FTP III was some White Fuckery. Here’s Why.

FTP III was some White Fuckery. Here’s Why.

The radical direct action group Decolonize This Place held its third installment of a city-wide action against NYPD’s 500-strong presence in New York City metro stations this past Friday, January 31st. And that was by far the most disorganized action that I’ve ever (tried) to partake in.

1. Communication

DTP’s main channels of broadcasting and communication were Instagram and the Signal app to send live updates to action-goers in a free-for-all manner. But worst of all, it had become inculcated by white people. Namely, white gentrifiers who have recently caught on to and helped leverage the group to being misrepresented by mainstream media.


2. Lack of recognizable internal organization and enforcement of guidelines 

DTP has no clear internal structure or at least one that isn’t apparent. Throughout the time leading up to and during the action. These same white gentrifiers took to the streets on Friday night chanting “WHOSE STREETS?! OUR STREETS?!” in the middle of a residential neighborhood in East Flatbush. East Flatbush. EAST.FLAT.BUSH.

3. Women of color were being ignored and disrespected by their non-black and brown peers

There were and have been black and brown women leading this movement, incorporating the Assata chant to be recited by black women participants, as well as reminders to the group not be informed by white people, and to remind white people that they are here to be allies and protectors, not just to fuck shit up. 

4. Location

By the time I got off the A train with the intention of heading towards the next announced site, Restoration Plaza, for all protestors to march to. But walking up the stairs, the announcement had already changed from there to East Herkimer Street and Kingston Ave, but then to circle back to “Police Plaza”, in Manhattan. Just to give a better sense that this was being used as a free-for-all, someone had messaged the chat saying “On train shannon.”

By the time I had reached above ground, I was met with the rightfully perturbed and amused looks on the faces of Flatbush residents, standing on damn near every block. If smh was an adjective, this community embodied that energy perfectly. At this point, the scene was white men getting handcuffed and being carefully placed in cop vans, and one to two corrections busses driving past while muffled chants of “Black Lives Matter” could be heard by a faction nearby, which was largely white folks. The neighborhood was also swarming with NYPD officers. Never have I seen so many standing around so idly. It was truly a sight. 

5. Timing

The action started at 5:00 pm, when a lot of folks are still working, most definitely service industry jobs and often well into the weekend.

6. The Aftermath cleanup   

The aftermath of this event are MTA workers having to clean up the train cars that had been trashed with graffiti and stickers as variations of FTP or NO FARE, and thus fucking up schedules due to “track maintenance”. It’s cops having amusing stories to tell their buddies. It’s also duct-taped and gorilla-glued card slots, opened emergency exit doors, and maybe a feeling that things are about to change. But have things ever happened by just having a feeling? And what kind of change are we working towards? Beyond no police presence in subways? Free transportation? Who would pay for it? Wall Street? Who would willingly pay for it?

If and when moments like these occur within a movement, that’s when you know that this shit ain’t it. 

So, where do we (meaning the black and brown folks who are being directly affected by this) go from here? I think this was a lesson in how heavy reliance on instantaneous and quick-silver spread of information via social media can impact and jeopardize real-world organizing, and also how whiteness can and does in fact inform how we move for change. This is what happens when white people with little understanding of their own power and privilege are suddenly granted free will and access to movement spaces which are built due to the danger that they can do put black and brown lives in. 

The outcome of Friday could have been far worse, but what has ensued should be taken as a wake-up call for re-evaluation and a rest period until anything else should happen next.