Outside Agitators?

The arrest records released so far for Minneapolis and St Paul do not bear out the “outside agitator” claims of the Minnesota governor or the US attorney general.  Repeating this theme demeans the very real and profound issues that the murder of George Floyd revealed. Black people in the United States and in Minneapolis are still second-class citizens, at least when it comes to policing. When African Americans and their allies protest this fact, white elected leaders try to take the sting out of these claims by crying, “outside agitators.” When you blame someone else, you remove your own responsibility for the problem and minimize the suffering and justifiable rage that erupts. It is remarkably convenient.
 

The “outside agitators” theme has a long and ignoble history in the United States. Mayor Yorty of LA said about Watts in 1965, “The communists are in that area, and they are working all the time.” Mayor Addonizzio of Newark said that the 1967 uprising was caused by “an organization of people who hate America.”  Today, Gov Walz blames white supremacists and drug cartels; US Attorney General Barr and President Trump blame Antifa and radical anarchists. These politicians’ statements are not supported by evidence, then or now. 

After the unrest in the 1960s, the National Advisory Committee on Civil Disorders (“Kerner Commission") interviewed people in LA, Newark, Detroit, Milwaukee and elsewhere. They found that there were no “outside agitators,” whether communists or America-haters. Today, Gov. Walz and others say that “intel” reveals the presence of outside agitators. He cannot point to any arrest records that confirm his statements.  To his credit, Mayor Melvin Carter of St Paul retracted his statement that “outsiders” were responsible for looting in his city.  As historians, we want to see documents and data, not anecdotal evidence. “Intel?” Please. 

One elected official in Minneapolis who seems close to getting it right is Jeremiah Ellison, Mpls Council Member for the Fifth Ward. Last night, he said that the difference between a daytime protester and a nighttime curfew violator, is “mushy.” But even that does not seem to cover it. People who are gassed, shot at with rubber or real bullets, and beaten, are enraged. They are angry that their pain is swept under the rug and covered up. When we say that the actions that arise from this rage are caused by “outside agitators,” we are minimizing the suffering and humiliation that Black Americans experience every day from policing. Let’s not be distracted by unfounded claims of “outside agitators.” Instead, let’s fix the way the Twin Cities are policed. Wake up, Twin Cities!

Jim Oberly and Louise Merriam