Cheers to the Black Bloc: A Short Report Back from DC

This short report discusses the mass mobilization against Unite the Right that took place last weekend in DC.

A year after the original Unite the Right rally, anti-fascists and people of good conscience from all over the country arrived in Washington D.C. to oppose Jason Kessler’s second attempt at organizing a white supremacist rally. Kessler billed this year’s convening as a ‘white civil rights rally’ which was clearly a thinly-veiled effort to make his hateful platform appear more palatable to the public. Despite the rebranding attempt, the fact that David Duke – avowed white supremacist and founder of the Louisiana-based chapter of the Knights of the Klu Klux Klan – was slated to speak should speak volumes. When August 12th finally rolled around, only about 30 Unite the Right demonstrators showed up for the rally, a dismal crowd compared to the nearly 500 white supremacists that marched in Charlottesville the year previous. The laughable showing at Unite the Right 2 can only be attributed to the organizing efforts of anti-fascists who are committed to de-platforming white supremacists at every step through a diversity of tactics.

“the only reason that white supremacists feel comfortable marching openly is because of the protection that they receive from the police and the State.”

Following the Unite the Right rally in 2017, many media outlets claimed that anti-fascist organizing tactics such as doxxing or the black bloc were detrimental and would only embolden the Alt-Right. In the aftermath of Unite the Right 2, one can clearly see that anti-fascist organizing undoubtedly discourages white supremacist activity; in fact, the only reason that white supremacists feel comfortable marching openly is because of the protection that they receive from the police and the State.

Accommodations have been made for white supremacists every step of the way – from the DC Metro providing private subway cars for the attendees to the DC police bringing out hundreds of cops and spending thousands of taxpayer dollars to protect white supremacists. Let this be said clearly: the white supremacist movement in the United States could not – and would not – exist without the promise of police protection.

https://twitter.com/jaredlholt/status/1028817673109557249

Kessler and his posse of white supremacists were vastly outnumbered by protestors. Black Lives Matter DC, along with many other organizations, turned out thousands of people to stand in defiance of the white supremacist rally. As the failed rally came to a close, DC police and Secret Service attempted to escort the attendees back to the Metro station but the black bloc stood strong and pushed back until they were forced to find another exit. Once it was confirmed that the white supremacists had escaped the city, the black bloc decided to march on the Immigrations Customs and Enforcement building. Despite the rain, protestors marched for miles in the streets before finally being accosted and attacked by the DC police mere blocks away from their destination. The black bloc was stuck in the streets with cops closing in on both until the police on motorcycles began to ride towards protestors and deploy mace into their eyes and mouths. A few arrests were made but almost as quickly as it all began, it ended and the police dispersed.

While the media and police continue to demonize antifascists, a plethora of white supremacists have admitted that antifascist tactics are indeed working to scare them from boldly taking the streets. In March, Richard Spencer admitted that “antifa is winning” while more recently Andrew Anglin of the Daily Stormer told those in the Alt-Right to avoid Unite the Right: “If you show up and you are identified, your life will be ruined. You won’t be able to get into a university or get a good job…”. Although no punches were landed on white supremacists this past weekend, the tiny showing of white supremacists can only be chalked up as a huge victory against white supremacist organizing.