After a full day of taking part in immigrant rights actions, Philly Metro WSA, Greater Chicago WSA, and Labor committee (national) had an amazing night at our hybrid gathering, celebrating our movement’s history! Happy Mayday friends !!!
Join us on Saturday, May 2nd at 2pm for an afternoon with the author of “I Am Maroon.”
In this cinematic memoir, follow one man’s journey from gang member to Black liberation leader to political prisoner–and the justice and redemption he fought for along the way.
Inspired by Malcolm X, Russell Shoatz became a lifelong crusader for justice, a soldier in the most militant units of the Black Liberation Army. Shoatz was convicted to life in prison following a coordinated attack on a park police station that left one guard dead. The prison walls, however, could not deter Shoatz’s battle for personal and collective freedom. He escaped state prisons twice, making him a living legend, and endowed him with the moniker “Maroon,” once used to honor runaway slaves from plantations. He survived 22 years in solitary confinement, prompting an international campaign for his freedom.
I Am Maroon charts a life of dizzying intrigue and a long struggle for liberation. With an unforgettable voice, Maroon reminds us that we too are capable of radical change, leaving us a blueprint for how we might dedicate our lives and minds to the ongoing fight for freedom.
The Wooden Shoe is ADA accessible excepting the restroom and meetings marked “downstairs”. All events are masked (provided). Parking is available metered on the street with the two closest paid parking garages at 1457 South St and 545 S 11th St. Public transit bus lines 45 & 47 stop within short walking distance. Please let us know if you have any other accessibility requirements and we will do our best to accommodate.
Come hear about the Zapatista’s international gatherings & what organizers and community members in Philadelphia can learn from 40+ years of anti-capitalist, indigenous struggle in Chiapas
In defense of the land, the people, and life itself
[This post only contains information relevant to Philadelphia and the surrounding area, to read the entire article follow the above link.]
The state uses the imprisonment of political leaders and rank-and-file activists as a bludgeon against movement victories. Their incarceration is a reminder of the strength, potential, and, just as crucially, the weaknesses and vulnerabilities of radical mass movements. As a result, political prisoners serve collective prison time for all those who participated in the movements from which they emerged.
Dan Berger, “The Real Dragons: A Brief History of Political Militancy and Incarceration, 1960s to 2000s”
We return after Palestinian Prisoners’ Day with a renewed commitment to struggle for the freedom of prisoners everywhere, to expand international solidarity, and to tear down the walls that hold hostage the future for which we fight. This month’s In Contempt, a roundup of repression news, political prisoner updates, and prisoner rebellions, is an attempt to prove that repression breeds resistance––but only if we try. Until all are free.
A zine and pamphlet of this column will be available in the coming days to print and share with friends, comrades, and loved ones behind bars.
As always, we welcome contributions at in_contempt @ autistici . org.
The task of revolutionary theory here is to demystify (and thus shrink) the fabricated distance between the various sites/scenes of a global struggle…
Casey Goonan, Lines in the Sand
REBELLIONS
Moshannon Valley Pennsylvania
A hunger strike broke out amongst hundreds detained at the Moshannon Valley ICE processing center after multiple people fell sick due to systemic medical neglect, deteriorating conditions and unhealthy food [2]. Frontline Digity is calling for people to call the Clearfield County Commissioners in support of the strikers and to shut down the ICE processing facility [3]:
BREAKING NEWS: People detained at Moshannon Valley Processing Center have begun a hunger strike.
Reports from inside the facility describe a recent medical emergency where a man lost consciousness and did not receive proper care, along with ongoing concerns about illness, food quality, and access to basic necessities. Nearly 100 people are now participating in a hunger strike to protest these conditions.
A hunger strike is not a small action. It is what people do when they feel they have no other way to be seen, heard, or treated as fully human.
As our Executive Director, Jaime Martinez, shared:
“A hunger strike is a sign that something is fundamentally wrong. No one should have to withhold food to be seen, heard, or treated as fully human. We have an urgent moral obligation to respond to what our neighbors are enduring every day.
When a hunger strike becomes necessary in the eyes of our neighbors, the failure is not individual—it is structural, sustained, and morally indefensible. We cannot normalize it. We cannot look away. We cannot wait.
At Frontline DIGNITY, we name this plainly: this is an emergency of conscience. The conditions that produce this level of desperation must be confronted immediately—not deferred, diluted, or buried in process. Every day of delay deepens harm.
We are calling for immediate action from the Clearfield County Commissioners: shut down the Moshannon Valley Detention Center and initiate a full, independent investigation into its conditions, oversight, and impacts. Anything less is a refusal to confront what is already in plain view.”
This is happening here.
Call the Clearfield County Commissioners:
📞 (814) 765-2641
You can say: “I’m calling to demand the shutdown of Moshannon Valley Processing Center and a full investigation into the conditions inside.”
Demand accountability. Share this. Stay informed. Support the work so we can continue showing up for our neighbors.
Mumia Abu-Jamal
On the International Day of Political Prisoners, long-term political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal sent a message of support to Daniela Klette on Prison Radio, which was played at the solidarity rally in front of the women’s prison in Vechta, Lower Saxony on March 21, 2026.
The trial of Daniela Klette, an imprisoned alleged former RAF militant, has been underway since March 2025. She faces charges of attempted murder, illegal possession of weapons, and attempted and completed aggravated robbery in connection with 13 robberies. After more than 30 years underground, she was arrested in Berlin in February 2024. Last week, the Federal Prosecutor’s Office also filed charges against her, accusing her of participating in three actions attributed to the RAF between 1990 and 1993.
Hello, Daniela Klette,
I send you my greetings of solidarity.
We are dealing with a truly remarkable turn in the state’s policies. I call it “Back to the Past.” You’ve surely heard of the film “Back to the Future.” What’s happening here, however, is a “Back to the Past,” because the state is acting as if it were 1972 or 1980 again. It is obvious that this is now about the political persecution of a person because of their past connections and political actions, in which no one was personally harmed or injured. It is clear that this is a political trial.
So, Daniela Klette should be acquitted – let her finally go free!
Let’s finally return to the present. Okay? It’s no longer 1972. Not even 1982. It’s time to turn the page and embrace life in the new century. The capitalist system is now trying to punish people whose beliefs it rejected years ago and whom it couldn’t catch back then. Punishing them today for their beliefs is utterly absurd.
Freedom for Daniela Klette! Acquittal for Daniela Klette! Now!
Thank you very much. With love, not fear, this is Mumia Abu-Jamal speaking.
And in German:
Hallo Daniela Klette,
Ich sende Dir hiermit meine solidarischen Grüße.
Wir haben es mit einer wirklich bemerkenswerten Wendung in der Politik des Staates zu tun. Ich nenne das »Zurück in die Vergangenheit«. Ihr habt sicher von dem Film »Zurück in die Zukunft« gehört. Was hier läuft, ist jedoch ein »Zurück in die Vergangenheit«, denn der Staat agiert, als wäre es wieder 1972 oder 1980. Dabei ist offensichtlich, dass es jetzt um die politische Verfolgung einer Person aufgrund ihrer früheren Verbindungen und politischen Handlungen geht, bei denen niemand persönlich zu Schaden gekommen oder verletzt worden ist. Es ist klar, dass dies ein politischer Prozess ist.
Also Freispruch für Daniela Klette – lasst sie endlich frei!
Kehren wir nun endlich wieder in die Gegenwart zurück. Okay? Wir schreiben nicht mehr das Jahr 1972. Nicht einmal das Jahr 1982. Es ist an der Zeit, den Kalender umzublättern und das Leben im neuen Jahrhundert anzugehen. Das kapitalistische System versucht jetzt, Menschen zu bestrafen, deren Überzeugungen man vor Jahren abgelehnt hat und die man damals nicht zu fassen bekam. Sie heute für ihre Überzeugungen zu bestrafen ist völlig absurd.
Freiheit für Daniela Klette! Freispruch für Daniela Klette! Und zwar sofort!
Danke sehr. Mit Liebe, nicht mit Furcht, hier spricht Mumia Abu-Jamal.
“Mumia Week 26” takes place April 19-25 commemorating Mumia-Abu Jamal with a series of events throughout Philadelphia:
This events series will celebrate journalist, author, advocate, political prisoner, and ALC client Mumia Abu-Jamal’s mission and message. Honor the innocence robbed by the state & innocence to protect for the future, with a week of programs centered on the fight to free Mumia & the vital, internationalist, abolitionist, and community-affirming work happening in Philadelphia, PA every single day.
Free Them All Sunday Service + Community Dinner Sunday, Apr. 19 | 2:00 PM : Tabernacle United Church
Innocence & Abolition Arts N Crafts Night: Monday, Apr. 20 | 5:00 PM: 4157 W Girard Ave
We! Want! Freedom! Trivia Night Teach-In (21+ w/ valid ID): Thursday, Apr. 23 | 6:30 PM: Tattooed Mom 530 South St
“Mumia Lives!” Birthday Celebration & Film Screening: Friday, Apr. 24 | 6:30 PM: Friends Center 1501 Cherry St
#MumiaWeek’26: March of Innocence: Saturday, Apr. 25 | 4:00 PM: One Art Community Center
Learn more & register for the events: https://luma.com/mumiaweek
Write to Mumia:
Smart Communications/PA DOC
Mumia Abu Jamal #AM8335
SCI Mahanoy
Post Office Box 33028
St Petersburg, Florida 33733
Resource Distribution Program / Political Prisoner Support Initiative
Free Tha Land DAPS family, here is an update to our Free Store Program in collaboration with @thelastpoet_hhb & @sol_said_earth_ ! Our distribution program, operating every friday in South Shore, is collecting donations for hygiene amenities and clothing resources. Every donation allows us to continue addressing the needs of the community, fighting back against manufactured resource scarcity in our beloved neighborhoods, whilst providing monetary support for 3 of Our Movement’s Political Prisoners. We are raising our donation goal from $600 to $800 so that $200 can be reserved to support Mumia Abu Jamal, Jakhi Mcray, and Malik Muhammad. We keep each other safe, fed & clothed. Free tha resources, Free tha land!
BIRTHDAYS
Mumia Abu Jamal
Birthday: April 24
Mumia is an award winning journalist and was one of the founders of the Black Panther Party chapter in Philadelphia. He has struggled for justice and human rights for people of color since he was at least 14 years old––the age when he joined the Party. In December of 1982, Mumia, who moonlighted by driving a taxi, happened upon police who were beating his brother. During the melee, a police officer was shot and killed. Despite the fact that many people saw someone else shoot and then run away from the scene, Mumia was convicted and sentenced to death by what can only be called a kangaroo court. During the summer of 1995, a death warrant was signed, which sparked one of the most effective organizing efforts in defense of a political prisoner ever. Since that time, Mumia has had his death sentence overturned, but still has a life sentence with no opportunity for parole. More information: freemumia.com
Philadelphia: “Mumia Lives!” Birthday Celebration & Film Screening: Friday, Apr. 24 | 6:30 PM: Friends Center 1501 Cherry St
Smart Communications/PA DOC
Mumia Abu Jamal #AM8335
SCI Mahanoy
Post Office Box 33028
St Petersburg, Florida 33733
As PADOC is a digital mail scanning state, please use single sided letters; books must be sent to Mumia Abu Jamal #AM8335 / 268 Bricker Road / Bellefonte, PA 16823-1667
Casey Goonan
Birthday: April 24
Casey Goonan is an anarchist/anti-imperialist political prisoner incarcerated for actions carried out in solidarity with Palestinians facing genocide in Gaza and response to the repressive actions against the pro-Palestine student encampments in the United States. In January 2025, Casey pleaded guilty to one count of maliciously damaging or destroying property used in or affecting interstate commerce by means of fire or an explosive for the arson attack on a campus police car. As part of a plea agreement, Goonan took responsibility for the other attacks but pleaded not guilty to the additional charges and was sentenced to 235 months in federal prison. More information: freecasenow.noblogs.org
Casey Goonan #24611 511
FCI Allenwood Medium
Post Office Box 2000
White Deer, Pennsylvania 17887
Let’s celebrate Philly Jazz month by delving into jazz history and its impact on music beyond the genre. In this interactive lecture Black music historian Lex will guide us through exploring Jazz, the spectacular, and the diffusiveness of Black identity in North America.
Ultimately interrogating, how Blackness becomes codified as “cool,” and how spectacle shapes African American life. We will unpack how North American imperialism commodifies Black identity, ultimately transforming resistance into capital leveraged to accrue soft power, while disempowering those within the imperial core. Together we’ll examine the significance of Call and Response across Black art forms, how specific social conditions give rise to Black musicality with emphasis on Jazz, rap, and vogue.
This is an invitation to engage jazz not just as music, but as an ongoing, collective response to colonialism and white supremacy.
Come melt away the end of winter at O.R.C.A. with some films that look at the technologies of domination. After each screening we’ll discuss how we can struggle against this oppressive reality.
4/16 7PM
Koyannisqatsi (1982, 86 min)
Beautifully shot and scored, this wordless documentary brings us on a emotional exploration of the machinery and relations that make progress and our modern lifeways possible. The title is a Hopi word that can be translated to “life out of balance.”
[This post only contains information relevant to Philadelphia and the surrounding area, to read the entire article follow the above link.]
For more info on these Ghost Robotics actions, here’s the link to one of the zines I read. There were a few other actions and demos that happened around getting Ghost Robotics out of UPenn, including people running up on the dean’s house. So if you’re curious to get a sense of the larger campaign, there’s a lot more to find out. Apparently Ghost Robotics has to reveal their new address when they turn in their next quarterly report…which is a fact I learned on the internet.
After months of calling by our community to demand these heinous memorials celebrating Nazi killers be demolished and steps towards accountability and repair be taken, only to be met with stonewalling, we are taking to the streets to demand the destruction of Nazi memorials.
We ask all progressive, revolutionary, anti racist and anti fascist people’s organizations to join us in the streets and going forward as we escalate to smash fascism.
Please share, repost, and reach out to unite with us and build anti fascist people’s unity!
[Sunday 4/12 11:30 am at the intersection of Broad and Girard]
A screening where the horrors of social media are explored through independent short horror films co-presented with Dusky Projects and the Ghouls Next Door. Films are followed by IRL activities to bring us off screen and into the room. It’s not enough to touch grass anymore, let’s connect to each other and make art! Contribute to our “Live Feed,” make your own #OOTD or join in on the Group Chat. TTYL!
Featuring works by Gabe Castro, Carlos Meléndez, David Dylan Thomas, and S.L. Sawyer. All proceeds go to the filmmakers!
April 5th 6pm Wooden Shoe 704 South Street
Anarchists in Philly talk with comrades from the Twin Cities about
their experiences building rapid response networks, how Minnesota thwarted Operation Metro Surge and lessons drawn about how to defeat fascism
[This post only contains information relevant to Philadelphia and the surrounding area, to read the entire article follow the above link.]
Intro
“Through our ability to help one another articulate our suffering, we help one another to act. And in helping one another to act we help to demonstrate to those around us that something different, something other than what currently is, is possible. When we unabashedly grieve, fully, publicly, without reservation, we invite other to do the same. Every act of resistance sows the seeds of its own replication. When we resist as part of daily life, we sow the reproduction of a daily life of resistance. “
We return, our hearts inflamed for our companions in struggle enduring the worst of state repression, with the latest In Contempt, a roundup of repression news, political prisoner updates, and prisoner rebellions. While repression may be inevitable for any movement for freedom, the future of the prison world is not. Until the day the cages are empty and the prisons are ashes, we must support those fighting inside for freedom.
