Crimethinc

In this essay, anarchists from a rural area of the United States describe how people who live outside the urban centers can contribute to the movement against police violence and institutional white supremacy that has unfolded in response to the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

The authors of this letter are white anarchists living in outskirt areas of the Pacific Northwest that are occupied by a white majority and steeped in white supremacy. This context differs from other rural area; the authors do not wish to speak as experts on any experience besides their own. The authors are not attaching their names or specific location to this letter due to safety considerations in their small town.

We wake up, roll over in bed, and grab the phone. What news of last night? What information, counter-information, wildly beautiful or unthinkably tragic developments have unfolded? What frantic or exhilarated texts from friends and comrades? Pictures and words blur together—there is so much all at once. George Floyd was murdered by Minneapolis police on May 25, one of countless victims of a bloody legacy of racist police violence. This nation was built on stolen land, Indigenous genocide, Black enslavement, and the exploitation and oppression of all people of color, and we know that this empire will not concede power willingly. Still, in grief and anger, people across the country are rising up in defense of Black lives and bodies.

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