New York City Anarchist Bookfair
The Second Annual NYC Anarchist Bookfair (2008) will host a one-day exposition of books, zines, pamphlets, art, film/video, and other cultural and very political productions of the anarchist scene worldwide, on Saturday, April 12, 2008 at Judson Memorial Church in Manhattan. The Bookfair will also feature two days of workshops and presentations on Saturday, April 12, and Sunday, April 13, 2008.
The Second Annual NYC Anarchist Bookfair will feature over 40 tables as well as an art gallery. Panels, presentations, workshops, and skill shares will provide further opportunities to learn more and share your own experience and creativity. You know you should attend the 2st NYC Anarchist Bookfair if ... * You're an anarchist publisher, zinester, film/videographer, artist * You're a member of the worldwide anarchist community * You're an anarchist based in NYC and looking to connect with other anarchists here * You're anarcho-curious and looking to find out more about the contemporary anarchist movement, its ideas, ethics, activism or just to find out more about the community.
To contact the NYC Anarchist Book Fair Organizing Collective to volunteer, make a donation, or get more information, email us at info [at] anarchistbookfair.net. To apply for tables or to propose presentations, panels, workshops, or skillshares, see the forms elsewhere on this site. Diversity is important to us! Selection preference will be given to proposals that include voices typically underrepresented at mainstream and activist conferences alike. Food will be available ($), plus childcare (free). Handicapped/wheelchair accessible. Smoke-free environment. The Book Fair has adopted a policy of zero-tolerance for racist, sexist, queer-phobic, and other disrespectful behavior that works against an environment of tolerance and inclusiveness for a truly diverse range of communities.
Directions: Judson Memorial Church is located on the south side of Washington Square Park between Thompson and Sullivan Streets. Take the A, C, E, F trains to West 4th Street station; the R to 8th Street-NYU; or the 1 train to Christopher Street-Sheridan Square. The M1, M2, M3, M5, M6 and M8 bus lines also serve the area.
ScheduleSaturday, April 12Gym
11:15-12:30: Democracy and Freedom in Education
1:00-2:15: Intro to Anarchism
2:30-3:45: Anarchism is the Only Hope: Lessons From the Durruti Column of the Spanish Civil War
4:00-5:15: Parecon and Anarchism
5:30-6:45: On Being a Girl in an Activist Boys' Club
Conference Room
11:15-12:30: Tearing Down the Walls: A No Borders Camp Reportback
1:00-2:15: Radical Homosexual Agenda
2:30-3:45: Christiania (self-governing neighbourhood) in Denmark
4:00-5:15: Anti-Authoritarian Mutual Aid and Radical Social Work: From Direct Action to Direct Services
5:30-6:45: Building a Movement Against Capitalism Through Thinking of Its Alternatives
Tamiment Library
11:15-12:30: The Importance of Community Needs Assessment in Activist Work
12:45-2:00: Computer and Internet Security: What Every Activist Should Know
Sunday, April 13Gym
2:00-4:00: The Intersection of Social Movements and Anarchism
4:00-6:00: Safety & Accountability in Activist Spaces
Conference Room
10:00-12:00: Anarchy in the USA: The Love-Hate Relationship with Presidential Elections
12:00-2:00: Feel the Burn: Conflict Transformation and Healing in the Movement
2:00-4:00: Anarchism and Palestine
4:00-6:00: The Danger of Cooptation to Movements
Kimmel (NYU)
You will need to show an ID to enter this building.
2:00-4:00: Know Your Rights and Their Wrongs and How the Legal Community Has Your Back - Room 914
4:00-6:00: Political Prisoner Support in the Anarchist Movement - Room 914
4:00-6:00: Anarchist People of Color (APOC) Caucus
2:00PM-4:00PMThe Intersection of Social Movements and Anarchism (GYM)The question of how anarchists should relate to different social movements has always been at the forefront of anarchist thought and action. We know that social movements, in many forms, are vital to revolutionary change in a period of crisis, but we also know that social movements are complex and not always inherently anti-authoritarian or non-hierarchical. Furthermore, while such movements are gaining momentum they are vulnerable to authoritarian vanguard minorities, the opportunism of liberal politicians, the brute force of the state, and a variety of other factors. What are some current global social movements that are complementary to anarchism? How can we prefigure anarchist politics in current and future social movements? What are some tactics that we can use to preempt and combat these historical patterns? What are ways that we can strengthen or inoculate social movements to these dangers and preserve their autonomy?