A zine and pamphlet of this column will be available in the coming days to print and share with friends, comrades, and loved ones behind bars.
As always, we welcome contributions at in_contempt @ autistici . org.
NO ONE WAY WORKS,
it will take all of us shoving at the thing from all sides to bring it down.
— Diane di Prima, Revolutionary Letter #8
Political Prisoners / POWs
Casey Goonan
Casey Goonan has posted a Bookshop.org Wish List where people can purchase books to be sent to them at their new location at FCI Allenwood. Among many other topics, they’re interested in Palestinian history, political analysis, and literature, Black philosophy and critical theory, Autonomous marxisms, Analysis of the George Floyd Uprising, and books by anarchist historian Paul Avrich.
If you purchase books through other outlets please be mindful of the mail rules for Casey’s facility. You can send them as well as letters to:
Casey Goonan #24611-511
FCI Allenwood Medium
Federal Correctional Institution P.O. Box 2000
White Deer, PA 17887
George Floyd Uprising Prisoners
As far as we know, the current prisoners––welcome home Margaret!––from the George Floyd Uprising and their addresses to write letters of support are:
David Elmakayes #77782-066
USP Lee
U.S. Penitentiary
Satellite Camp
P.O. Box 644
Jonesville, VA 24263
Smart Communications/PADOC
Khalif Miller #QQ9287
SCI Forest
PO Box 33028
St. Petersburg, FL 33733
As always a printable letter writing zine is available to distro.
Project Salt Box has been investigating ICE property acquisitions: according to their current data, ICE has purchased warehouses for large-scale immigrant processing and detention facilities in Romulus MI, Tremont PA, Socorro TX, Hamburg PA, Salt Lake City UT, San Antonio TX, Social Circle GA, Flowery Branch GA, Roxbury NJ, Surprise AZ, and Williamsport MD; and is currently eyeing locations in Durant OK, Starke FL, McAllen TX, Port Allen LA, Holtsville NY, and Orlando FL.
Birthdays
Mumia Abu Jamal
Birthday: April 24
Mumia is an award winning journalist and was one of the founders of the Black Panther Party chapter in Philadelphia. He has struggled for justice and human rights for people of color since he was at least 14 years old––the age when he joined the Party. In December of 1982, Mumia, who moonlighted by driving a taxi, happened upon police who were beating his brother. During the melee, a police officer was shot and killed. Despite the fact that many people saw someone else shoot and then run away from the scene, Mumia was convicted and sentenced to death by what can only be called a kangaroo court. During the summer of 1995, a death warrant was signed, which sparked one of the most effective organizing efforts in defense of a political prisoner ever. Since that time, Mumia has had his death sentence overturned, but still has a life sentence with no opportunity for parole. More information: freemumia.com
Smart Communications/PA DOC
Mumia Abu Jamal #AM8335
SCI Mahanoy
Post Office Box 33028
St Petersburg, Florida 33733
As PADOC is a digital mail scanning state, please use single sided letters; books must be sent to Mumia Abu Jamal #AM8335 / 268 Bricker Road / Bellefonte, PA 16823-1667
Casey Goonan
Birthday: April 24
Casey Goonan is an anarchist/anti-imperialist political prisoner incarcerated for actions carried out in solidarity with Palestinians facing genocide in Gaza and response to the repressive actions against the pro-Palestine student encampments in the United States. In January 2025, Casey pleaded guilty to one count of maliciously damaging or destroying property used in or affecting interstate commerce by means of fire or an explosive for the arson attack on a campus police car. As part of a plea agreement, Goonan took responsibility for the other attacks but pleaded not guilty to the additional charges and was sentenced to 235 months in federal prison. More information: freecaseynow.noblogs.org
Casey Goonan #24611 511
FCI Allenwood Medium
Post Office Box 2000
White Deer, Pennsylvania 17887
Our crew has noticed increasing infiltration of right wing grifter-streamers into protests, namely Frank Scales and his Cameraman/bodyguard Ian McGinnis. These people generate rage bait content for the right wing media landscape by conducting bad faith “gotcha” interviews and debates to farm and selectively crop clips that get injected into the right wing outrage ecosystem. They use this tactic to generate money for their operations and create propaganda. They are disruptive and destructive and demand a response.
