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Archives for December 2014

Die-Ins Breathe Life Into Antiracism Uprising

December 19, 2014 By Pam

Grand Central Terminal die-in, 12/3/14

Grand Central Terminal die-in, 12/3/14 (Daily Mail, U.K., EPA photo)

“I was in a die-in!”

One of my teenaged piano students bubbled over with news of everything happening at her high school last week, beginning with teacher-led discussions about racism, grand juries, the criminal justice system, last century’s Civil Rights movement. Classroom lessons inspired some students to stage a die-in.

“What was that like for you?” I asked. She told me that she thought about Mike Brown and Eric Garner while she lay beside her classmates in the school lobby.

“What did your friends say about it?” Most felt good about the protest, she thought. The only disagreement was about whether or not it was disrespectful to sit up and take a “selfie” in the middle of the action. Some said yes, some said no. Hmmm, I didn’t know what to say about activism etiquette in the Digital Age.

VARIATIONS ON A TACTIC:
FROM BREASTFEED-INS TO WADE-INS

St. Louis die-in with body outlines, 11/16/14

St. Louis die-in with body outlines, 11/16/14, photo by Joe Raedie (Getty)

As luck would have it, I’ve been working on a chapter of my book (on women’s nonviolent actions) about experiments with physical intervention, a form of nonviolent direct action — specifically sit-ins and their variations: breastfeed-ins, die-ins, dance-ins, glitter-ins, howl-ins, kiss-ins, pray-ins, pee-ins, sleep-ins, read-ins, wade-ins. The actions themselves might be risky for those taking part, but the variations are endlessly creative and make this chapter fun to write! I’ll share more about these in future blog posts. Stay tuned.

Faith leaders from New York Theological Seminary, 12/8/14 die-in at NY City Hall

Faith leaders from New York Theological Seminary, 12/8/14 die-in at NY City Hall, photo by Andrew Kelly (Reuters)

The tactic of disrupting business-as-usual with physical intervention reminds me of the old protest song “It Isn’t Nice” by Malvina Reynolds, made popular by Judy Collins. (See YouTube clip below.) The refrain notes that blocking doorways “isn’t nice” and concludes, “but if that’s freedom’s price, we don’t mind.”

According to nonviolence scholar Gene Sharp, sit-ins date back to the mid-1800s when the tactic was used by antislavery activists challenging publicly segregated spaces. It was picked up by Native Americans in the 1930s. In the 1940s, the tactic was tried by members of CORE (Congress of Racial Equality) in Chicago. Later, lunch counter sit-ins were used extensively during the 1960s Civil Rights movement.

Die-in by staff of the Center for Constitutional Rights, 12/17/14, part of a city-wide 7 minute collective “Die-in/ Rise up” action to mark the 5 month anniversary of the killing of Eric Garner

Die-in by staff of the Center for Constitutional Rights, 12/17/14, part of a citywide 7 minute collective “Die-in/ Rise up” action to mark the 5 month anniversary of the killing of Eric Garner

Die-ins are a more recent variation. One of the earliest took place on the first Earth Day, April 22, 1970, when Harvard Ecology Action sponsored a die-in at Logan International Airport to protest environmental pollution. In May 1970, 150 demonstrators staged a silent “die-in” in Seattle to protest the shipping of nerve gas through Washington state. In 1981, on International Women’s Day, 3,000 women in Ramstien, West Germany lay down in front of a NATO airbase to simulate the effect of a nuclear attack.

Last year, inspired by a massive cyclists’ die-in in Amsterdam in the 1970s, 1,000 cyclists staged a die-in in London to call attention to the need for improved road safety. They were asked “to lie on the pavement with your bicycles, turn on your lights and let them flash in the memories of people killed and injured in the last eight years.”

