Posts Tagged APOC 2003 Conference

From Perspectives on Anarchist Theory Vol.8, No.1 (2004)

On October 3-5, 2003 approximately 140 anarchists of color gathered in Detroit, Michigan to participate in the first ever Anarchist People of Color (APOC) Conference. We asked four conference participants to reflect on various aspects of this unprecedented event*. Given the history of the Left and the anarchist movement in the US, why was the APOC gathering significant? What were some of the conferences successes and what, if any, difficulties were encountered? Ernesto Aguilar: Our biggest success is that we affirmed that we are not alone. We also encouraged real reflection about our identity as a group, which isn´t terribly political in a conventional sense but is very important in a day-to-day way.

The conference has inspired local groups to come together and discuss how we work together and make a difference on the neighbourhood level. It also prompted one-on-one discussions about what anarchism means and how we can make it accessible and understandable to everybody. I think subcultures give people the privilege of taking for granted what it means, but we need to bring our ideas and struggles to the masses of people, not to mention our grandmothers and people who don’t have a personal or emotional investment in being political or even liberal. Struggling on these fronts brought us together.

One of our biggest challenges coming out of the conference is differentiating ourselves, and understanding that we are not just an anarchist faction of brown people. We need to see ourselves as part of and allied with an oppressed peoples’ freedom movement that prioritizes organizing and social structures in bottom-up ways.

To that end, there has been a debate since the conference, on occasion led by confused colored folks, over autonomous people of color spaces and why they are important and why our autonomy is necessary. My expectation is that people flipping for their “white allies” and fighting against autonomy will be rejected. Yet, this debate is healthy and needs to be had, because it speaks to our core values as a movement. Are we a faction of the white-dominated struggle because we call ourselves anarchists or is our primary alliance with Black people, Third World insurgencies, and all people of color because we are united in our struggles and are still willing to work with, and be challenged in, our politics? Do our politics shape our aspirations or do our aspirations shape our politics? We are still engaged in this important discussion.

I’ve heard criticism that there wasn’t enough of a focus on anarchist politics at the conference. I share the concern that we need to avoid workshops on things that people can hear at other events. But for us to root up preconceptions and forge anarchist ideas that are successful, we need to pitch the old and start having a new, constructive conversation. However, a weakness of the conference and in our struggle is that we are replicating some white anarchist trends, and covering the same ground. The key is starting those new, constructive conversations. We can’t talk about anti-war organizing, for example, before we talk about the war within ourselves, internalized oppression, white supremacy, and self-determination, not to mention national liberation and independence.

Heather Ajani: The APOC gathering was significant because the history of the left and the anarchist movement is so dominated by white people. I can’t recall a time when anarchists of color have come together in a separate space as we did in Detroit last October. The fact that this conference happened at all, and that so many people came, is a huge success. What is most important is that the APOC conference created a space that hadn’t been physically carved out within the current radical milieu: folks were able to come together and dialogue about their experiences as people of color and talk about how to gain empowerment and strength, not only among other activists but also as radicals in their own communities. Any difficulties that occurred were prior to the conference and had to do with our organizing efforts. That kind of stuff happens and it didn’t overshadow the conference, because people didn’t let it. People realize that our movement is what we make it, that the conference wasn’t centered around any one person, that it didn’t represent a “changing of the guard” from older politicos to newer members of the radical people of color community. It was about people working together, learning from each other, listening, and taking the experience away with themselves. Even when there was a glitch with a workshop or a debate, folks were able to step back and immediately reflect on why things happened the way they did. I have never seen such open dialogue and immediate, on-site resolution of issues.

Walidah Imarsha: The history of the left and the anarchist movement in the US has been one very heavily dominated by white standards and ways of organizing. People of color have had to try to work within an overwhelmingly white movement that often acted with indifference or outright racism to their issues. The APOC gathering was momentous in that it helped to place APOC in a political context here in the US, helped us to see that we were not alone, and that there are many, many anti-authoritarian or anarchist folks of color.

It also helped us connect to our own history of anarchism. As various peoples of color, most of us have a culture of anti-authoritarianism, whether it was called communalism, tribalism, primitivism, or whatever other name given to it by European colonizers. Anarchism, to me, is a fancy name for what cultures of color have been practicing for millennia. The APOC conference gave us a foundation to realize this and to work toward rebuilding what has been stolen from us.

Angel González: Everyone I knew who participated in the conference was aware that something big was happening. What we are seeing is the emergence of a new movement, even a new identity. To myself, and many others, the conference was about building community and reconnecting with our identities in different ways.

As far as difficulties, there were rumors of a potential attack by white supremacists and internal disputes among organizers, but these were overshadowed by the overwhelmingly positive conference experience. There were, however, minor issues with fundraising for transportation. We had a lot of support but unfortunately we received the money too late for it to be of any use!oes through this process in some capacity (or, if they don’t, they should). As one of the co-authors of the first proposals for an APOC network, I see the need for APOC based organizations/networks and think that we should collectively decide how that group is structured and what our political points of unity are. But I was not surprised that people wanted to take a more organic approach in building APOC. I didn’t expect to leave with an organization that people signed on to: I expected to leave with exactly what I left with, a starting point. In the future IHeather Ajani: The APOC gathering was significant because the history of the left and the anarchist movement is so dominated by white people. I can’t recall a time when anarchists of color have come together in a separate space as we did in Detroit last October. The fact that this conference happened at all, and that so many people came, is a huge success. What is most important is that the APOC conference created a space that hadn’t been physically carved out within the current radical milieu: folks were able to come together and dialogue about their experiences as people of color and talk about how to gain empowerment and strength, not only among other activists but also as radicals in their own communities. Any difficulties that occurred were prior to the conference and had to do with our organizing efforts. That kind of stuff happens and it didn’t overshadow the conference, because people didn’t let it. People realize that our movement is what we make it, that the conference wasn’t centered around any one person, that it didn’t represent a “changing of the guard” from older politicos to newer members of the radical people of color community. It was about people working together, learning from each other, listening, and taking the experience away with themselves. Even when there was a glitch with a workshop or a debate, folks were able to step back and immediately reflect on why things happened the way they did. I have never seen such open dialogue and immediate, on-site resolution of issues.

Resistance, Community, and Renewal

Author: Ernesto Aguilar, Heather Ajani, Walidah Imarisha, Angel González

Clearly, anarchists need to continuously innovate and learn from thinkers outside of the anarchist tradition if anarchism is going to be relevant to the world. Can you identify some non-anarchist thinkers that are or could be especially relevant to anarchists of color? If so, why are they relevant?

Aguilar: I mentioned various authors worth reading in an interview I did with The Female Species zine some time back and a lot of people took offense at the fact that I named figures like Che Guevara, for example. I’m glad you are asking that question, because I think this relates to another healthy debate that speaks to our core values.

It is not enough for anarchists to speak up against the state, uphold the necessity of anti-authoritarianism, and revolt. If previous rebellions have shown us anything, it’s that our idealism and taking to the streets can only take this so far. We may feel righteous about our action, but we leave no legacy and the powers never change. In my opinion, we need to be more conscious of the world around us and its history. Knowledge of the past is essential for understanding the present and grasping what forces are at work: it gives us hints about future developments. We need to start examining what non- and even anti-anarchist thinkers of color have to say. Anyone who is open to learning should be willing to look beyond the tradition and see where we can grow.

There are some pretty obvious anti-colonial movements that should be required study material, if only because they did something that inspired so many by standing up to settlers and showing them the door. That’s a beautiful thing, no matter how you slice it.

