black bloc
nounEtymology Calque of German schwarzer Block.
1
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.
- It made perfect sense to Michael that the Berlin police would choose to infiltrate the Black Bloc, rather than the establishment leftist parties.2008, Peter David Orr, The Dive, page 51:
- 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, 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:
1 more example
- 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.2012, Lesley J. Wood, Direct Action, Deliberation, and Diffusion: Collective Action after the WTO Protests in Seattle, page 34: