Black bloc

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File:March on Crystal City, black bloc near World Bank.jpg

A black bloc group participating in a march near the World Bank, in Washington, DC, in 2009. Some black bloc protesters wear hoods, allowing their faces to be viewed, while others use such items as scarves, dark sunglasses or masks to conceal their faces as much as possible.

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A black bloc (sometimes black block) is a tactic used by protesters who wear black clothing, ski masks, scarves, sunglasses, motorcycle helmets with padding or other face-concealing and face-protecting items.<ref name="origin">Autonomia and the Origin of the Black Bloc. Retrieved 7 November 2008.</ref><ref name="BlackBlocBlue">Template:Cite news</ref> The clothing is used to conceal wearers' identities from both the police and politically different organizations by making it difficult to distinguish between participants. It is also used to protect their faces and eyes from pepper spray, which is used by police during protests or civil unrest. The tactic also allows the group to appear as one large unified mass.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Black bloc participants are often associated with anarchism, anarcho-communism, communism, libertarian socialism and proletarian internationalism. A variant of this type of protest is the Padded bloc, where following the Tute Bianche movement protesters wear padded clothing to protect against the police.

The tactic was developed in the 1980s in the European autonomist movement's protests against squatter evictions, nuclear power, and restrictions on abortion, as well as other influences.<ref name="origin"/> Black blocs gained broader media attention outside Europe during the 1999 Seattle WTO protests, when a black bloc damaged property of Gap, Starbucks, Old Navy, and other multinational retail locations in downtown Seattle.<ref name="origin"/><ref name="PunchANazi">Template:Cite news</ref>

History

Precursors

In February 1967, the anarchist group Black Mask marched on Wall Street in New York City wearing black clothes and balaclavas. This was the first instance of a social movement in the western world utilizing masks and black dress, which were used not for purposes of disguise but to signify a militant uniform identity. In this regard, Black Mask may have indirectly influenced the black bloc tactic.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

West German origins

File:Black Bloc Hamburg.jpg

Demonstration in Hamburg/Germany with Black Bloc in the front rows

The black bloc tactic to wear black clothing,<ref name="origin"/> ski masks, scarves, sunglasses, motorcycle helmets with padding or other face-concealing and face-protecting items was developed in response to increased use of police force following the 1977 Brokdorf demonstration.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On 1 May 1987, demonstrators in Berlin-Kreuzberg were confronted by West Berlin police.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> After this, thousands of violent rioters attacked the police with rocks, bottles and Molotov cocktails. The riots at the May Day in Kreuzberg became famous after the police had to completely pull out of the "SO 36" neighborhood in Kreuzberg for several hours, and rioters looted shops together with local criminals.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

When Ronald Reagan came to Berlin in June 1987, he was met by around 50,000 demonstrators protesting against his Cold War policies. This included a black bloc of 3,000 people. In November 1987, Hafenstraße residents and thousands of other protesters and fortified their squat, built barricades in the streets and defended themselves against the police for nearly 24 hours. After this the city authorities legalised the squatters residence.<ref>Katsiaficas, George. The Subversion of Politics: European Autonomous Social Movements And The Decolonization of Everyday Life. New Jersey: Humanities Press International, 1997, pp. 124–131.</ref>

Since the late 1980s, Berlin's Kreuzberg district has hosted May Day clashes between anarchists and police.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> When the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund met in Berlin in 1988, autonomous groups hosted an international gathering of anti-capitalist activists. Numbering around 80,000, the protesters greatly outnumbered the police. Officials tried to maintain control by banning all demonstrations and attacking public assemblies. Nevertheless, there were riots and upmarket shopping areas were destroyed.<ref>Template:Citation</ref><ref>Template:Citation</ref>

Unified Germany

File:MobG20Hamburg.jpg

Part of a black bloc in Hamburg during the G20 summit

In the period after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the German black bloc movement continued traditional riots such as May Day in Berlin-Kreuzberg, but with decreasing intensity. Their main focus became the struggle against the recurring popularity of Neo-Nazism in Germany. The "turn" came in June 2007, during the 33rd G8 summit. A coordinated black bloc of 2,000 international people came to Rostock, Germany, built barricades, rioted the streets, set cars alight and attacked the police during a mass demonstration.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 400 police officers were injured, as well as about 500 rioters, demonstrators and activists. According to the German Verfassungsschutz, the weeks of organisation before the demonstration and the riots themselves amounted to a revival for the militant left in Germany. Since the "Battle of Rostock", traditional "May Day Riots" after demonstrations every 1 May in Berlin, and since 2008 also in Hamburg, became more intense.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

International development

North America

File:M2109 Iraq War Protest (Black Bloc Element).jpg

Black bloc members spray graffiti on a wall during the Iraq War protest in Washington, D.C., on 21 March 2009.