DIE-INS: THE TACTIC DU JOUR

Students at Washington University, die-in, 12/1/14

Students at Washington University, die-in, 12/1/14, photo by Larry W. Smith (EPA)

In the wake of the police killings of two unarmed black men, Mike Brown in Ferguson and Eric Garner in Staten Island, die-ins have proliferated as a tactic. Some have been timed to last 4 1/2 minutes, symbolic of the 4 1/2 hours Brown’s body was left in the street, untended.

Visual and therefore deemed newsworthy, die-ins help sustain media attention and effectively disrupt business-as-usual.

Harvard medical students participate in nationwide “White Coat Die-in” 12/10/14

Harvard medical students participate in nationwide “White Coat Die-in” 12/10/14, photo by David L. Ryan

In recent days, lawyers in suits and ties chanted “Black lives matter” and “I Can’t Breathe” from pavements in front of courthouses across the nation. Medical students at over forty colleges staged a well-organized “White Coat Die-In.” Legislators, teachers, and clergy have laid down in solidarity.

In libraries, shopping malls, bridges, streets, in quiet towns and hectic cities, across the U.S. and in places around the world, on cold pavements and on the well-trod floors of major traffic hubs like Grand Central Station — everywhere these days, budding activists and seasoned protesters are lying down for a cause. When they stand up again, they often feel a new sense of empowerment.

A NEW YEAR’S WISH

Dance-in on missile silo at Greenham Common, 1/1/83

Dance-in on missile silo at Greenham Common, 1/1/83, photo by Raissa Page

At dawn, on New Year’s Day, in 1983, at Greenham Common women’s peace encampment in England, forty-four women crept through the frosty early light, propped a ladder against the fence protecting nuclear silos, threw blankets over the razor-wire, and dropped a second ladder down the other side, then scrambled over the top, one after the other, hearts pounding.

When they’d made it over, they rushed, all together, holding hands, up the mud slopes to the top of a silo which housed U.S.-owned weapons intended for World War III. Before the police closed in, they formed a circle and danced, sang, and cheered. They held up a sign, “PEACE 83” for the TV reporters who had been alerted to the “dance-in.” The iconic image of women dancing on the nuclear silo, silhouetted against the dawn of a new day, inspired and sustained many in the women’s peace movement throughout the 1980s.

I offer this image of an earlier New Year’s Day action to inspire us all not to give in to world-weary resignation in the face of so much suffering and wrong, but to greet 2015 with a renewed commitment to fight the good fight — together. Happy New Year, everyone!

TO GO DEEPER

Black Friday die-in at Galleria Mall, St. Louis

Black Friday die-in at Galleria Mall, St. Louis, photo by Ruth Fremson, (NYT)

“The Methods of Nonviolent Intervention” in The Politics of Nonviolent Action: Part Two, The Methods of Nonviolent Action by Gene Sharp, 1973.

“A Brief History of Die-Ins, the Iconic Protests for Eric Garner and Michael Brown” by Marina Koren, in the National Journal, December 4, 2014.

 


Local news report of the “White Coat Die-In” at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, December 10, 2014.


Judy Collins sings “It Isn’t Nice” by Malvina Reynolds

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Die-in, Eric Garner, Ferguson, Gene Sharp, Greenham Common, Judy Collins, Malvina Reynolds, Michael Brown, nonviolence, sit-in

We Can’t Breathe

December 12, 2014 By Pam

23-Racism-sign“The times, they are a-changin’” and it’s a good thing.

How beautiful the righteous anger flowing out of Ferguson and New York City, the insistent cries “Black Lives Matter!” How hopeful the troubling of the waters, the rage of the protesters filling our streets, determined to “comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable” (to borrow from poet/activist César A. Cruz). A new anti-racism movement has been birthed, and I’ve never been so heartbroken or so hopeful.