It is not so simple as normal bash the fash tactics sadly- this is actually a strategy built into their program, similar to Christian hate preachers like Aden Rusfeldt or the Westboro Baptist Church that stoke conflict and then use legal warfare and press charges to go after those who oppose them. They do want you to hit them, so they can record content, dox you, sue you, and generate income streams from playing victim. Frank scales is already pressing charges against a woman who confronted him on a bus and is weaponizing police to seek a man who he claims maced him at a protest. We need to adapt to these tactics very strategically.
Our crew has found simple content denial and disruption to be the most effective deterrence. This has been observed to stop them from generating content during several specific incidents. We point to two specific instances that were effective in stopping these grifters from getting a foothold-
In one case, a grifter and his camera man were attempting to generate clips from an anti ICE protest. An operator observed from afar, made sure their identity was fully protected and they weren’t in view of the camera in question, and in a moment when the grifter was physically separated from police by a crowd and distracted by protest marshals physically walling him out, they quickly snatched the phone recording and threw it into the crowd, where it was not recovered. Phones can be smashed if there is time or thrown into storm drains (apologies to the Delaware watershed) or locked solar trash compactors. This immediately denies the material ability to generate content. It is an extremely easy point of vulnerability and can be quickly exploited with a few people acting as diversions. Operators can quickly change clothes and disperse from there with the mission accomplished. Flags and banners can also be used to block cameras and generate confusion and block visibility to ensure these operations go smoothly. Anyone can do this and immediately disappear into a crowd or into the city. Dedicated teams should be set up to ensure this security at every protest.
In another case, operators interjected at every attempted interview or debate to just sound bomb the stream with declarations of the streamer’s support for the Epstein-pedophile class- this is messaging that resonates with their intended audience that should be reinforced. No clips from this day were used in later content because of this disruption. Alerting speakers to the presence of these streamers and having them address the crowd and laying down specific disruptive tactics that deny them their rage bait content also seemed highly effective. We think speakers at rallies should identify the targets as bad faith actors and encourage people not to engage beyond physical interference of their ability to generate content.
Optics matter and these are delicate situations that must be approached with intention and specific tactics to ensure that their effectiveness is rendered inoperable. We cannot be doing solely a brute force approach, we need specific tactics. The simple denial of content generation seems to be the best move going forwards. By all means, bash those fash when feasible, but make sure the cameras are off first. It should be done quickly and quietly without turning into grand confrontations that they salivate for. We have the power to easily and decisively counter these tactics. They will suffer in a silence that we can easily enforce.
Expect counter measures like security details and securing vulnerable devices to persons. Find creative workarounds. Stay adaptable, This is an optics battle that we can win if we make sure to go straight for the eyes.
Note: This is a self critique and a critique of communities I’ve been a part of my entire adult life. It was very hard to write especially in a moment where it feels like anarchist activity is low but revolutionaries have to remain honest especially in these perilous times. I speak about Black anarchists cause those are the people I spend most of my time around however many of these critiques could be extended to Non-Black POC and Indigenous anarchist tendencies as well.
It is unclear if Black anarchism matters. Despite those who would say to the contrary, Black anarchism is not a primary vehicle actively pursuing the short term goal of destruction of the United States and the longer term goal of social revolution. Despite the rise of podcasts, social media accounts, publications, zines, articles, Black anarchist organizing projects remain sparse. To the authors’ knowledge, Martin Sostre House (a social center/housing collective), Balagoon Boxing Gym (unclear if this project is still active), Black Autonomy Federation-LA, Black Autonomy Federation-Chicago (unclear if this project is still active) and Black Lantern Book (a bookstore) are the only projects that exist in the United States with a clear commitment to Black anarchist politics. It should be acknowledged that some projects and affinities must remain clandestine but regardless of that, it remains a relatively poor showing for a tendency that has existed for decades at this point.
