Whose Streets?
The Toronto G20 and the Challenges of Summit Protest
In June 2010 activists opposing the G20 meeting held in Toronto were greeted with brutal and arbitrary state violence. Whose Streets? is a combination of testimonials from the front lines and analyses of the broader context, an account that both reflects critically on what occurred in Toronto and looks ahead to further building our capacity for resistance.
Featuring reflections from activists who helped organize the mobilizations, demonstrators and passersby who were arbitrarily arrested and detained, and scholars committed to the theory and practice of confronting neoliberal capitalism, the collection balances critical perspective with on-the-street intensity. It offers vital insight for activists on how local organizing and global activism can come together.
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Praise
Whose Streets? warrants a broad and diverse readership, within and beyond the academy.
– Labour / Le Travail
Focusing on eyewitness accounts and reportage,… [the book’s second and third parts] provide powerful illustrations of the clashes between security forces and protestors.
– Quill & Quire
I love that editors Tom Malleson and David Wachsmuth made the democratic and risky decision to include a broad spectrum of opinions in their book…This sober retelling of events replaces knee-jerk emotions with necessary facts for anyone still trying to figure out what the hell happened…The spark lies in the storytelling.
– rabble.ca
We cannot build a mass movement that is up to the internal as well as external challenges we face unless we collectively and comradely dissect and learn from our struggles. This book is an indispensable resource in applying that basic principle.
– Sam Gindin, Visiting Packer Chair in Social Justice, York University
Whose Streets? celebrates the power of speaking out—let it be widely read and let that power be widely heard.
– Nathalie Des Rosiers, General Counsel, Canadian Civil Liberties Association
By telling the stories of the dedicated activists who took our demands for local and global justice and democracy to the streets of Toronto, Whose Streets? offers proof that, in the face of state repression and police violence, our collective resistance to neo-liberal capitalism only grows stronger.
– Maude Barlow, national chairperson of the Council of Canadians
An invaluable resource for anyone interested in protest in the age of corporate globalization.
– Judy Rebick, activist and author of Transforming Power: From the Personal to the Political
Contents
| Foreword | G20 Trials and the War on Activism Naomi Klein |
| Preface | Tom Malleson and David Wachsmuth |
| Introduction | From the Great Recession to the Streets of Toronto Tom Malleson and David Wachsmuth |
| Part I | Before the G20: Organizing a Protest Convergence |
| Chapter 1 | Building a Protest Convergence: The Toronto Community Mobilization Network Tom Malleson |
| Chapter 2 | Community Organizing for a Global Protest Mac Scott |
| Chapter 3 | Collective Movement, Collective Power: People of Colour, Migrant Justice, and the G20 Syed Hussan |
| Chapter 4 | "Canada Can't Hide Genocide": Marching for Indigenous Rights Lisa Currier |
| Chapter 5 | Labour's Role in Opposing the G20: Building Resistance to Austerity Archana Rampure |
| Chapter 6 | Unions, Direct Action and the G20 Protests: Obstacles and Opportunities Unions, Direct Action and the G20 Protests: Obstacles and Opportunities |
| Chapter 7 | Presenting the Movement's Narratives: Organizing Alternative Media Dan Kellar |
| Chapter 8 | Got Your Back! Building Radical Crisis Support into the G20 Convergence Monique Woolnough |
| Part II | During the G20: Documenting Resistance and Repression |
| Chapter 9 | Police Violence and State Repression at the Toronto G20: The Facts Movement Defence Committee |
| Chapter 10 | They Sought to Terrify Us out of the Streets Nat Gray |
| Chapter 11 | One Day in a Cage: Notes on the Temporary Detention Centre David Wachsmuth |
| Chapter 12 | "Hop!" A First Hand Account of Police Abuse at the G20 Sarah Pruyn |
| Chapter 13 | Women Resist, Police Repress: Stories of Gendered Police Violence at the Toronto G20 Shailagh Keaney |
| Chapter 14 | A Wall of Brick and Rage Nicole Tanguay |
| Chapter 15 | Connecting Carceral Spaces: Reflecting on Summit Detention Swathi Sekhar |
| Chapter 16 | Caught in the Crossfire Elroy Yau |
| Part III | After the G20: Critical Reflections, Moving Forward |
| Chapter 17 | Martial Law in the Streets of Toronto: G20 Security and State Violence Neil Smith and Deborah Cowen |
| Chapter 18 | Marching with the Black Bloc: "Violence" and Movement Building Tammy Kovich |
| Chapter 19 | Forms of Protest Reflect Our Power: Radical Strategy and Mass Mobilizations Clarice Kuhling |
| Chapter 20 | Surveying the Landscape: Local Protesters and Global Summits Lesley J. Wood and Glenn J. Stalker |
| Chapter 21 | What Moves Us Now? The Contradictions of "Community" Clare O'Connor |
| Chapter 22 | Social Protest in the Age of Austerity: Prospects for Mass Resistance After the G20 David McNally |
| Notes and List of Contributors |
