from FTW, WTF

Written by: Trayvon Martin Organizing Committee (TMOC) and Action Against Black Genocide (AABG)

Baltimore has risen up following the police murder of 25 year old Freddie Gray. On April 19th, Freddie Gray died of spinal injuries sustained in the back of a police van following his racially biased arrest. Video of his arrest went viral, sparking riots and protests across Baltimore. After days of demonstrations, the six police officers involved in his murder have been charged by Baltimore’s State Attorney, Marilyn J. Mosby –- one officer with second-degree murder, and the others with assault and involuntary manslaughter. But here in Philadelphia, despite nearly weekly demonstrations and at least a dozen arrests, the police have yet to even release the names of the officers involved in the murder of Brandon Tate Brown, a black man shot by police during a car stop in Mayfair in December last year. Security footage of Brandon’s fatal encounter with police remains firmly in the hands of the PPD, while the internal investigation has cleared the officers of any wrongdoing and returned them to street duty. 1 As rage whips across the nation after yet another racialized police murder, those in Philadelphia continue to ask #WhoKilledBrandonTateBrown. The Philadelphia Coalition for REAL Justice, a coalition of activists and organizers forged in the heat of the Ferguson uprisings, called a march on Thursday April 30th in solidarity with the Baltimore uprising and the people claiming the streets there.

Philly is Baltimore: The March

The call for the #PhillyisBaltimore march circulated over Facebook and social media, reaching thousands. In the end, over one thousand people gathered at City Hall to rally and protest. People of all political stripes got on the mic to speak about police violence in Philadelphia, the #Black Lives Matter movement, and the growing anti-police movement. Tanya Brown, the mother of Brandon Tate Brown, spoke about the circumstances surrounding the police murder of her son in the majority-white neighborhood of Mayfair. She claimed, “The minute I get the video I want the world to see it. It’s killing me not to show everybody the pictures of my son’s body. They beat the hell out of my baby.” 2 Mobilized by the Ferguson uprisings and driven by her loss, Tanya Brown has tirelessly pursued answers for the murder of her son by Philadelphia police. She uttered these angry and mournful words as SWAT, the Major Incident Response Team, mounted police, plainclothes officers, uniformed officers, undercovers, and bike cops menaced the rally. Police were also stationed at strategic locations throughout the city in preparation for the march, including at the Roundhouse (police headquarters) downtown, on the 16th St. ramp to the Vine Street Expressway (I-676), and down Broad Street. Many of those who, last winter, had chanted “Hands up, Don’t Shoot” during last year’s Ferguson anti-police protests, were now chanting “Fists Up, Fight Back”, indicating a more militant collective outrage at the unrelenting pandemic of racist police murders.

When speakers had finished, the rally moved swiftly into the streets outside City Hall, surging into the business area of Center City and filling the already congested rush-hour streets. Despite the numbers of the march and the disruption it was causing, policing was mostly hands-off. A powerful sense of latitude and freedom seized demonstrators as they realized very few bike cops babysat the march. Anger and rage were palpable and growing as the march wound through the glittery downtown streets. At an intersection on Walnut St., a long list of names of those murdered by police were read out loud, with demonstrators following each name with a thundering chant of “Their Lives Matter”. This powerful commemoration of those murdered by police lasted over ten minutes as name after name was remembered by demonstrators blocking traffic. Frank McQueen and Brandon Tate Brown’s names were repeated three times, reminding us all of the police violence in the city of brotherly love. The march continued to move through Rittenhouse Square where it disrupted the meals of those at upscale restaurants in the heart of the shopping district. Someone from the march shook down a tree in front of Parc restaurant where the march had momentarily stopped, and sent cascades of flower petals onto the dining tables of the Steven Starr restaurant. Chants of “White silence is white consent!” resounded through the restaurant. One demonstrator stole bread off a plate, a small example of what was to come as well as the crowd’s determination to highlight race and class conflicts. 3 These moments of open confrontation made possible by the march energized many demonstrators who laughed and jumped in glee.

The march split while downtown, and the smaller split ran north on 17th St. before turning onto Arch St. to make its way back to the larger segment of the protest at Market Street. REAL Justice leadership at the head of the march announced their plan to take the highway. But following this announcement, the march took a confusing turn, starting and stopping irregularly, ostensibly to tighten up the march. These irregular stops slowed the momentum of the march and frustration rose as the march floundered without a clear target or objective. Leadership issued contradictory directives for people to link up and tighten up, and then to stand still or to sit. There was little communication with the back of the march, so the march lacked the cohesion of one in which communication is well established throughout. The level of secrecy and organization needed to take a highway, and the tactical challenges in executing such an action were open questions that will undoubtedly be taken up in the streets again very soon.

Despite the confusion, the march made a concerted move for the Vine Street Expressway ramp on Broad St. and demonstrators clashed against police lines in an attempt to take it. Batons out, cops formed a blockade multiple lines deep barring demonstrators from entering the highway ramp, while mounted police patrolled behind police lines. Police brutalized demonstrators on front lines, pushing demonstrators with their batons, punching and choking demonstrators on the frontlines. Demonstrators continued to push against police and started to break the lines. This provoked an unprecedented show of repressive force by the visibly shaken police, who began swinging batons and beating demonstrators, bloodying at least one demonstrator in the head. Another demonstrator threw a bucket at police across lines, apparently injuring Chief Inspector Joe Sullivan’s lip. 4 The police were obviously flustered and somewhat unprepared for such intense physical confrontation with demonstrators. Smart policing tactics in Philadelphia, and the low precedent for open confrontation with police had imposed an internal limitation on militancy at previous marches. The battle for the on-ramp displayed a leap beyond this internal limit. The level of militancy and confrontation with police surpassed anything we had seen at mass actions in Philadelphia recently. One demonstrator used their bike as a structural barrier against cops, while those on bullhorns cursed at cops, directing a stream of verbal abuse against police during the battle. Police and demonstrators physically fought and struggled. The cops were forced to draw out their riot cop reinforcements which had thus far remained invisible. The battle lasted for some time before police brutalized then arrested demonstrators, and mounted police used horses to intimidate people and neutralize the confrontation. Ultimately demonstrators were unable to take the highway, but police were forced to cede Vine street down which the march could continue on continued.

