In Seattle, as in nearly every major city in America, protesters clashed with police for over a week in early June, demanding justice for George Floyd and other victims of racial violence and police brutality. But what happened next, and is still happening, was completely different. On Monday the police effectively abandoned the area surrounding the East Precinct police station, allowing protesters to establish a seven-block area they are calling the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ).
Within that space protests are ongoing, but so are history lectures, art exhibits, movie nights (Ava DuVernay’s 13thscreened Tuesday), concerts, town hall meetings, and street art. There is no formal leadership of the Seattle protests, but among the most prominent figures is Nikkita Oliver, who ran for mayor in 2017 and was the first candidate of the independent Seattle Peoples Party. Also the codirector of the Creative Justice Northwest program, Oliver has been busy organizing protests, facilitating communication among the various groups, and getting down to the autonomous zone when she can—which sometimes means at 3 a.m.
The CHAZ has drawn the attention of none other than Donald Trump, who tweeted threats late Wednesday to “take back” Seattle, and was swiftly rebuked by Washington governor Jay Inslee as well as Mayor Jenny Durkan, who has faced calls to resign after the police used flash bangs and tear gas against protesters.
Not long after the president’s tweet, Oliver got on the phone to talk about not only Trump’s attempt to “incite violence,” but also the historical precedent for movements like this one, the beauty of a movement without a figurehead at the front of it, and how the protests have even bolstered the reputation of another controversial Seattle group: cyclists.
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