This panel will start off with presenters highlighting social movements from around the world and their relation to anarchism. This will then develop into a discussion of how anarchists should/do work within these movements.
Joaquin Cienfuegos is a member of Cop Watch LA (Guerrilla Chapter) and the Revolutionary Autonomous Communities. He is a 25 year old Indigenous-Chicano male from South Central Los Angeles. Joaquin helped create the Southern California Anarchist Federation – Los Angeles Chapter. Along with other participants of the federation and a coalition called Stop Terrorism and Oppression by the Police, he helped build Cop Watch LA. Joaquin, along with the working class youth of color involved in these groups, helped form the Revolutionary Autonomous Communities, a revolutionary federation of community councils helping build a grassroots popular movement, with autonomy, self-determination, self-organization, and an infrastructure for the self-defense of oppressed people and oppressed communities.
Arya is a member of the Iran Solidarity Group and the Antithesis Collective (NEFAC-NYC). He is currently a graduate student in political science at the New School for Social Research.
4:00PM-6:00PMAnarchist people of color caucusFacilitated by Ashanti Alston and Autumn Brown
The anarchist people of color caucus is a space where folks who identify as people of color can meet, learn about each other's work, share their personal experiences in activism, and discuss the potential of APOC on a local, national and international level. We hope to begin to clarify the most important and challenging questions we must ask ourselves as anarchist people of color in order to build with one another and move these discussions forward in the future.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Videos from a Community Gathering at D-Q University 4/6/08
Videos from a Community Gathering at D-Q University 4/6/08
On Sunday April 6th, 2008 students and community members held a community gathering, a pow wow, to talk about the struggle at D-Q University. These are some clips of Dejon Banks, who is a student at D-Q, addressing the community and the media.
Dejon Banks told media, "We are all students here. Everybody who is here is a warrior-chief."
When he was asked if he was afraid that the police were going to arrest people, he responded, "We've been brutalized by these same people for 500 years, it is nothing new."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cx1ldEBVvL0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXQRPjVxFHU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qBZsEIRscA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9jGHFOw9WE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIBl85FGN5Y
On Sunday April 6th, 2008 students and community members held a community gathering, a pow wow, to talk about the struggle at D-Q University. These are some clips of Dejon Banks, who is a student at D-Q, addressing the community and the media.
Dejon Banks told media, "We are all students here. Everybody who is here is a warrior-chief."
When he was asked if he was afraid that the police were going to arrest people, he responded, "We've been brutalized by these same people for 500 years, it is nothing new."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cx1ldEBVvL0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXQRPjVxFHU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qBZsEIRscA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9jGHFOw9WE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIBl85FGN5Y
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Support D-Q University
D-Q U students: "We want to be a sovereign farm co-op. We want to focus on the spiritual and the environmental aspect of things."
Interview with Manuel, who was arrested on February 20 at D-Q U:
"D-Q University has become a corporation. Accredation means you're recognized by other corporations that recognizes that you have transferable college credits."
"It's a business. We want to have something separate but keep the D-Q in there because that represents our spiritual battle. Over time the corporation of D-Q became too focused on what a mainstream accredited college is supposed to be. That's what a business is. Keeping the business alive is the primary goal of the corporation."
"The administration and board since the 1970's have made crooked deals to get money out of the land. Group after group used D-Q and disappeared. There were two boards in a row, the students caught them with financial mismanagement and fraud. They were signing up students for financial aid without their knowledge and keeping the money. They let the university die."
"There was a political and spiritual movement. MECHA [Movimiento Estudiantil Chicana/o de Aztlan] and AIM [American Indian Movement] arose up and took back this land. If you model yourself after a white institution you become institutionalized, and now they're part of it. It's not what D-Q used to be."
"I'm here because this is the 11th hour, the Eagle and the Condor Prophecy. We're doing this for the 7th generation. We are the leaders. We can't look to our elders or the 'leaders'."
