#77: Minneapolis Uprising, Part 1—How to Abolish the Police

The killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police has sparked a nationwide rebellion against the police and global solidarity efforts. One of the most striking developments is the announcement on Sunday, June 7 by a majority of Minneapolis City Council members that they intend to dismantle the city’s police department. In Episode 77 of the Ex-Worker—the first in a series covering the Minneapolis uprising and its national and global implications—we return to the question of abolishing the police. The episode kicks off with our reflections from these unprecedented first two weeks of rebellion, then shares an essay exploring the question we’re all asking: What Will it Take to Stop the Police From Killing? Next, we share an anonymous report on the siege of the Third Precinct in Minneapolis, analyzing how a diverse “compositional” crowd was able to defeat the police. An anarchist from Minneapolis who attended the rally where the City Council declared their intention to end the police department shares their take on the background and context leading to the announcement and how abolitionist organizers, rioters, artists, and others joined forces to make abolition imaginable. We conclude with our thoughts about how the struggle against police might unfold beyond Minneapolis in the months to come. Stay tuned for more episodes soon on the Minneapolis uprising, June 11th, and prisoner struggles, international solidarity with the rebellions, and more!

{June 10th, 2020}

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• Table of Contents:
  • Introduction {0:01}
  • Essay: What Will it Take to Stop the Police From Killing? {10:49}
  • Analysis: The Siege of the Third Precinct in Minneapolis {30:57}
  • PSA: Staying Safe at Street Actions {53:50}
  • Interview: A Minneapolis Anarchist on the City’s Plan to Dismantle the Police {55:55}
  • The Path Forward to Abolish the Police {1:08:45}
  • Conclusion {1:17:44}
• This episode draws on the essay “What Will It Take to Stop the Police From Killing?” and the account and analysis “The Siege of the Third Precinct in Minneapolis.” We also played a PSA on Staying Safe at Street Actions from the Channel Zero Network.
• If you want to actually watch the Third Precinct as it succumbs to the wrath of the people, there’s no better source than the Unicorn Riot livestream (Day 3, Thursday evening, from about 1:14:30 onwards).
• The Ex-Worker Podcast first tackled the question of abolishing the police in Episode Five, “Still Not Lovin’ the Police” and Episode , “Making Police Obsolete”, during our very first year as a show. Check them out and see what you think; is the analysis still relevant? What has changed since 2013 in our perception of the police and our movements challenging their power? We also covered previous anti-police uprisings in Ferguson, Baltimore, and beyond in Episode 27, “Anti-Police Riots in Ferguson”; Episode 32, “White Supremacy and Capitalism, From 1492 to Ferguson”; and Episode 40, “Struggles Against White Supremacy and Police Since Ferguson”.
• Check out The Uprise Daily, an exciting new audio project offering a daily rundown of protests and ongoing rebellion in response to police killings.
• Also check out the excellent coverage of the rebellions from other anarchist podcasts, including The Final Straw, featuring interviews with medics, abolitionists, mutual aid workers, and other participants; It’s Going Down’s podcast on Rebellion, Counter-Insurgency and Cracks within the Ruling Class as well as their This Is America podcast episode From Pandemic to Uprising; and also SoleCast, with reports from Denver, Minneapolis, Eugene, New York City, and Portland. Lots more to come!
• Check out this comprehensive list of bail funds for protestors across the country compiled by the Community Justice Exchange’s National Bail Fund Network.
• Prisoner birthdays and updates on prison struggles coming in our next episode about June 11th, the international day of solidarity for long-term anarchist prisoners!