Bruce Franks Jr on Challenges Activists Face

Organizer, battle rapper, and former state representative Bruce Franks Jr. (@brucefranksjr) was propelled into activism by the 2014 protests over the police killing of Michael Brown. The Oscar-finalist documentary St. Louis Superman told Frank’s story in 2019. AJ+ producer Raji Ramanathan interviewed him earlier this month about the current uprising and the challenges it poses for activists. Here are some takeaways, edited for length and clarity:

Be nonviolent, but don’t be peaceful

I would implore everyone to get rid of this idea of a peaceful protest, and think in the terms of nonviolent protest. I would encourage nonviolent protest unless violence is inflicted upon us, but this idea of what a peaceful protest looks like – they're not killing us peacefully. There's nothing peaceful about how they treat us. ... So there's no need to be peaceful now, because George Floyd wasn't in a peaceful state when he was killed and neither was Tamir Rice – neither was [Ahmaud] Arbery, neither was Breonna Taylor.

The riot as ‘the language of the unheard’

Some people will hop on Facebook and talk about how peaceful Martin Luther King was and how he would have done things differently – when he died at the very hands of their ancestors – when Martin Luther King said, “the riot is the language of the unheard.” The other side of this fight wants to talk more about the looting and the burning buildings than the reason why we are out there in the first place. America looted and robbed their way into a country, into an oppressive system that we've had to deal with for the last 400 years. When they rioted, when they looted, they called it a revolution.

Fighters, not allies

I don't like the idea of having an “ally” because I don't want somebody who I can just call to come in when I need help. I need somebody who's going to stand there and get pepper-sprayed, tear-gassed, brutally beaten with me, and show up in the city council meetings to have our back – to show up in numbers, but make sure that the voice that's being centered is a Black or Brown person … somebody who understands that they've benefited from this oppressive system, whether they like it or not, no matter how liberal, left or woke they are. After the protest, they can push back each and every day on racism and biases and all of the things that they have been able to benefit from.

On voting and power

At the end of the day, [the uprising] is what those lawmakers are going to listen to no matter who we have voted into those seats. They're going to listen to the nonviolent protest. They're going to even listen to some of the violent protests, to be quite honest. The key is to keep doing the work in the streets. … Local elections are the elections that directly impact the policies and procedures and the budget items for our communities each and every day, which are going to hinder us or empower us. We need to be a little bit more specific than just, “vote!” because we have to work in rounds of accountability as well.

On activist self-care

It is easy for us as activists, as organizers, as especially new activists and organizers, to be so passionate and so driven by adrenaline that we say, “You know what? We will never burn out, because we have an infinite amount of passion for our people.” … But it will literally kill you if you do not take care of yourself in this fight, because there's enough stress, strain, PTSD, depression and anxiety that comes with this. And when you couple that with not taking care of yourself, physically and mentally, it will deplete us. So take a step back, take care of yourself physically and mentally, and remember what we fight for.