Partisan Accounts of the George Floyd Uprising
There are those who would have us believe that the most important legacy of the police killing of George Floyd is a “civil rights movement”, a coalition aimed at progressive change within society & its institutions. On the other hand, there are those whose greatest inspiration was the crowds of people who, four years ago this week, were instead directly attacking the U.S. property regime & its defenders.
The reformist camp, with the assistance of mass media, has tried to emphasize “peaceful protests”. Their historical narratives ignore or downplay the scale of torched police cars, ransacked stores, besieged government buildings, & general uncontrollability. At times, they openly lie about those events; too often, the stories they tell go unchallenged.
Below is a collection of personal accounts of the uprising that swept the imperial core, permanently decommissioning a police station. While they don't necessarily share a common analysis, all of them come from people who entered the streets not as observers, but participants. They tell the truths liberal-progressive reformers don't want to acknowledge.
This collection cannot be & does not aim to be “complete”. Rather than the final word on what really happened, it should be used as a tool to carry anti-state struggles forward, pushback against U.S. efforts to memory hole the largest popular revolt within its borders in the 21st century. Maybe their gaps & unanswered questions will spur you to tell your own stories, anonymously or pseudonymously. Because there's so much more to be said & done...
- The George Floyd Uprising includes narratives from Mni Sota, the uprising's epicenter; Lenapehoking (New York City & Philadelphia); the Mvskoke homelands (Atlanta); the Ohi:yo' falls (Louisville); occupied ᐊᓂᔑᓈᐯᐗᑭ (Kenosha, Neshnabe territory); & along the Wimahl River (Portland). It may be the only commercially available book which includes multiple, detailed first-person accounts of the revolt, alongside several theoretical & strategic reflections, making it a useful study tool. (They aren't superior to the other accounts just because they made it into a book, of course.)
- ““The World Was Not At Peace:” A Timeline and Interview with a Former Prisoner of George Floyd Uprising in North Carolina” explores how a lifelong resident of the southern Atlantic Plain became involved in the insurrection.
- “Notes from the Rockford Rebellion: [Commentary on] Black Revolt in the Rustbelt from a New Afrikan Anarchist Perspective” & “The shithole I call home: Cooptation in Milwaukee’s George Floyd Rebellion” analyze the trajectory of revolt & propose ways forward in two often-ignored cities of ᐊᓂᔑᓈᐯᐗᑭ (Anishinabewaki).
- “Dreams of Black Revolt : A reflection on the 2 year anniversary of the George Floyd Rebellion and its meaning from a Black Anarchist” shares a personal story of the uprising's effects from an undisclosed location.
- “The World Opens Up: Recalling the First Days of the 2020 George Floyd Uprising in Seattle” looks back at the the revolt's arrival in southern Coast Salish homelands.
- ““What I Saw Was Not Tucson”: The George Floyd Uprising in Tucson, AZ” chronicles conflicts with the police on Yaqui & O'odham lands in the Sonora Desert.
- “Reflections on the George Floyd Rebellion in So-Called Lincoln, Nebraska” follows the uprising & its containment in occupied Otoe-Missouria territory. (The link is directly to the zine/pamplet printing version.)
Lastly & crucially, the Support Defendants & Prisoners From the George Floyd Uprisings website includes some personal stories of people incarcerated by the U.S. government's long counterinsurgency campaign.
Nada ha acabado. Todo continúa.