List of Needs:
-People to come and stay there
-Coming Out to D-Q to let people know what's going on
-Teachers and Students
-Cameras
-Civil Rights Attorneys
-Food (veggies, bread, water, etc)
-Fire Wood
-People with trucks
-Gardening Tool, Shovels, Hoses, chainsaws, lawnmowers, automotive tools, generators
-Diesel Fuel for tractors
-fruit trees, seedlings, seeds, seed banks
-fencing, fence posts,
-generators
-vegetable oils
-diesel cars that can be donated
===================================
Two more occupants of D-Q University were arrested Wednesday morning, after patrolling Yolo County Sheriff's deputies spotted them on the grounds.
Aaron Yazzie, from Davis, and Robert Fofrich, from Fontana, were arrested at 4:05 a.m. and cited for trespassing and damaging property. They were released with a notice to appear in court later.
Christopher Yazzie, 26, said his brother Aaron and Fofrich were arrested during a ceremonial sweat. The grounds for the sweat house are located toward the back of D-Q's property.
"We feel that the Yolo Sheriff has desecrated a sacred place for us, which means a lot," Yazzie said. "That's our sacred church.
Yazzie is seen as a leader among the occupants, who have already started to return to D-Q after 18 were arrested on Monday. One of the occupants, who stayed in a tree and waited out the deputies, according to an IndyMedia posting by San Jose State student and D-Q occupant Lupita Torres, 26.
Board of Trustees member Jane Elliot said there was no one on the grounds as of Wednesday. Two people that had come to get their belongings were allowed on the grounds. Otherwise, the campus is locked up, with wires across the long driveway to prevent cars from entering.
The 18 arrested occupants were cited for trespassing with a notice to appear in court. Several others escaped by running out the back; Torres said she was a member of the media. Sheriff's spokesperson Michele Wallace said the raid had been planned in advance.
Since the first raid on Feb. 20 of this year, 23 arrests have been made at D-Q University.
The arrests prompted at least one call for the Board of Trustees to fully resign, or face the loss of D-Q. Rita Montes-Martin, an activist from Davis who has a long history D-Q, wrote in an e-mail to Trustee Margaret Hoaglin that their legacy would be the closing of D-Q, and its loss back to the federal government. Trustee Jane Elliot said none of the board members will resign.
D-Q has been closed since 2005, when it lost its federal funding and endowment, and then lost its accreditation with the state.
Occupants contend they are still holding classes at D-Q in part to prevent the government from reclaiming the land. A posting on the university's unofficial MySpace page shows Christopher Yazzie, and several others, working on the land to plant a garden as recently as this past Sunday. They also say they have a bio-diesel program running, as well as cultural classes.
The arrests are just one of many incidents that divided people on exactly what to do about D-Q University.
Board liaison Susan Reece, an original staff member of D-Q and its unofficial historian, said the board is considering a charter- or vocational-school option, either of which requires no accreditation from the state.
However, many such schools also receive no state or federal funding for helping students pay for their tuition. Several students that attended D-Q University before it closed used federal Pell grants to afford tuition, according to U.S. Department of Education documents, but after the DOE found many of the grants had been misused or applied, they withdrew funding.
The next board meeting has yet to be scheduled. Occupants have scheduled a pow-wow Sunday that includes a chance to nominate and elect representatives.
Interview with Manuel, who was arrested on February 20 at D-Q U:
"D-Q University has become a corporation. Accredation means you're recognized by other corporations that recognizes that you have transferable college credits."
"It's a business. We want to have something separate but keep the D-Q in there because that represents our spiritual battle. Over time the corporation of D-Q became too focused on what a mainstream accredited college is supposed to be. That's what a business is. Keeping the business alive is the primary goal of the corporation."
"The administration and board since the 1970's have made crooked deals to get money out of the land. Group after group used D-Q and disappeared. There were two boards in a row, the students caught them with financial mismanagement and fraud. They were signing up students for financial aid without their knowledge and keeping the money. They let the university die."
"There was a political and spiritual movement. MECHA [Movimiento Estudiantil Chicana/o de Aztlan] and AIM [American Indian Movement] arose up and took back this land. If you model yourself after a white institution you become institutionalized, and now they're part of it. It's not what D-Q used to be."
"I'm here because this is the 11th hour, the Eagle and the Condor Prophecy. We're doing this for the 7th generation. We are the leaders. We can't look to our elders or the 'leaders'."
