from Instagram
Come join us this Sunday, 11/10 at 7:30PM for a very special screening of the anarchist film A Man of Action at LAVA! We’ll be serving up free popcorn and juice, and will be hosting a brief discussion about the film after.
Autonomous “Librarians” Needed
from Instagram
We are looking to get more people involved at LAVA! Please reach out to us or @workers_rev_collective if you’d like to learn more about our library.
Building Maintenance Committee Wish List
from Instagram
The LAVA maintenance committee has identified some items that we need as we continue to make improvements on our building. If anyone has materials lying around or knows of people looking to get rid of the above items, please get in touch. We figured we’d ask before we go out and buy new! 🔧🔨⚒⚒🔩🪚
LAVA Fundraiser T-Shirts
Please share this far and wide! Excited to reveal three t-shirt designs and a preorder that just went live. If you live in Philly and don’t want to pay shipping, use PHILLYLOCAL in the discount field at checkout. If you live outside of the US, please send us a message to figure out shipping costs! A non-PayPal payment option will be available soon, and if you’d like to preorder with cash, please get in touch. • • We normally raise funds for the space via events, but due to the pandemic, we had to change that. Luckily we have some really talented friends! T-shirt preorders will be live for two weeks, and we won’t be making more than what gets ordered. Shout out to @lost.mirage @jim_shomo @crocodile___tears and @softhandscreenprinting for helping us with this. Can’t wait to see them when they’re printed up! Link in bio to order!
LAVA Broken Roof Fundraiser
From GoFundMe
The ongoing pandemic has greatly reduced our ability to raise money through events so we are beginning a monthly video series to help get the building together. Currently the roof, windows and walls leaking and it’ll take several thousand dollars to get it all sealed up.
Your donations will make sure that the space continues to host food and clothing distros as well as several radical community organizations that use office space at LAVA.
Check out the LAVA Broken Roof Sessions here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkqveabKmLv_JpVIiO_Pfpw
LAVA Update
from Twitter
As you can probably imagine, the ongoing pandemic has dramatically affected LAVA’s ability to raise money for programming, bills and repairs. We are currently surviving through donations and the organizations that use the offices in the building, but those sources are also being stretched thin right now. We are asking folks to become sustaining members by setting up a small monthly donation. You can do this by visiting the LAVA website, and clicking where it says “Keep LAVA in the black!!” lavazone.org/ You can choose a monthly donation amount or set your own by clicking the Donate button and checking the box to set your donations to repeat every month. While the building will not be hosting large events until the end of the pandemic, your money will go towards housing the following projects:
Prometheus Radio Project (an organization that helps community groups set up radio stations and broadcast their own content)
Workers Revolutionary Collective (the group that has been working tirelessly to organize the ongoing James Talib-Dean Camp protest on the parkway)
DiVerse Entertainment (an arts and education project that helps young artists record and promote their work)
Weekly food distribution (Every Thursday beginning around 3PM)
Monthly clothing/toy distibution (2nd Sat. beginning around 9AM)
We are currently working to make the space available for community projects and organizations while keeping the space as clean and safe as possible. If you or your organization is interested in helping with LAVA or using the space in a safe way please contact lavaspace@riseup.net.
With your help, LAVA can survive this pandemic, and give us all a place to meet, perform, organize and rebuild when it’s over. THANK YOU and please share!
LAVA SPACE Benefit: Moor Mother, Pinkwash, Soul Glo, FOD !
from Facebook
They’re back! More details soon! But here are the lineups:
FEB. 29/6pm
*****************
F.O.D.
Soul Glo
Manikineter
OOLOI
Disappearances
MARCH 1/6pm
*******************
Moor Mother
Pinkwash
Camp Candle
Rainbow Crimes
Kahlil Ali
We ask for $10 each day. If you have to give less, or what to give more, we feel ya! All proceeds go to LAVA Space so they can pay fees and taxes after battling to get the space back.
No homophobes, transphobes, racists, misogynists. Seriously, not just “no jerks”; we are tired of your abuse, so stay away because it won’t be cute for ya.
[LAVA Space 4134 Lancaster Ave]
1/19 – LAVA Space Potluck & Fundraiser!
from Facebook
You are hereby cordially invited to a LAVA potluck this Sunday January 19th!
As you may or may not know, it’s been a long and difficult year at LAVA with a hostile takeover of the building and attempted sale.
Well, we’ve got the building back and in many ways are starting from scratch. In the last year the building has accumulated lots of debts and is now in need of serious repairs. So we’re doing what we can to kick off the new year with a community potluck to reinfuse the building with a spirit of love, community solidarity and rebellion, and raise some funds!
So please:
come to the potluck (dish or no dish)
bring a dish
bring a donation to help us get back on our feet!
(If you’re unable to attend and would still like to donate, we have an active GoFundMe page here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/save-lava-from-attempted-building-takeover)
Please check in if you’ll be bringing food so we can overlap as little as possible 🙂
There will be a kids activity table. So bring the kids!
A general 1st floor and beyond deep clean will happen in the earlier part of the day. Volunteers more than welcome! Please reach out for more info if you’d like to help out with the deep clean!
