‘Remember Who We’re Fighting For’: The Uneasy Existence Of Seattle’s Protest Camp

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People gather near the vacated Seattle Police Department’s East Precinct in the Capitol Hill occupied zone of Seattle. The open-air protest camp is more than a week old. Makeshift clinics now stand on the streets where young protesters were injured by flash-bang grenades.





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A person lights candles at a memorial to victims of police violence in the occupied zone. The reminder speaks to the unease many black protesters express about the protest zone and its use of Black Lives Matter slogans.





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Protesters have established a food co-op, a community garden, medical stations, a speaker’s stage, movie nights, book exchanges, and round-the-clock security patrols. They see their camp as a prototype for a self-reliant, safe enclave that doesn’t need police.





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«It’s not enough to just show up. You got to really make sure that the resources are going to be for the black community, Kim Mustafa says.





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People walk around new concrete barricades topped with plywood that were installed by city workers. To the city, the new barriers open access for local traffic but protesters believe the move shrinks their protest space.





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Activist Jaiden Grayson talks about her opposition to new concrete barricades that were installed by the city.





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Protesters listen to a speaker in the occupied zone. Activists said it’s too early to relinquish the space. Only a few demands have been met – a ban on police chokeholds, for example – and talks are still going on for the bigger asks, namely slashing the Seattle Police Department budget and redirecting funds to health and social services.





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Members of the far-right group Proud Boys hold firearms as they disrupt a gathering in the occupied zone in Seattle on Monday.





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«Black Lives Matter really saved our business, said Salvador Sahagun, who manages a Mexican restaurant near the edge of the zone. He voted for Trump in 2016 and said he might do so again in November.





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Indigenous activists express support for Black Lives Matter in the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone on Sunday.





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Activists work to install a large wooden fist in the occupied zone on Wednesday.





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Activists work to install a large wooden fist in the occupied zone on Wednesday.


Jim Urquhart for NPR