I always recommend J. Sakai’s Settlers (Chicago: Morningstar Press, 1989) and Reies López Tijerina’s autobiography They Called Me “King Tiger” (Houston, TX: Arte Publico Press, 2001). In addition, a compañera recently shared with me some powerful writings by academics (a category of writers I normally dismiss): Jared Sexton, Steve Martinot, and Tomas Almaguer have all written some fantastic works.

Ajani: There is a tendency among the anarchist community to cling to the sacred texts by folks such as Bakunin, Goldman, Berkman, etc. Though their ideas and vision are important as the foundations of anarchism, they failed to address race, which was problematic during the development of anarchism at the turn of the 20th century and remains a social problem today (as do class and gender). Off the top of my head, I can name a number of authors/theorists/thinkers that people of color should read, such as W.E.B. DuBois, C.L.R. James, Reies López Tijerina, Gloria Anzuldua, Assata Shakur, and Malcolm X. These authors are relevant because they not only address the way race functions but also look beyond traditional ways of thinking. I would also recommend looking at past resistance movements, especially within the American context, like as the Abolitionists, Civil Rights movement groups such as Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee, the Black Panthers, the Brown Berets, the feminist struggle, farm workers struggles in the southwest
(César Chávez, etc.), and the resistance of black workers in Detroit’s auto factories as spelled out in Dan Georgakas’s book Detroit, I Do Mind Dying (Boston, MA: South End, 1998). I would also recommend Rodolfo Acuña’s Occupied America: A History of Chicanos (Boston, MA: Pearson Longman, 2003) and works by J. Sakai and Noel Ignatiev.

González: I think it’s important to read current writings. Anarchists have a tendency to get stuck in turn of the century authors and their views. Some current writers I would recommend include Arundati Roy, Ward Churchill, bell hooks, Angela Davis, Audrey Lorde, Gloria Anzaldua, among many others. It’s important to understand where people are coming from, to understand their struggles, and to understand what being an ally means. A lot of anarchists have a tendency to think that they really do know everything, which in itself proves them wrong.

I also feel it is important to look at anarchist history and read writings by anarchists from non-Western countries. It is a racist concept that all anarchists writings come from “whites” or Western countries. Anarchism has a rich history in Japan, Korea, China, and throughout Latin America. Anarchism is still strong and vibrant in many of these countries—which is continuously ignored—and still generally seen as a Western identity, even though as an idea it has been applied to various peoples’ struggles throughout the world. There was a lot of diversity among participants in the APOC conference: people of African-American, Arab, Asian, Latino, and indigenous descent were all present. Was there a strong sense of shared identity among the conference goers or was this diversity difficult to negotiate?

Imarisha: There was a strong sense of unity because we all knew we were there for a collective purpose. Most of us had never been in a space like this before, with so many other APOCs, and we were in awe. Everyone I talked to left feeling invigorated and rejuvenated after seeing the complex, multi-faceted, and determined face of APOC.

Ajani: I think it is safe to say we were able to feel a shared identity through our identities as people of color. Dialoging about those cultural differences, their histories and points of unity amongst radical/anarchist people of color is a natural step and one that hasn’t been overlooked. The diversity at the conference didn’t seem to me something that needed to be overcome: people were excited and inspired to see each other and to have a space in which we were not made to feel tokenized or left on the margins—that in itself was tremendous and empowering.

Aguilar: I caught two currents here. One was the vibe that all these other people of color were there and that we were thinking on another level. That was deep, because it speaks to the sense of humanity you can feel with people you’ve never met and the alienation many of us have experienced when in contact with white-led movements. The other current was one of curiosity, because some folks have never met, for instance, another Asian anarchist.

One of the most essential things is extending collective love and respect to the level of Black attendance at the conference. One of the things we don’t acknowledge is that Black people carry a heavy load into this. Many other groupings clash with Black folks, and there’s an unspoken prejudice that permeates the room anywhere. Everyone there seemed to have the good fortune of breaking away from the external tensions between ethnicities in many areas—Blacks and Latinos comes to mind—and bringing a really open spirit to the gathering. The level of trust was touching. Proposals for the development of APOC organizations where dropped at the conference in favor of dialogue and more informal movement-building activities. Do you believe there is a need for APOC based organizations/networks and, if so, what form should such organizations take and what role would they play? What problems do you think such organizations might encounter?

Ajani: The proposals were dropped because a need was seen to first create a dialogue amongst people of color and figure out where we are, what kind of work we are doing, what we need, and why. Every group of people goes through this process in some capacity (or, if they don’t, they should). As one of the co-authors of the first proposals for an APOC network, I see the need for APOC based organizations/networks and think that we should collectively decide how that group is structured and what our political points of unity are. But I was not surprised that people wanted to take a more organic approach in building APOC. I didn’t expect to leave with an organization that people signed on to: I expected to leave with exactly what I left with, a starting point. In the future I think we will have to address how we intend to work together. An APOC organization could only mean a strong movement of people of color who are coming together to challenge their oppressions as marginalized peoples. For people of color, our struggle is not necessarily out of choice, but a refusal to assimilate into a system of complacency. There are potential problems in every organization, and the key is to have spaces for self-reflection, room for fluidity, and not to ignore history.

González: Currently there is a strong need and desire to redefine anarchism within the context of our experiences. “What does a people of color Anarchism look like?” was a question discussed at the Detroit conference, and the dialogue is still happening around the country. Although I do believe organization is needed, and will likely form at some stage, right now the emphasis is on community building and consciousness raising. There are several APOC collectives forming around the country, so something is happening organically. Communications networks are also being created.

In regards to difficulties we might face, I would say the notable difficulty would be one we already face: police repression. I hope both APOC collectives and future, larger structures will organize with security in mind.

Imarisha: We always have to be careful when building institutions, because people of color are already trapped in institutions that smother us. APOC is so newly birthed and we are still figuring out this new and yet very old child of ours. As we grow together, as a movement and as individual organizers, and as the organizing work we’re already doing grows, we will decide what shape our work will take. I have no doubt it will take many different shapes, molded by the powerful and insightful work already being done.

Aguilar: Looking back, one of the best things to come out of the conference was that no organization came out of it.

As I mentioned earlier, I think one of the biggest issues we face as a freedom movement is dealing with internalized issues such as self-hate, disunity, and lack of trust. Unfortunately, many political movements are not equipped to deal with these. Although a righteous sense of indignation makes us want to fight back, we’re lost without a clear base of unity. Without an analysis and a willingness to fight the war on all fronts, including the war in ourselves and among our nations, our anger is ruling the work instead of our vision for the future.

Networks are coming together now, but our organization will spring forth in a way I don’t think anyone has seen in many years. In unofficial ways, we already have an organization, meaning that we already have committees, local groups are forming, and so on. Our basis of unity is broad and, as the movement matures, clarifying it might be helpful.

Ernesto Aguilar is the founder of the APOC list and website and hosts the Latino-issues radio show Sexto Sol on Pacifica Radio KPFT. He lives in Houston, Texas.

Heather Ajani, recently from Phoenix, Arizona, is currently traveling and conducting interviews with various people of color for an upcoming anthology that will highlight resistance and radicalism in communities of color. For the past five years she has worked with Phoenix Copwatch and various other projects related to criminal justice.

Walidah Imarisha is editor of AWOL Magazine: Revolutionary Artists Workshop, a political hip hop magazine. She is also one half of the poetic duo Good Sista/Bad Sista with her partner Turiya Autry.

