Black anarchism
Encyclopedia
Black anarchism opposes the existence of the state
and the subjugation and domination of people of color, and favors a non-hierarchical organization of society. Black anarchists
seek to abolish white supremacy
, patriarchy
, capitalism
, and the state. Theorists include Ashanti Alston
, Lorenzo Kom'boa Ervin
, Kuwasi Balagoon
, Kai Lumumba Barrow, Greg Jackson, Shaka N'Zinga, Roger White, Martin Sostre
and many former members of the Black Panther Party
. Anarchist people of color
is a network of non-white anarchists.
Ashanti Alston stated:
Black anarchists have criticized the traditional anarchist movement on the grounds it has traditionally been dominated by white Europeans. Black anarchists oppose the anti-racist
conception based on the moral universalism
of the Age of Enlightenment
, which is proposed by the anarchist workers' tradition. Black anarchists argue that it is not adequate to struggle against racism
, and that it disguises real inequalities by proclaiming a de jure equality
. Pedro Ribeiro has criticized the anarchist movement by declaring that:
Pedro Riberio has expressed concern that the traditional anarchist movement is racist and seeks to suppress the black voice:
Black anarchists are influenced by the civil rights movement
and the Black Panther Party
, but seek to forge their own movement that represents their own identity and is tailored to their unique situation. In contrast to black activism that was based on hierarchical organizations, black anarchism favors organic development through communication and cooperation to bring about an economic and cultural revolution. Alston's @narchist Panther Zine stated:
State (polity)
A state is an organized political community, living under a government. States may be sovereign and may enjoy a monopoly on the legal initiation of force and are not dependent on, or subject to any other power or state. Many states are federated states which participate in a federal union...
and the subjugation and domination of people of color, and favors a non-hierarchical organization of society. Black anarchists
Anarchism
Anarchism is generally defined as the political philosophy which holds the state to be undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful, or alternatively as opposing authority in the conduct of human relations...
seek to abolish white supremacy
White supremacy
White supremacy is the belief, and promotion of the belief, that white people are superior to people of other racial backgrounds. The term is sometimes used specifically to describe a political ideology that advocates the social and political dominance by whites.White supremacy, as with racial...
, patriarchy
Patriarchy
Patriarchy is a social system in which the role of the male as the primary authority figure is central to social organization, and where fathers hold authority over women, children, and property. It implies the institutions of male rule and privilege, and entails female subordination...
, capitalism
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
, and the state. Theorists include Ashanti Alston
Ashanti Alston
Ashanti Alston Omowali is an anarchist activist, speaker, and writer, and former member of the Black Panther Party. Even though the party no longer exists, Alston sometimes refers to himself as a Black Panther, and sometimes as "the @narchist Panther", a term he coined in his @narchist Panther Zine...
, Lorenzo Kom'boa Ervin
Lorenzo Kom'boa Ervin
Lorenzo Kom'boa Ervin is an American writer, activist, and Black anarchist. He is a former member of the Black Panther Party. He has lived in Memphis, Tennessee since 2010.- Youth and early activism :...
, Kuwasi Balagoon
Kuwasi Balagoon
Kuwasi Balagoon , born Donald Weems, was a Black Panther, a member of the Black Liberation Army, a New Afrikan anarchist, and a defendant in the Panther 21 case in the late sixties. Captured and convicted of various crimes, he spent most of the 1970s in prison...
, Kai Lumumba Barrow, Greg Jackson, Shaka N'Zinga, Roger White, Martin Sostre
Martin Sostre
Martin Ramirez Sostre is an American activist.He served time in Attica prison during the early 1960s, where he embraced doctrines as diverse as Black Muslimism, Black Nationalism, Internationalism, and finally anarchism. In 1966 Sostre opened the Afro-Asian Bookstore in the black ghetto of...
and many former members of the Black Panther Party
Black Panther Party
The Black Panther Party wasan African-American revolutionary leftist organization. It was active in the United States from 1966 until 1982....