[6PM at LAVA 4134 Lancaster Ave]
SAVE LAVA FROM ATTEMPTED BUILDING TAKEOVER
from Go Fund Me
As some of you may have heard, over the last month two former members of the LAVA collective have attempted to seize control of the building and community center. Banned for numerous reasons including misogynist and homophobic behavior toward collective and community members, renting space without approval and pocketing the money, etc, these former members first changed the locks on the entire building, refused to let anyone into the common areas or their own offices, and then resorted to calling the police on members of the collective in order to maintain their control.
Luckily, their bid to take the building for themselves has failed and the LAVA collective is now able to access the building. However, because these former members have chosen to involve police, LAVA is unable to bar them from entering the space as well – and if they see an opportunity, they may attempt another lockout.
That’s why LAVA is in dire need of financial support – in order to serve them with a notice to vacate (these former members do not live in the building or in west philly), we need advice from a lawyer so that the people in question will not be able to call the police again once they are successfully removed from the space.
Please donate what you can and share this campaign so that we can get advice from a lawyer, as well as do vital work on the space to make sure we pass L&I inspections which are happening as a result of the two people in question calling the police.
Thank you!
Jan 7th: Letter-writing to Eric King and Kevin “Rashid” Johnson
from Philly ABC
The new year has arrived! As we kick off 2019, let’s not forget about the struggles of our incarcerated comrades– those who did not get to celebrate, but instead faced increased scrutiny from the state and continue to be retaliated against for their political beliefs. Such retaliation often comes in the form of transfers to other prisons, providing correctional officials an opportunity to say ‘oops, we lost your property,’ in addition to an already torturous process of readjustment. In some cases, a transfer is just part of a three-pronged attack. This is where a prisoner has first been brutally beaten by guards, then gets transferred to special prison that will facilitate the next stages of retaliation, long-term isolation and restricted communication.
On Monday January 7th, 6:30pm at A-Space, join us in sending some extra love and support to Kevin “Rashid” Johnson and Eric King, whom are currently facing the hell described above. We’re going to let them know ‘We got your back!’
Kevin “Rashid” Johnson is a politicized prisoner, co-founder of the New Afrikan Black Panther Party-Prison Chapter (NABPP-PC), and prolific artist. In his own words, “Because I struggle to give a voice and human face to and to publicize abuses suffered by my imprisoned peers, help them challenge their mistreatment and work to educate them on their human rights and true role within Amerika’s overall exploitative, oppressive and racist political-economic system, officials have always aimed to isolate me from them.” On top of 18 years of solitary confinement, Rashid has also been subjected to several retaliatory transfers since 2012, each time meticulously documenting prison abuses so that outside supporters can better hold prison officials accountable for their actions against prisoners. On November 3, 2018 he was transferred yet again to Indiana where he now is. Let’s send him some love and show Pendelton CI how much outside support he has.
Eric King is a vegan anarchist who was arrested and charged with an attempted firebombing of a government official’s office in Kansas City, MO. Eric allegedly threw a hammer through a window of the building and then threw two lit bottles inside, though both failed to ignite. He was identified as a suspect by local police because he had previously come under suspicion for anti-government and anti-police graffiti, and is allegedly involved with the Kansas City Fight Back insurrectionist collective. Eric accepted a non-cooperating plea agreement to a federal felony charge that carries a sentence of 10 years in prison. He has since been attacked for his politics, taken from his family, and sent to Leavenworth. He has been in total isolation for months now without any disciplinary charges filed. The BOP wasn’t successful at trying to build a new case against him so they are enacting revenge trying to send him to a Special Management Unit (SMU) one of the most horrible programs in the BOP. Eric and his family can use all the love and support we can offer right now.
Please note: If you are writing from home, neither Rashid or Eric can receive letters on colored paper or in colored envelopes. We will also be sending birthday greetings to prisoners with birthdays in January: Fran Thompson (the 4th), Jeremy Hammond (the 8th), Abdul Azeez (the 9th), Sundiata Acoli (the 14th), Joe-Joe Bowen (the 15th), and Marius Mason (the 26th).
New Year’s Card Party: Monday Dec. 3rd 6:30pm
from Philly ABC
The December letter-writing event will be a New Year’s card-writing party for all US-held political prisoners. Rather than focusing on a specific set of prisoners, we will send a card to each of the nearly 60 US-held political prisoners sending them season’s greetings. This is a time we set aside annually to send short messages of solidarity to everyone recognized as being held in prison for their political beliefs or actions. This enables us to drop a line each year to prisoners that we have either already featured more in depth at letter-writing events throughout the year or those we will be doing events for in the future. We will also send birthday greetings to those with birthdays in December: Muhammad Burton (the 15th), Connor Stevens (the 17th) and Casey Brezik (the 30th).
While the circumstances of our comrades’ incarceration and the current political climate leave a lot to be desired, much good has also come out of 2018 including the freedom of Debbie and Mike Africa. Long-term prisoners Herman Bell and Seth Hayes were also release on parole this year to return to their families bringing the US-held political prisoner count to below 60. This event is an opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to free the remainder, stay strong and stay in the struggle.
