“White youth must choose sides now. They must either fight on the side of the oppressed, or be on the side of the oppressor.” -Bernardine Dohrn (member of the Weathermen)
The People of the World are starving. The masters of racist empire (the politicians and corporate ceo’s of amerika) are murdering, maiming, and raping the People of Iraq, Afghanistan, Africa, Palestine. Those are just a few of the Peoples that are Truly Suffering under the racist, imperialist, and colonialist forces of the amerikan regime. These People are hungry. They’re hungry for Justice! They’re hungry for Equality! They’re hungry for Freedom! They’re screaming for these things. We have to stop sitting around, We have to stop begging our “leaders” to “fix” these “problems”, We have to Wake Up.
Time To Stop Sleeping On Black Liberation
In mainstream “white” society and even in some so called Revolutionary circles (or more accurately “white” Revolutionary circles) the Civil Rights Era (read Black Liberation Movements era) is considered a bygone time. A bygone time of “rare” “radicalism” in the Black Community.
This assumption is completely wrong. First off it was not rare; in fact Black Revolutionary movements or organizations had been evolving for decades.
The notion that it was a radically “tinged” movement is also false, from the very start there were many individuals who realized the truth about the Liberation of Black People, it could/can only be achieved through nothing short of a Revolution (I believe Malcolm X came upon this realization very early on and understood its implications), in the later years of the movement when organizations such as the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, which arose out of Oakland,CA in 1966 with the help of founding members Huey P. Newton (Minister of Defense) and Bobby Seale (Party Chairman), they (the later organizations such as the BPP) sought this as their ultimate goal (Social Revolution). Although later on because of inner conflicts there was a sort of schism in the BPP, the split revolved around how exactly Socialist Revolution/Black Liberation would be achieved (members such as Huey Newton and Bobby Seale favoring non-violent Direct Action and members such as Eldridge Cleaver seeing that the time to engage in Armed Struggle had arrived).
Most ex-Panthers started taking refuge in the Black Liberation Army which was dedicated to much more aggressive tactics (personally I favor the views of both organizations, I believe in both the necessity of non-violent Direct Action and Armed Struggle or violent Direct Action if that’s what you want to call it) This, along with the counter-Revolutionary actions of Cointelpro agents, the assassination of Fred Hampton which was carried out by the Chicago police department (pig department is a more accurate description), along with many other cold blooded murders of Panther members carried out by the pigs, rising legal costs, and inner conflict led to the collapse of the BPP.
Another misconception is that the Revolutionary movements of the 60’s/70’s were only Black movements — this is wrong. There were many radical white student organizations such as the Students for a Democratic Society, and the infamous Weather Underground Organization (or the Weathermen), there were also Chicano, Women, and Native American organizations which were part of a much wider Global Revolutionary Movement. The Black/Brown Liberation movement was dealt a huge blow and it has been almost unconscious for many years but was never defeated. Some key figures that “white” anarchists should study are Fred Hampton (R.I.P Comrade), Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton (R.I.P Huey), Kuwasi Balagoon (Anarchist member of the BLA and a Brave Comrade, R.I.P), Mumia Abu Jamal (Free Mumia!!), Ali Khalid Abdullah (also an Anarchist), Lorenzo Komboa Ervin (Anarchist and former member of the BPP), Assata Shakur (Hands Off Assata!!), George Jackson (A true Soldier of the Black Revolution, R.I.P), and Frantz Fanon (read his book Wretched Of The Earth). Those are just a handful of courageous Black Revolutionaries. Now, in the interest of getting to the main topic of which this essay revolves around I’m not going to lay out the entire history of Black/Chicano/First Nations/Women’s/white Revolutionary currents in amerika.
The main topic I’m talking about is white supremacy, or the white power structure. White domination is very real in this world that we live in, in reality the forces of kapitalism (the amerikan empire/government, and amerikan corporations) revolve around and rely on white domination. Think about it, if the white working People broke down the racial divisions that separate them from the Black/Chicano Community and joined with the Black/Chicano working class in actual Solidarity it would be very difficult for the state to conduct fascist attacks on Black and Chicano People not only in amerika but in the greater part of the world.