. Anarchist people of color
Anarchist People of Color
Anarchist People of Color is an American anarchist/anti-authoritarian group created to address issues of race, anti-authoritarianism and people of color struggle politics within the context of anarchism, and to increase/create political space for people of color.Initially started as an e-mail list...
is a network of non-white anarchists.
Ashanti Alston stated:
Black anarchists have criticized the traditional anarchist movement on the grounds it has traditionally been dominated by white Europeans. Black anarchists oppose the anti-racist
Anti-racism
Anti-racism includes beliefs, actions, movements, and policies adopted or developed to oppose racism. In general, anti-racism is intended to promote an egalitarian society in which people do not face discrimination on the basis of their race, however defined...
conception based on the moral universalism
Moral universalism
Moral universalism is the meta-ethical position that some system of ethics, or a universal ethic, applies universally, that is, for "all similarly situated individuals", regardless of culture, race, sex, religion, nationality, sexuality, or any other distinguishing feature...
of the Age of Enlightenment
Age of Enlightenment
The Age of Enlightenment was an elite cultural movement of intellectuals in 18th century Europe that sought to mobilize the power of reason in order to reform society and advance knowledge. It promoted intellectual interchange and opposed intolerance and abuses in church and state...
, which is proposed by the anarchist workers' tradition. Black anarchists argue that it is not adequate to struggle against racism
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
, and that it disguises real inequalities by proclaiming a de jure equality
Egalitarianism
Egalitarianism is a trend of thought that favors equality of some sort among moral agents, whether persons or animals. Emphasis is placed upon the fact that equality contains the idea of equity of quality...
. Pedro Ribeiro has criticized the anarchist movement by declaring that:
Pedro Riberio has expressed concern that the traditional anarchist movement is racist and seeks to suppress the black voice:
Black anarchists are influenced by the civil rights movement
Civil rights movement
The civil rights movement was a worldwide political movement for equality before the law occurring between approximately 1950 and 1980. In many situations it took the form of campaigns of civil resistance aimed at achieving change by nonviolent forms of resistance. In some situations it was...
and the Black Panther Party
Black Panther Party
The Black Panther Party wasan African-American revolutionary leftist organization. It was active in the United States from 1966 until 1982....
, but seek to forge their own movement that represents their own identity and is tailored to their unique situation. In contrast to black activism that was based on hierarchical organizations, black anarchism favors organic development through communication and cooperation to bring about an economic and cultural revolution. Alston's @narchist Panther Zine stated:
See also
- Anarchism and nationalism
- Anarchist People of ColorAnarchist People of ColorAnarchist People of Color is an American anarchist/anti-authoritarian group created to address issues of race, anti-authoritarianism and people of color struggle politics within the context of anarchism, and to increase/create political space for people of color.Initially started as an e-mail list...
- Anarchist Black Cross NetworkAnarchist Black Cross NetworkThe Anarchist Black Cross Network is a worldwide decentralized and egalitarian network of organizations committed to the original ideals of the Anarchist Black Cross movement -- of seeing prisons and the poverty, racism and genocide that accompanies them to be symptoms of a social order whose last...
- African anarchism
External links
- Black Anarchism by Chuck Morse includes transcript of a talk by Ashanti AlstonAshanti AlstonAshanti Alston Omowali is an anarchist activist, speaker, and writer, and former member of the Black Panther Party. Even though the party no longer exists, Alston sometimes refers to himself as a Black Panther, and sometimes as "the @narchist Panther", a term he coined in his @narchist Panther Zine...
- Anarchist Panther
- Black Anarchism
- Black Anarchism - Has its time come?
- Senzala or Quilombo: Reflections on APOC and the fate of Black Anarchism
- Hubert Harrison
- Ben Fletcher
- Kuwasi Balagoon
- Anarchy and Chaos in Black Communities, Robert A. Wicks. Lewrockwell.comLewRockwell.comLewRockwell.com is a 501 libertarian web magazine operated by Burton Blumert , Lew Rockwell , Eric Garris , and others associated with the Center for Libertarian Studies ; its motto is "anti-state, anti-war, pro-market"...
.