Priya Reddy
Encyclopedia
Warcry is an environmentalist
and anarchist activist, filmmaker, writer and political organizer living in New York City
.
to the United States in 1976. She attended college in New York
, then Paris
, and eventually in the Bay Area, where she studied Cinema and International Relations and also first discovered the writings of the anarchist Emma Goldman
which influenced her deeply.
in an ancient forest defense campaign in Oregon to preserve and protect old-growth forests from loggers. She joined a tree-sit protest in 900 year old about 200 feet off the ground called Fall Creek
, where she met and befriended activists Brad Will
and Jeff Luers
. It was here she adopted her sobriquet
, as a conscious response to hippie
-like tree-sitters such as Julia Butterfly. Initially grounded due to her inability to climb, Warcry spent three weeks living on a platform neighboring Will's, and went on to live and work with Will on a number of video and print projects. Warcry and Will both worked with the NYC Indymedia collective until May 2001. In 2000 Luers was arrested and convicted of burning three SUVs in a statement against global warming and in 2001 was sentenced to more than 22 years in prison. Warcry has become a vocal supporter of Luers and considers his prison sentence to be excessive, along with the Eugene Human Rights Commission, and several others including Howard Zinn. Warcry gives an explanation of Luers' action in her essay "Burning To Breathe Free".
. She has since worked as an investigative reporter exposing the systematic torture at Abu Grahib. Warcry has also worked as a documentary filmmaker covering topics ranging from human rights in Palestine to dissent and protest in the United States, including the direct action based radical environmental movement. Warcry has her own film production company, Warcry Cinema, and organized the first New York anarchist film festival
in April 2007 in honor of slain comrade Brad Will, which featured a rough cut of Will's footage from Oaxaca
, Mexico
called The Revolution Next Door. Warcry has been a radio producer with the Pacifica Network, producing shows on Women's rights
movements in the Middle East. Warcry also covered the G8 protests in Scotland in 2005 and the riots at the 2005 European Social Forum in Athens, Greece. Warcry's essay, "My Family Wears Black" about anarchists in the anti-globalization movement appears in a book called Global Uprising: Confronting the Tyrannies of the 21st Century.
in 1999, the International Monetary Fund
and World Bank
in Prague in 2000, the WEF (World Economic Forum
) in New York City, and organized The InterGalactic Anarchist Convention in NYC, the first major anarchist gathering in NYC post-9.11. Warcry was also involved with the Quebec City Summit of the Americas
in 2001, and the Republican National Convention in New York City
in 2004. A radical feminist, Warcry has organized public support for secular movements for self-determination of Iraqi women, as co-founder of Solidarity with the Organization of Women's Freedom in Iraq which opposes a theocratic
State. She has also organized What Would Emma Do? - the Anarcho-Feminist Panel at the New York Anarchist Bookfair in April 2007 and was a member of the New York City Direct Action Network May 2001. Warcry has explained property destruction and black bloc
as protest tactic and phenomenon at demonstrations, commenting that "I don't think Seattle
would be on the map if it weren't for the catalyzing level of rage that was made visible through property destruction". And, "we can't sit this one out."
Environmentalist
An environmentalist broadly supports the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that seeks to improve and protect the quality of the natural environment through changes to environmentally harmful human activities"...
and anarchist activist, filmmaker, writer and political organizer living in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Life and work
As a child, Warcry emigrated with her parents from IndiaIndia
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
to the United States in 1976. She attended college in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, then Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, and eventually in the Bay Area, where she studied Cinema and International Relations and also first discovered the writings of the anarchist Emma Goldman
Emma Goldman
Emma Goldman was an anarchist known for her political activism, writing and speeches. She played a pivotal role in the development of anarchist political philosophy in North America and Europe in the first half of the twentieth century....
which influenced her deeply.
Will, Luers and Earth First!
In May 1998 Warcry worked with Earth First!Earth First!
Earth First! is a radical environmental advocacy group that emerged in the Southwestern United States in 1979. It was co-founded on April 4th, 1980 by Dave Foreman, Mike Roselle, Howie Wolke, and less directly, Bart Koehler and Ron Kezar....
in an ancient forest defense campaign in Oregon to preserve and protect old-growth forests from loggers. She joined a tree-sit protest in 900 year old about 200 feet off the ground called Fall Creek
Fall Creek
-In the United States:Streams*Fall Creek *Fall Creek *Fall Creek Falls , a waterfall of Lake Buchanan Populated places*Fall Creek, Oregon, an unincorporated community*Fall Creek, Wisconsin, a village...
