Thread by @rjmarr

Last week, a #BLM protest march stopped in front of council member Kim Gray's house. Did this action cross a line?
#RVAProtests #RVA #RVAPolitics #Thread
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richmond.com/news/local/ric…

Key problem: there’s no rulebook for movement action. There ARE what scholars call “repertoires of contention” – models presented by previous movement actions that current actors draw upon (only sometimes in organized way)
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en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Repertoir…

Repertories/models include protest march (your Aunt Karen’s “right way” to protest). But menu also includes sit-ins to the barricade to the Molotov cocktail. Where to deploy and where to draw the line are not universally agreed upon
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Tactics/Strategy are hard. I see at least 3 open questions facing those who claim to speak for the movement here in Richmond, or at least want to drive movement action 4/

FIRST: how much to reach out to authorities, including police?

Remember when we had a "march with police"? An EVENT, NOT A PROTEST? Was this collaboration with the enemy, or attempt to create meaningful dialogue?
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commonwealthtimes.org/2020/06/13/vir…

Remember also: authorities have 2 responses to movement: repression and co-optation. They will try to engage movement leaders in "normal" politics to defuse the movement, sometimes just to delay meaningful change
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So, for example, what to make of Stoney's Task Force on Public Safety? Good folks involved, but I think Landon Shroder in @RVAmag has it right: a way to run out the clock in an election year. Skepticism is appropriate here
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rvamag.com/politics/opini…

SECOND, How much to rely on/work with white allies? Lots of mistrust among city's Black community, and hard to blame (whites don't have good track record). Some worry whites will hijack the movement for their own purposes, or won't be there when it counts
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THIRD, how best to put pressure on public officials? And so we get to staging at Gray's house. On one level, makes sense: target powerful politico & mayoral contender who has been perceived as overly critical of the movement
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BUT: she's one of few Black women in power, at home w/ children, with history of segregationist threats on her family; armed protestors + laser lights could be perceived as intimidation/threat. (All pointed out by critics online) Does this cross the line?
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You could argue the action was successful in reinforcing Gray's conservatism on movement action; she went on talk radio next day to liken movement to "terrorism." City's progressives may not like disconnect
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newsradiowrva.radio.com/blogs/richmond…

But also may have reinforced widespread view of movement as lawless/violent. Problem for all movements. Even those who cheered when the monuments came down wanted cranes, not chains. Many, many people do not understand contentious politics and want return to "normal"
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Choices over tactics and strategy are never easy, and are often how and where movements fracture. Movements require disruption to work, but too much disruption can turn too many against you. But you never really know until it happens. Bottom line: No easy answers.
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More here:
rvapol.com/blog/2020/7/20…

#RVAProtests #RVAPolitics #RVA
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