List of Needs:
-People to come and stay there
-Coming Out to D-Q to let people know what's going on
-Teachers and Students
-Cameras
-Civil Rights Attorneys
-Food (veggies, bread, water, etc)
-Fire Wood
-People with trucks
-Gardening Tool, Shovels, Hoses, chainsaws, lawnmowers, automotive tools, generators
-Diesel Fuel for tractors
-fruit trees, seedlings, seeds, seed banks
-fencing, fence posts,
-generators
-vegetable oils
-diesel cars that can be donated
===================================
Two more occupants of D-Q University were arrested Wednesday morning, after patrolling Yolo County Sheriff's deputies spotted them on the grounds.
Aaron Yazzie, from Davis, and Robert Fofrich, from Fontana, were arrested at 4:05 a.m. and cited for trespassing and damaging property. They were released with a notice to appear in court later.
Christopher Yazzie, 26, said his brother Aaron and Fofrich were arrested during a ceremonial sweat. The grounds for the sweat house are located toward the back of D-Q's property.
"We feel that the Yolo Sheriff has desecrated a sacred place for us, which means a lot," Yazzie said. "That's our sacred church.
Yazzie is seen as a leader among the occupants, who have already started to return to D-Q after 18 were arrested on Monday. One of the occupants, who stayed in a tree and waited out the deputies, according to an IndyMedia posting by San Jose State student and D-Q occupant Lupita Torres, 26.
Board of Trustees member Jane Elliot said there was no one on the grounds as of Wednesday. Two people that had come to get their belongings were allowed on the grounds. Otherwise, the campus is locked up, with wires across the long driveway to prevent cars from entering.
The 18 arrested occupants were cited for trespassing with a notice to appear in court. Several others escaped by running out the back; Torres said she was a member of the media. Sheriff's spokesperson Michele Wallace said the raid had been planned in advance.
Since the first raid on Feb. 20 of this year, 23 arrests have been made at D-Q University.
The arrests prompted at least one call for the Board of Trustees to fully resign, or face the loss of D-Q. Rita Montes-Martin, an activist from Davis who has a long history D-Q, wrote in an e-mail to Trustee Margaret Hoaglin that their legacy would be the closing of D-Q, and its loss back to the federal government. Trustee Jane Elliot said none of the board members will resign.
D-Q has been closed since 2005, when it lost its federal funding and endowment, and then lost its accreditation with the state.
Occupants contend they are still holding classes at D-Q in part to prevent the government from reclaiming the land. A posting on the university's unofficial MySpace page shows Christopher Yazzie, and several others, working on the land to plant a garden as recently as this past Sunday. They also say they have a bio-diesel program running, as well as cultural classes.
The arrests are just one of many incidents that divided people on exactly what to do about D-Q University.
Board liaison Susan Reece, an original staff member of D-Q and its unofficial historian, said the board is considering a charter- or vocational-school option, either of which requires no accreditation from the state.
However, many such schools also receive no state or federal funding for helping students pay for their tuition. Several students that attended D-Q University before it closed used federal Pell grants to afford tuition, according to U.S. Department of Education documents, but after the DOE found many of the grants had been misused or applied, they withdrew funding.
The next board meeting has yet to be scheduled. Occupants have scheduled a pow-wow Sunday that includes a chance to nominate and elect representatives.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
RAC and CWLA-GC Member at the New York Anarchist Bookfair on Panel "Anarchism and Social Movements"
Revolutionary Autonomous Communities and Cop Watch Los Angeles - GC Member Joaquin Cienfuegos at the New York City Anarchist Bookfair
Panel at the NYC Anarchist Bookfair called "The Intersection between Anarchism and Social Movements
http://www. anarchistbookfair. net/index. php
The Second Annual NYC Anarchist Bookfair (2008) will host a one-day exposition of books, zines, pamphlets, art, film/video, and other cultural and very political productions of the anarchist scene worldwide, on Saturday, April 12, 2008 at Judson Memorial Church in Manhattan.
The Second Annual NYC Anarchist Bookfair will feature over 40 tables as well as an art gallery. Panels, presentations, workshops, and skill shares will provide further opportunities to learn more and share your own experience and creativity. You know you should attend the 2st NYC Anarchist Bookfair if ... � You're an anarchist publisher, zinester, film/videographer, artist � You're a member of the worldwide anarchist community � You're an anarchist based in NYC and looking to connect with other anarchists here � You're anarcho-curious and looking to find out more about the contemporary anarchist movement, its ideas, ethics, activism or just to find out more about the community.