Angel González is a working class Puerto Rican/Spanish Revolutionary Anarchist currently involved with organizing in Portland, Oregon. He is involved with APOC organizing locally, the Federation of Northwest Anarcho-Communists, a forming male ally group, and worked until recently with the Portland Anti-Capitalist Action newspaper Little Beirut.

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By Ernesto Aguilar

Between 130-150 people of color came together October 3-5, 2003, at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, USA, for the first Anarchist People of Color conference. The event was empowering, enriching and liberating for so many of us waiting for an event like this.

Broadly defined, an anarchist person of color is an individual from a cultural or racial minority group within a national territory who identifies as an anti-authoritarian or anarchist. Martin Sostre is one of the best-known people of color in contemporary history to articulate anarchist politics, as was Kuwasi Balagoon. Aside from these, major anti-authoritarian figures of color have been scarce.

Today, our movement is unique and decentralized. It is hard to estimate how many people call themselves anarchist people of color. Defining our politics and goals has been equally difficult. Some of us come to radical politics from deeply cultural backgrounds. Others were politicized in white-led subcultures and movements and are embracing their ethnic identities. There were many political tendencies represented.

When this conference was proposed last year, there were doubts such an event would draw as many as we did. After all, with the exception of the Anarchist People of Color email list and two or three collectives, the presence of people of color within the anarchist movement is hard to quantify. The event was the first of its kind in North America and, possibly, the world. At no time in contemporary history had a people of color conference come together organized around the idea of anarchism as a movement and a means of unity. The impact on each person cannot be underestimated.

The event opened October 3 with positive vibes and enthusiasm. We welcomed attendees from, among other areas, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, Philly, DC, Portland, many Texas cities, Kansas City, Phoenix, Seattle, Baltimore, North Carolina, Kansas, Brazil, Mexico and Canada. We registered about 75 people in the course of two hours of the conference opening. Racially, our attendees seemed to come from many backgrounds. People of African descent seemed to be most largely represented, followed by Arabs, South Asians, people indigenous to North America (Native Americans as well as Mexicanos, Puerto Ricans, Central Americans, et al.) and people whose backgrounds crossed all areas of the Asian Diaspora. Typically, anarchist conferences are predominantly middle class folks who are part of a punk subculture. Here, we had our share of punks, but also a majority of regular folks and others.

A conscious and, in some circles, controversial, decision was made early to solely allow attendance of people of color, and ask whites to not attend. The reasons for doing this — including the futility of holding a people of color conference that whites could potentially dominate in attendance and change the course of, even if unintentionally — seemed obvious. Ultimately, it turned out to be the right call. Many people said they finally felt free to express their thoughts and share experiences with other people of color, and not worry about being isolated for them. The nature of dialogues seemed to change considerably.

Workshops began on Saturday. The morning plenary session allowed attendees the chance to introduce themselves and talk about their work. Virtually all the pre-registrants noted they were interested in connecting with others, and our wonderful Detroit hosts ensured that time was there for informal discussions.

Conference attendees were relied on as our volunteers. Prior to the discussion, some in the conference organizing had decided white allies would help with conference tasks. However, it was later decided to ask attendees to volunteer instead. The message of whites patrolling an area of people of color, as well, was a little surreal. To be fair, many white allies came out in support of the conference. However, in this case, we wanted to depend on ourselves for basics like registration and security, and did. Ultimately, this sent a strong message and people gravitated to fill conference needs.

Threats of violence aimed at conference attendees (issued in places like the racist Stormfront message board) never happened, thankfully.

Many attendees said the women’s-only workshop was really an empowering experience, where women had the opportunity to open up about various issues specifically pertaining to women of color. In fact, an extra session and two listserves came out of the original workshop.

Gabriel from San Antonio reportedly did a great presentation on the issue of fighting police on the attack against youth cruising. It was a little challenging because the cruising phenomenon is somewhat removed from the punk subculture. Getting people to understand the importance of police repression in this way opened up broader discussions of class.

In the halls, there was occasional discussion of conflicts that prompted Lorenzo Komboa Ervin to withdraw from the conference. However, the event itself was free of drama. Most of the expressions were of regret over the bickering before the event, and relief that these things had not broken the spirit of the conference.

The basis of the conflict was two proposals, the APOC Network proposal and the APOC United Front proposal, and how they were to be heard. Network authors, who said most conference pre-registrants had not expressed an interest in building an APOC group, requested their proposal be discussed in a workshop running concurrent with others, so those not interested in group-building could join other workshops. United Front authors argued that discussing a proposal anyplace else but a plenary was undemocratic. United Front advocates also called for a vote on all proposals, whereas the Network authors said they intended their discussion to be a dialogue and not necessarily a vote.

The ensuing debate prompted four BANCO members to issue a statement, “Stop Character Assassination and Sectarianism in the APOC Movement.” The statement condemned the Network proposal and its authors, along with various parties assisting with the conference. On October 3, Komboa emailed to say he would not attend the APOC conference due to the recent conflicts.

Ironically, no proposal was even heard at all. The Network proposal workshop was later changed to a “Building an APOC Movement” by its authors, who later cited the need to build upon dialogues over the weekend, rather than found a group out of the conference.

On Saturday night, we filled Harmonie Garden Middle Eastern restaurant. APOCs were standing and eating because the spot had no chairs left. One cat said he had never had dinner with South Asian anarchists, but just broke bread with six at the same table. A woman later said she had never known other Arabs were anarchists, but met four in the hall. On the message board notes scribbled down on butcher paper called out things like ‘Desis meet at 7,’ ‘Latinos meet here later’ and ‘help me start an APOC group.’ Intense sessions on Palestine and race theory, along with deep discussions on how a group should work, were important, but the real thing coming out of discussions was the realization that we were not alone. That may not sound political to some, but the feeling is indescribable when you are a person of color in a room and everyone feels what you feel on some level.

We have all been that lone person of color at a conference, feeling isolated. We have all been angered by careless remarks, exclusionary theory and practice, and disrespect of our history as a people’s history. The reality of needing something for us has always been there, but October 3-5, 2003 made it live.

Workshops on Sunday got a late start, but we caught up. Word was the Critical Race Theory workshop got heated, but that attendees made great points. People loved Greg Lewis’ karate workshops.

What really came out of the conference in Detroit? For the first time, this movement shined beyond the names and faces people know, and showed our strength and unity. Youth stepped up and took center stage as organizers and speakers. Veterans imparted their knowledge, but did not dominate proceedings. We got to talk about the issues affecting our communities, and how we can make our work more reflective of the anarchist ideal.

A common thread in terms of vision seemed to be the idea that the label we called ourselves was far less important than the theory and practice that were part of our struggles. During many workshops, attendees stressed that more emphasis in the white-led anarchist movement was on capital-A anarchism rather than developing projects that exemplified the ideals we talk about. People expressed wanting to see work that went beyond activism, but that served needs and worked with the community where it was at.

A theme that seemed to come up in Sunday workshops and indeed all weekend bears repeating. One issue overlooked by many movements is knowing your history. This goes beyond academic history, but about the history of one’s own city and the role people of color played in building it. This too is political, and must be addressed.

Out of the “Building an APOC Movement” workshop, networks were established to facilitate regional conferences. Portland organizers, in particular, said they wanted to hold a regional APOC gathering in the Northwestern U.S. There was unanimous agreement that this conference would happen again in 2004. In all, 2003’s APOC conference was a productive and powerful event.

