Why we should read Robert L. Allen’s “Black Awakening in Capitalist America” to understand the context of the #StopCopCity movement coming on the heels of the 2020 #GeorgeFloyd uprisings…
A THREAD of excerpts that speak to the current situation re: policing in the U.S. 🧵🪡
The “City” is the past/present/future battlegrounds (materially, strategically, ideologically) for Black Liberation— and therefore all our collective liberation.
“To [white liberals] the cities present not a battleground but a crisis to be managed.”
“On the one hand there was the orthodox liberal who prescribed more New Deal welfarism as an antidote to riots. More antidiscrimination legislation and expanded antipoverty programs would suffice nicely, he contended.”
Sound familiar? Reforming “the City” to maintain power.
Who are the public officials, businessmen, educators & civil rights leaders following this same formula today in Atlanta and/or your home city? You see them?
Working to *stabilize* the crisis within the system rather than overthrow the source of the crises (racial capitalism).
You could take this excerpt and replace “Vietnam War” with “War in Ukraine”… this is Joe Biden and the Democrats to a “T”.
Many thought the 2020 uprisings might lead to counterinsurgency via “concessions” (superficial reforms) but instead we got austerity & brutal crackdowns.
The DANGER of liberal cooptation of radical and revolutionary movements:
Trading “concessions”— banning discrimination in housing for an “anti riot provision which makes it a felony for anyone to cross state lines with the ‘intent’ of inciting or organizing a riot.”
Familiar?
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
URGENT: Collecting funds for food and storm repair
Buncombe county & surrounding counties are currently experiencing widespread flooding… We are collecting funds to support community members affected by any immediate & long term damage”
Venmo: @AppMedSolid
CashApp: $Streets1de
Hurricane Disaster Relief
Donate to Mutual Aid Disaster Relief to support people impacted by Hurricane #Helene in the southeast U.S.
“It’s been 4 years now since George Floyd (Big Floyd) was murdered by Minneapolis police and the world saw widespread rebellions like it’s never seen before. While resistance to anti-blackness, policing, fascism, & Zionism continue daily….” 1/
“…and people continue to survive under multiple ongoing genocides, the mainstream media and politicians both Democrats and Republicans would like us to believe that somehow the cops have stopped murdering and disappearing Black and indigenous people.” 2/
“The neoliberal capitalist death machine is adept at infusing society with social amnesia. The fires in the streets have died down for the time being (at least here in the US). You can sleep at night now. Those killings were just the result of a few “bad apples” or perhaps…” 3/
The author & former head of @CNN & @TIME violently assaulted a student who was protesting against the genocide of Palestinians at a New Orleans panel on March 13th.
Despite the assault being captured on video, media remains largely silent.
Isaacson has spent his long career cozying up to some of the most powerful people in the U.S. government & multinational corporations. From the State Department & DoD, to @CNN & @TIME, to @TeachForAmerica & the @AspenInstitute, to @Dell & @United, & more.
1/n
As a young Rhodes Scholar & graduate from from Harvard (‘74), Isaacson was recruited to join the CIA but (allegedly) declined.
*Keep this tidbit in the back of your mind for the remainder of this thread in case you find it useful.
This article is a great example of counterinsurgency “from the left”— an attempt to deflate, minimize & pathologize the #StopCopCity movement under the guise of a “progressive” analysis.
Here’s a short 🧵 showing how/why this article functions as COIN propaganda.
First— counterinsurgency is not just a (military/police) strategy but rather a “political logic” (s/o @dylanrodriguez) that shapes & is shaped by media, gov, NGO’s— pretty much all facets of “civil society” controlled by the ruling class. All these facets play a role. 1/n
Media itself is a MASSIVE weapon in COIN bc so much of 5th generation warfare is about “narrative” & info/psy operations. Journalists can be both active and passive participants in COIN.
That’s where @ryan_zickgraf comes in as a “democracy” writer for @AtlCivicCircle.
A hired propagandist working for Atlanta Police Department & @andreforatlanta to push Cop City talking points out to the public.
@CityofAtlanta has been losing the narrative battle around #StopCopCity for a while, they are DESPERATE.
A THREAD 🧵🪡
Linville & his PR firm, Lexicon Strategies, have major ties to Cop City funders including @ATT, @Delta, @ATLHawks, @AtlantaFalcons, @CoxEnterprises, @GeorgiaPower, @Colliers & @InvestAtlanta. They are part of APD + APF’s “inner circle” for propaganda & messaging.
Starting in May 2023, Linville, along with @CoxEnterprises AVP of Comms, Sonji Dade & PR consultant Kendra-Sue Derby all started holding weekly meetings w/ Atlanta police about the “Public Safety Training Center”. Payment to Linville’s company from APD began shortly after.
Kiran Kimbrough is originally from Bolingbrook, IL and came to Alabama A&M to play football. This fits a larger APD recruitment pattern of targeting former collegiate athletes. This recruitment tactic is reflected in the Atlanta Police Foundation’s intentions for #CopCity
Kimbrough studied “Criminal Justice” at @aamuedu and joined APD in March of 2021.
His LinkedIn profile claims he has “extensive experience in DUI enforcement”— which is believed to be the pretextual justification he used to arrest Hollman (who was just leaving a Bible study).