MXGM Self-Defence Manual

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Malcolm X Grassroots Movement March 2013
Present Models of Organizing and Resistance
What follows are three examples of where elements of the organizing framework described in
this Handbook have been practiced over the past 15 years. More extensive case studies can and
should be done on all of these examples. But, what follows here are just short summaries of the
histories and models of struggle employed in these cities with references for further study and
modeling.
New York City, NY
In response to the February 4, 1999 extrajudicial killing of Amadou Diallo by the New York
Police Department (NYPD) – who fired 41 shots at Diallo, striking him 19 times – a broad
multinational mobilization occurred that posed the first major challenge to the NYPD since the
Black Panther Party for Self-Defense and the social movements of the late 1960’s and early
1970’s. This mobilization employed mass demonstrations, sit-in’s, and occupations, and
incorporated a number of cultural workers, primarily hip hop artists, to produce cultural works
that reached and educated millions. Out of this mobilization the Malcolm X Grassroots
Movement (MXGM) and its allies, formed the People’s Self-Defense Campaign (PSDC) and
initiated Copwatch programs in several boroughs of the city. Over the past 13 years, PSDC and
Copwatch have organized several permanent committees throughout the city, trained
thousands in Know Your Rights advocacy, pursued hundreds of cases against police abuse,
and fought against reactionary policies like “stop and frisk”.
Resources:
1. Watch for Criminals, Watch for Cops
http://www.indypressny.org/nycma/voices/190/briefs/briefs_2/.
2. Ethnography as Resistance http://year0.org/2013/02/02/ethnography-as-resistancethese-streets-are-watching/.
3. Telling Our Stories http://revolutionaryfrontlines.wordpress.com/2012/10/26/tellingour-stories-mxgm-member-talks-nypd-violence-and-calls-for-passage-of-the-communitysafety-act/.
4. Copwatch: MXGM 3 on Brooklyn Review http://mxgm.org/copwatch-mxgm-3-onbrooklyn-review/.
Oakland, CA
In response to the extrajudicial killing of Oscar Grant by Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART)
police on January 1 st , 2009, a broad, multinational mobilization occurred that shut down the
operations of the city on several occasions in January and February of that year with massive
demonstrations that brought the downtown area to a standstill, blockades of major
intersections to curtail traffic and trade, sit-in occupations to direct the proceedings at city hall,
and direct action on several select targets throughout the city to demonstrate the necessity for
justice. Over the course of several months, core elements of the mass mobilization organized
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