Ill make a statement to clarify what happened at the stadium today. Today, during the Vikings/Jets game, we had a protest on the sidewalk and in front of the stadium, which was de facto led primarily by two young women of color- Emma Eubanks, and Sandra (whose last name I did not catch). Both stepped up to coordinate, speak, and lead chants (though others assisted in these roles). The stadium action action was discussed by different people on FB prior to the mass meeting on the North Side yesterday. At the mass meeting, Ben Egerman communicated to the direct action breakout group that such an event was being discussed. Because NOC and the meeting only had time to adequately flesh out the direct action that was taking place immediately after the meeting (the shutdown of the on-ramp to Northeast Minneapolis), the action at the stadium was not fully fleshed out in the meeting. Following the direct action Saturday night, several people worked to remind people that there were two actions planned for Sunday- the 11 am meetup at Oak and Washington for an action at the game, and the 4pm student led rally at the library downtown. We encouraged people to come to both. A decision was made that, for the action at the game, we would decide what specific action to take once we rallied and assessed how many people we had and what we could safely and effectively do. As the crowd gathered at Oak and Washington, it quickly became apparent that while many of the rank and file of previous protests were present, the leaders of the previous protests were not. We began to discuss what to do in small groups, preparing for a meeting as a group to decide on the action. Media began to question us asking for leaders, and we directed them to speak to the people of color in the protest first. At this point, Emma and Sandra, two young African-American women, began calling the assembled people to order. Emma asked if we would be comfortable with first staying at the corner and chanting while more people gathered, and then heading to the stadium. This suggestion was met with widespread approval and by an informal consensus adopted. While people stepped up to volunteer in leading chants, a number of IWW members stepped up to be marshals, and were soon joined by other people in the protest. The protest began, and after gaining strength and support at the corner marched to the stadium. We marshals at that point began patrolling around the protest in order to intervene if anyone should become violent towards the protestors. After several minutes, it became apparent that some fans were walking through the protest crowd and saying inflammatory and racially charged things to protestors. The marshals thereafter formed a line between the protestors and the football fans, and directed fans to go around the protest. Most fans did so, and we were able to successfully and peacefully turn back several drunk fans who attempted to push through the marshals. Our action during this time attracted still more media attention. Reaction from the crowd was mixed. While some fans made obscene gestures, shouted racial slurs, and attempted to get confrontational, other shouted their support, joined in raised fists and the hands up gesture, or even joined our protest. This state of affairs continued. At one point, a die-in was suggested. Emma and other protest leaders discussed with myself and other marshals if we believed a die-in on the streets would be safe. We expressed that we could not guarantee safety but would do our best, and that a poll of the protest should be taken. A poll was (to my belief- I was busy redirecting fans) taken, and a die-in was convened off the street, in front of the stadium. After the game began, the chants subsided as different people from the protest took the opportunity to speak and tell their stories. As the incoming crowds dwindled, people began to leave (while we reminded them about the 4 pm action), until those who remained took a straw poll to end the action. The action was thereafter ended, and people left together to start conversations with each other about next steps, policy, the lessons we all learned after finding ourselves unexpectedly in leadership roles, and the relationships between racism, the prison-industrial complex, environmental injustice, political power and process, and economic class. A number of the protestors would later convene for the 4 pm student-led protest.
Posted on: Mon, 08 Dec 2014 01:12:38 +0000
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