Croix River about 20 miles east of St. Paul. Stillwater has two main industries: bars & entertainment - and the Stillwater state prison. The prison, where human beings are forced to work at twelve cents an hour and face punishing medical neglect during the pandemic, is a breeding ground for both multi-racial solidarity against state-sponsored slavery - and segregation and white supremacy. That night downtown Stillwater would be made unsafe by bikers with ties to a white supremacist prison gang - sparking a strong reaction from Stillwater workers and residents.

Reforming and regulating the police is not what we want. We can do much better than prolonging the life of this doomed, repressive institution, but to do better, we need to plan how to do better.

The horrendous murder of George Floyd - and the powerful Uprising that followed, inspired action from some Twin Cities workers. On June 16th, workers at the Seward Co-op Grocery store on East Franklin Ave staged a brief walk-out in the parking lot to demand Justice for George Floyd and the abolition of the police department.  

You probably have things on your phone you wouldn’t want a fascist or a cop to see: comrades’ contact information, loved ones’ addresses, logged-in social media accounts, and text messages, to name a few. While you can’t make it impossible for them to get into your phone, you can make it a pain. With every security measure you add, you make it more difficult for police/fascists to get your data.

On Memorial Day weekend, George Floyd, a 46-year old African-American bouncer, unemployed since COVID-19, was detained by Minneapolis Police outside Cup Foods on 38th St & Chicago Ave in south Minneapolis for allegedly passing a counterfeit $20 bill. Mr. Floyd was put down on the street - right where a #5 bus stops - and murdered by a cop pressing his knee into Mr. Floyd's neck while a crowd of onlookers pleaded for the police to stop.

38th & Chicago is an important intersection in south Minneapolis - especially to poor and working-class folks who attend church, update their cell phones, get Chinese, do laundry, or fill up their tanks on that corner. The intersection brings together four neighborhoods:  Bancroft, Bryant, Central, and Powderhorn - and is the heart of the historic and resilient southside Black community.

The lynching of George Floyd tore open the facade covering white-suprenmacist capitalist rule in Minneapolis and neighboriong communities - it brought people out in the streets and at 38th & Chicago - the people hacve stayed. Building barricades, painting murals, memorializing those murdered by police, serving meals, playing music, squashing beefs, booting fascists, and holding ground.

The interviews here are from two people from the Community who have given over big chunks of their life to the struggle to hold and defend George Floyd Square . . . 

In order to combat them effectively, those opposed to fascist paramilitaries running around in their streets need to understand the Proud Boys' inception and unique development. We need to know what they are selling, and who they are selling it to. Because as economic conditions worsen, and political gridlock continues, the Proud Boys will only grow in number and resolve. We need to match and exceed their organizational efforts. We need to expand popular support for ANTIFA, or antifascist political activism. Breaking down the stigmas and myths that revolve around antifascism is crucial.

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.

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. 

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.