Light refreshments will be provided. Please come join in the festivities!
[LAVA 4134 Lancaster Ave]
Black August Letter Writing
from Facebook
Philly ABC is doing a Black August Letter writing event on a bit of a different schedule than normal. This letter writing is the last monday of the month instead of the first.
This month we will be writing letters to Black Liberation Army members Sundiata Acoli and Dr. Mutulu Shakur.
A New York Black Panther, Sundiata Acoli endured two years of prison awaiting trial for the Panther 21 Conspiracy Case. He and his comrades were eventually acquitted on all the bogus charges. The case was historic and a classic example of police and government attempting to neutralize organizations by incarcerating their leadership. As a result of this political attack and because of the immense pressure and surveillance from the FBI and local police Sundiata, like many other Panther leaders went “underground.” On May 2, 1973, Sundiata Acoli, Assata Shakur and Zayd Shakur were ambushed and attacked by state troopers on the New Jersey Turnpike. Assata was wounded and Zayd was killed. During the gun battle a state trooper was shot and killed in self defense. Sundiata was tried in an environment of mass hysteria and convicted, although there was no credible evidence that he killed the trooper or had been involved in the shooting. He was sentenced to thirty years. Sundiata was ordered released on parole by a state appeals court in New Jersey in September 2014 when the court ruled the parole board had “acted arbitrarily and capriciously” when it previously denied him parole. The State of New Jersey has appealed the decision. More information: sundiataacoli.org
In 1987 Dr. Mutulu Shakur was sentenced to 60 years imprisonment for his role in the Black Liberation Movement. In March 1982, Dr. Shakur and 10 others were indicted by a federal grand jury under a set of U.S. conspiracy laws called Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) laws. These conspiracy laws were ostensibly developed to aid the government in its prosecution of organized crime figures; however, they have been used with varying degrees of success against revolutionary organizations. Dr. Shakur was charged with conspiracy and participation in the Black Liberation Army, a group that carried out actual and attempted expropriations from several banks. Eight incidents were alleged to have occurred between December 1976 to October 1981. In addition, he was charged with participation in the 1979 prison escape of Assata Shakur, who is now in exile in Cuba. After five years underground, Dr. Shakur was arrested on February 12, 1986. While he was on the street, Dr. Shakur challenged the use of methadone as a tool of recovery for addicts. He believed in natural remedies instead and, based on those beliefs, founded the Black Acupuncture Advisory Association of North America. Many people credit Shakur with saving their lives. Dr. Shakur has worked to free political prisoners and to expose government abuses against political organizers. While in prison, he has struggled to create peace between rival gangs. More information: mutulushakur.com
we look forward to seeing you there!
June 4th Letter-writing for the Virgin Island 3
from Philly ABC
As a follow-up to our movie showing in April, our June letter-writing event will feature the 3 remaining prisoners in the Virgin Island 3 case – Abdul Azeez, Hanif Bey, and Malik Bey. All 3 were rounded up in their early twenties with approximately 100 other black youths in the Virgin Islands and then framed for a shooting at the Rockefeller-owned golf club. It is appalling anytime people are unjustly persecuted for their political beliefs, but not only are the VI3 persecuted for their anti-imperialist beliefs but they are being held illegally in private prison in the U.S. despite the fact that the U.S. jurisdiction over VI cases was terminated years ago!
This letter-writing will feature a Q&A with Kwasi Seitu, former political prisoner and legal representative for the VI3, so that we can learn more about the case and what steps we can take to help secure their freedom. If anyone missed the film, The Hijacker’s Tale, about Ismael Ali, one of the codefendants who escaped to Cuba we encourage you to view it prior to the event. We will also sign cards for prisoners with June birthdays – Matt DeHart (11th), Jay Chase (12th), and Tom Manning (28th).
As usual, the event will be held at 6:30 pm at LAVA with food courtesy of North Philly FNB!
[June 4 at LAVA 4134 Lancaster Ave]
May 7th Letter-writing for Anarchist Prisoners
from Philly ABC
Join us for this month’s letter-writing event in honor of May Day. On May 1, 1886, more than 300,000 workers in 13,000 businesses across the United States walked off their jobs in the first May Day celebration in history. Anarchists led the strike in the Chicago area, and the strikers were met with heavy police force. In response, the anarchists called for an open forum on police brutality held in Haymarket Square. Eight anarchist were arrested as organizers and became known as the Haymarket Martyrs as four were later murdered by the state.
Over one hundred years have passed since that first May Day. In the earlier part of the 20th century, the US government tried to curb the celebration and further wipe it from the public’s memory by establishing “Law and Order Day” on May 1. In honor of the Haymarket Martyrs and those who have come before and since, we will be writing to anarchist comrades behind bars: Bill Dunne, Jeremy Hammond, Eric King and Cedar.
We will also be sending birthday cards to political prisoners with birthdays in May: Alvaro Luna Hernandez (the 12th), Kojo Bomani Sababu (the 27th), and Doug Wright (the 31st).
The event will be held at 6:30pm at LAVA. Food will be provided by North Philly Food Not Bombs.
[May 7th at LAVA 4134 Lancaster Ave]
