Conversation

Insurgent Survival: Reflections on the Fight Against Sweeps Targeting the Homeless in Austin, Texas

https://crimethinc.com/StoptheSweeps

In 2019, militants in Austin, Texas started an organization with the aim of defending homeless camps against sweeps—forced removals disguised as “cleanups” carried out by police and work crews. We explore the history of Stop the Sweeps and the strategic thinking behind it, seeking to distill lessons about autonomous organization that can aid revolutionaries in future struggles.

"The camp is an image of the future—a future in which increased economic precarity, climate crises, wars, and state repression produce new waves of displacement and migration, and new forms of repression and managerial governance arise in response."