The bloc tactic involves activists who form an affinity group in order to provide
solidarity, resist police repression, and carry out actions ranging from peaceful
marches to targeted vandalism and the unarresting of other activists. To achieve
these aims, participants form an easily identifiable contingent that conceals
their identities and renders them indistinguishable from one another. This is
typically achieved by masking-up or by donning a variety of uniforms/ costumes
and by utilizing the cover provided by a larger gathering of protestors.
The theoretical orientation of bloc participants is usually anarchist, although
participants may come from a variety of orientations such as environmentalist
and gay-positive. As such, what defines a bloc is not ideology but the utilization
of particular bloc tactics prepared and executed by affinity groups. Thus, in
practice blocs assume various tones and tactical approaches. They may involve
activists organizing as: the Black Bloc, made up of anarchists in black ski-masks
who engage police lines and participate in the knocking out of store windows;
the Pink Bloc, composed of members of the radical queer community who advocate
‘tactical frivolity’ and organize marching samba bands; or the Green
Block, made up of environmentalists who form a human circle by holding hands
around specific sites they may want to protect or draw attention to. The wide
array of blocs that have sprung up attests to the limitless application of the
bloc tactic. As CrimethInk notes, “Beyond the Black Bloc, endless possibilities
open up… clown Blocks, doctor Blocks, maintenance worker Blocs”
(http://crimethinc.com/feature1_2.html).
In short, a bloc can be formed for a wide range of scenarios.
Herbert Marcuse
Zapatismo
State Domination
Capitalist Exploitation
Anti-capitalism
Autonomen
Black Bloc
Direct Action
Green Bloc
Infernal Noise Brigade
Pink Bloc
Property Destruction
Tutte Bianche
Ya Basta!
December, 1773: Secretly organized participants, calling themselves The Sons
of Liberty, board the vessel of the East Indian Company docked in Boston in
order to protest Britain’s new high sea tax. Disguised as Mohawk Indians
they dump 342 chests of tea into the ocean thereby causing $100,000 of property
damage. Event becomes known as the Boston Tea Party. Britain passes the Intolerable
Acts intended to punish the colonies by taking away their rights to self-government.
1970s- 80s: The tradition of the Black Bloc grows chiefly during this period
out of the militant actions of the European Autonomen. The German Autonomen,
who organize squat defences, wear black because it is “the color of the
leather jackets that squatters wore for warmth and to deflect blows from police
batons” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_bloc).
The Autonomen also form blocs during protests to provide safety against police
attacks. The label ‘Black Bloc’ is given to the them by the German
police.
1988: The bloc tactic is implemented for the first time in North America during
anti-war demonstrations at the Pentagon.
1991: A Black Bloc organizes in Washington, DC, in order to protest the Gulf
War. The Bloc manifests its opposition by smashing the windows of the Treasury
Department and by spraypainting the World Bank.
1992: A Black Bloc marches in San Francisco to protest 500 years of First Nations
genocide.
April, 1999: In Philadelphia, in preparation for the Millions 4 Mumia march,
anarchists call for all sympathisers to wear black and to wear any easily identifiable
anarchist insignia. They aim to highlight Mumia Abu-Jamal’s case and to
“try to steer the movement toward more militancy” (http://www.infoshop.org/gulag/blackbloc.html).
1,500 - 2,000 anarchists show up in a Black Bloc. The contingent marches with
other groups.
November, 1999 (N30): Thousands of activists (estimates range from 40,000 to
60,000) come out into the streets of Seattle to protest the World Trade Organization.
Affinity groups engage in a wide number of tactics demonstrating cooperation
between hitherto antagonistic groups such as labour and environmentalists.
A Black Bloc partakes in property attacks on corporate targets such as Fidelity
Investment, the GAP, NikeTown, and McDonald’s, capturing massive international
media attention. The popular media denounce the Black Bloc as a violent, chaotic,
and opportunistic mob that steers the message away from the protest. The reactions
of other activists, notably the Ruckus society who attempt to physically stop
the Black Bloc, highlight the controversy that exists around the bloc tactic
in the activist community. In response, the affinity group, ACME Collective,
publishes a communiqué in which they take responsibility for the actions,
contending that “property destruction is not a violent activity”
(ACME Collective 2000:51). The Collective maintains the political nature of
their tactics, arguing: “When we smash a window, we aim to destroy the
thin veneer of legitimacy that surrounds private property rights” (ACME
Collective 2000:51).
April, 2000 (A16): 15,000 people gather in Washington, DC, to protest the IMF/World
Bank. A Revolutionary Anti-Capitalist Bloc (RACB) is formed. It mobilizes an
anarchist marching band, radical cheerleaders, and relocates construction material
to form barricades, along with performing other creative actions. According
to Michael Albert, “The Black Blocs brought to the actions tactical energy,
creativity, and courage, as in Seattle, but now also considerable willingness
to blend these attributes into the larger venue respecting the desires of other
constituencies and repeatedly actively defending their less prepared fellow
participants”
(http://www.zmag.org/crisescurevts/globalism/assessing%5Fa16.htm).