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A Special message to those who attended my self-defense seminar at The APOC Conference in Detroit, MI; Oct 3-5th, 2003.

By Gregory Lewis; black belt instructor, Kenzen Karate; Seattle, WA.

Thank you for attending my seminar. I was pleasantly surprised at the level of interest, the enthusiasm, and the number of participants. It is because of folks like you that I train and teach. A special thanks to Aisha from the RACE collective/girlarmy.org in Oakland, CA. Without her, it would have been close to unmanageable.

Due to time constraints, I was not able to show you and speak on everything I wanted to. Usually, each of my sessions are 4 to 5 hours long, plus a Q&A at the end.

Key points on self-defense I would like you come away with (in no particular order):
· The number one rule of self-defense is AWARENESS.
· The number two rule of self-defense is CONFIDENCE. Say “no”, mean it, and back it up with swift and decisive action.
· The number three rule of self-defense is K.I.S.S.: Keep It Simple and Savage; no fight with any one individual should last longer than 30 seconds. Throw your shots with full-power and full-body commitment, throw them in bursts of 4,6,8,10,or 12, and escape. Use any weapon you can get your hands on in the moment.
· Your best weapon is your brain. Use it. YOU CAN PROTECT YOURSELF.
· Be prepared to go to jail and/or court, even if your actions are obviously justifiable.
· The police and the courts cannot save you; only YOU can save you. Learn the laws regarding self-defense in your area.
· Karate is a martial art and a way of life; self-defense is an ever-evolving set of principles, concepts, and an attitude that are a part of karate, but not all karate is strictly for self-defense.

FYI from the FBI:
· There is a violent crime every 22 seconds, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in the U.S.
· In the year 2000 there were over fifteen thousand murders, almost two per hour!
· 90,187 forcible rapes, one every six minutes!
· Over 3,600 aggravated assaults and robberies every day! One every 24 seconds!
· 49,000 car-jackings and attempts of car jacking.
· One burglary every 15.4 seconds!
· Hate crimes largely go unreported and are generally under-reported by law enforcement for a variety of reasons.
· Refer to the FBI website for a more up-to-date break down of all of the above.

Characteristics of a safe and effective self-defense school:
· The instructor is well established in the area, extremely safety conscious, sensitive to your particular needs, and fully insured.
· There is a good mix of people in the classes; male, female, adults, children; of all financial and cultural backgrounds.
· Instruction is disciplined, structured, and in a logical progression; it is not mean-spirited or degrading.
· The style deals with the reality of street combat: 5 ranges of combat (kicks, strikes, close-quarters, on the ground, and stick/knife/gun), adrenal stress conditioning, physical conditioning, defense with and against weapons, multiple attackers, legal aspects, etc.
· The school allows the curious to drop in and watch a class at any time, and is not limited to appointments.
· The school is more concerned with quality instruction than getting your hard-earned money and limited time.
· The instructor respects all styles of martial arts, not just his/hers (there is no one superior art, only superior instructors and students). No one has a monopoly on “the truth” (not even me).
· The instructor encourages the curious to ask questions of both him/herself and the students.

I still have videotapes available for $30 (plus shipping; if outside the U.S.). If you have any questions, want me to come to your city and teach a seminar, or just want to conversate, get at me: 206-956-4043 or gregoryclewis@yahoo.com!

Train hard and stay safe!

Peace and blessings,

Gregory C. Lewis,
Certified Instructor; Kenzen Karate
Certified Personal Trainer; American Council on Exercise (ACE)
Member-at-Large; National Association of Professional Martial Artists (NAPMA).
Seattle, WA. U$A

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Action Steps:

• Have regular trainings on sexism in your organization. One is not enough.
• Have ongoing dialogues within your organization in between the trainings ­ keep the communication open. You can take meetings out to discuss it.
• Clearly define what sexism and patriarchy look like, in a concrete way, in your and other organizations ­ use examples.
• Start a men’s, women’s and trans space so that people can discuss these issues amongst themselves, and then convene meetings with all the groups to dialogue as one.
• Remember we are building community, not just organizations.
• Tie homophobia with sexism.
• Listen to someone who tells you something is sexist or homophobic, without getting defensive.
• Keep trying and be open.

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October 4, 2003 | APOC Conference

Issues

• Tokenism
• Caregiver role
• Personal safety
• Communication Problems
• Exoticism/Beauty Standards
• Unconscious Sexist Behavior
• Get called “separatists”
• Seen as ignorant/uneducated
• Contradictions between women
• How to be heard
• How to deal with “allies”
• Pontification of our struggles by white folks

Solutions

• Communication/network
• Define ourselves
• Take Responsibility
• Educate ourselves
• Awareness
• Workshops
• Recognizing differences
• Respect
• Sharing experiences
• Support each other
• Mutual aid
• Solidarity
• Finding balance
• Healing ourselves
• Creating or reclaiming space
• Drawing lines
• Be accountable to ourselves
• Men recognizing what sexism means and how it affects them
• Reciprocating energy

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What Does the APOC Model Look Like?

• Know history (positive examples too)
• Acknowledge
• Using art and culture for revolution
• Build relationships with people
• We know our needs/interests best
• Diverse
• Recognition of internalized oppression
• Not based on white models of organizing
• Unifying lived experiences i.e. against white supremacy
• Detach from white leadership
• Commitment to spirit/love
• Grassroots organizing
• Patience, commitment
• Creating parallel institutions
• Need to break stereotypes within apoc’s stand up against racism/oppression
• Acknowledge, analyze destroy us imperialism
• Celebrate history of resistance creatively
• Don’t take shit for granted
• Popular education in our communities
• Set aside arrogance in all forms
• Make connections between struggles
• Develop principled tolerance
• Be a sensitive messenger
• Responsibility-accountability primary
• Be disciplined. Perseverance
• Skillshares
• Cultivate our strengths replicate a nurturing system

To Do List:

• Discussion groups
• Use the net
• Get a newspaper going
• Network so we can connect cross country
• Document apoc theory/politics
• Creative fundraising: new methods
• Respect and listen to each other makes working together easier
• Create spaces.
• Acquire land
• Check our resources
• Build a new economy

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[note: the following is one persons account of the Anarchist People Of Color Conference held in Detroit OCT 3-5, 2003. Angel Gonzalez is a revolutionary Puerto Rican/Spanish Anarchist living in Portland one of three persons locally who attended the Conference. Angel works with Revolutionary Anarchist People Of Color (a local APOC group), Portland Anti Capitalist Action (www.pdxaca.org) and Burning Rose Collective (part of a Northwestern federation of Anarchist-Communists currently being organized.) You can contact him directly at ]

On October 3rd through the 5th approximately 140 people of color convened, in Detroit, for the first time in U.S. history to discuss revolutionary anarchist struggle. The event was by far the single most inspiring and moving conferences in 12 years of anarchist organizing I have attended. I can’t imagine a time standing in a room with a hundred or so people committing themselves to revolutionary struggle and actually feeling it, actually believing that this is for real. That these people are not playing at games and sincerely aim to see this revolution through. Like the chant goes ‘we have nothing to lost but out chains!’.

