{"id":2805,"date":"2021-03-03T18:16:48","date_gmt":"2021-03-03T23:16:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tempestmag.org\/v01_2020\/staging\/?p=2805"},"modified":"2021-03-12T12:25:17","modified_gmt":"2021-03-12T17:25:17","slug":"how-boston-beat-the-far-right","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tempestmag.org\/test02\/2021\/03\/how-boston-beat-the-far-right\/","title":{"rendered":"How Boston beat the far right"},"content":{"rendered":"

A<\/span> week after white supremacists and neo-fascists made a violent show of force in Charlottesville, Virginia, far-right forces were set to rally on the Boston Common on August 19, 2017. The rally, planned weeks earlier, had been permitted by the city. It fell apart after less than an hour. Surrounded by 25,000 to 40,000 counter-protesters, a small group of white supremacists\u2014along with a few enablers claiming to be libertarian Republicans\u2014had to be escorted off the Common by the police.<\/p>\n

In the belief that the massive Boston counter-protest may hold lessons for confronting the far right today, Bill Keach asked activists who helped organize and participate in the event to contribute their reflections. The article ends with a list of relevant texts and photo sources, including the original Facebook announcement posted by Black Lives Matter Network and their allies calling for a \u201cFight Supremacy! Boston Counter-Protest & Resistance Rally\u201d:<\/p>\n

We believe those committed to anti-racism work have a moral obligation to unapologetically confront and oppose these violent and threatening displays [by white supremacists] when they occur\u2026[Nevertheless, t]he individuals and institutions most effective in harming Black and Brown people do not carry torches or wear white hoods. Instead, they aggressively patrol our neighborhoods, enforce laws unequally, systematically impose poverty, and suppress the voices and needs of oppressed communities. This supremacy is upheld by all who benefit from it and is in alignment with capitalism, cis-hetero patriarchy, ableism, queer and trans antagonism, misogynoir, and all existing forms of oppression.<\/p>\n

We envision a future where Black and Brown families are no longer torn apart due to systemic white supremacy.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Thanks to Dana Morgensteen<\/strong> for supplying the text of this announcement.<\/p>\n

\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Bill Keach<\/h4>\n

is a member of the Tempest Collective, Boston Revolutionary Socialists, and Boston DSA.<\/em><\/p>\n

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The far-right rally in Boston on August 19, 2017 had been billed by organizers as a \u201cFree Speech Rally.\u201d But when word spread that Proud Boys leaders Gavin McInnes, Joe Biggs, and Kyle Chapman had been invited to speak\u2014one week after a neo-Nazi murdered Heather Heyer in Charlottesville, Virginia\u2014anger and determination spread with it.<\/p>\n

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, now the new U.S. Secretary of Labor, approved the far right\u2019s permit to rally on the Common, but warned that the police would deal harshly with any violent behavior. When it became clear that a big counter-demonstration was developing, Walsh extended his warning to \u201call sides\u201d and he was careful not to encourage a militant anti-fascist turnout.<\/p>\n

On the morning of Saturday, August 19, anti-fascist protesters gathered for the \u201cFight Supremacy Resistance Rally\u201d near Roxbury Crossing, in one of the most important predominantly Black neighborhoods of Boston. The thousands gathered in front of the speaker platform first heard representatives from the local Indigenous community affirm their determination to march against the white nationalists. These speakers were followed by powerful statements from two rally organizers, Monica Cannon-Grant and DiDi Delgado of Black Lives Matter Network.<\/p>\n

The last speaker, revolutionary socialist Khury Petersen-Smith, electrified the crowd explaining why ordinary people were determined to stand together against violent bigots who felt confident mobilizing openly because they had friends in the White House. The speech ended with these words: \u201cWhat we know is that resistance is not something you say, it\u2019s something you do!\u201d The crowd roared in agreement. Mayor Walsh, who was standing near the platform but was not asked to speak, had a worried scowl on his face.<\/p>\n

Some 15,000 protesters joined the two-mile march from Roxbury to the Common, a 50-acre green space in the center of Boston right across from the Massachusetts State House. Black Lives Matter led a large continent wearing T-shirts and carrying banners saying \u201cFight Supremacy!\u201d A 500-strong socialist contingent included members of Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), the International Socialist Organization, Industrial Workers of the World, the Boston Socialist Party, and other groups on the organized Left. Many members of the Massachusetts Teachers Association\u2014largest union in the state\u2014were on the march, along with other organized workers.<\/p>\n