Chaz is not the frat boy you’ve avoided all year.
In recent weeks, “CHAZ” has been used as the acronym for the “Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone,” while CHOP stands for “Capitol Hill Organized Protest,” an area of over six blocks taken over by activists in Seattle.
The zone was created as a demonstration demanding justice for George Floyd in early June and has since flourished into a fully functional mutual aid group.
The area that CHAZ covers is a police-free zone that was formed as a safe space for the working-class organization. The organizers claimed the autonomous zone as being outside the jurisdiction of the United States of America.
The occupied area consists of activists who are living in apartments and businesses. On Tuesday the ‘no Cop Co-op’ grew, providing food, water, educational films and a Mutual Aid Book Table made up of Black and Indigenous authors.
Movie night and more in the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone. They screened “13th,” the 2016 doc film by @ava #CHAZ #capitolhillautonomouszone #georgefloyd #blacklivesmatter More pics here: https://t.co/2BGCyAs4x6 pic.twitter.com/ZTsWPZ1jgI
— David Ryder (@davidmryder) June 10, 2020
CHAZ was met with support by members of the Lakota and Yakama tribes. They performed at the 11th & Pine on June 11.
There have already been four shootings in the autonomous zone, one fatal and most of which were allegedly committed by white supremacists. Details regarding the shootings are not clear, in part because the victims refused to report their experiences to cops.
The Mayor of Seattle, Jenny Durkan, announced that the police would soon dismantle the barricaded community.
One victim spoke about his gratitude for the protestors, saying he owed them his life, not the police, after he was shot. Volunteer medical personnel have spoken out about their experiences of being ignored by fire departments and law enforcement, who did not respond to calls of people within the autonomous zone even if lives were at stake.
Many protestors have already left the autonomous zone even though their demands were not met. On June 15, organizers shifted their strategy to occupying highways.
For more updates, visit the autonomous zone’s website or and watch live-streamed footage here.
