black bloc

English edit

A black bloc during the 2009 "March on the Pentagon"

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black bloc

Wikipedia

Alternative forms edit

Black Bloc

Etymology edit

Calque of German schwarzer Block.

Noun edit

black bloc (plural black blocs)

Any group of individuals who join a protest or demonstration, wearing black clothing including items to protect and/or conceal their faces and often engaging in violence and vandalism; the tactic of forming and participating in such a group.
- 2008, Peter David Orr, The Dive, page 51:
  It made perfect sense to Michael that the Berlin police would choose to infiltrate the Black Bloc, rather than the establishment leftist parties.
- 2012, Michael Truscello, “16: Social Media and the Representation of Summit Protests: YouTube, Riot Porn, and the Anarchist Tradition”, in Ted Gournelos, David J. Gunkel, editors, Transgression 2.0: Media, Culture, and the Politics of a Digital Age, unnumbered page:
  The Black Bloc tactics emerged in Germany in the 1980s, and caught the attention of the North American public during the 1999 Battle of Seattle.
- 2012, Lesley J. Wood, Direct Action, Deliberation, and Diffusion: Collective Action after the WTO Protests in Seattle, page 34:
  At the protests against the World Trade Organization in Seattle, activists formed black blocs, engaged in jail solidarity, built and marched with giant puppets, blockaded roads and buildings, danced at street parties, rode in Critical Mass bike rides, performed Radical Cheers, and used affinity groups and spokescouncils to make decisions. […] In what follows, I consider the diffusion of black bloc, giant puppets, blockades, and jail solidarity to activists in six Toronto- and New York-based organizations.

Usage notes edit

Authors often define the term as signifying a tactic rather than a coherent group, emphasising that the group has no distinguishing characteristic or purpose other than the tactics employed.