The first prominent use of the tactic in United States of America occurred at the Pentagon, in Washington, D.C., on 17 October 1988, although anarchists had been using similar tactics in small numbers in preceding years in places like San Francisco, culminating with several hundred anarchists in black smashing glass store fronts and attacking vehicles in the Berkeley Anarchist Riot of 1989.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In D.C., over one thousand demonstrators—a small number consisting of a black bloc—called for the end to U.S. support for right wing death squads in El Salvador.<ref>See The Black Bloc Papers, page 35, Breaking Glass Press, Shawnee Mission, KS, 2010</ref> A black bloc caused damage to property of GAP, Starbucks, Old Navy, and other retail locations in downtown Seattle during the 1999 anti-WTO demonstrations.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> They were a common feature of subsequent anti-globalization protests.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

In the years after the end of the Vietnam War, protest in the US came to assume more legalistic, orderly forms, and was increasingly dominated by the middle-class.<ref>Doug McAdam, et al. "There Will Be Fighting in the Streets: The Distorting Lens of Social Movement Theory", Mobilization: An International Journal 10(1): 1-18.</ref> This corresponded with the rise of a highly effective police strategy of crowd control called "negotiated management".<ref>McPhail, Clark, David Schweingruber and John McCarthy. 1998. "Policing Protest in the United States: 1960-1995" Template:Webarchive, pp. 49-69, in della Porta, Donatella and Herbert Reiter (eds), Policing Protest: The Control of Mass Demonstrations in Western Democracies. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.</ref> Many social scientists have noted the "institutionalization of movements" in this period.<ref>Doug McAdam, et al. "There Will Be Fighting in the Streets: The Distorting Lens of Social Movement Theory", Mobilization: An International Journal 10(1): 1-18.</ref> These currents largely constrained disruptive protest until 1999. In an unprecedented success for post-Vietnam era civil disobedience, the WTO Ministerial Conference opening ceremonies were shut down completely, host city Seattle declared a state of emergency for nearly a week, multilateral trade negotiations between the wealthy and developing nations collapsed, and all of this was done without fatalities. This occurred in the midst of mass rioting which had been set off by militant anarchists, some of them in a black bloc formation.<ref>"Day 2- November 30, 1999", WTO History Project, University of Washington.</ref><ref>"Seattle Declares Civil Emergency", BBC News, 1 December 1999.</ref><ref>John Vidal, "The real battle of Seattle", The Guardian, 5 December 1999.</ref>

The call for the Seattle protest had originally come from Peoples' Global Action (a network co-founded by the Zapatistas) which supported diversity of tactics and a highly flexible definition of nonviolence.<ref>Geov Parrish, "Beyond Gandhi", The Seattle Weekly, 17 November 1999.</ref> In the aftermath of the shutdown, however, various NGO spokespeople associated with Seattle DAN claimed that the riotous aspect of the WTO protests was counterproductive and undemocratic. They also asserted that it was only an insignificantly small group from Eugene, Oregon that engaged in property destruction. Medea Benjamin told The New York Times that "These anarchists should have been arrested",<ref>Alexander Cockburn and our readers, "WTO: Workers of the World United?" The Nation, 14 February 2000.</ref><ref>Timothy Egan, "Black masks lead to pointed fingers in Seattle", The New York Times, 2 December 1999.</ref> while Lori Wallach of Public Citizen stated that she had instructed Teamsters to assault black bloc participants.<ref>"Lori's War" Template:Webarchive, Foreign Policy, Spring 2000, p. 49.</ref> Barbara Ehrenreich decried the NGO leaders as "hypocrites", and wrote that nonviolent activists ought to be "treating the young rock-throwers like sisters and brothers in the struggle." She also criticized the dominant nonviolent paradigm as "absurdly ritualized".<ref>Barbara Ehrenreich, "Anarkids and Hyprocrites", The Progressive, June 2000.</ref> The solution to Ehrenreich's impasse was the growing acceptance of black bloc tactics in the anti-globalization movement.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>"Hallmarks of People's Global Action (amended at the 3rd PGA conference at Cochamamba, 2001)".</ref><ref>Cindy Milstein, "Something Did Start in Quebec City: North America's Revolutionary Anti-Capitalist Movement", Institute for Social Ecology, 13 June 2001.</ref>