Despite the constant Black anarchist critique of white anarchist subculture as ineffectual or disconnected in texts such as Black Anarchism and the Black Radical Tradition published by Daraja Press, Black anarchists themselves have failed largely to organize amongst themselves let alone amongst Black people. This is a failure. If all Black anarchists can offer is zines and critique, they are no better than white leftists who stick their heads in books all day. While it is easy to blame white anarchists, Black anarchists refuse to look to their own failures. If there’s a true belief that white anarchists or authoritarian socialists are as fascist or counter revolutionary as some proclaim, then why are they not being organized against? Why are they not being robbed or beaten? If the Black leftists and the non-profits are such a threat to our movements, why are they not being robbed or beaten? The threats are all rhetorical. Instead, Black anarchists act like liberals as they demand reparations/accountability from white radicals.The unfortunate truth is that Black anarchism as a tendency in the United States is still rooted unfortunately in a politics of victim-hood rather than agency.
Furthermore, Black anarchism is going the way of the non-profit industrial complex or academia as more books, articles and lectures are published. Numerous opportunists see Black anarchism as a way to make a quick buck so they build their personal brands around it. I’m not gonna name names cause it’s actually so common though at this point, the only Black anarchists I trust are the ones who publish anonymously. These “black anarchist” personalities are no different than enemies like Patrisse Cullors or Opal Tometi from BLM. Black anarchism no longer exists in a subversive sense. And perhaps, it never did (although Lorenzo, Ashanti and Kuwasi’s brave actions certainly must be acknowledged). Anarchism is fundamentally a set of practices that revolutionaries use to pursue revolution. But if the anarchists in question are not building towards any type of revolution or insurrection, then the practices make little to no sense as they are not being practically applied. Again, I ask myself how are Black anarchists any different from many white radicals who simply read books and make critiques while refusing to get their hands dirty alongside the oppressed and exploited? Podcasts, memes, edgy twitter threads, cookouts, patreon accounts, and gofundmes are not an organizational orientation that is compatible with a revolutionary anarchist set of politics. Platitudes, complaints, hanging out and slogans are not substitutes for action. Idealizing anarchist movements in other places and posting riot footage is not a substitute for action here. And unfortunately, there is quite little action from Black anarchists these day. But there’s a whole lot of tweets.
Despite anarchist critiques of the following formations, the Black Panthers, the Black Liberation Army, the Black Guards, RAM, various New Afrikan formations, the Black Unity Council, Black Guerilla Family and others had an organizational orientation that built towards revolutionary struggle. There is nothing equivalent to that in the United States in terms of Black anarchists. Instead of a movement that organizes, there is a rampant culture of individualism (not the cool kind either), complaint, cowardice, and opportunism. The refusal of Black anarchists to organize and provide alternatives to all of the things they hate is proof of a weakness that is rooted in a racist self hatred, inferiority and victim-hood mentality that is inherited/taught by the legacy of from slavery and its afterlives…the non-profit industrial complex, academia, racist public schools, and prisons.
The abandoning of our political prisoners is evidence of this racist self-hatred as well. Big names in Black anarchism do nothing to uplift and support the various Black prisoners of the George Floyd uprising such as Malik Muhammad or Mujera Benjamin Lunga’ho. While Black anarchists make constant claim of revolutionary politics, there is little to no support for Black revolutionaries in prison. Perhaps it is because many Black anarchists are simply subcultural scenesters scared of the real revolutionaries who have sacrificed their freedom and ended up on the inside of the enemy’s prison? Or perhaps many Black anarchists are so divorced from real struggle that they have no knowledge that some Black people have taken real risks for our movement while they complain about crackers online? Perhaps it is because Black anarchism similar to the white anarchists they constantly set ourselves up in opposition to remains a petit-bourgeois tendency that cares little for the struggles of the lumpen-proletariat? I don’t have a clear answer. I know that’s not the case for me and my comrades but we are few and far between in the existing Black anarchist tendency. And it makes me wonder, what is the point of any of this? Shouldn’t we just be anarchists?
