The Black Bloc, more commonly referred to as Antifa, is an Anti-Fascist movement dedicated to stopping the spread of white supremacy and far right ideology wherever it emerges. They are not one unified organization. They are hundreds of autonomous collectives all over the globe.

They call themselves the Black Bloc because they all wear black, non-indefinable clothing to avoid being recognized by Nazis; as well as the police when they engage in illegal forms of protest (such as punching a Nazi). They also don’t want to be able for police or Nazis to be able to tell them apart.

The primary material goal of Antifa is making Nazis and the Alt-Right, afraid and unable to organize in public. Antifa recognizes that if these groups can’t go out and publicly spread their views, and recruit new members, the cannot have a movement; they cannot win.

The ideas of Nazis, Fascist, the Alt-Right, White Nationalist pose a real danger if they are allowed to gain traction. This makes it vital for groups like Antifa to exist; people on the front lines to fight against the spread of Fascist ideology.

Fascist are people who want commit ethic cleansing. Fascist are people who will attacked marginalized groups of people to accomplish political goals. Fascist are a danger to any society they appear in.

Antifa is often criticize for the more violent actions that they’ve taken. No political movement is above critique. However, the media has portrayed Antifa as people committing violence for the sake of violence. They’re considered by some to be just as bad as Fascist, because part of their praxis is defensive violence. People have claimed that they are working against their own cause when they engage in violence, because it gives the Right an easy way to demonize them.

The Right has always aimed at demonizing and misrepresenting even those with Centre-left politics. Fox News spent eight years telling their viewers that President Obama was an Authoritarian Socialist Muslim that wanted to destroy America. Martin Luther King Jr., now held to near idolatry for his non-violent activism was, at the time of the Civil Right Movement, labeled one of the most dangerous radicals in America.

It is this kind of demonization that causes real opposition to progressive Leftist movements, not the actions of the groups themselves. When the Left is acting to protect the lives of marginalized groups, how they’re perceived by the Right should be an afterthought.

While Antifa does engage in defensive violence at counter-protest, and they are people using the Antifa label that commit unnecessarily violence, acts of violence are a very small percentage of Antifa’s praxis. Violence is one of Antifa’s last resorts. Most of what they do involves finding out who local Nazis/White Supremacist are. From there Antifa will doxx them, contact their employers to try to get them fired, and disrupt their recruitment both online and in real life.

Antifa members believe that the State should not have a monopoly on violence. Police are State employees who are currently under Trump. Trump is a neo-fascist. In plan terms, the police at large are obliged to serve a neo-fascist. Antifa believe that Police violence holds no more legitimacy that Anti-Fascist violence. As stated by an Anti-Fascist interviewed by Vice News, “The most violent people at any protest are the police.” Antifa members have left protest with severe injuries inflicted on them by the police.

Most people believe that there are times when violence is justified. Violence against Nazis and Fascist should fall under that umbrella; it is violence against people advocating for violence against the marginalized of society.

The tactics of Antifa have been effective. They have been successful in making it harder for Fascist to hold rallies, recruit, and have a movement. Antifa is keeping Fascism on the fringe. They are also saving lives. Dr. Cornel West, a life long activist and famed Socialist thinker, said that Antifa saved his and others lives at the  Charlottesville rally: “We would have been completely crushed like cockroaches if it we not because of the Anarchist and Anti-Fascist, because the police had pulled back.”

As a democracy, our society should admire those willing to risk their own safety, for the sake of keeping people safe from the evils of Fascism.