black people described it as a rebellion—defined as an often-armed resistance to an established government or ruler. Given that the police and racist institutions they opposed constituted an oppressive government, they reasoned, why should their protests not constitute a rebellion? This is in contrast to the supposed spontaneity of a riot, which implies that there’s no motive involved, or there’s an illegitimate one. A rebellion, on the other hand, implies that the actions are a response to injustice.