During protests against the 2010 G20 summit in Toronto, a black bloc riot damaged a number of retail locations including an Urban Outfitters, American Apparel, Adidas Store, Starbucks and many banking establishments.<ref name="autogenerated3">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="CP24">Template:Cite web</ref>

File:Inauguration Day Marchers.jpg

Black bloc anarchist protest in Washington, D.C., on J20 on a Civil War monument.

On the day of President Donald Trump's inauguration in 2017, black bloc groups were present among other protests in Washington, D.C., and other places. The groups engaged in vandalism, rioting, and violence.<ref name="DwyerDomonokse">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news Template:Cbignore</ref> At least 217 were arrested and six police officers sustained minor injuries, and at least one other person was injured.<ref name="DwyerDomonokse" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

File:Berkeley 8 27 17-7123 (36887356645).jpg

Black bloc at Berkeley, California

In February 2017, an event at the University of California, Berkeley by commentator Milo Yiannopoulos was cancelled by college administrators after protestors of a black bloc broke windows, shot fireworks, and caused a light fixture to catch fire.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The cancellation of the event brought mainstream attention to anarchism and black bloc tactics.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In May 2021, Portland protesters in black bloc turned out at multiple rallies and marches that marked the one-year anniversary of the murder of George Floyd. At one event the protesters wheeled a dumpster into the street and set its contents on fire, drawing police out. The rally was declared a riot by police.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Brazil

During the June–July 2013 mass public demonstrations, groups of people using Black Bloc tactics started attending demonstrations, especially those held across the street from governor of Rio de Janeiro State Sérgio Cabral Filho's residence and the state government palace.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Police face accusations of infiltrating the movement and, at times, acting as agents provocateurs by starting confrontations. Many leftists claim that video footage shows an infiltrated police officer throwing a molotov cocktail that wounded a riot policeman, although this has been denied by the police and hasn't been proven until today (2017).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Protester violence occurred regularly during the Brazilian protests (particularly the week of 17 to 21 June) even when not linked with the black bloc, or with police infiltration.<ref>"Black Bloc Rising: Social Networks in Brazil". Igarape Institute, 13 March 2014</ref><ref>Hannah Waldram "Brazil protests continue". The Guardian, 21 June 2013</ref>

Despite the denunciations by media, police, and even some activists, the black bloc tactic persisted in the movement. By October 2013, "The mask-wearers were welcomed by the protesters who wanted to wreak havoc during manifestations... Indeed, this sense of solidarity amidst the demonstrations, this shared manning of barricades, inspires a common determination to fight against the fear of repression." According to a report by two Brazilian leftists published in Al Jazeera, this coincided with a revival in the breadth of the street protests that had not been seen since its early days in June.<ref>Bruno Cava and Marcelo Castaneda "Black Bloc and Teachers: Education crisis explodes on Rio's streets". Al Jazeera, 23 October 2013</ref> On 10 October, the Rio teachers' union (Sepe) officially declared support for the recent black bloc actions, stating that the bloc were "welcome" at their demonstrations. Postings on teacher Facebook groups praised bloc participants as "fearless".<ref>"Sindicato do professores declara oficialmente apoio aos black blocs". O Dios, 10 October 2013</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Europe

On 1 May 2018, over 1,200 black bloc took part in demonstrations in Paris, France. Public infrastructures and stores were damaged.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> During the demonstrations of the Yellow vests movement (autumn 2018-spring 2019) major damage was done by black bloc in Paris, Toulouse and Bordeaux. The protest resulting in the most significant amount of property damage took place in Paris when protestors took to the streets on the Champs-Élysées on 16 March 2019.<ref>AFP (16 March 2019). "Et une foule noire et jaune enflamma les Champs-Élysées." CNews.fr. Retrieved 3 July 2019.</ref><ref>AFP (22 March 2019). "'Black blocs' et 'gilets jaunes': Convergence radicale en jaune et noir." La Croix. Retrieved 3 July 2019.</ref>