What has become very clear to me is that the Catalyst for Social Revolution in amerika would be a renewed Black Revolutionary movement and Solidarity between Black/white working People and Solidarity between “white” Anarchists/Socialists and Black/Brown Liberation movements and organizations. Revolutionaries such as Anarchists (which are mostly white middle class People) and other Socialists, as well as Progressives (who aren’t necessarily for Revolution) must realize this.
As a (“white”) anarchist myself I feel the need to address the fact that the majority of Anarchists (the majority being “white”) in amerika continue to brush white supremacy off to the side. Now many might argue that anarchists are adamantly anti-racist and I believe this to be true but lets be honest you don’t see pigs going into “white” suburban nieghborhood’s and murdering/harassing/torturing innocent People as they are so fond of doing in the ghettos and barrios. It’s time to take the anti-racist ideals of the anarchist movement and evolve it into an explicitly militant anti-white supremacist stance. The destruction of the white power structure should be one of the main objectives of anarchists in amerika. One of the many ways “white” anarchists can achieve this is by expressing Solidarity with already existing African Liberation organizations such as the International Peoples Democratic Uhuru Movement as well as future movements regardless of whether or not they are explicitly anarchist. “White” anarchists should make it a priority to study Black Revolutionary literature instead of just “white” anarchist literature so they can better understand the struggles of Black Liberation movements, they should also study the literature of Chicano/Latino/Native American/Asian Revolutionary movements.
It is ridiculous to think that you can lump everyone’s economic/social struggles into “common struggles of the People” or “common economic problems”. The existence of white domination has serious effects on Black and Brown People in amerika and across the world. These racial struggles that white People don’t have to worry about create oppressions directed at the Black and Brown working communities that make their struggles a hell of a lot worse than what white working People experience, such as, pig brutality, racist imprisonment, racist economic oppression, racist employers and attacks on affirmative action (last hired, first fired), and racist drug operations conducted by local pig departments or the C.I.A. That’s just a few of the struggles that poor Black/Brown communities experience and whites don’t have to live through.
“White” anarchists must build new and stronger anti-fascist movements, We must push anti-white supremacy and Solidarity with Black communities/Black Liberation movements to the forefront of our struggle against kapitalism with the realization that Solidarity between white People and Black People is a must if we are to inspire a Revolutionary movement in amerika. Anti-white domination, anti-colonialism, and anti-fascism must join with anti-corporate, earth/animal liberation,and anti- imperialism as the main struggles of the anarchist movement.
In reality the white power structure is one of the main components of kapitalism and must be dealt with head on with Direct Action if we are serious about Social Revolution. Anarchists should organize Black/white Solidarity Direct Action events in both white working communities and Black working communities. We have to realize that the amerikan government as well as corporations are institutions of white supremacy and kapitalism itself relies on white supremacy. Direct Action must be used against white supremacy! I’m not just talking about fist fighting with neo-nazi skinheads and disrupting racist Klan/christian events either, although those organizations should be dealt with by any means necessary. Anarchists and other Socialists have to realize that the masters of the white power structure are the politicians, corporate CEOs and other kapitalists. Neo-nazi organizations and other similiar movements advocate the white power structure but they don’t run the show. In effect “white” anarchists must publicly/verbally/physically display and organize true Solidarity with the Black community and Black Liberation movements, we must expose the white power structure to the masses and the fact that kapitalism relies on it and feeds on it.
The severe lack of Black/Brown anarchists is primarily because of the reluctance displayed by a majority of “white” anarchists to express Solidarity with the racial struggles of the Black community. The anarchist movement must no longer ignore racial divisions and the racial struggles of Black People, if we are truly dedicated to the Liberation of all Peoples we have to support organizations like the Uhuru movement and other future movements, we must respect African Peoples right to Self-Determination, we must help break down racial divisions among working class People, we must use and rely on the power of Direct Action and propaganda by the deed as well as visual propaganda, we must support the Black community, we must embrace militant protest/activities.