To contact the NYC Anarchist Book Fair Organizing Collective to volunteer, make a donation, or get more information, email us at info [at] anarchistbookfair. net. To apply for tables or to propose presentations, panels, workshops, or skillshares, see the forms elsewhere on this site. Diversity is important to us! Selection preference will be given to proposals that include voices typically underrepresented at mainstream and activist conferences alike. Food will be available ($), plus childcare (free). Handicapped/wheelchair accessible. Smoke-free environment. The Book Fair has adopted a policy of zero-tolerance for racist, sexist, queer-phobic, and other disrespectful behavior that works against an environment of tolerance and inclusiveness for a truly diverse range of communities.
Directions: Judson Memorial Church is located on the south side of Washington Square Park between Thompson and Sullivan Streets. Take the A, C, E, F trains to West 4th Street station; the R to 8th Street-NYU; or the 1 train to Christopher Street-Sheridan Square. The M1, M2, M3, M5, M6 and M8 bus lines also serve the area.
Schedule
Saturday, April 12
Gym
11:15-12:30: Education panel
1:00-2:15: Intro to Anarchism
2:30-3:45: George Sossenko
4:00-5:15: Parecon
5:30-6:45: Anarcha-Feminism ("On Being a Girl in an Anarchist Boys' Club")
Conference Room
11:15-12:30: No Borders Camp Reportback
1:00-2:15: Radical Homosexual Agenda
2:30-3:45: "Building a Movement Against Capitalism..."
4:00-5:15: Radical Social Services
5:30-6:45: Christiania
Tamiment Library
11:15-12:30: Community Needs Assessment
12:45-2:00: Computer & Internet Security for Activists
Sunday, April 13
Gym
2:00-4:00: Social Movements
4:00-6:00: Anarcha-Feminism ("Safety & Accountability in Activist Spaces")
Conference Room
10:00-12:00: Anarchism & Elections
12:00-2:00: Conflict Transformation
2:00-4:00: Palestine
4:00-6:00: Resisting the Cooptation of Movements
Panel at the NYC Anarchist Bookfair called "The Intersection between Anarchism and Social Movements
http://www. anarchistbookfair. net/index. php
The Second Annual NYC Anarchist Bookfair (2008) will host a one-day exposition of books, zines, pamphlets, art, film/video, and other cultural and very political productions of the anarchist scene worldwide, on Saturday, April 12, 2008 at Judson Memorial Church in Manhattan.
The Second Annual NYC Anarchist Bookfair will feature over 40 tables as well as an art gallery. Panels, presentations, workshops, and skill shares will provide further opportunities to learn more and share your own experience and creativity. You know you should attend the 2st NYC Anarchist Bookfair if ... � You're an anarchist publisher, zinester, film/videographer, artist � You're a member of the worldwide anarchist community � You're an anarchist based in NYC and looking to connect with other anarchists here � You're anarcho-curious and looking to find out more about the contemporary anarchist movement, its ideas, ethics, activism or just to find out more about the community.
To contact the NYC Anarchist Book Fair Organizing Collective to volunteer, make a donation, or get more information, email us at info [at] anarchistbookfair. net. To apply for tables or to propose presentations, panels, workshops, or skillshares, see the forms elsewhere on this site. Diversity is important to us! Selection preference will be given to proposals that include voices typically underrepresented at mainstream and activist conferences alike. Food will be available ($), plus childcare (free). Handicapped/wheelchair accessible. Smoke-free environment. The Book Fair has adopted a policy of zero-tolerance for racist, sexist, queer-phobic, and other disrespectful behavior that works against an environment of tolerance and inclusiveness for a truly diverse range of communities.
Directions: Judson Memorial Church is located on the south side of Washington Square Park between Thompson and Sullivan Streets. Take the A, C, E, F trains to West 4th Street station; the R to 8th Street-NYU; or the 1 train to Christopher Street-Sheridan Square. The M1, M2, M3, M5, M6 and M8 bus lines also serve the area.