WHITE PRIVILEGE

23-Grand-Central“White privilege” means never having to say you noticed — never noticed landlords who refuse to rent, banks that refuse to lend, employers who won’t employ, taxis that refuse to stop, never noticed the pain caused by racial slurs and jokes, never noticed the lack of parks or after-school programs in minority neighborhoods, never noticed store personnel following black customers, never noticed the “school-to-prison-pipeline” with black students less likely to be assigned experienced teachers and well-equipped classrooms, more likely to be suspended or expelled for misbehavior, never noticed commuters pulled over for “driving while black,” police brutality disproportionately born by African-Americans, prisons bursting at the seams with black and brown people …

23-Pam-ProtestIn 1997, I was disheartened by apparent white apathy after the police brutalization of Abner Louima. I went to a Brooklyn rally (photo) and could count the white protesters on one pale hand. History has brought us to a new day, when people of all races, classes, beliefs are coming together in rage, despair, and hope.

23-church-sign“White privilege” means treating the killings of Mike Brown and Eric Garner as unfortunate “incidents,” denying the long history of institutional racism and the systemic targeting of people of color. It means saying, in condescending tone, “Well, really, all lives matter, don’t they?” or derailing deep conversation with the truism “But not all cops are bad,” (reminiscent of the meme “not all men” as rebuttal to outrage about rape and battery), or insisting that people of color stop what they are doing to educate white folks about our shared history.

“White privilege” means never having to connect the dots; it means dismissing the protesters’ grief and rage as “political correctness,” trivializing it, accusing those who do connect the dots of “playing the race card.”

OUR SILENCE FOSTERED VIOLENCE

23-Asian-solidarityViolence against black and brown peoples has been relentless from the start. It’s been “status quo” and “the way things are.” People of color silently mourned or seethed, while the white majority barely noticed. In our silence we acquiesced.

But when Mike Brown’s body lay in the street for 4 1/2 hours, something shifted in our collective psyches. It was as if we could hear Ella Baker speaking from her grave, admonishing, “Until the killing of black men, black mothers’ sons, becomes as important to the rest of the country as the killing of a white mother’s sons, we who believe in freedom cannot rest until this happens.” (I hear you humming a little Sweet Honey in the Rock as you read this.)

Black and brown communities rose up, again, newly energized. White anti-racists woke up, too. Ferguson was, perhaps, the long-awaited “tipping point.”

23-Ferguson-policePolice over-reaction in Ferguson revealed something many of us (myself included) had not known: the Defense Department has been arming local police with surplus equipment since 1997 — tanks, full battle gear, tear gas. Now, at last, we’re talking about the “militarization of America’s police.” That we’re talking about it is a good thing.

On TV, the NYC Police Commissioner told reporters, “People get tired of marching around aimlessly.” We were meant to understand that he’s the grown-up in the room. We’ve been primed to sympathize with his weary expertise through years of rooting for TV cops and detectives like Cagney & Lacey, Lennie Briscoe, Kate Beckett and her mystery writer sidekick Richard Castle, and …

The entertainment-news industry demands dramatic footage — property damage, looting, and fire — then mislabels it “violence.” It downplays nonviolent agitation and disregards daily, sustained anti-racism work.

SOLIDARITY IN THE DIGITAL AGE

23-OverpassBut this time, nothing is stopping creative protest — not media distortion, not chilly winds, rain, snow, not even Christmas. Has the world ever seen anything quite like this?

In city after city, across the U.S. and in places around the world — England, Palestine, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Canada — people are in the streets shouting “BLACK LIVES MATTER,” using e-gadgets to connect, inform, record, inspire.

23-Palestinian-girlIn Milwaukee, the Overpass Light Brigade created a digital sign on a pedestrian overpass bridge. Medical students held “white coat die-ins” at Yale, Tulane, Johns Hopkins, and several dozen other schools.

African-American congressional aides, several members of Congress, and Civil Rights leader John Lewis briefly walked off the job this week to pose on the steps of the U.S. Capitol with arms raised in the “Hands Up – Don’t Shoot” gesture and were led in prayer by the Senate Chaplain.

In stores and malls across America, protesters turned “Black Friday” consumerism into “Blackout Friday,” disrupting the shopping with the chant, “No justice, No profits.” In several cities they borrowed from the labor movement and sang the refrain, “Which Side Are You On?”

