Police arrested protesters on the campus of the Art Institute of Chicago after students set up a protest camp on campus on May 4.
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Scott Olson/Getty Images
Police arrested protesters on the campus of the Art Institute of Chicago after students set up a protest camp on campus on May 4.
Scott Olson/Getty Images
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1. It became a focal point in pro-Palestinian protests.
We’ve heard the term “outside agitators” a lot over the past few weeks as nationwide protests against Israel’s war in Gaza have spread across college campuses.
More than 2,100 people have been arrested during the protests, and New York City officials said nearly half of the 282 people detained at two separate schools over the past week are not affiliated with either organization.
Mayor Eric Adams has been one of the most vocal critics of the outsiders, saying they are the reason for the strong police presence on campus.
“There is a movement to radicalize the youth and I will not wait until it is complete to suddenly acknowledge its existence,” he said – an assertion that Many students disagree.
The story of outsiders participating in protests is not new. Here are the times you may have heard it before:
- In 2020, during protests against the police killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.
- During the 2014 protests in Ferguson, Mo., following the killing of 18-year-old Michael Brown.
- During the protests against the Vietnam War.
- To describe Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. during the Civil Rights Movement.
Protesters confront police officers during a pro-Palestinian demonstration at Emory University on April 25.
Elijah Nouvelage/AFP via Getty Images
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Elijah Nouvelage/AFP via Getty Images
Protesters confront police officers during a pro-Palestinian demonstration at Emory University on April 25.
Elijah Nouvelage/AFP via Getty Images
2. The term is vague and adaptable.
Justin Hansford, a law professor at Howard University and executive director of the Thurgood Marshall Civil Rights Center, said the “outside agitator” label is ill-defined and somewhat malleable.
Hansford participated in the 2014 protests in Ferguson and said he visited recent campus protests against the war in Gaza. I said Consider this that “outside agitators” are often characterized in three ways:
- They are bad people
- They are not a legitimate part of the protest or movement
- They are manipulative and are trying to cause trouble
“Using that phrase makes [the protests] seems more dangerous… it really just changes the visibility and image of the protest,” he said.
Hansford also distinguishes between agitator — who may be trying to cause trouble — and Intruders – who may be part of an opposition group trying to sabotage a cause from within.
3. The motive for using this particular phrase.
Hansford admitted that there were outsiders participating in protests on university campuses. He said history has shown authorities use the term “agitators” to create a stronger response to protests.
“People look at the righteous outrage of people seeing these horrific images – whether it’s George Floyd or what’s happening in Gaza – and there’s a certain level of empathy,” he said. . “So it becomes a political risk to be seen as really harsh repression against sympathetic people.”
But if the administration can make it seem like it is going after nefarious outside agitators, Hansford said, things will go more smoothly politically.
To understand how this term was used against Martin Luther King Jr. and other Black protesters, listen to it all Consider this episode by clicking the play button at the top of the page.
