Feminist to Know: Minneapolis Protesters

The people protesting in Minneapolis are engaging in the deeply feminist act of struggling against systems of domination. As Martin Luther King, Jr. said in a speech,

"It is not enough for me to stand before you tonight and condemn riots. It would be morally irresponsible for me to do that without, at the same time, condemning the contingent, intolerable conditions that exist in our society. These conditions are the things that cause individuals to feel that they have no other alternative than to engage in violent rebellions to get attention. And I must say tonight that a riot is the language of the unheard. And what is it America has failed to hear?"

The protests in Minneapolis, and across the country, are feminist. Feminism divested from Black justice is white supremacy. Rioting has always been a viable and crucial organizing strategy, because Black liberation is incompatible with a white supremacist state that continues to gain power from the exploitation and criminalization of Black life. There are times in which to comply is to allow the conditions of oppression to continue. To protest in support of #BlackLivesMatter is engaging in the feminist act of working to achieve social equity and safety for all.