Schedule
Saturday, April 12
Gym
11:15-12:30: Education panel
1:00-2:15: Intro to Anarchism
2:30-3:45: George Sossenko
4:00-5:15: Parecon
5:30-6:45: Anarcha-Feminism ("On Being a Girl in an Anarchist Boys' Club")
Conference Room
11:15-12:30: No Borders Camp Reportback
1:00-2:15: Radical Homosexual Agenda
2:30-3:45: "Building a Movement Against Capitalism..."
4:00-5:15: Radical Social Services
5:30-6:45: Christiania
Tamiment Library
11:15-12:30: Community Needs Assessment
12:45-2:00: Computer & Internet Security for Activists
Sunday, April 13
Gym
2:00-4:00: Social Movements
4:00-6:00: Anarcha-Feminism ("Safety & Accountability in Activist Spaces")
Conference Room
10:00-12:00: Anarchism & Elections
12:00-2:00: Conflict Transformation
2:00-4:00: Palestine
4:00-6:00: Resisting the Cooptation of Movements
Sunday, March 16, 2008
The System is in Trouble!
The System is In Trouble!
The Revolutionary Autonomous Communities Newsletter Editorial
rac@riseup.net
www.copwatchla.org
Things are moving and changing, and there is potential for revolutionary change within the empire. You know that the system is in trouble when the Democratic Party is running a Black Man and a Woman for president of the US. Barak Obama himself is running with a stamp slogan of "Change." It is without doubt that people want change. This is the reason why the Democrats (who don't represent the interests of people of color, women, working class, unemployed, queer people or anybody who is oppressed in fact) is running these two candidates. They want to bring back into mainstream-american politics all those who dream of change.
The question is can we rely on the same government that has created these current conditions? A government that has exterminated Natives, enslaved Africans, continues to steal land and colonize people, has 2 million people behind their prisons, and maintains their power through a fascistic military state. The history of this country is one of genocide, mass torture and rape and cannot go on any longer. Is it enough to put a token president in their White House and have the people settle for the lesser of two evils?
They only see fit for people to get involved in "decision making" every four years during their elections. While the rest of the time their media is used to keep us passive and out of their institutional power structure. They rather have us in their prison and military industrial complex. We are just slaves to them, but the reality is that we DO have the power to take back our lives and our communities. Working-class indigenous people and colonized people run this empire and the world.
Revolutionary Autonomous Communities believes that we have to create our own institutions where in our neighborhoods we can organize ourselves, feed ourselves, defend and protect ourselves, educate ourselves, and change the conditions OURSELVES. We cannot wait for change to happen on its own, or for someone to bring change to our doorstep. We have to begin to build that change where we live, where we work, where we go to school, and in general wherever we are. Change will not happen by putting who they conceive to be the "right person" to rule over us.
No one individual can create the change we want to see. We need a revolutionary movement. This will only happen with the same working class, indigenous and colonized people in the forefront. That means that those who are working for a different world have to start building together. The state understands the times as well, that is why they are setting precedents and targeting those who are resisting and who are fighting for revolution. The Black Riders Liberation Party in Los Angeles and the Puerto Rican Independence Movement are some examples where the state has targeted people who are putting in work to bring about this change. The reason why they attacked the May 1st Immigrant rights march in McArthur Park is because the power structure is afraid of the growing movement.
Revolutionary Autonomous Communities (RAC) is currently building alliances with organizations with similarities to us, so we can begin laying down the foundation for a revolutionary movement within this beast that is called america. We also understand that "our solidarity with others is our best defense." The state will seek to isolate revolutionary organizers from the people, so we have to seek to build those alliances (around principled unity, simultaneously continuing to dialogue over our differences) while we build our base in the community.
This change we dream of is urgent, but "our dreams will never fit inside their ballot boxes."
The Revolutionary Autonomous Communities Newsletter Editorial
rac@riseup.net
www.copwatchla.org
Things are moving and changing, and there is potential for revolutionary change within the empire. You know that the system is in trouble when the Democratic Party is running a Black Man and a Woman for president of the US. Barak Obama himself is running with a stamp slogan of "Change." It is without doubt that people want change. This is the reason why the Democrats (who don't represent the interests of people of color, women, working class, unemployed, queer people or anybody who is oppressed in fact) is running these two candidates. They want to bring back into mainstream-american politics all those who dream of change.
