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“We Want Freedom: A Life in the Black Panther Party”
by Mumia Abu-Jamal
2004 South End Press
This is a great history of the Black Panther Party, Mumia Abu-Jamal’s early life, and even a great overview of the history of black resistance movements from the first slave rebellions – which he says the BPP fits into as an integral piece.
Mumia does a great job explaining the origins and philosophies of the party, as well as covering its history succinctly but in a sweeping way that other books have failed to do. There is a chapter on women in the party, which is of mixed quality, but other chapters, like the ones on COINTELPRO and snitches in the party, are absolutely vital.
Don’t miss the pictures of young Mumia working in the BPP (at age 14…)
“Bakunin on Anarchy”
Mikhail Bakunin
1972 A.A. Knopf
Collection of some of Bakunin’s most important writings and essays. Having not really read much Bakunin before, I’m a little disappointed, I must say. Not for what he says, but what he doesn’t.
He tended to repeat his own ideas a lot, which are of course valid (the state must be destroyed, not reformed; revolution must be decentralized and spontaneous by the masses of people, not handed down by a privileged elite), but also simplistic and formulaic. Overall, Bakunin’s writings are not very useful in contexts beyond the theoretical and philosophical, and you can take them more as guiding and grounding principles rather than any kind of program for revolutionary action.
Then again, there’s some important stuff here, especially about Bakunin’s relationship with Marx and other socialists of his day, the nature of the First International being especially interesting. Recommended but not by much.
Photo by Alex Wong, Getty Images
Today, as part of a solidarity action with folks struggling to save public housing in New Orleans, members of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) helped to organize a civil disobedience as a part of a larger demonstration outside the D.C. office of Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) organized by the Hip Hop Caucus and the Advancement Project. At the culmination of the rally where the crowd demanded the right of return for New Orleans residents, 6 members of SDS and a local high school student rushed into a nearby intersection and laid down, effectively blocking traffic at three intersections in northeast D.C. When it was clear that the cops were taking their time, the folks lying down, with the support of the rest of the protesters who were standing with them, picked up and moved further into the intersection, shutting down a total of six intersections around the HUD office. After an hour of disrupting busy D.C. streets, folks stretched out on the ground declared victory as the demonstration concluded with protesters marching through the lunchtime streets.
Residents of New Orleans public housing have called on folks from around the country to come down to Louisiana to support their efforts directly or to organize actions in their own cities. The recent Northeast Convention in Philly endorsed this call. This particular D.C. action, due to short notice, was only endorsed by the George Mason University (GMU) chapter of SDS, although members of most local chapters were in attendance. The fight is still going on down in Louisiana, so organize a demonstration in your city to support folks at this critical point in their struggle to return to their homes.
Check out the USA TODAY article for a picture of local SDSers and more details on the situation in New Orleans.
Here is the New Orleans Indymedia article on the D.C. action.
Article by Jasper Conner, GMU SDS
On December 3rd 2007, the Philadelphia chapter of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) transformed the recruitment offices of 125 N. Broad St. into a functioning community center. Dozens of local students built an interactive art exhibit in front of the recruitment station, raising a banner over the recruitment office that read “Philadelphia People’s Community Center”. The students cheered “Replace this base with community space!” and passed out leaflets with career alternatives to military recruitment.
Recruitment, the students argue, drains valuable resources from the Philadelphia community. “Army recruitment offices are taking concerned Philadelphians away from Philadelphia,” said Alessandra Lobasso, member of Philly SDS. “The youth that actively want to make a difference are being lured away from their community by the false promises of military recruiters.” According to the New York Times, approximately one in five United States Army recruiters were under investigation in 2004 for threatening and coercing applicants. More pictures… Read the rest of this entry »
Philadelphia Students for a Democratic Society has just hosted the fourth Northeast Regional Convention at UPenn!
Over 150 SDSers from 40 chapters all over the northeast gathered together in Philadelphia to share victories and plan for the coming year.
We held workshops and learned new skills, we brainstormed new organizing opportunities, we started working together on joint actions and campaigns, we built student power at the root. Read the rest of this entry »
Calling all Northeast Students for a Democratic Society!!
Philly SDS invites you to the City of Love (for All Genders) to participate in the SDS Northeast Regional Convention, Friday Nov. 30th through Sunday December 2nd!
Are you ready to Build the Movement and Amplify the Resistance? Read the rest of this entry »
On November 16th, SDSers had a ‘cough-in’ and ‘die-in’ from the terrible fumes coming from Bank of America, as part of Rainforest Action Network’s ‘Nationwide Day of Action’ against new Coal-fired power plants and destructive mining practices such as Mountaintop Removal. more pics below…
Every day for the last week has seen nonviolent activists attempting to physically block a shipment of Stryker military vehicles, returning from Iraq, from unloading off the Port of Olympia, Washington to be refitted and sent back to the war. Police in riot gear have responded with violence and chemical weapons. Resistance to the war machine continues to grow.
Read the “Tear it Down” article by a Northwest SDSer below. And here’s video:
Port Militarization Resistance — Peppersprayed in Olympia
Port of Olympia Anti-Militarization Action Nov. 2007
Port of Olympia War Shipments Halted 11/9/07
Stop Wars — a day of struggle in Olympia
TEAR IT DOWN (while building sustainable alternatives)
Guy Dobyns
Northwest SDS Joins Port Militarization Resistance, Others in Halting Military
Shipments
Dozens of SDSers from Olympia, Tacoma, Bellingham, and Portland have all been present in the newest round of protesting military shipments through Olympia, Washington this week. Anti-war activists from across the region, ranging in age from toddlers to the grey-haired, have come out to protest–and to blockade with their bodies–the movement of Stryker vehicles through the Port of Olympia. The Strykers were from 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division Stryker Combat Team which resisters tried to prevent from leaving through the port in May 2006. Since then port actions have occurred in Tacoma and Aberdeen, WA against military shipments. Most likely, the returning materials will be shipped out again, even though the last tour of Iraq resulted in 48 deaths of American soldiers and an unknown number of Iraqi civilian deaths. Also, a high-ranking official in the US military leaked out that all the vehicles and weapons aboard the ship are contaminated with depleted uranium. The presence of the ship and the movement of Strykers act as a hyper-militarization of an already militarized town.
What has been amazing about the actions is the level of resistance displayed. Never before, in the port actions in Olympia, Tacoma and Aberdeen, have people displayed these levels of resistance, adapting quickly to changing situations and fighting back. There is something beautiful happening in Olympia. Liberals, radicals and everyone in between are working together. They are on the same page and because of this they are able to act in the manner they did. It is a true expression – no, a true act of solidarity. Read the rest of this entry »
The End of Capitalism 
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