Let me break down the dynamics that played out. I have been to several anarchist / anti authoritarian conferences and meetings, and as anyone involved with the movement can imagine, they were inundated with straight white men. The decision to create a People Of Color (POC) only space for these discussions around experiences, and around building bonds in a movement where most of us feel isolated, was brilliant and moving. People from all over the country (KS, MD, IL, MA, CT, NY, AZ, OH, LA, NC, CA,. NJ, TX, MI, PA, WA, OR, and even Canada and Brazil) attended. There was a lot of discussion of the hundreds of other comrades who could not make it. The desire to see something like this happen, was clear, and we were doing it. It was clear to everyone that not only were we making history, but we were planting the seeds towards a new revolutionary movement.

The go arounds introducing ourselves on Saturday morning illustrated another dynamic. People were for real. The vast majority in that room were down for struggle in their communities, and in their workplaces. I am used to the typical anarchist ‘I am in such and such anarchist collective and do anarchy and punk blah blah’ but the people here worked with/against/around : immigration, aids activism, co-operatives, queer/trans politics, housing, Palestinian solidarity, labor, Copwatch, prison abolition, with low income pregnant women, student organizing, working with gangs, youth, revolutionary radio, day labor, anarcho punk, Zapatista solidarity, women’s health, social services, popular education, queer youth of color, self defense, military industrial complex, senior citizen, farm workers… The cross section of work people were doing in their communities was brilliant and an inspiration in and of itself. As well the make of the group came from all walks of life young , old, queer, women, men…I thought it was interesting that maybe 20 out of 140 identified as punk/hardcore as well. A dynamic that is grossly reversed in the general anarchist movement. Which of course begs the question why? Lastly it was also clear that there were people there who come from 20 plus years of revolutionary struggle to those who had never heard the word anarchism before in attendance. There were even a few old Black Panthers there.

The organizers of the conference definitely had their hands full putting everything into place. Workshops were rearranged as presenters cancelled or showed up late. Which was a little frustrating, but the workshops were not in my mind the sole reason I was there. I would say that the workshops were either geared towards introducing those new to anti-authoritarian community organizing such as Copwatch, or Critical Resistance (prison abolition). Regardless though, the presenters were generally amazing and on point, and the perspectives were vastly different from other similar topics at other conferences I had attended.

Some notes on workshops I attended. There were of course several more which took place including Women of color only discussions, queer anarchists of color discussions, POC and anti-war work, FTAA organizing, alternatives to the NYPD, etc… a full list should be able to be viewed on www.illegalvoices.org

ANARCHISTS IN THE PALESTINE SOLIDARITY MOVEMENT

There was obviously a clear anti-Zionist anti-white settler colonialist mentality amongst the participants. There was some group dynamic issues with a couple over bearing men. But over all the discussion led to how we can speak of and look at fighting US sponsored imperialism. How people involved with Palestinian solidarity work looks at reaching out to other communities. The discussion also led into what exactly as Anarchist people of color do we envision as an alternative. The two state idea is clearly taking a pro-imperialist stance as well as just advocating a Palestinian state goes against basic anarchist anti-statist ideas. Another question to that posed what ‘does a state give you self determination?’. How do we illustrate anti-statist ideas when building solidarity with people who have no home. Is a state a home?

We talked about influencing debate, making crucial separation between anti-Zionist and anti-Semitic bullshit. Making this in the forefront of our dialogue. A discussion around the tendency of anarchists to rewrite slogans when doing support work for other communities. That we need to come at people from where they are at, using their language and only going so far as these communities, our communities, can go. The dynamics existing in this country right now have left many in Arab / Muslim / immigrant communities terrified. We need to understand this, and using slogans like ‘Death To Israel’ is not going to be speaking to the struggles people are facing here in America when doing this work.

The recognition of Israel being a police state of US funding in the middle east, and recognizing that being in the belly of the beast, understanding and connecting the struggle of Palestinians to indigenous struggles here and around the world, and working from within is our struggle.

ORGANIZING AGAINST THE US CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM

Two persons from Critical Resistance an prison abolitionist group and one persons from Copwatch, a community police accountability and monitoring group spoke on how they organize and why they organize.

Abolition is believing on faith. Like Christianity its about community building, information sharing, history and practice. We need to believe, and talk, and communicate it in a real way. In NYC Critical Resistance has many projects underway including the development of dialogue as to alternatives to incarceration, corresponding with prisoners, printing a newsletter including prisoner input, implementing a visitation program, developing m8ultiple strategies, and finally holding arts and cultural workshops. The idea behind these workshops is that activism lacks a sustainable culture to keep it fueled, so thus setting up workshops incorporating daily experiences with art and revolutionary culture to fuel these fires. For example doing hip hop workshops and discussions around the mainstream idea of prison as a right of passage for young men.

The workshop broke down the three strategies of prison abolition work: -Link up with cross issues -Sustainable community building -Paying attention to needs, which includes playing into reform with the idea of building for the future.

AFRO PUNK

‘…for the longest time I used to identify as “punk” first…’

Afro-Punk is a documentary directed by James Spooner, following the stories of four African Americans within the punk rock subculture. The stories of these persons is interspersed with dialogue with many other musicians, artists, and participants within the punk community. Many performances throughout as well. The film deals with a lot of issues regarding cultural identity within punk, isolation and loneliness, inter-racial dating, and cultural backlash. The room was packed during the screening and the entire room enjoyed and in some way related to the film. As James, who fielded questions after the film said, ‘try replacing the work punk throughout the film with other white subcultures or with society’. People who knew nothing about punk rock, people who were once active in this community, and those of us who still have affiliations GOT the film. This film is highly recommended and I will be trying to attain a copy to screen in Portland soon. Check out the website at www.afropunk.com.

SATURDAY CLOSING PLENARY SESSION

The closing plenary on Saturday opened with the question “ What does a People Of Color Anarchism look like in our organizing”. The response was overwhelming as the room took the question to heart detailing the uniqueness of being POC within the anarchist movement. We talked of our passion based on experience, and looking oat our histories and cultures for guidance. We talked about not looking to white models or language to define ourselves or our work; to detach ourselves from white leadership in the movement. As throughout the entire conference, a focus on positivity, and community development. Having patience in our work and building a sustainable committed movement. We discussed out internalized oppression and having a sense of constant healing and constant growth. And in general we discussed our recognition that too often times gets overlooked amongst the general anarchist community-that we ARE the people and we need to come at our organizing understanding our communities concerns.

The discussion then went onto ‘What is needed to build this movement.’ Which led to many different means of organizing and communicating towards building a sustainable revolutionary struggle.

[Saturday night, just to mention, Trumbleplex theatre in Detroit hosted an off the hook party that was out of control till four am! All POC mosh pit included to Latino hardcore – another historic moment!]

Sunday was a shorter day and was rushed into with much enthusiasm.

LYRICS ON LOCKDOWN:SLAMMING THE PRISON INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX

This workshop dealt with a few workshops that we can use as tools in talking about the Prison Industrial Complex in our communities. The presenter took us through these workshops step by step, drawing on peoples own interpretations of the individual words “Prison” “Industrial” and “Complex”. We developed our own definition of these words collectively as whole to define it in a meaningful way from our own language.

We then learned a few exercises in the Theatre Of The Oppressed, which were fun, educational, and thought provoking.

CRITICAL RACE THEORY

The Critical Race Theory workshop had and air of tension throughout the workshop. Critical Race Theory is a hyper-intellectualized idea and was presented by members of RACE from the bay area. The language of CRT is pretty intense. The pamphlet RACE handed out was more than half definitions. The workshop went down hill primarily because of the language, and the presenters defensiveness. People questioned not the ideas but the intellectualized language. But this was miscommunicated and led to some tension. So much so that the workshop ended before it was even half way through. The presenters said they had a plane to catch and left the room at this point.

