Interviews with anarchists in 17 cities across the USA

north america / mexico | anarchist movement | feature Tuesday June 03, 2008 02:00 by Andrew Flood - WSM (personal capacity)

Between February and May 2007 I interviewed 31 anarchists in the USA located in 17 different cities. The interviews are linked to below and provide a snapshot of the anarchist movement across the United States and anarchist attitudes towards local struggles and the US elections. The interviews were conducted during my 'Building a Popular Anarchism in Ireland' speaking tour during which I spoke at 45 locations across the USA and Canada. My intention is to write a detailed report on the movement as I saw it in the next month to complement these interviews. As of now you'll get a rough idea by reading my blog reports written during the tour and available at http://anarchism.pageabode.com/blogs/andrewnflood

The interviews are all mp3 files that were posted to the indymedia.ie server as I travelled around under the theme 'The Other USA'. The summary of each interview and a link to the mp3 file is below.

Providence, Rhode island - Mid February
Providence was the second stop on my tour. Senia and Mark talked to me about (the new) Students for Democratic Society (SDS), the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), anarcho-feminism in Puerto Rico and the US primaries. The interview opens with ten seconds of chanting from an SDS demonstration that happened to be taking place when I was in town. 50 minutes

50 mins, 5.39 Mb at http://www.indymedia.ie/attachments/feb2008/providenceiwwsdsmp3.mp3

Boston - late February
An interview with four members of the Boston union of the North Eastern Anarchist Communist Federation (NEFAC). NEFAC were the organisers of the NE tour which is why quite a few of the interviews are with NEFAC members. We talk about NEFAC, the Boston Irish, housing organization around the foreclosure crisis, unemployed workers organising and political prisoner support in the USA today.

27 minutes, 3.14 Mb at http://www.indymedia.ie/attachments/feb2008/bostonnefac.mp3

Northampton, Western Massachusetts - late February
This was recorded on the morning after the Amherst meeting just after a visit to the local graveyard where the anarchist Dyer Lum is buried. Anne Marie tells me how she became an anarchist through reading her sons activist emails, the local anti-war movement and class struggle politics in a small town. We also talk about Dyer Lim.

27 minutes, 3.1mb file at http://www.indymedia.ie/attachments/mar2008/amherst.mp3

Washington DC - early March
Alex talks about the Washington DC specific problem of building a popular anarchism in a city where there are several protests every day. 8 minutes

Interview with Washington DC anarchist - 8 mins 30 0.99 Mb audio at http://www.indymedia.ie/attachments/mar2008/alexdc.mp3

Richmond, Virginia - early March
Recorded on a sunny day in the park mentioned in the interview, hence the occasional wind noise. Sean tells me about the Richmond slave insurrection of 1800, anarchism in Richmond since 1995, homeless activism.
Interview with Richmond, VA anarchist - 23 mins 2.69 Mb at http://www.indymedia.ie/attachments/mar2008/richmond.mp3

Syracuse, NY - mid March
This was the second last stop and found me once more in the snow and ice after my brief Virginia spring two days travel to the south. Sara and Stephen, two members of the Syracuse Solidarity Network, talk about anarchist organising, local anti war and feminist movements and activism in a rust belt town. The second half is Stephen talking about how the experience of working with Common Ground in New Orleans after Kathrina radicalised him and in many ways is the most interesting segment of the six interviews.

27 minutes, 3.6 mb at http://www.indymedia.ie/attachments/mar2008/syracuse.mp3

Miami - Early April
In Miami I interviewed Patrick of the Black Mangrove Collective about struggles in that city and the political background. The interview covers everything from the difficulties of operating in a city where right wing Cuban exiles dominate the political landscape to community struggle for housing and organising in trailor parks.

