Nothing is Over

For the past 35 years or so, the Black working class and their accomplices have rioted against the police across different cities with increasing regularity. I want to be clear: I am not talking about protest. I am talking about riots, uprisings, and rebellions where property is looted, fires burn, rocks are thrown, and tear gas is deployed. In 2020, by the police’s count, there were riots in dozens of American cities. Occasionally, the contemporary riot will be large groups of black-clad anarchists (many of whom are white, though not all) and other radical activists running wild in the streets. These street battles happened prior to Ferguson too. There was LA in ’92, Seattle in ’99, Cincinnati in ’01, Oakland in ’09, Ferguson in ’14, Baltimore in ’15, and the nationwide explosion in 2020. Most recently in Los Angeles, Waymos burned across from the 101 freeway as rubber bullets flew at rebels armed with nothing but Mexican flags, goggles, broken pieces of the sidewalk, and face shields. Rioting is a common way for those who are dispossessed, exploited, or oppressed to express their frustrations with the current governing order. These riots tend to feature young Black men and other men of color.