If we want a world without police and prisons, white folks need to learn to stop relying on the police and start keeping ourselves and our neighbors safe. In doing so, we resist the ways that policing propaganda capitalizes on the fears of white middle- and upper-class people. We can also marshal at actions, leveraging the less-violent response that police often have toward white bodies and aiming to reduce overall risk for the community.
This month is our last installment for 2024 of Community & Action Safety 101, an in-depth training that teaches skills and tactics you can use as part of an action security team and in your daily life to work toward that world without police. The training takes place over two Sunday afternoons, a week apart, in person.
Here’s what a few of our participants have said about it:
“This training was a great reminder that new/alternative routes to safety are possible AND people are actively doing them already!! The lineage of where the training came from, and the training in general, was really encouraging, a concrete reminder there's so much reason to be hopeful and believe things can change/are changing.”
“By the end of the two-day training, I'd had the opportunity to thoroughly reflect on, discuss and practice risk assessment, de-escalation, and how to manage my own fear response in the face of power imbalance. These tools, along with learning about the history of community lead safety traditions within social justice movements, left me feeling empowered and prepared to volunteer as a marshal at an action the very next week.”
“I would really urge everyone who has any interest in community and action safety to take part in the training. I’ve taken part in my fair share of direct actions but didn’t think training was for me—I’m too old, I thought, and too tired, leave it to younger folks. Even if you don’t want to marshal, as white people showing up for direct action it’s important to understand the risks from police and what’s involved in helping keep our communities safe. I marshaled an action the week after I completed our training, and it was uplifting to be part of a team helping to make the action as safe as possible.”
The next two-part training will be on Sunday, September 22 and Sunday, September 29 from 12:00pm to 3:30pm in Bushwick.
We’re excited to continue growing this collective practice with you.
Onward,
SURJ NYC