Riot Music, for Austin

On Monday, East Austin nearly rose up in a rebellion after police there shot two young Black men who were sleeping in a car in an apartment parking lot, killing one Nathaniel Sanders who was 18 years old. The police of course claim that Sanders reached for a gun, and the media has made it a point to bring up his past arrests, because arrests = criminal and a criminal is supposedly deserving of police violence because, after all, he must've been up to no good sitting in that car with his friends. Black folks in the surrounding community responded angrily and crowded the nearby streets yelling at the cops and throwing rocks and other things at them. It got bad enough that the police department called out SWAT and additional officers in riot gear.

Some of the news reports on what happened in East Austin remind me of responses to the Adolph Grimes murder here. In New Orleans a few months back, some acted surprised that there were expressions of outrage after the murder of Grimes. Not long after that, a white woman was shot and killed by two black teenagers in the French Quarter, and white folks living there went crazy, demanding increased police patrols and complaining about the wild "thugs" and uncontrollable Negroes that are threatening the civility and sanctity of French Quarter (elite) life. Police at the time were quoted as saying that they didn't understand why "those" black folks were upset every time the police did their job in the community. The officers wondered why black folks didn't respond like those respectable white folks who welcomed the police with open arms. The implication was of course that black folks are not only naturally violent but also resent any attempts by the state to civilize them.

This makes it all the more reason to point out that growing anger in response to continued police violence and murder of men and women of color is not only to be expected, but necessary and legitimate. The rebellion in January in Oakland was likely a preview of what we may see more of, especially if the economic and political crisis deepens. What is yet to be seen on a wider scale are effective strategies and political perspectives that can shape such rebellions into more sustained organizing and direct action. Folks in Oakland faced their own obstacles to doing just that, like an older community leadership that attempted to draw the anger into "safer" forms of protest, but such leadership is increasingly becoming irrelevant as police violence and racism in the judicial system continue unabated (Sean Bell, Adolph Grimes, the countless women who are beaten and sexually violated while in custody but don't make the evening news...).

We'll stay tuned to what develops in Austin. In the meantime, here's some music for Austin, or any other city, to riot to.