What is white supremacy? A Teach-in, Q&A, and Discussion

  • February 16, 2015 2:44 pm

from facebook

White supremacy is one of those things we think we might know all about, but do we really? Over the past 500 years white supremacy has been a force that has shaped countless lives, yet it is a topic rarely discussed by the general population. How can a topic that is rarely talked about be well understood?

The recent uproar over Arizona State’s The Problem With Whiteness course shows us that in depth discussions and study of white supremacy as a social force are taking place in the academy. These sort of discussions should be available to everyone.

We will hear two presentations; one from Daryle Lamont Jenkins of One People’s Project, and another from Philly Antifa followed by a Q&A and a facilitated discussion. Both One People’s Project and Philly Antifa are actively working to expose and thwart the agenda of white supremacist organizations both here in the tri-state area and beyond.

Daryle will go into detail about how the white supremacist agenda fits into recent events, including the non-indictments of killer cops and the phenomenon of pro-police rallies. Philly Antifa will give an overview of their work and will show us how to recognize white supremacist symbols and code words.

We will also explore the subtle differences between crude white supremacy (KKK, neo-Nazi’s, etc) and the more invisible white supremacy that functions on the every day systemic level.

One other thing to keep in mind going into this event, and something that should be of unique concern, is the fact that white supremacists hold high positions in the federal government. This past December it was revealed that Congressman and majority whip Steve Scalise gave a speech to the European-American Unity and Rights Organization (EURO), a notorious white supremacist group founded by former KKK leader David Duke. After this scandal broke, David Duke threatened to expose other high ranking government officials with white supremacist ties if investigations against Scalise proceeded. The story has since disappeared from the headlines.

February 21st, 6pm
4722 Baltimore Avenue
Light refreshments will be provided

Please email starspray21@hotmail.com with any questions or concerns

Sponsored by One People’s Project, Philly Antifa, and Deep Green Philly

Phil Africa Passed Away Under Suspicious Circumstances

  • January 14, 2015 3:44 pm

from On A Move

On Saturday, January 10th 2015 Phil Africa, revolutionary, John Africa’s First Minister of Defense, and beloved brother, husband and father, passed away under suspicious circumstances at the State Correctional Institution at Dallas, PA. On Sunday, January 4th Phil Africa wasn’t feeling well and went to the prison infirmary. Though he wasn’t feeling well, other inmates saw Phil Africa walking, stretching and doing jumping jacks. Hearing that Phil was in the infirmary MOVE members drove up to visit him and were denied a visit by the prison. While they were visiting with Delbert Africa, Phil was secretly transported to Wilkes Barre General Hospital where he was held in total isolation, incommunicado for five days.

Naomi Murakawa presents The First Civil Right: How Liberals Built Prison America

  • January 6, 2015 2:21 am

Sun, January 11, 7pm – 8pm Wooden Shoe Books 704 South Street

The explosive rise in the U.S. incarceration rate in the second half of the twentieth century, and the racial transformation of the prison population from mostly white at mid-century to sixty-five percent black and Latino in the present day, is a trend that cannot easily be ignored. Many believe that this shift began with the “tough on crime” policies advocated by Republicans and southern Democrats beginning in the late 1960s, which sought longer prison sentences, more frequent use of the death penalty, and the explicit or implicit targeting of politically marginalized people. In The First Civil Right, Naomi Murakawa inverts the conventional wisdom by arguing that the expansion of the federal carceral state-a system that disproportionately imprisons blacks and Latinos-was, in fact, rooted in the civil-rights liberalism of the 1940s and early 1960s, not in the period after.

Alert: White Power Show Booked in North Philly for January 10th

  • January 4, 2015 6:56 pm

from philly antifa

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Note: thanks to Wobbly Dash for the concise list of Aggravated Assault and Micetrap Distribution’s releases.

According to a flyer circulating on social media, Atlantic City “Skinheads” (ACS) band Aggravated Assault is scheduled to play a show at the Outlaws Biker Gang clubhouse at 2103 E. Somerset Street in Philly on January 10th.

A Nuanced Anti-civ Stance

  • December 31, 2014 2:10 pm

from Deep Green Philly

Regarding some of the contradictions of being anti-civ or critical of industrial society (or, how to negotiate certain “facts on the ground”):

There’s an Upworthy video making the rounds on facebook entitled ‘5 Years’ Worth Of Photos Show How Testosterone Affected One Person’s Life’. This heartwarming video shows a FTM trans person’s journey of self-realization. Of course a medical marvel like this would not have been possible 40 years ago, and yet here’s the thing – it’s not clear if it will be possible 40 years into the future if climate disruption, global warming, and resource wars take the huge toll that many are predicting.

