Only a few weeks after the first of what would become near-daily Black Lives Matter protests in New York City, Justina Heckard found herself on her bicycle in Brooklyn, leading a march in loose formation with other cyclists. An altercation with a driver left a protester injured, and Ms. Heckard and her fellow demonstrators decided they would need to sharpen their tactics.
As protest organizers learned to handle everything from physical confrontations to dehydration, they developed strategies and clearly defined roles designed to keep marches on track and participants safe.
Some of these tactics, however, can put protesters in direct confrontation with both the police and bystanders.
Here’s a breakdown of some of the most common roles.
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Marshals
Defuse tensions, keep things running smoothly
At a demonstration last month, Larry Malcolm Smith Jr., noticed a female protester quarreling with a photographer. She had told the man that she didn’t want to be photographed, Mr. Smith recalled. Although he had a right to photograph in public, the photographer seemed to be unusually aggressive.
As a marshal, Mr. Smith, 21, was there to make sure that the demonstration ran smoothly. He intervened in the argument and told the photographer to move away from the woman.
Mr. Smith said he tries to pay attention the needs of Black women. “There needs to be more Black men that come out and show up for Black women,” he said.
Marshals tend to be scattered throughout a march — often equipped with bullhorns — and are there to answer questions and keep the energy alive in the middle and back end of a protest.
Born in Jamaica, Queens, Mr. Smith began protesting at age 8, after Sean Bell, an unarmed Black man, was shot by plainclothes officers in Mr. Smith’s neighborhood.
“I don’t feel like I chose activism,” he said. “Activism chose me.”
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Bike Blockers
Clearing the streets ahead of the march
In early June, Justina Heckard, who works as a music manager, took her bike to demonstrations as a social distancing measure. She said she was soon asked to help divert traffic along with other bike protesters.
At a march on June 6 in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, Ms. Heckard, 32, and a dozen other cyclists pedaled ahead to clear a route. It was there, she said, that they crossed paths with a motorist who refused to take another street and threatened to drive through the incoming marchers.
With their fellow protesters approaching, the cyclists didn’t know how to respond. One stood in front of the car, she said, and another tried to jump on the car’s roof.
A few seconds later, Ms. Heckard said, the driver accelerated, injuring one protester. That night, demonstrators realized bicyclists needed to be better prepared if they were going to be the first line of defense against motorists.
Now, bike blockers work to de-escalate tensions when they meet uncooperative motorists and form tight lines to block traffic.
This tactic, however, is technically not allowed without a permit, which most protests lack. “For the safety of all New Yorkers, we cannot support any blocking of traffic that is not authorized by a government agency,” said a spokeswoman for the Police Department.
The danger posed by bike blocking doesn’t concern Brandon English, 31, a visual artist. Growing up in Cobb County, Ga., Mr. English recalled being heckled and verbally threatened by white drivers on his way home from school.
“That’s something that’s been understood for me as a Black person in the United States,” Mr. English said. “Whether I’m protesting or not, my life can be in danger.”
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Street Medics
Treating the injured and ailing
Robert Thorne was volunteering at the medical tent at Occupy City Hall in July when he heard that a protester on the Brooklyn Bridge had sustained a head injury after falling off a bike. Mr. Thorne, 33, who has a background as an emergency medical technician, got to the bridge before the ambulance and tended the protester’s…
Read More: From Bike Blockers to Street Medics: The Anatomy of an N.Y.C. Protest