The question is can we rely on the same government that has created these current conditions? A government that has exterminated Natives, enslaved Africans, continues to steal land and colonize people, has 2 million people behind their prisons, and maintains their power through a fascistic military state. The history of this country is one of genocide, mass torture and rape and cannot go on any longer. Is it enough to put a token president in their White House and have the people settle for the lesser of two evils?
They only see fit for people to get involved in "decision making" every four years during their elections. While the rest of the time their media is used to keep us passive and out of their institutional power structure. They rather have us in their prison and military industrial complex. We are just slaves to them, but the reality is that we DO have the power to take back our lives and our communities. Working-class indigenous people and colonized people run this empire and the world.
Revolutionary Autonomous Communities believes that we have to create our own institutions where in our neighborhoods we can organize ourselves, feed ourselves, defend and protect ourselves, educate ourselves, and change the conditions OURSELVES. We cannot wait for change to happen on its own, or for someone to bring change to our doorstep. We have to begin to build that change where we live, where we work, where we go to school, and in general wherever we are. Change will not happen by putting who they conceive to be the "right person" to rule over us.
No one individual can create the change we want to see. We need a revolutionary movement. This will only happen with the same working class, indigenous and colonized people in the forefront. That means that those who are working for a different world have to start building together. The state understands the times as well, that is why they are setting precedents and targeting those who are resisting and who are fighting for revolution. The Black Riders Liberation Party in Los Angeles and the Puerto Rican Independence Movement are some examples where the state has targeted people who are putting in work to bring about this change. The reason why they attacked the May 1st Immigrant rights march in McArthur Park is because the power structure is afraid of the growing movement.
Revolutionary Autonomous Communities (RAC) is currently building alliances with organizations with similarities to us, so we can begin laying down the foundation for a revolutionary movement within this beast that is called america. We also understand that "our solidarity with others is our best defense." The state will seek to isolate revolutionary organizers from the people, so we have to seek to build those alliances (around principled unity, simultaneously continuing to dialogue over our differences) while we build our base in the community.
This change we dream of is urgent, but "our dreams will never fit inside their ballot boxes."
Monday, March 10, 2008
Videos from Kill the Pig In Your Head Event 11/19/07 at the East Side Cafe
Kill the Pig in Your Head Fundraising event for Revolutionary Autonomous Communities November 19th, 2007 at the East Side Cafe in El Sereno, CA (North East LA)
Introducing the East Side Cafe
http://youtube.com/watch?v=OdKhPryfcbQ
Introducing RAC's Food Program
http://youtube.com/watch?v=biPspIPK8sQ
RAC Discussion on Gentrification
http://youtube.com/watch?v=OtNHjfENDag
Bloom Performing
http://youtube.com/watch?v=_y-RKFzDGaI
Introducing the East Side Cafe
http://youtube.com/watch?v=OdKhPryfcbQ
Introducing RAC's Food Program
http://youtube.com/watch?v=biPspIPK8sQ
RAC Discussion on Gentrification
http://youtube.com/watch?v=OtNHjfENDag
Bloom Performing
http://youtube.com/watch?v=_y-RKFzDGaI
Friday, February 29, 2008
The Eagle and The Condor Unite: Reports from Natives from the North and the South
The Eagle and The Condor Unite: Reports from Natives from the North and the South
by Mari Villaluna (Poor Magazine)
and Joaquin Cienfuegos (Cop Watch LA GC and Revolutionary Autonomous Communities)
"The cops are at DQU!" the text message showed up on my phone just before I was about to continue walking on the Longest Walk 2. There I stood standing on the Longest Walk 2. I have been walking for the next seven generations, for my descendants. I pray for them with every step I take. On February 22, 2008 at 12:18 p.m. Yolo County Sheriffs arrested three DQU students with alleged charges of trespassing and served with an eviction notice. Students have occupied DQU since January of 2005, demanding the re-opening of DQU and maintaining classes every semester. In my prayers, I pray the hardest for the students who are left occupying D-Q University, which is the only off-reservation Indigenous university in the U.S. It was founded by Natives and Chicanos to reflect an Indigenous education that covered all of the Americas. In 2005, the university lost it's accreditation after the former administration mishandled school funds. The night before, some DQU students arrived to participate in the longest walk. That same night I met a journalist from L.A. named Joaquin Cienfuegos and we talked about D-Q University and the Longest Walk 2 and how they are interconnected. We talked about the importance of collaborating on media, and how not that often you see the North and South Natives coming