20 minutes, 2.34 Mb at http://www.indymedia.ie/attachments/apr2008/miami.mp3

Ashanti Alston - Sarasota - early April
Ashanti Alston Omowali is an anarchist activist, speaker, and writer, and former member of the Black Panther Party. He was a Black Liberation Army political prisoner for over 12 years, Last night while at the All Power to the Imagination conference in Sarasota, Florida I recorded his speech

40 minutes, 4.34 Mb at http://www.indymedia.ie/attachments/apr2008/ashanti.mp3

Gainsville - early April
An interview with James Schmidt of the Civic Media Center infoshop in Gainsville, central Florida. Interview covers student town, recession, CMC origins, IWW, homelessness, organic farms and farmwork and the elections

26 mintues 2.98 Mb at http://www.indymedia.ie/attachments/apr2008/james.mp3

Atlanta, Georgia - early April
Interview with 3 members of the Capital Terminus Collective in Atlanta, Georgia. Interview covers hospital privitizations, housing, police corruption, segregation of the working class and ends with the usual question about the US election

40 minutes, 4.96mb at http://www.indymedia.ie/attachments/apr2008/ctc.mp3

Pittsburgh - Mid April
An interview with two anarchists in Pittsburgh, issues covered include the anarchist history of the city, transport cuts, current anarchist and left activity and of course their take on the US elections

12 minutes - 1.39 Mb - http://www.indymedia.ie/attachments/apr2008/pittsburgh.mp3

Detroit - mid April
An interview with Chris and Mike that looks at the radical history of Detroit and current anarchist activity in the city. Covers the period from the CIO upsurge and the mass migration to Detroit from the south, Black liberation movement and influence of maxism leninism to the formation of Anti-Racist Action (ARA). They also talk about issues in the city today and the formation of the new group Solidarity and Defence

40 minutes 5.59 Mb at http://www.indymedia.ie/attachments/apr2008/detroitinterview.mp3

Minneapolis - late April
An interview with Kieran in Minneapolis. He talks about employment in the 'twin cities' the loss of union jobs, the 1934 strike and Bloody Friday, the co-op movement in 60's and 70's, the American Indian Movement and Wounded Knee/Pine Ridge, influence of british anarchist groups and the formation of Love and Rage, Profane Existance and the punk scene and organising against the Republican National Convention and of course the elections

18 minutes, mp3 2.16 Mb at http://www.indymedia.ie/attachments/apr2008/minneapolis.mp3

Seattle - late April
n Seattle I interviewed Rogue across a range of topics that included the legend of seattle, gentrification and public housing, prison abolition, left bank books, hoping freight trains, homeless at 15, punk v nazi fights in North carolina, IWW struggle to unionize Austin co-op, Class Action Alliance and Environmental activism, ACT-UP and condoms in prisons

40 minutes 4.65 Mb at http://www.indymedia.ie/attachments/apr2008/rogue.mp3

Olympia - Early May
Interview with Class Action Alliance member and sex worker activist Christa. She talks about work in Olympia, homelessness, the port blockades of war equioment, ICE raids/ sanctuary city, local anarchist activity, the Utopian Design Collective and primitivism, sex workers in Seattle, going to the DNC and RNC mobilizations

14 minutes 1.71 Mb at http://www.indymedia.ie/attachments/may2008/christa.mp3

Eugene - Early May
Interview with IWW members Mark, Kate, Nathan in Eugene, Oregan. issues covered include local industry, gentrification of downtown, decline of radical organising, what remains, anarchism in Eugene today, the decline of primitivism, the IWW, organising hippie businessess,

14 minutes 1.78 Mb at http://www.indymedia.ie/attachments/may2008/eugene.mp3

San Jose - mid May
An interview with 4 members of Amanecer in San Jose. They talk about tech jobs and the service sector, history of police brutality, poor being pushed out of the city, referendum to abolish rent control, cop watch and De Bug, the flea market, left in San Jose, the furious 5, formation of Amanecer, work in social movements

26 minutes 3.6 Mb at http://www.indymedia.ie/attachments/may2008/sanjose.mp3