Maybe to find revolutionary organizing efforts oriented towards Black liberation (albeit imperfect), it is better to look to some of the Black nationalist groups such as Community Movement Builders, Cooperation Jackson, Huey P. Newton Gun Club, Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, Black Men Build and others. These groups despite their contradictions are making efforts to build a Black revolutionary trajectory albeit one that I am largely uninterested in personally. Doubtless some readers will admonish me for referencing these groups due to their political failings but the reality is that these groups are at least attempting to building capacity while many Black anarchists remain inactive or adjacent to ineffectual white anarchist subculture. These spaces may be contested perhaps while the Black anarchist spaces themselves do not seem to exist besides the projects mentioned earlier.
The author believes these questions must be asked because the current culture around “Black anarchic radicalism” as some call it is not a revolutionary culture. It is a culture largely for those with proximity to white anarchists, the Black left or the non-profit industrial complex to voice their frustrations and then sit at home. There is no revolutionary horizon with this current trajectory. Critique is not a stand in for attack. Critique is not a stand in for organization. Critique is not a stand in for capacity. Critique is not a stand in for affinity. Critiques only hold weight if there is a desire and effort to out-organize the enemies or even comrades you are critiquing, otherwise your politics hold no weight.
Black anarchists should tweet less and attack more. I no longer feel committed to the Black anarchist project. Instead, I remain simply an anarchist with a desire for Black liberation. Various anarchists I know (regardless of their apparent to Black anarchism as an ideology) are more committed to these struggles than most self identified Black anarchists. Political identity especially when it comes to race can only go so far. Black anarchism remains mired in the muck of opportunism, inferiority, self hatred and cowardice. Until Black anarchists commit to a politics of comradeship, bravery, experimentation, and love of other Black people, it is unlikely I will rejoin the tendency. I learned my anarchism from the Black anarchist theorists but I cannot willingly remain a part of a tendency that has done so little for ourselves let alone the broader Black struggle. Black anarchism was meant to be a weapon to be wielded for Black liberation. If the current Black anarchist culture in the United States is the example, it is a faulty weapon that would backfire and kill me.
My comrades who I remain most inspired by take inspiration from many other tendencies other than just Black anarchism. While understanding the importance of our historical legacy from Black anarchist elders, my comrades politics are much more grounded in different strains such as insurrectionary anarchism, Islam, Black nationalism, nihilism, and queer militancy. These things seem like better jumping off points for building a revolutionary culture than Black anarchism even if some of them contradict one another as these origin points are a set of politics not built entirely on complaint as Black anarchism seems to be. Anarchy pulls from many different strains, the insistence on Black anarchism or an anarchism that is non-white is uninteresting as it is simply reactive. So I think for the moment, anarchy will just have to suffice.
Anonymous Submission, if this article made you feel some kinda way, consider writing a reply to it… (or better yet, go do some cool shit and mention you’re a Black anarchist in the reportback)
A screening of the audio and slides of a presentation about organization, informality, insurrection, and revolution that was given in the Pacific Northwest by the comrades at Fugitive Distro. We’ll watch the presentation and then discuss together.
Original presentation descriptions:
“A presentation and discussion on the question of organization – what is it, how have some anarchists chosen to approach it, and why. In a moment where everyone is talking about organization either in vague terms or asking others to join behind them as followers, we hope to offer tools from one of the many approaches for the struggle over our lives.”
“So often calls go out ‘just organize’ with little to no content that follows or with an expectation for individuals to simply pad the numbers of this or that Organization, not requiring us to take an active role in the struggle for our and each others freedom.
We wish to offer an introduction to some tools and a perspective that isn’t just a /how/ to organize, but also why and to what end.
We hope people will come to this not with the mindset that we are trying to convince you of a position, as if we simply want people to rally around our ideas, but to loot what’s useful and burn the rest.”
![](https://i.imgur.com/YqMTajD.jpeg")