A group of about 400 black bloc demonstrators took part in the 2011 London anti-cuts protest where they targeted various high end retail outlets; according to journalist Paul Mason this may have been the largest ever black bloc assembly in the UK. Mason says some of the participants were anarchists from Europe, others were British students who joined the demonstrations after participating in the 2010 UK student protests.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> A black bloc protested the opening of the universal exposition Expo 2015 in Milan.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Amongst hundreds of thousands of protesters protesting the G20 Summit in Hamburg Germany were thousands of black clad rioters who clashed with police in a 3-day standoff resulting in millions of euros in property damage. At least 500 protestors were injured and more than 200 were arrested.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Egypt

On 25 January 2013, on the second anniversary of the Egyptian Revolution, black blocs made an appearance in the Egyptian political scenes where they reportedly<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> attacked various Muslim Brotherhood headquarters and government buildings and stopped traffic and metro lines in more than eight cities.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>"Black Block in Egypt, a mysterious group monitored by authorities". France24 (in arabic) Template:Webarchive</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> A group of young protesters, who identified themselves as the "Black Bloc", have marked the second anniversary of the Egyptian revolution by blocking the tramway tracks in Alexandria on Friday.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Egyptian Prosecutor General Talaat Abdallah ordered the police and armed forces to arrest any participant in the Black Bloc, pointing out that the group was carrying out "terrorist activities"<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and was considered by the government and under the new constitution a violent radical outlaw group.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Police infiltration

On occasion, police and security services have infiltrated black blocs, for purposes of investigation. Allegations first surfaced after several demonstrations. At the 2001 G8 summit in Genoa, among the many complaints about the police<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> there was mention of video footage which "suggests that men in black were seen getting out of police vans near protest marches."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In August 2007, Quebec police admitted that "their officers disguised themselves as demonstrators" in Montebello. However, the officers purportedly did not engage in violence, and claimed that they were carrying rocks because other protesters were doing so. They were identified by genuine protesters because of their police-issue footwear.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> According to veteran activist Harsha Walia, it was other participants in the black bloc who identified and exposed the undercover police.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Tactics

File:01.12.2014 Fuera Peña Nieto @ Mexico City.jpg

Black bloc in Mexico City organizing protests

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File:AnarchistBlackBlock.jpg

Anarchist black bloc organizing in Leipzig, Germany, in 2020

Tactics of a black bloc primarily include vandalism of private property, rioting, and demonstrating without a permit. Tactics can also include use of defensive measures such as misleading the authorities, assisting in the escape of people arrested by the police ("un-arrests" or "de-arrests"), administering first aid to people affected by tear gas, rubber bullets, and other riot control measures in areas where protesters are barred from entering, building barricades, resisting the police, and practicing jail solidarity.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Property destruction carried out by black blocs tends to have symbolic significance: common targets include banks, institutional buildings, outlets for multinational corporations, gasoline stations, and video-surveillance cameras.<ref name="pressaction.com">Template:Cite web</ref>

There may be several blocs within a particular protest, with different aims and tactics.<ref name="K, 2001">K, 2001, "being black block" in On Fire: the battle of Genoa and the anti-capitalist movement, p. 31, One Off Press.</ref> As an ad hoc group, blocs often share no universally common set of principles or beliefs<ref name="K, 2001" /> apart from an adherence to—usually—leftist or autonomist values, although some anarchist groups have called for the Saint Paul Principles to be adapted as a framework in which diverse tactics can be deployed.<ref name="pressaction.com"/> A few radical right-wing groups, like some of the "autonomous nationalists" of Europe<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> or the Australian so-called "National-Anarchists"<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> have adopted "black bloc" tactics and dress. The political scientist Nicholas Apoifis, in his ethnography of anarchism in Athens, Greece, argues that black bloc action can constitute a form of prefigurative politics, due to its "flat and horizontal organisational structure, alongside its focus on solidarity."<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

References

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External links

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