Then something that I have never seen happen before happened. Everyone in the room stayed there, and talked. We talked about what had just happened in the workshop. We analyzed the power dynamics, the miscommunications, the ideas that were said. Something that led to making this workshop another inspiring moment throughout the weekend.

BUILDING AN ANARCHIST PEOPLE OF COLOR MOVEMENT

This was the last workshop I attended. The conference was marred by tension regarding two proposals for national APOC organizations to form. It appeared as though most people at the conference while recognizing a movements birth, at best felt skeptical about forming an organization at this conference. The United Front Proposal was never brought up as its presenters withdrew from the conference (you can read the proposal at www.illegalvoices.org) and the APOC Network proposal was instead turned into a development discussion around what we need to do to create some sort of coherent movement in the future. The questions posed were ‘what can we do in our communities now?’, what do we need in terms of support/communication/and networking with non anarchists?’, and ‘where do we go from here?’.

The first question of how is our work as anarchists best suited within our communities of color. Many people brought the point of whether the label ‘anarchist’ is essential in helping people to understand their own self-empowerment. Another prominent idea was that we must approach our respective communities and cultures with respect and come at it within their frameworks, not ours; this also illustrates the need to look where people are at and go from there. We need to see ourselves as part of what’s out there and to see and support the anarchism that exists already in communities. We recognize anarchism is organic, and also that we need to show our visions in our practice. This is revolution.

Again highlighted throughout the conference the need to understand our histories, and the histories of the communities that we work within. We need to build off of our relationships and break the isolationism that traps us too often.

Five basic tenets were echoed throughout regarding networking with non-anarchists:
-find common ground and be in the community
-bring together by using each others resources together
-focus ON community
-be honest when balancing our values and other groups as a basis for building trust
-be humble -talk about how you can support, learn from mistakes and support community decisions.

The ending of this workshop closed with the formation of at least five organizing groups towards as many regional APOC conferences to be held within the next year leading to another National APOC conference, which was tentatively proposed to be held in NYC during the RNC next year. There will also be many new networking and organizing tools added to the APOC website www.illegalvoices.org/apoc

IN CLOSING

The first ever Anarchist People Of Color Conference was rushed in such a short amount of time but has definitely given birth to a new revolutionary anarchist struggle that will bear fruit in due time. The energy level, the inspiration, the support and the foundation building of solid relationships within our movement have taken hold and without a doubt our struggle will build. Again like the chant says ‘IT IS OUR DUTY TO WIN’.

Thank you to all those who helped with fundraising (although for future reference do the fundraising well ahead of the event, many people could not come even though there was money available because the funds were handed to us moments before the conference.) thank you to Russ (MO), Emily (IL), Britta and the Bloomington House (MN)and the Trumbleplex house for housing and food and good times. Also thanks to the conference organizers for taking the time to organize this event and give space for this seed to get its shit together and raise up a movement.

Love and revolution-Angel Gonzalez

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Draft Proposal for An Anarchist People of Color United Front

Submitted by the Black Autonomy Network of Community Organizers (BANCO)

The Black Autonomy Network of Community Organizers (BANCO) called for the Anarchist People of Color Conference, did the initial organizing, and since has worked with a number of people to make it happen. (*BANCO is an African-American Anarchist collective currently based in Michigan.) We give special thanks to Jena, Shemon, and Jason in Detroit, and Ernesto Todd Mireles and the XDC crew in Lansing who brainstormed with us and among themselves about how to build the conference, gave a great deal of time and volunteer work, and whose efforts actually prepared the site for the meeting to take place. We also thank Sister Walidah Imarisha and Not4Profit for their fundraising campaign, which brought in badly needed dollars; and we thank Ernesto Aguilar for creating the website which made online registration possible. We thank everyone who organized in their areas to come to this conference, and thank any Anarchist groups that helped to raise money to sponsor local people in their areas to come.

From the beginning, we called for unity and mutual aid in the creation of a space where anarchist and anti-authoritarian peoples of color can discuss our own issues. Some of us know each other from past work in the anarchist movement, but many of us will be coming together for the first time. Therefore, it is a truly historic occasion, and one of the few times when peoples of color will be meeting and planning a new movement. Let’s not waste the moment, however. The main business of this conference should be about building a new movement.

BANCO did not call for the conference to organize around our exclusive political views or reflect our Black community program. Furthermore, we are not seeking to “lead” all POC. BANCO recognizes the autonomy of all peoples of color within the broad anarchist/anti-authoritarian movement. If we do not respect each other’s autonomy and engage in mutual respect now, we will cripple our chances to build a movement later. We have also always wanted to help build a united movement of various peoples of color with various points of view to unite in common struggle–African, African-American, Xicano, Native, Desi, Asian and multi-racial.

I. Why We Need to build an Anarchist People of Color movement.

Our histories as distinct peoples of color on this continent and internationally are vastly different from white people; we have been enslaved, exploited, subjected to systematic racism, genocide, and other continuing forms of terror. This cannot all be boiled down into a mere “class issue for industrial workers”, like most white radicals still claim. We are today oppressed as workers and common people by the state and corporations, but also as larger victims of racial and colonial oppression.

Many peoples of color have also experienced racism even within the broader anarchist/anti-authoritarian movement, whose members are primarily whites/Europeans throughout the world. Much of the discrimination has been the exclusion of peoples of color from the movement and ignoring our issues, but some of this has taken the form of hostile white chauvinism, giving weak rationalizations in defense of white domination of the movement. In the United States, for example, anarchist/anti-authoritarian peoples of color who make legitimate claims of autonomy within the broader movement are frequently accused by white/European anarchists and anti-authoritarians of being “nationalists” who want to divide the movement, even lumping us together with non-white ethnic politicians, businessmen, and reactionary religious or cultural nationalists, claiming we are all in favor of our own “ruling class”, a nation-state, or are somehow acquiescent to racism. Yet, peoples of color did not create white racism, nor do we benefit from it, so we know this is false. Anarchism’s lack of diversity undercuts the whole movement, and it must change. We must organize.

One blatant example of the racism/racial exclusion within the anarchist/anti-authoritarian movement in the United States was the failure of the predominantly white organizers of the 1999 anti-globalization demonstrations in Seattle to get substantial numbers of peoples of color to participate. Some said this was because Seattle did not have a large Black/POC community. However, this was inexcusable, particularly, at the WTO protests held later in Washington, D.C, which is a predominantly Black and Latin city, and yet very few Black/Latino community activists were recruited!

While some white/European anarchists and anti-authoritarians consistently speak out against racism in the movement and work for a diverse Anarchist movement, their numbers are too few. So, peoples of color, who are largely ignored and/or dismissed in the broader anarchist/anti-authoritarian movement when we attempt to address the problem of racism, consequently, have no alternative but to organize ourselves as an autonomous force. Indeed, we believe that is why so many peoples of color have responded favorably to the call for the conference. This does not mean that we will refuse to work with white activists, just that we declare our independence.

The conference will be held at a time when peoples of color all over the world are catching hell—subjected to low-wages, unemployment, substandard housing and health care, inferior schools, police brutality, racial profiling, mass imprisonment of the poor, gay bashing, and more. These issues and problems must be seriously addressed if the anarchist/anti-authoritarian movement is to grow among peoples of color. The ideology and political principles of anarchism and anti-authoritarianism must be popularized in order for substantial numbers of peoples of color to embrace our politics.