I believe being a Militant Activist means realizing both the necessity of non-violent Direct Action and Armed Struggle. Non-violent Direct Action protest (which I believe includes property destruction) and grassroots community organizing/support is most effective for inspiring and building a mass movement, but once that mass movement gets strong enough and organized enough the white power structure/state/corporations will feel threatened by it and they will try to destroy it through covert operations and violent means (by violent I mean switching their rubber bullets for the real bullets!), this is where Armed Struggle will be necessary. Then again I can’t predict the future, but I do know that if anarchists are serious about Revolution they will make Direct Action, community organizing, and Solidarity with Black Liberation, against the white power structure and colonialism as important as anti-corporate, anti-imperialist, earth liberation, and other anarchist goals!
Brought To You By Mr. Anonymous “white” Anarchist
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#1 by Silently Anon on June 7, 2009 - 10:32 pm
that’s just it. no one, not any U.S.-based so-called revolutionary Socialist group is serious about revolutionary change. The reasons for this may be numerous, however I believe many have come to the conclusion that there is no chance to ever gain control of the vast amount of required weaponry, training, and disciplined personnel/militia to run the army required to enforce self-determination on a mass scale. That would be like creating a separate sovereign nation-state outside of, not within, the current U.S. socio-economic-political structure (or, within the context of a Global Revolutionary Movement, creating an entirely new, independent nation with it’s own economy and political structure. However, for such a state to exist outside of the economic framework of global capitalism is practically impossible. Heck, even Somalian Priates, Al Qaeda, North Korea, and other so-called “pariah” entities willing to engage in armed conflict or attempt developing competing weapons of mass destruction, are learning that their numbers are too small and their resources are too limited to win a real war against a unified capitalist-financed military front).
Just for revolution to work in this country alone it would take a Revolutionary unified Civil War for secession, and we all know how the last one went.
In my observation and experience, many of the Blacks and Browns who are serious about self-determination within, not outside of, the current U.S. white supremist power structure and who possess any level of organizational or leadership skills (i.e. street and prison gangs, organized crime, etc…) have already resigned themselves to the criminal underground/economy as a way of life through street-level drug-selling, pimping/prostitution, “hustling” (robbery, fraud, counterfeiting, etc…) or whatever is effective including aspects of the entertainment industry.
What ends up happening is that most if not all aspects of any positive, Revolutionary ideals eventually become replaced by the same principals of greed, corruption, explotation, abuse, and violence that led to the desire for self-determination in the first place.
I was going to write that I now look at these hopes of Revolutionary change to be at best wishful thinking, at worst a symptom of mental illness/delusions by people with good hearts but no grasp of reality, however that may be too harsh- I haven’t determined that for myself yet.
What I will say, is that history has shown that one of the only times true Revoilution occurs is through serious technological advancements that somehow empower or “free” the underclasses either intentionally (i.e. the development of the cotton gin) or as an unantipicated side-effect (low-cost electricity, long distance voice communications, the Internet, wireless communications, etc…) OR through in-fighting among the wealthy class leading to unresolvable conflicts in which a “new guard” replaces the “old guard”. But even the latter primarily benefits the wealthy/upper classes with the middle/lower classes benefiting as an unintended side effect- Revolutions must be funded and financed by the wealthy against the wealthy OR one must wait for the wealthy economy to run its course and eventually self-destruct (i.e. the fall of the Roman Empire, etc…) or evaporate through mismanagement/overleverage (the fall of the British Empire and of the U.S.-based global banking system).
I may be off-base with these thoughts, but that’s what has been on my mind lately in reflecting on where we went “wrong” or “failed” in the past in light of today’s present reality, and where things could go in the future.