CHAZ: The World’s Most Peaceful “Warzone”

It was utter chaos.

Parents roaming the streets with their children. Dogs with cardboard signs around their necks with phrases like “black lives matter” written in thick letters. People handing out roses and cleansing the air with sage. Hundreds of kids, teens, and adults sitting in the park enjoying the sunshine and food local businesspeople were selling (and giving out for free). Musicians. Artists. Speakers.

Of course, my respective statement was sarcasm - CHAZ, or the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone, is a citizen-run “free” zone in Seattle, Washington that has been functioning as a safe space of sorts since June 8th. Protestors declared the area “free Capitol Hill” in response to police pushback at other protests. They barricaded the area and impressively amassed speakers, artists, and security to take over a few blocks around the Seattle police precinct.

The protestors have transformed the space - on the ground next to Cal Anderson park, black artists decorated huge letters reading “black lives matter”. There are huge collections of donated food and water that anyone can grab for free. There are medical supplies offered in case of emergencies - like how a man drove his car into the crowded streets and shot a protestor in the arm (other protestors bravely self-policed and only allowed the man to get in one shot before getting the weapon away from him and he was later arrested). Movie screenings, poetry readings, and speeches by black activists are just a few of the ways Seattle residents have protested in favor of the black lives matter movement.

But, true to American media, there has been a lot of misinformation spread about the protests. For starters, many disregard the movement’s legitimacy by reminding protestors that they can’t squat in the middle of the city forever - but the organizers of CHAZ know this; there is a clear list of demands on the wall outside the zone: defund the SPD, fund community health, and drop all charges against protestors who were arrested. There is a more expansive 30-item list on Medium that better explains the goals of the movement. The protestors themselves have admitted that the zone is temporary. So, that’s that.

Additionally, Fox News ran digitally altered images in order to spark outrage in its right-wing readers about property damage - the photo combined an image of CHAZ with an image from downtown Seattle taken on May 30th.

When I went to CHAZ, each block served a different purpose. In one intersection, a stage was set up for speakers to give speeches - a couple hundred people were crowded around there. They encouraged white people to step back and allow black people up front. They warned that their volunteer security team had eyes on a group of armed Trump supporters, and reminded the white allies in the crowd that it was their job to surround and protect black protestors.

The SPD precinct was decorated beautifully with graffiti: “ACAB” and “BLM” were two of the most popular phrases I saw. There was an altar listing names of black individuals killed by police brutality and protestors had laid out flowers and candles.

Everywhere you looked there was art - on the boarded-up windows of restaurants and businesses, on the sides of buildings, on the sidewalks - and all with messages benefitting the movement. “Fuck 12”. “Black women are here”. “No justice, no peace”. And below the beautiful murals painted on the buildings, a sign read “murals by black, native, and queer artists”.

CHAZ gives a voice to those who have to shout and scream to be acknowledged. Not only does it provide an outlet for anger, beauty, culture, education, and mourning, but it allows marginalized groups to thrive in the space. Walking into CHAZ, allies of these groups have to understand that it is not for them. The space is for black Seattilites to make their message heard, be protected, and fight for justice.

For those able to step into Seattle, I encourage you to explore the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone. Converse. Educate. Align.

We will not be silent. We will not “stoop”. This is not a moment, it’s a movement.