In short, peoples of color need to see that anarchism and anti- authoritarianism are relevant to organizing on the every day material issues in our lives. It cannot remain what it presently is: an abstract political ideology for middle class white people. It must begin to reflect our histories and our issues.

Anarchist/anti-authoritarian peoples of color do not have the luxury of engaging in abstract politics that do not concretely address the issues and problems in our communities. Therefore, we must form a united, non-sectarian front to fight the problems that we have in common. Within this front, the various races, nationalities, ethnic groups, etc. should retain their autonomy. While we may not agree on everything, may even have intense debates on occasion, we must unite around those life and death issues that we do agree on, and not let ethnic rivalry, political outlook, or personal animosities divide us.

II. Creation of an APOC United Front

BANCO calls for the creation of an open United Front that any person of color who is an anarcho-syndicalist, anarcho-communist, other anarchist tendency, or any anti-authoritarian person of color may join. This includes people who are just being attracted to our ideas, and those residing in our communities that we hope to reach. This open United Front differs from previous revolutionary fronts in that it is an autonomous organization. Rather than being tied to a party or other external entity, this United Front will set its own politics and strategies. In that sense, it is a coalition of forces rather than a vanguard sect.

This coalition will be a mass movement, rather than a network of “true believers.” While an Anarchist organization in theory and practice, everyone who joins does not have to belong to existing groups. The former approach leads to freedom, mutual respect, and open debate with friend and foe, while the latter is merely another narrow, intolerant political circle. We have to spread our program and beliefs within communities of color, and win people over to Anarchism. They will not seek us out if we do not make the initial contact.

This proposal for a United Front is not patterned after any existing groups. However, in the past, there have been anarchist groups organized as a United Front. These include the United Anarchist Front, Action Directe in France, the Awareness League in Nigeria, and the Northeast Federation of Anarchist Communists. The point is that a United Front is not unheard of in the anarchist movement, and BANCO believes that a United Front will give us the best chance to build an effective mass anarchist tendency, rather than yet another “loose” and ineffective small anarchist tendency. We have the numbers now to build a real movement, and to bring in many others.

III. Revolutionary Principles of Unity

1. We oppose any forms of capitalism and class oppression and support the liberation of the poor and the workers.
2. We oppose any form of racism or white cultural chauvinism in the Anarchist movement, and call for unity and recognition of our right to autonomy.
3. We oppose the oppression of women, homosexuals, gays, transgender peoples and other sexual minorities in society.
4. We oppose all forms of colonialism and imperialism in the Third and Fourth Worlds and support the struggles of all oppressed peoples in the West.
5. We call for an immediate moratorium of the death penalty and the dismantling of the prison structure.
6. We oppose nation-state wars and the building of a fascist police state based on hysteria over “terrorism.”
7. We want decent housing, food, clothing and other essentials for all, not just the rich.
8. We call for a social revolution to erect a new society entirely.

NOTE: This is strictly a tentative proposal and platform and can be freely changed by a majority vote of the membership at any time.

IV. Structure

Many tendencies are present within anarchism, and an open United Front welcomes them all. There will be no leader, bureaucracy, or clique running this type of movement; it will be in the hands of the membership body. No one member or secret clique can act alone in the name of the group. All manner of business will be freely discussed and decided by a consensus/or majority vote. We believe in direct democracy, that everyone should have an equal voice, and that every major decision must be made after discussion and a decision by a majority vote/consensus.

A member is any person of color who agrees with the revolutionary principles of the United Front, formally joins the group, and participates in our work. The APOC United Front would recognize both individual and collective memberships, but it is the responsibility of individual members to build a local organizing group in their community or city, which can then be certified as a formal collective.

There should be a conference held each year where major decisions are made. There should be an organizational council, made up of several elected spokespersons who may be recalled by a majority vote for cause. These spokespersons should carry out the proposals from various regions, groups and other segments within the United Front, and cannot make up their own policies.

There should also be some type of coordinating committee to make administrative decisions between conferences. The coordinating committee will have no authority to make political decisions for the members of the APOC United Front, and must make a quarterly report to the members. They are also subject to recall for cause.

In addition, working collectives of various members should present proposals for the activities of the APOC United Front. For instance, working groups on prison issues, police brutality, poverty and homelessness, anti-war, education, and other issues would be researching and coming up with future action campaigns for the movement.

V. Mass Politics and Community Organizing

Anarchists alone cannot make the revolution. Only the masses of people in a society can do that, but we can propose anti-authoritarian solutions. The APOC United Front should be an organization of activist individuals and groups engaged in mass struggles on the issues of the day and against those forces which oppress peoples of color in our communities.

The revolution also will not be built on the Internet where most Anarchists organize and debate their issues in this period. We believe that any radical political movement should be organizing in working class and poor communities of color, rather than retreating to middle class enclaves like info-shops, coffeehouses, or college campuses. We need to organize around the basic needs of the common people, especially those where we may live or work. Each POC organizer must learn the basics of community organizing practice and then apply that to revolutionary and political theory. We also need a transitional program of “survival programs pending revolution.” We do not seek to lead people, but we seek to unite with them, so that they can transform their own lives.

The North American Anarchist and leftist movements have placed too much emphasis on small political circles politically linking up with “the masses’ at the time of a revolutionary insurrection, instead of working each day with under-class elements in their own neighborhoods. This essentially middle class organizing style has predictably led to disconnected, elitist organizations. We have to do better, have to be part of working class/poor communities.

What can we be doing now that’s different?

1. Building inner-city food cooperatives to empower and feed the poor (rather than charities or feeding them on the street corner). This can also provide a food source contrary to the high-priced grocery stores, greedy corporations and agri-businesses, who prey on poor and working neighborhoods.
2. Building poor peoples movements to fight unemployment and poverty. The current rates are twice the unemployment levels in the Black community as whites, and it is also hitting other POC communities hardest.
3. Building fight-back movements against utility company rip-offs, police brutality, the death penalty, racial profiling, anti-immigrant hysteria, substandard housing and homelessness, and other day-to-day problems of APOC communities.
4. Building survival programs to physically transform the barrio or ghetto where poor people reside. We need to pressure the government, corporations and other elite institutions to pay reparations for the oppression of peoples of color, in order to obtain funds to rebuild housing, schools, hospitals and other social institutions, and improve the quality of life of community residents.
5. Building an inner-city dual power; a commune, co-ops, political collectives, and other institutions to organize the community, and challenge the rich and their agents on a long-term basis.

WHAT DO WE THINK NEEDS TO HAPPEN WITH THIS PROPOSAL?

Conference participants should talk to each other about this proposal, and in fact all of the proposals at the conference seeking to build a new movement. Ours is for a United Front, others seek a network, and still others may seek other formations. We do not claim that our proposal is perfect or that no one else has good ideas. Our proposal may not please everyone, but we believe that our approach gives everyone at the conference the right to decide on this important issue, rather than an approach of sectarianism or dissension which does not serve our movement well in the long run.

All of the proposals should be taken seriously, and all those presenting a proposal should be required to lay it before everyone at the conference. Those presenting proposals should try to work with other Anarchists with competing models, and try to come up with the best approach, but then it is up to all conference participants to decide what kind of movement we want to build.

The most important thing is that everyone should have the right to discuss and decide at a plenary set up for that purpose. A plenary is just a panel where everyone could present their model and discuss it with all in attendance. These matters should be fully debated and then a majority of persons at the conference should enter into consensus or formally vote on the issue. They should make their minds up on what they can decide at the Detroit conference. Then if a majority should democratically vote to set a date and location for additional meetings, they should do so to ensure that all would be welcome, not this or that activist faction alone.

