#Worldwide - Mass Surveillance in the Age of Racial Justice Uprisings & COVID-19

JULY 2020 In the face of a global pandemic, mass unemployment, deepening economic crisis, mass anti-racist revolt, anarchist ideas and visions are in public discourse like never before. We see calls to defund and abolish the police and millions in the streets in decentralized and leaderless mobilizations, along with mutual aid projects in across the US to meet needs where capitalism and the state have failed. All the while the mainstream media, much like the state, is in conflict with itself: the status quo is breaking down. Yet, anarchists have Agency. In June we published more unique content than we have in a long time, if ever. And we’ve been amplifying critical voices grappling with the issues of our time. Read on to explore our latest! Kris Hermes: COVID-19 and Uprisings for Black Liberation Used as a Pretext for Advancing Mass Surveillance On the night of June 1, amidst mass uprisings against police violence and structural racism, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) deployed it’s most advanced spy plane, equipped with sophisticated long-range video cameras that can capture footage day or night, see through haze, and provide infrared thermal imaging, in order to spy on Black Lives Matter protesters in Washington, DC. Read full article Joe Keady & Sarahjane Blum: Beyond the Politics of the Comfort Zone What We Can Learn from the Positive Response of Business Owners to Property Destruction in Recent Uprisings "Let my building burn. Justice needs to be served." Ruhel Islam spoke these words to a friend upon learning that his restaurant, Gandhi Mahal, had caught fire on the second night of the Minneapolis uprising which occurred in response to the police murder of George Floyd on May 25, 2020. Islam’s daughter shared his words the next morning on a Facebook post that continued, “Gandhi Mahal may have felt the flames last night, but our firey [sic] drive to help protect and stand with our community will never die! Peace be with everyone.” Read full article Press Release: Current Black-Led Popular Unrest Embodies Anarchist Models for Social Change Anarchists Support Calls for the Abolition of State Institutions Like Prisons and Police WASHINGTON, DC - June 12, 2020 - As protests continue to erupt across the US, some of the organizing principles and demands of African-American youth and social justice activists are resulting in changes that were unthinkable just weeks ago. While the unrest gripping the country is not anarchist-led, and claims by President Trump that anti-fascists are the primary source of violence are factually inaccurate, many of the practices and principles that have been fundamental to this movement have long been mainstays of anarchist organizing. Read full press release This is Anarchy: Eight Ways the Black Lives Matter and Justice for George Floyd Uprisings Reflect Anarchist Ideas in Action Since Minneapolis police brutally murdered George Floyd on May 25, 2020, demonstrations have exploded across the US and the world. Millions of people have taken to the streets to demand justice for George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and an end to police violence and terror, underscoring the need to eradicate systemic racism by radically transforming our society. Within 24 hours of the explosion of protest, the President of the United States claimed that anarchists and anti-fascists were responsible for the unrest that has occurred in cities across the country. Read full article Press Release: Anarchists Respond to Accusations of Violence at Justice for George Floyd Demonstrations WASHINGTON, DC - June 1, 2020 - The President of the United States and likeminded conservative voices have recently targeted anarchists and anti-fascists as the source of violence during unrest that has occurred in cities across the country in response to the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police last week. Read full press release Agency Apparel Now Available! We recently launched an online print-on-demand apparel store where you can purchase a range of tops - hoodies, t-shirt and tank tops - in a selection of designs that will be growing over the next few months.  Check out our newest design by Justseeds artist Shaun Slifer "Against Fascism: Iron Heart"!  Visit Agency Apparel VOICES FROM THE AGENCY NEWSWIRE Shane Burley: Inside the battle for Portland with the independent journalists on the streets  (Waging Nonviolence) As federal agents snatch protesters in unmarked vans, the reporters covering the Portland uprising are facing intense and unprecedented repression. On the night of July 11, as hundreds of Black Lives Matter protesters amassed around the Justice Center in Portland, Oregon, federal Homeland Security officers opened fire with “crowd control” munitions. They shot a teargas canister directly at the head of Donavan LaBella, a peaceful protester who had been standing across the street holding a sign. Read more... Elizabeth King: They Came to Support People Getting Out of Jail. Then They Were Attacked by Police. (In These Times) Only a few days had passed since the police killed him, but people around the country were already filling the streets to protest for George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black from Minnesota. From California to Chicago to New York, demonstrators rebelled against the fatal trifecta of policing, racism and capitalism, marching and chanting, emptying the shelves of corporate stores, fighting with police, and in Minneapolis, setting flame to the Third Precinct. Read more... Nylah Burton: Climate change is a race issue - here's why (Vogue India) Black, brown and indigenous people around the world are already bearing the brunt of the environmental crisis, showing how racial and climate justice are inseparable. For many people, climate change is a modern-day phenomenon. But for black and indigenous people, as well as other colonised people of colour, we know that the roots of the environmental crisis go back much further and are inseparable from racial injustice. Read more... James Stout: A Brief History of Anti-Fascism (Smithsonian Magazine) As long as the ideology has threatened marginalized communities, groups on the left have pushed back with force. Eluard Luchell McDaniels traveled across the Atlantic in 1937 to fight fascists in the Spanish Civil War, where he became known as “El Fantastico” for his prowess with a grenade. As a platoon sergeant with the Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion of the International Brigades, the 25-year-old African American from Mississippi commanded white troops and led them into battle against the forces of General Franco, men who saw him as less than human. Read more... Launch Agency Newswire Agency exists for the purpose of reflecting more purposefully on how the media covers anarchists and what we can do about it.   2020 marks seven years that we have been doing this work, and we are deeply grateful for everyone who has continued to support us along the way. We have a bunch of exciting plans for the year to come, so make sure you keep an eye on our: WEBSITE : TWITTER : FACEBOOK : PATREON  Copyright © 2020 Agency, All rights reserved.