A win for the movement—a week of protests forced the police to abandon one of their precincts!
On Monday, June 8, police and national guard abandoned the East Precinct Police station in Capitol Hill. After a week of tear-gassing, flash-banging, and pepper-spraying peaceful protesters and an entire residential neighborhood, the cops packed up and left an empty, boarded up precinct—leaving the area completely to us! Protesters are calling it the “Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone,” or “CHAZ,” a new neighborhood and a glimpse at what a future society could look like.
At the CHAZ, people continue to hand out food, water, masks, and hand sanitizer. Street murals abound. People have started a community garden. Movie screenings happen into the night. A speak-out station has emerged on 12th and Pine where anyone can get up and address the crowd, and open-mics happen every day at 3PM.
This was the result of the determination of the thousands who protested outside the East Precinct every day, as well as the groundswell of public support for the movement for Black lives, actively expressed in the tens of thousands of Seattlites peacefully marching in a series of mass rallies.
As videos and stories of police brutality and violent repression of the protests came out, public outrage has grown even further. Liberal Democrats on the Seattle City Council and Seattle State House members have denounced the SPD repression. Calls for Mayor Durkan to resign have grown, including by powerful unions like UFCW 21. It was against this background that Durkan was forced to call off the SPD—for now.
What’s next?
Winning the movement’s main three demands—defunding SPD by 50%, using that money for community-led health and social programs, and not prosecuting protesters—will require that we keep the pressure on. We need to step up this pressure and transform it into fundamental change by continuing to find ways to draw broad public support into active struggle. Continuing to grow the protests also means that we will be able to win those demands and then fight for even more!
Below is a list of upcoming rallies we urge Seattle DSA members to join. Invite your friends, family, neighbors and co-workers to come with you!
Join these protests and rallies!
TODAY: Friday, June 12 at 1:30PM: Engage March with Nikkita Oliver & Rell Be Free
TODAY: Friday, June 12 at 1PM: March of Silence organized by BLM Seattle-King County
We’ll keep our calendar up to date as we find out about more protests and marches. You can check back there, or join our Slack to stay updated!
Join us at the CHAZ!
DSA members are here to support the Black-led movement and the new autonomous zone. Come find comrades, pass out food, and staff our sign-making station in the DSA tent! We are here from 3 - 9pm every day, although many comrades are here at all hours. Just show up, or better yet, sign up for a tent staffing shift!
Support the movement any way you can!
Can’t come out in person? We understand! Fill out this form to volunteer for a wide range of support roles we need help with.
Seattle DSA Blog is Back!
On Monday, the Seattle Educators’ Union voted to support the demand to defund SPD, kick the SPD out of Seattle public schools, and kick the police union out of the MLK Labor Council. This is an example of the powerful role that organized labor can play in the fight for Black lives. Read one members’ report in our SDSA blog.
Are you a union member? Join DSA’s Labor Committee for an online discussion TODAY, Friday at 12PM on kicking SPOG out of the MLK Labor Council. All DSA union members are encouraged to attend!
Looking to be kept up to date on a regular basis? Sign up here to get regular dispatches from our blog! Want to contribute with on-the-ground reports, updates, or perspectives? Send submissions to [email protected].
In solidarity,
Seattle DSA
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