Grounded in Resistance Winter Speaking Tour: Grassroots Mobilizing for Animal Liberation

  • December 28, 2014 12:00 pm

reposted from Grounded in ResistanceAnimals in captivity or whose habitats are being destroyed live in a constant state of resistance. When their lives are threatened, they kick and bite and scream. When their homes are taken, they attempt to rebuild and regroup. When they are confined, they desperately grasp for an existence beyond captivity. Animals fight to live, to be wild, and to be free, and their fight is always urgent. If we are fighting in solidarity with animals, where is our urgency? What are we missing in our movement for animal liberation?

An effective movement for animal liberation must challenge the systems in which animal use is rooted — capitalism, colonialism, imperialism, and patriarchy. Our organizing must be informed by solidarity and inspired by the passion with which animals fight. We need a path forward that is forged through on-the-ground actions, movement building, strategic campaigning, a diversity of tactics, and coalition organizing. We need a movement that is grounded in the urgency of the animals’ own resistance.

Join us for a presentation and discussion about effectively resisting the use of animals and embracing the urgency of the fight for animal liberation. We will explore the recent history of animal advocacy and share our experiences of organizing within the context of the current state of the movement, and discuss ideas about how we can work together for a stronger animal liberation movement — a movement that is driven by grassroots activism, resistance against all of the systems that support animal exploitation, and solidarity with the animals and others who fight for liberation and self-determination. We will also share our plans for next summer and invite you to take part. We are working to create a summer of regional campaign development and nationwide mobilization of grassroots activists, and we look forward to talking with you about how your community wants to be involved.

Tour Schedule:

Dec 13: Bay Area
Dec 14: Southern California
Dec 16: Phoenix, AZ
Dec 18: Denver, CO
Dec 20: Salt Lake City, UT
Dec 22: Reno, NV
Dec 31: Florence, MA
Jan 2: Philadelphia, PA & Washington, DC
Jan 4: Charleston, SC
Jan 5: Gainesville, FL
Jan 7: South Florida
Jan 9: Dallas, TX
Jan 11: Seattle, WA

Contact us:

TheBunnyAlliance.com
thebunnyalliance@riseup.net

ResistanceEcology.org
info@resistanceecology.org

[January 2nd, 12pm to 2pm at Wooden Shoe Books 704 South Street]

Statement on Philadelphia Police Department Intimidation and Surveillance of the #BlackLivesMatter Movement

  • December 16, 2014 1:41 am

From Up Against The Law

Recently several actions by the Philadelphia Police Department (PPD) have targeted local organizers in the movement against police terror. It is clear to us that they are intentionally trying to cultivate an atmosphere of paranoia and create a chilling effect on this growing movement. We have several comments on the matter and intend to take dead aim at these tactics that seek to instill fear and distrust – two elements that are like kryptonite to peoples’ movements.

To All Those Who Cant Breathe

  • December 6, 2014 5:51 pm

A call by comrades in New York City

 

Locked Down, Locked Out with author Maya Schenwar

  • December 1, 2014 12:01 pm

From Decarcerate PA

Decarcerate PA and Wooden Shoe Books presents…

Locked Down, Locked Out: Why Prison Doesn’t Work and How We Can Do Better looks at how prison tears families and communities apart, creating a rippling effect that touches every corner of our society. Through the stories of prisoners and their families, as well as her own family’s experience of her sister’s incarceration, Schenwar shows how the institution that locks up 2.3 million Americans—and decimates poor communities of color—is shredding the ties that, if nurtured, could foster real collective safety.

The destruction does not end upon exiting the prison walls: the 95 percent of prisoners who are released emerge with even fewer economic opportunities and fewer human connections on the outside than before. Locked Down, Locked Out shows how incarceration takes away the very things that might enable people to build better lives.

Looking toward a future beyond imprisonment, Schenwar profiles community-based initiatives that foster antiracist, anticlassist, prohumanity approaches to justice. These programs successfully deal with problems—both individual harm and larger social wrongs—through connection rather than isolation, moving toward a safer, freer future for all of us.

“This book has the power to transform hearts and minds, opening us to new ways of imagining what justice can mean for individuals, families, communities and our nation as a whole.” -Michelle Alexander, Author of The New Jim Crow: Mass incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness

—

Maya Schenwar is Editor-in-Chief of Truthout, an independent social justice news website. She has written about the prison-industrial complex for Truthout, The New York Times, The Guardian, The New Jersey Star-Ledger, Ms. Magazine, Prison Legal News, and others. She is the recipient of a Society of Professional Journalists Sigma Chi Award and a Lannan Residency Fellowship, both for her writing on prisons. Previous to her work at Truthout, Maya was Contributing Editor at Punk Planet magazine and served as media coordinator for Voices for Creative Nonviolence.

