On Friday, tens of thousands of Minnesotans braved extreme cold to march en masse and shuttered a reported 700-plus businesses in a daylong general strike with the support of all major unions. They protested, transported, fed, and watched over each other, an outgrowth of weeks, months, and years of community care and abolitionist resistance. Their collective actions mark a breakthrough in the fight against the American authoritarianism of our time.
It is only a future with mass social strikes, or general strikes, involving large-scale disruption on the immediate horizon that has the chance of stopping Trump’s forces.
On January 23, the Twin Cities offered a small glimpse of the sorts of work stoppages, blockades, and shutdowns that aggregated practices of collective resistance make possible.
Minnesota organizers did not conjure the state’s largest day of labor action in nearly a century by simply announcing “general strike” online. Labor unions, religious and community institutions, and front-line activists were all key; so, too, was the fury of everyday people, in a city where community support is normalized, and militant anti-racist protest boasts a proud history.
You couldn’t go 60 seconds in that crowd without someone asking, “Do you need any hand warmers? Are those gloves warm enough? I have an extra pair.” When we reached the Target Center there were half a dozen Somali neighbors handing out free, hot sambusas.
One interesting thing is that the route for the march made several turns, so it was hard to gauge the size of the crowd without one long, continuous view. I was about 150 people from the front, and it wasn’t until I watched a timelapse that I realized how fucking massive the march was.
Wherever you are, I hope you have a chance to march this Friday. Don’t wait to find out if there’s “a lot of people” before you decide. You’re not attending the march - you are the march. We’re going to make it through this.
People are so nice! You’re right, it’s about the groups organizing together and taking care of one another. More and more, I feel like we’re going to see the other side of this. General Strike on Friday!
Thank you Minnesota.
You couldn’t go 60 seconds in that crowd without someone asking, “Do you need any hand warmers? Are those gloves warm enough? I have an extra pair.” When we reached the Target Center there were half a dozen Somali neighbors handing out free, hot sambusas.
One interesting thing is that the route for the march made several turns, so it was hard to gauge the size of the crowd without one long, continuous view. I was about 150 people from the front, and it wasn’t until I watched a timelapse that I realized how fucking massive the march was.
Wherever you are, I hope you have a chance to march this Friday. Don’t wait to find out if there’s “a lot of people” before you decide. You’re not attending the march - you are the march. We’re going to make it through this.
People are so nice! You’re right, it’s about the groups organizing together and taking care of one another. More and more, I feel like we’re going to see the other side of this. General Strike on Friday!