Submission
This hastily-compiled zine is drawn from two sources as a contribution to the historical memory of confrontational resistance in Philadelphia.
First, a fairly long, lightly edited excerpt from Direct Action: An Ethnography, by David Graeber. The first part of this excerpt is a narration of the author’s experience with the black bloc during the 2000 Republican National Convention mobilization in Philly. Following that is a section examining state power, particularly the dynamics that arise when we confront it in the streets.
This excerpt, and the book as a whole, is somewhat dated now. Published in 2008 and mostly dealing with events during the anti-/alter-globalization movement from roughly 1999-2003, its perspectives on non-violence, the police, repression, and identity, do not necessarily hold up today. Still, it remains useful not only for its accounts of important events but also for some very cogent broad analysis.
The second included essay was published by Crimethinc shortly after the death of John Timoney. Timoney was Philadelphia Police Commissioner during the 2000 RNC, and continued a career in repression both nationally and globally afterwards.
Timoney is gone. It’s up to us to make a world where we can say the same for all police.
– Philly Anarchy Jawn, 2019
Also of interest is this reflection on the RNC: Former SLAM Members Reflect on the RNC Protests in 2000