If we do this in a sectarian fashion, we will witness the creation of two or three hostile, mutually exclusive political circles being created in the APOC movement, and just repeat the sectarianism of the general Anarchist scene, which has had the problem for decades. This may yet happen, and we are powerless to prevent it, but we call for unity first, and will then attempt to debate and diffuse our political differences if that is possible.

Proposal for an Anarchist People of Color Network

Mission

Solutions must reflect our unique problems and possibilities for struggle. While there are “isms” we are fighting against, just as important, we are fighting for liberation.

We understand it is up to us to win freedom, on our terms. We need an anarchist people of color organizing network. Such a network should be composed of individuals and collectives. It should be committed to building a directly democratic movement aimed at creating revolutionary change.

Points of Unity

1.) We recognize that our oppression is political. We reject dominant and subculture claims that we are to blame for our own slavery. We understand that white supremacy and capitalism are at the heart of the problems we face.

2.) We support and encourage organizing in a grassroots, anti-authoritarian way. We believe in power of the people, not by the people.

3.) We acknowledge the need to organize independently and as a movement uniting people of color. Although our organization should be composed solely of people of color, we understand the importance of our work within the international resistance movement. We also understand our efforts can only help build resistance to our common enemies.

4.) We support and encourage active participation of women, as well as newer and older generations in our work.

5.) We recognize the necessity of self-determination for all colonized nations and peoples, and we stand with struggles by colonized nations and peoples around the world. We maintain the importance of autonomy for people of color, and also recognize the importance of multiracial, multicultural unity. We stand with just struggles against our oppressors.

6.) We recognize our struggle is also against racism within various political movements.

Statement of Purpose

We address our social problems by organizing movements and communities to take on white supremacy and capitalism, which are at the root of these problems. We seek to create alternatives to current order that are democratic, just and promote mutual respect, self-determination, empowerment and liberation.

We educate, organize and cultivate organizing skills in our communities to meet the challenges we face. Some of these issues include social, political and cultural struggles we face such as police misconduct, prisons, housing issues, education, and health care, but there are many more. We seek to agitate in ways that are most strategic to overcoming our oppression.

Structure

The organizing catalyst we envision is a loosely-knit network or groups and individuals, with a basic process, organizing and communications framework established as a means of working together. Membership should be based on agreement with the mission, points of unity and statement of purpose. From there, it is critical to have a commitment to organizing and being active in struggles affecting communities of color locally, as well as against capitalism and white supremacy. As local groups form out of action, responsibility for recruiting and maintaining membership in their areas is also essential. Participants should be accountable to their local collectives.

We believe in direct democracy, mutual respect and open debate as positive ways of rebuilding stronger relations in our communities. Decisions should be made in a spokescouncil format, where delegates elected by local and regional groups participate in discussions and decisions (although audience is open to all members). Committees and spokescouncil members should be accountable to the group.

Committees should be based around common work, such as process, publicity and organizing strategy, and be coordinated by a chair elected by committee members on the basis of the potential chair’s commitment to spending time in skills sharing and project completion. Committees should report back monthly to the spokescouncil.

Conclusion

Many movements are crippled by Eurocentric, middle class and privileged orientations. We contend that a people of color movement would not only serve to educate, but to strengthen the communities in which we are a part. An organization comprised of like minded individuals of color would strengthen our struggles against everyday oppressions. It would also empower us as we participate in such struggles.

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By M. Mayuran Tiruchelvam

Descending on Detroit from all parts of the nation and the globe, nearly 150 people attended the Anarchist People of Color Conference from Oct. 3 to 5. Anarchists and anti-authoritarians drove over 20 hours from Texas, flew in from Seattle and rode the rails from the Northeast. Over a dozen activists from Canada made their way across the border, while others hailed from Brazil, Colombia, Bhutan, Jamaica and Korea.

Puck who hails from Tucson expressed satisfaction at gathering with so many kindred spirits. “I’ve been an anarchist for a few years now and never had the experience of having more than one or two other people of color in the same room as me at the same time.”

It was repeatedly noted that this was the first conference bringing together anarchist people of color. When one thinks of anarchism, the image is of a predominantly white movement.

Joe, who arrived from Montreal, explained the importance of the event. “You go to places in Canada, any major city… you don’t see conferences with people of color like this, and it’s so important. You can’t necessarily depend on the fairly Euro-centric stances that are present all across Canada.”

Beyond the geographic representation of the conference attendees, there was a variety in the movements and struggles they came from. Anarchist people of color also brought together experiences of multiple generations – former Black Panther Party members alongside queer youth – gender identities, sexualities, class backgrounds and ethnicities.

The APOC Conference was advertised as a people of color only event. While white activists provided off-site support, conference attendees worked to create a community of support and trust. Attendees also volunteered to provide security in the face of violent, but ultimately empty threats, by white supremacists.

Representing movements in popular education, Palestine solidarity, punk rock, queer youth activism, transgender housing rights and mental-health advocacy, among dozens of other causes, conference goers expressed a desire to connect and build a new vision of people of color activism and understanding. Many people spoke of unsavory experiences in white anarchist spaces or in authoritarian people of color organizations, fueling camaraderie among attendees.

“Any other time that it’s been initiated that we should have a people of color only space… it’s gotten really unhealthy reactions from other activists… that’s divisive, it’s separatist,” said Darcy of Portland Oregon. “People of color are very much interested in having their own space where we can space about issues and racism in organizing, on our own terms without interruptions or presumptions. This is really healthy, and we’ll be having it again.”

Workshops were delivered on women of color and feminism in the movement, spoken word, organizing against the criminal justice system, the police and cruising, white nationalist movements, sexism, cop-watch groups, community alternatives to police and karate.

Several plenaries allowed attendees to explore the significance of what it means to be an anarchist person of color and how to move forward as a movement or support network. In Detroit, people of color explored anarchism as a movement towards self-sustainability and self-determination that is rooted in a knowledge and acknowledgement of relationships and internalized oppression and challenges traditional white modes or organizing. Rafael, from New York City, explained that as anarchist people of color “we have to give up the idea that we are organizing people.”

The Conference was called for by the Black Autonomy Network of Community Organizers, based in Michigan. However, disputes in the final weeks of the planning stages led to BANCO members boycotting the event a day before the conference began. At the same time, BANCO member Lorenzo Komboa Erwin sent a letter addressing disputes with other conference organizers and threw out such terms as “character assassination” and “sectarianism” in reference to the organizers. Though the presence of these sisters and brothers was missed, the conference itself went on as planned.

Yet the dispute, as well as problems of machismo and posturing within anti-authoritarian movements, hung over the conference for some time. While many anarchist people of color are willing to engage in self-criticism and change, others were fueled by the desire to move forward – as though the simple act of gathering in Detroit prepared us to take action against a myriad of issues.

Over three dozen anarchist people of color from the tri-state area were in attendance, and say they returned with energy to work together to create a more just world. “I went to a workshop discussing alternatives to the police state that we live in. People have really good ideas about how to organize autonomous communities to really work together against violence,” said Alana from Queens. “That’s something I’m really going to think a lot about and try to take home and start working on.”

As for the future of Anarchist People of Color gatherings, plans are in motion to create regional, local, and national meetings, and to bring in potential allies who couldn’t make it to Detroit.

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