23-London“Which Side Are You On?” was also sung by protesters at the St. Louis Symphony. Diverse in race, age, and gender, they bought tickets, stood up mid-concert, sang a “Requiem for Mike Brown,” and left of their own accord, as they tossed confetti hearts and unfurled banners from the balcony. Some on stage and in the audience applauded, others booed or sat open-mouthed.

Musicians and poets, preachers and artists are all busy creating expressions for this new day. The Brooklyn church where I work as the Music Director put up a “BLACK LIVES MATTER” banner on the front gate. In worship last week, we sang Mark Miller’s new hymn “How Long?” combining Advent imagery with the words “Sam [Cooke] said ‘change is gonna come’ but right now we can’t breathe.”

23-college-athletesPeople of faith are holding vigils, die-ins, prayer meetings, and rallies. They’re hosting after-church racism discussions.

In the past few months, athletes on basketball courts and football fields have worn “I Can’t Breathe” T-shirts during warm-up exercises. Five members of the St. Louis Rams made the news when they came out on the field with their arms raised in a show of solidarity with Mike Brown protesters.

23-Foley-Square-handsMany thousands of protesters are expected to flood Washington, D.C. this weekend for the March Against Police Violence. There’s a whole new anti-racism movement on the move now, led by young people who are both informed and savvy about how to use the new technology.

“The times, they are a-changin’” and I’ve never been so hopeful!

 

To Go Deeper

Articles

“Police Kill Black Women All the Time, Too  — We Just Don’t Hear About It” by Evette Dionne, Bustle.com, 12/9/14

“Principles of Respectful Dialogue” a helpful handout about the L.A.R.A. method for group discussions of controversial or sensitive topics, developed by Bonnie Tinker.

“The Unbearable Lightness of Being White” by Courtney E. Martin

“Black Feminists Respond to Ferguson” by Miriam Zoila Pérez, in ColorLines, August 22, 2014

“12 Things White People Can Do Now Because of Ferguson” by Janee Woods” in Quartz, August 17, 2014

Videos

In the tradition of the holy fool, truth-tellers in court jester garb — sometimes it is our comedians who speak about hard things most forthrightly:


John Oliver’s August 17, 2014 riff on racism in Ferguson.


Jon Stewart on the Daily Show


Mark Miller’s Advent lament “How Long?”

Credits

“The Times They Are a-Changin’”  lyrics by Bob Dylan
Feature photo “Harlem Is Ferguson” photo by Kathleen Caulderwood
Racism Takes Our Breath Away, Pittsburgh protest 12/4/14, photo by Jessica Nath
Black Lives Matter, Reuters/Elizabeth Shafiroff, Grand Central protest 12/7/14
Ferguson Police, Michael B. Thomas, AFP/Getty
Georgetown Hoyas, AP photo by Nick Waas
Palestinian child, Hamdi Abu Rahma
Foley Square hands up, by Jason DeCrow/AP

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Black Lives Matter, César A. Cruz, Ella Baker, Eric Garner, Ferguson, hands up - don’t shoot, March Against Police Violence, Mark Miller, Michael Brown, white privilege

Pam McAllister

In 1982, I edited the anthology Reweaving the Web of Life: Feminism and Nonviolence and then wrote two books about women’s use of resistance and action: You Can't Kill the Spirit and This River of Courage.

I've spent a lifetime compiling stories of courageous, creative actions, categorizing them (a la Gene Sharp), writing books and articles, speaking at university forums, church retreats, feminist conferences. I’ve also joined in the action -- antiwar protests in the '70s, Take Back the Night marches in the '80s, prison reform rallies in the '90s, and Occupy Wall Street actions in recent years.

I am currently researching more examples of nonviolent action for peace and justice around the world for two new books -- one for/about children and another about women (whose actions are still so often left out or overlooked).

Here I am with Barbara Deming, my mentor and friend, in Sugarloaf Key in the early ‘80s. The photo has faded, but the memories and love have not.

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