Other observers also report considerable development of the ‘diversity
of tactics’ approach while the mass media recall the violence of N30.
September, 2000 (S26): The gathering of the IMF/World Bank in Prague witnesses
15,000 protestors. Among them, at least three distinct blocs emerge: the Blue
Bloc, composed of the Infernal Noise Brigade and anarchists who do not hesitate
in the deployment of “projectile reasoning” (http://www.wombles.org.uk/background/lessons.php);
the Yellow Bloc, made up of Ya Basta! members and supporters, dressed in protective
apparel designed “clearly for defensive purposes only” (http://free.freespeech.org/s26/praga/bianche.htm#yabastainterview);
and the Pink/Silver bloc, composed of Earth First! members, a samba band, and
gay-positive activists who appear as “carnivalesque people in… costumes”
(http://www.eco-action.org/dod/no9/prague_barmy_army.htm).
The three-pronged approach not only accommodates tactical diversity but also
utilizes it in ways not seen before. As one pamphlet notes: “This must
also have caused a real headache for the police, stretching their resources
intellectually as well as physically… Bringing out water cannon and concussion
grenades on people chucking Molotovs is one thing: doing the same against a
pink-coloured Samba band lays the authorities wide open to accusations of heavy-handedness”
(http://www.wombles.org.uk/background/lessons.php).
April, 2001 (A20): Tens of thousands of protestors (estimates range between
25,000 to 35,000) gather to demonstrate against the FTAA in Quebec City. Members
of Ya Basta! are detained at the border. 400 people are arrested. The Quebec
government erects a three-meter-high chain fence in order “to keep protesters
at bay and avoid the violence that derailed international trade talks in Seattle
in 1999” (Panetta 2001). A Black Bloc is organized and it participates
as “a part of the widespread street resistance waged by thousands of people”
(McNally 2002:247). The mass media depict the Black Bloc as angry extremists,
all-too-willing to engage the police in street violence (MacKinnon 2001:A13).
July, 2001 (J20): Over 300,000 protestors gather in Genoa in opposition to the
G8 summit. Street battles and direct actions capture the headlines, as protestors
attempt to penetrate the fenced-off ‘red zone,’ where the summit
is held. Ya Basta! forms the largest contingent. A Pink Bloc, Black Bloc, White
Overalls, and a Women’s non-violent bloc are also present. Allegations
of agent provocateurs infiltrating the protest, disguised as the Black Bloc,
surface. One protestor is killed. Participants argue: “the police attacked
us” (http://struggle.ws/global/genoa/ramor.html), while the mass media
report: “a handful of organizations, including the Black Bloc and the
Tutte Bianche, or White Overalls, instigated the aggression” (Jimenez
2001:A12).
February, 2003 (F16): Millions march against the US led invasion of Iraq in
what becomes the largest global protest in history. New York sees 400,000 protestors;
Barcelona sees 1 million protestors; London sees 1.5 million protestors; Madrid
sees 2 million protestors; and Rome sees 2.5 million protestors. Many different
blocs march as contingents.
For starters:
Infoshop’s Black Bloc for Dummies, available at:
http://www.infoshop.org/blackbloc.html
A Pink and Silver Communiqué, posted on Indymedia at: http://www.indymedia.ie/newswire.php?story_id=64502
A document on how to organize your own bloc, featured on CrimethInk, at: http://crimethinc.com/feature1_2.html
Interviews/ Eyewitness Accounts
Background: Lessons Learned Personal Reflections and Opinions on S26, available
at: http://www.wombles.org.uk/background/lessons.php
An Alternative Press Review entitled The Black Bloc: Hans Bennett Interviews
Bobo, posted at: http://www.altpr.org/apr16/blackbloc.html
Media
A review of media responses, Public Protests Around The World, at:
http://www.globalissues.org/TradeRelated/FreeTrade/Protests.asp
Reviews of the Infernal Noise Brigade are collected at:
http://www.postworldindustries.com/library_text/library_inb/inb_press_quotes.html
Academic
Paris, J. (2003). The Black Bloc’s Ungovernable Protest. Peace Review,
15 (3), 317-322.
Critique
For a critique of the opportunism of the Black Bloc, see Brian Dominick’s
Anarchy, Nonviolence and the Seattle Actions: http://www.zmag.org/anarchynv.htm
For a critique of the ‘bad timing’ of property destruction at N30
WTO, see Michael Albert’s Reply to the ACME Collective: http://www.zmag.org/anarchynv.htm
Works Cited
ACME Collective. (2000). Anarchy: A Journal of Desire Armed, 18 (1), 47-51.
Jimenez, M. (2001, July 21). Protestors Get Martyr at Genoa. The National Post,
A12.
MacKinnon, M. (2001, April 21). Observer’s diary: A week of dancing, debates
and tear gas. The National Post, A8-A9.McNally, D. (2002). Another World is
Possible: Globalization and Anti- capitalism. Winnipeg: Arbeiter Ring Publishing.
Panetta, A. (2001, April 17). Summit fence to stay. Retrieved: http://www.canoe.ca/CNEWSQuebecSummit01/0418_summitfen
ce-cp.html