Sunday December 7th
7pm
Wooden Shoe Books
704 South St

Poster

Open letter to masked comrades

  • November 29, 2014 7:31 pm

submitted to Philly Anticap

As solidarity with Ferguson demonstrations have taken place in Philly we’ve noticed more and more people attending demonstrations wearing masks (some in all black, some not). This always makes us smile; the more of us wear masks the stronger our anonymity, and the more normalized anonymous attendance to demonstrations in Philly becomes. As we already know, there’s no point in having a face at these events. Maybe we’re wrong, but, part of why seeing more masks in the street is exciting to us is because we see it as building a more combative street presence.

Even though it seems that more people are wearing masks at demonstrations, we’re scattered throughout the demo. As we continue to attend demonstrations masked it can be useful to congregate and march together as a masked bloc. There are a lot of potential benefits to this. A bloc allows for people to more safely change into their disguises in a complicit and non-hostile crowd, away from cameras. A bloc acts as an opaque place where we can coordinate action, share relevant information, generally communicate quickly, and act together. By coming together we can collectively push demonstrations we take part in in more radical directions; chanting revolutionary slogans, antagonize the police, and creating space for people to take other action from within a sympathetic crowd. Within a bloc we can create a culture of autonomy, resistance and direct communication within larger demonstrations and during our own events.

See you in the streets,
masked comrades

Undercover Police at Ferguson Verdict Demo

  • November 27, 2014 3:25 am

Submitted to Philly Anticap, attached photos are below the cut
Last night [November 25th] during the Ferguson protests in Philly there were at least two
dozen people in full bloc mixed throughout the march. In addition there
were dozens of people with bandannas, or scarves covering their faces. A
friend pointed out two undercover cops early on. I hadn’t even noticed them
yet, but I am positive that I would have known they were cops immediately.

From Occupy to Ferguson

  • November 21, 2014 2:53 am

from Crimethinc.

 

In early 2011, in response to austerity measures, protesters occupied the capitol building in Madison, Wisconsin. It was a localized struggle, but it gained traction on the popular imagination out of all proportion to its size. This clearly indicated that something big was coming, and some of us even brainstormed about how to prepare for it—but all the same, the nationwide wave of Occupy a few months later caught us flat-footed.

Beehive Design Collective presentation: Mesoamerica Resiste

  • November 18, 2014 1:03 pm

from Beehive Design Collective presentation: Mesoamerica Resiste

Please join us Saturday, November 22nd at 7pm for a special arts and storytelling performance. Free and open to all ages. [At Wooden Shoe Books 704 South St]

Members of the Beehive Collective (based in Maine) will present their latest graphic work, entitled Mesoamérica Resiste. It is the third and final image in the Beehive’s trilogy about globalization in the Americas, focusing on resistance to mega-infrastructure projects that are literally paving the way for free trade agreements that devastate local economies and communities. After nine years in the making, the Bees are now touring and distributing posters of the graphic as tools for storytelling, popular education and movement building.

The Beehive Design Collective is an arts and activism organization. This dizzyingly detailed, hand-drawn, 300-square foot mural comes alive through storytelling, illuminating how single issues are interconnected and part of bigger systems. With a cast of characters that includes over 400 species of insects, animals, and plants, the Bees share stories of collective action and inspiration.

For more information, visit http://www.beehivecollective.org/

Taking Insurrection too far?

  • November 17, 2014 3:15 pm

from Taking Insurrection too far?

The manhunt for Eric Frein lasted nearly two months, draining the resources of both local and federal policing agencies as he quickly climbed to the FBI’s number one spot on their most wanted list. This came after his alleged September 12th ambush on Police Barracks in Pike County, PA. In Eric Frein’s own account from journals police recovered – “I Got a shot around 11 p.m. and took it. He dropped. I was surprised at how quickly he dropped. I took a follow-up shot on his head and neck area. He was still and quiet after that. Another cop approached the one I just shot. As he went to kneel, I took a shot at him and (he) jumped in the door. His legs were visible and still”.

Beyond Passions & Survival: 2 presentations by Matt Dineen

  • November 12, 2014 1:00 pm

from Beyond Passions & Survival

2 presentations!

Wednesday Nov. 12th at 7:00 pm
Wooden Shoe Books and Records

Thursday Nov. 13th at 7:00 pm
A-Space Anarchist Community Center

A presentation on the dilemma of artists and activists in (and beyond) capitalist society by Wooden Shoe staffer Matt Dineen. It will be based on his recent masters thesis through Goddard College on the prospects for meaningful work, livelihood, and radical social transformation in the cracks of capitalism.