together on a media tip. That night I knew it was important for him to interview Caske Limon, a DQU Student so Joaquin could understand the spiritual importance of DQU and its connections to the Longest Walk 2. "It's important because it's unique. It highly stresses culture and traditions. It has more hands-on learning experience and environment" said Caske Limon, DQU Student. "It's a place for healing. It's a very sacred place. The name of the school itself was brought to the school by means of ceremony. They used to hold the AIM Sundance at the DQ University back in the day" he continued. Caske continued to talk to Joaquin about how D-Q University has been as a used as a model for self determination and sovereignty for Native people. "It's creating a prototype, a microcosm, of a better society. It's giving a visual example of not polluting healthy life and eliminating diseases by eating healthy" he said. "We want to revert back to the structure of how indigenous societies used to work." DQU is very sacred to the students who are currently occupying it so much so that three of them recently got arrested because they believe in D-Q University. They believe in the vision of North and South Natives coming together to learn as their ancestors once did, without borders but having a epistemic location in a Indigenous traditional identity. I was lucky enough to have a conversation with an elder named Dr. Adam Fournate Eagle, who was one of the Natives to jump over the fence to reposses the former Army Communications center and started a tribal college called D-Q University. He talked about Alcatraz Island, DQU, Longest Walk of 1978, sacred sites, and cracked jokes the whole time. The words that I remember the most is "Its up to the youth to continue the struggles that we once fought for." Those youth at D-Q University are making sure that the next seven generations have an Indigenous University that uses our ways of educating our people.
by Mari Villaluna (Poor Magazine)
and Joaquin Cienfuegos (Cop Watch LA GC and Revolutionary Autonomous Communities)
"The cops are at DQU!" the text message showed up on my phone just before I was about to continue walking on the Longest Walk 2. There I stood standing on the Longest Walk 2. I have been walking for the next seven generations, for my descendants. I pray for them with every step I take. On February 22, 2008 at 12:18 p.m. Yolo County Sheriffs arrested three DQU students with alleged charges of trespassing and served with an eviction notice. Students have occupied DQU since January of 2005, demanding the re-opening of DQU and maintaining classes every semester. In my prayers, I pray the hardest for the students who are left occupying D-Q University, which is the only off-reservation Indigenous university in the U.S. It was founded by Natives and Chicanos to reflect an Indigenous education that covered all of the Americas. In 2005, the university lost it's accreditation after the former administration mishandled school funds. The night before, some DQU students arrived to participate in the longest walk. That same night I met a journalist from L.A. named Joaquin Cienfuegos and we talked about D-Q University and the Longest Walk 2 and how they are interconnected. We talked about the importance of collaborating on media, and how not that often you see the North and South Natives coming together on a media tip. That night I knew it was important for him to interview Caske Limon, a DQU Student so Joaquin could understand the spiritual importance of DQU and its connections to the Longest Walk 2. "It's important because it's unique. It highly stresses culture and traditions. It has more hands-on learning experience and environment" said Caske Limon, DQU Student. "It's a place for healing. It's a very sacred place. The name of the school itself was brought to the school by means of ceremony. They used to hold the AIM Sundance at the DQ University back in the day" he continued. Caske continued to talk to Joaquin about how D-Q University has been as a used as a model for self determination and sovereignty for Native people. "It's creating a prototype, a microcosm, of a better society. It's giving a visual example of not polluting healthy life and eliminating diseases by eating healthy" he said. "We want to revert back to the structure of how indigenous societies used to work." DQU is very sacred to the students who are currently occupying it so much so that three of them recently got arrested because they believe in D-Q University. They believe in the vision of North and South Natives coming together to learn as their ancestors once did, without borders but having a epistemic location in a Indigenous traditional identity. I was lucky enough to have a conversation with an elder named Dr. Adam Fournate Eagle, who was one of the Natives to jump over the fence to reposses the former Army Communications center and started a tribal college called D-Q University. He talked about Alcatraz Island, DQU, Longest Walk of 1978, sacred sites, and cracked jokes the whole time. The words that I remember the most is "Its up to the youth to continue the struggles that we once fought for." Those youth at D-Q University are making sure that the next seven generations have an Indigenous University that uses our ways of educating our people.
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