The march stopped at the Federal Detention Center on 700 Arch St. where demonstrators chanted “You are not alone” to those on the inside of the prison in one of the most inspiring moments of the night. Many prisoners flicked their lights on and off in recognition of the protest outside their windows. The march took on renewed energy and rage in this moment outside the prison. The march continued on to the Four Seasons hotel on 16th St, and finally ended at the 9th district’s police department to provide jail support for the two demonstrators that had been arrested during the previous battle with police on Vine St. Chants of “Let our people go” and confrontation with the police mounted. Hostilities amongst demonstrators also rose as some desired to be more conciliatory and deferential to police, fearful that the “wrong” attitude would prevent the release of those arrested, while others put forth a more militant position. As demonstrators yelled at and dissed cops on the frontlines, demonstrators in the back threw a water bottle and a shoe at the police, again exhibiting an antagonism towards cops unseen until this march. Due to the unprecedented levels of militancy, the police, following the “strategic incapacitation” model, were forced to release the arrestees quickly and with minor charges in an attempt to stem the budding militancy of the crowd.

Although many media accounts were sure to praise the lack of property destruction throughout the night, demonstrators could be seen knocking down police barricades or moving them into the street, the Frank Rizzo statue was tagged with a large #FTP tag in the back, and several demonstrators attempted to bring down the statue. Although demonstrators failed to topple the Rizzo statue, their actions indicate the possibilities opened up by the Baltimore rebellions and the qualitative shift in militancy seen in the streets of Philadelphia.

Sexism on the Move

Women and trans folks often deal with additional levels of harassment, abuse, disrespect, or threats in the streets. During the march, men attempted to undermine women in possession of bullhorns. Some men simply attempted to grab away the megaphones from women, while others harassed them and picked fights. Men calling for peace towards the police become violent towards women who refused to cede the megaphone or took a more militant stand. These men, unable to back down, would harass militant women by relentlessly arguing with them about their tactics. For example, during the battle with police at Broad St., I refused to cede the bullhorn to a man demanding peace. The man immediately told me I had to move out of his way and when I also refused this, he began to aggressively push me. He then began to lie loudly to the demonstrators nearby that I had hit him in the face with the bullhorn. I saw numerous instances in which men became hostile, irate, and threatening when women refused their entitlement or tactics. Although what is being refused is political legitimacy and not sexual advances, this sexism is clearly identifiable. Calls for peace should be refused and women exhibiting the most militancy in the street should be supported to speak. At one point in the march, men were called to stand on the front lines so that women would not have to physically confront the police. While the sentiment is appreciated, there’s no reason a woman cannot be on the front lines if she so desires. Women are also subjected to sexual harassment from police while in the streets and have every right to confront them. At a previous march, a woman demonstrator was groped by a cop attempting to arrest her, and at this same march, a cop blew a kiss at a woman comrade in the midst of open hostilities between cops and demonstrators.

The Medium is the Message

Media representations of the march were sure to emphasize that the march was largely peaceful. Reporting and video coverage on the fight with police on Broad St., while giving some a sense of the intensity of the march, did not show the cops beating demonstrators with batons. The manner of reporting–cutting to quick clips of confrontations, reporting only sound bytes, etc.–distort and nullify the potentially radical ramifications of such militancy in the streets. Interviews with the police show them praising themselves for their restraint and professionalism. Before the march began, Ramsey stated he expected the march to be peaceful. Most of the media apparatus is designed to reinforce the notion that the police are essentially necessary and respectful. They are “doing their jobs”, “showing restraint” and “professionalism”, “protecting the public”. It has been said time and time again, but we must remember the modern police have their origins in the slave patrols. The police are the first line of defense the ruling class deploys to maintain the status quo. It is a contradiction both in historical and analytical terms to believe both that the police are necessary and that justice will be won. While at times the police can exist autonomously from other governing institutions, they are essentially the handmaidens of a capitalist system, imposing social control and “order” at a price some have paid more dearly than others. If we are to build in the streets and pose a real threat to the established order, we must release ourselves from the stranglehold of “peace” as the arbiter of our legitimacy. As many have said, riots work. 5 Taking a cue from the most militant elements of the Baltimore and Ferguson rebellions, we must refuse to cooperate with the state. We must redefine the terrain of our rebellion against the oppression and violence of the racialized police state. This means an end to the police -– not their reform or their continued existence under other various headings and forms, not equipped with “better” tools or overseen by more and more judicial bodies. In an era of nonprofits, career activism, community policing, data-based crime prevention, the bipartisan prison reform movement, militarized police, expanded surveillance, carceral social control, generalized commodity fetishism, post-civil rights neoliberal capitalism, the War on Terror, the War on Drugs, we must learn to apply popular pressure against the available expanded liberal constitutional framework, not within it.

References

  1. http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/dncrime/Police-dept-clears-cops-in-Brandon-Tate-Brown-death.html
  2. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/freddie-gray-protesters-clash-police-philadelphia/
  3. http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20150501_Courts_to_close_early_for_afternoon_rally_in_Center_City.html
  4. http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/politics/Police-Restraint-Philadelphia-Baltimore-Protests-302286741.html
  5. “Riots Work: Wolf Blitzer and the Washington Post Completely Missed the Real Lesson from Baltimore” 

Further Reading