A bright orange �Road Closed/Road Reclamation� construction sign is set up,
couches and newspaper boxes are dragged into the street to block traffic,
several stereos playing Twisted Sister�s �We�re Not Going to Take It,� and a
few hundred people have stepped into the street. A DJ has set up a fully
loaded and functional turntable on the dotted yellow line, and the entire
crowd begins to dance. Streamers are being thrown over the power lines,
people have decorated themselves for a festival, a game of tag is underway,
and Food Not Bombs is serving pasta with vegan white sauce and day-old
bread. This is a Reclaim the Streets� party, in the center of the four-lane
Castro Street, San Francisco.

On Saturday, April 2, 2005 a street protest-party stopped traffic while attempting to stop proposed MUNI fare hikes and to promote "increased public control over shared community resources such as the city streets and the public transportation system". This particular event was entitled �Community Mutiny� and co-organized by Coalition for Transit Justice and Reclaim the Streets-SF.

It will be a while until the police can get a definative order from their chiefs for how they�ll try to disperse the crowd. And even then it might be hard to push people back onto the sidewalks.

Since the early 90s, Reclaim the Streets has been putting on events like this. An amalgam of guerilla theater, public circus, protest march and
open rave, taking over the streets by sheer magnitude and magnificence of
dress. Born out of rave culture and style in the UK of the late 90s.
Decadent dress, carnival atmosphere and a burning desire to dance in the
face of authority are all prerequisites, as is a healthy disgust for
petroleum-powered instigators of global wars and urban gridlock. With all
its antics, RTS is primarily a political act and a powerful, empowering one
at that.

In Chapel Hill, North Carolina, just a few months before several queers were
beaten up along the main strip downtown. The anarchist and queer
communities in outrage met together and threw two Reclaim The Streets queer
block parties in March. With a banner that read �Queers Bash Back� people
took and held the intersection of Franklin and Columbia Streets, where the
most recent bashing had taken place (it is likely the assaulters were
present); drag queens paraded openly while boys danced with boys and gurls
with gurls. It was a spontaneous celebration of identity in direct response
to a violent act of homophobia done publicly.

(The questions below have been answered by Jenny One, a San Francisco RTS
organizer.)

Q. What is RTS?

A. Reclaim the Streets is a direct action tactic. We use parties in the
streets to take back public space from cars, corporations and police
control, and to return it to the public....

We feel life is lived in the streets, not in cars and cubicles. Our
streets�linking the home to the workplace, the workplace to play�are our
common property. They aren�t much, but their uses are ours to decide. Not
everyone�s happy with the hamster-track six-lane-strip: some folks bike,
others walk, some have wheelchairs and some prefer speaking to others,
between the alarm clock and the workaday starting gun.

Q. Where did the idea for having politically motivated street parties come
from?

A. The first RTSs were done in London as a continuation of the anti-road,
anti-car, movement. The group was already doing direct action pranks like
painting unauthorized bike lanes and ditching trashed cars to stop up
traffic. This was in the early 90s, and plans to build the M11 highway had
pissed off a broader section of the communities who had been slated to have
the fast paced road cut through their neighborhoods. That was the initial
political base of RTS. Add a subculture accustomed to 1000 Sq. Ft. warehouse
raves, and parties that lasted from 7 PM to 7 AM, playing break-beats that
were irresistible to dance to. This was the party energy that was brought to
the streets.

Q. RTS parties often start with a chant of �Off of the sidewalks/and into the
streets.� Why?

A. The sidewalk is a paltry concession to �public safety,� and it has gotten to
the point where we need to ask: why are these deadly machines plowing
through our lives, mowing down small children and the otherwise
unsuspecting? Think of it as habitat-fragmentation for the human. We are
social animals, and streets-as-highways starve us all for company� to say
nothing of the business-first motivation behind keeping the streets of
commerce cranking as quickly as products come off the factory line or the
loading docks.

Q. As an organizer for these street occupations, what are some
tips you can give uninitiated organizers?

A. RTS works like a potluck, so the party works best when you invite everyone
you know�their politics need not be radical�and each one brings a dish! You
should supply the silverware�a sound system (or three?), a microphone, and
some emcees to pass the mic so that all comers get a chance to play. It�s
good to ask folks what they�re bringing (songs, a juggling act, a DJ from
Japan) so you can gather up a balanced meal.

You�ll also want to supply the plates�which is to say, a knowledge of the
local streets and alleyways, and consciousness about the type of
neighborhood you�ll be in�how will folks understand what you�re doing? And
will you be welcome there? Finally, be sure to invite all passersby�hand
them an invitation, welcome them to break bread or to dance with you. The
more, the more interesting; and yes, the merrier...

One more note: if the cops take your sound system, play on! Everyone knows
how to improvise a song and dance. And who knows� maybe they won�t figure
out how to turn it off.

Q. RTS parties vary from festive block parties (where cops turn a blind eye),
to more direct confrontations: think jackhammers, broken-down cars and
guerilla tree plantings. As this country edges further towards a culture of
surveillance and control, how do you see the street party evolving?

A. Reclaim the Streets isn�t anything new. People are drawn to the streets.
Look at what happens when we have a power outage�folks are right in the
streets again, eyeing each other and eating the ice cream before it all
melts.

As for the cops, when they overreact, they just fan the flames. Cops are
always invited to join in the party, but somehow their bosses are always
saying �no�... When the pigs place themselves in between us and our own
streets, well, we have to clarify the situation somewhat.

Police, surveillance, vehicular codes...these are tools to impose artificial
order on a self-ordering situation. We prefer to lay the table and see what
shows up for dinner. Crack the ground and then let nature take its course.

for more info on reclaiming the streets see:
kenjioba.net
www.indybay.org
www.sfbaytimes.com