, where she met and befriended activists Brad Will
Brad Will
Bradley Roland Will was an American activist, videographer and amateur journalist affiliated with Indymedia. On October 27, 2006 during a labor dispute in the Mexican city of Oaxaca, Will suffered two gunshot wounds that resulted in his death....
and Jeff Luers
Jeff Luers
Jeffrey "Free" Luers is an political activist from Los Angeles, California, who served a ten year prison sentence for arson in the U.S. state of Oregon. On February 14, 2007, The Oregon Court of Appeals overturned Luers' sentence, instructing the Lane County circuit court to determine a new sentence...
. It was here she adopted her sobriquet
Sobriquet
A sobriquet is a nickname, sometimes assumed, but often given by another. It is usually a familiar name, distinct from a pseudonym assumed as a disguise, but a nickname which is familiar enough such that it can be used in place of a real name without the need of explanation...
, as a conscious response to hippie
Hippie
The hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that arose in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. The etymology of the term 'hippie' is from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's...
-like tree-sitters such as Julia Butterfly. Initially grounded due to her inability to climb, Warcry spent three weeks living on a platform neighboring Will's, and went on to live and work with Will on a number of video and print projects. Warcry and Will both worked with the NYC Indymedia collective until May 2001. In 2000 Luers was arrested and convicted of burning three SUVs in a statement against global warming and in 2001 was sentenced to more than 22 years in prison. Warcry has become a vocal supporter of Luers and considers his prison sentence to be excessive, along with the Eugene Human Rights Commission, and several others including Howard Zinn. Warcry gives an explanation of Luers' action in her essay "Burning To Breathe Free".
Media activism
Warcry has been a long time advocate of "democratizing corporate controlled media" and has worked with MediaChannel.Org and other free speech advocacy groups to organize a democratic media movement in the U.S. She was involved with the indymedia project since its inception in Seattle during the anti-WTO riots in 1999WTO Ministerial Conference of 1999 protest activity
Protest activity surrounding the WTO Ministerial Conference of 1999, which was to be the launch of a new millennial round of trade negotiations, occurred on November 30, 1999 , when the World Trade Organization convened at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center in Seattle, Washington,...
. She has since worked as an investigative reporter exposing the systematic torture at Abu Grahib. Warcry has also worked as a documentary filmmaker covering topics ranging from human rights in Palestine to dissent and protest in the United States, including the direct action based radical environmental movement. Warcry has her own film production company, Warcry Cinema, and organized the first New York anarchist film festival
Film festival
A film festival is an organised, extended presentation of films in one or more movie theaters or screening venues, usually in a single locality. More and more often film festivals show part of their films to the public by adding outdoor movie screenings...
in April 2007 in honor of slain comrade Brad Will, which featured a rough cut of Will's footage from Oaxaca
Oaxaca
Oaxaca , , officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca is one of the 31 states which, along with the Federal District, comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided into 571 municipalities; of which 418 are governed by the system of customs and traditions...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
called The Revolution Next Door. Warcry has been a radio producer with the Pacifica Network, producing shows on Women's rights
Women's rights
Women's rights are entitlements and freedoms claimed for women and girls of all ages in many societies.In some places these rights are institutionalized or supported by law, local custom, and behaviour, whereas in others they may be ignored or suppressed...
movements in the Middle East. Warcry also covered the G8 protests in Scotland in 2005 and the riots at the 2005 European Social Forum in Athens, Greece. Warcry's essay, "My Family Wears Black" about anarchists in the anti-globalization movement appears in a book called Global Uprising: Confronting the Tyrannies of the 21st Century.
Protest organization
Warcry has organized protests against the WTO in SeattleWTO Ministerial Conference of 1999 protest activity
Protest activity surrounding the WTO Ministerial Conference of 1999, which was to be the launch of a new millennial round of trade negotiations, occurred on November 30, 1999 , when the World Trade Organization convened at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center in Seattle, Washington,...
in 1999, the International Monetary Fund
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...
and World Bank
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...
in Prague in 2000, the WEF (World Economic Forum
World Economic Forum
The World Economic Forum is a Swiss non-profit foundation, based in Cologny, Geneva, best known for its annual meeting in Davos, a mountain resort in Graubünden, in the eastern Alps region of Switzerland....
) in New York City, and organized The InterGalactic Anarchist Convention in NYC, the first major anarchist gathering in NYC post-9.11. Warcry was also involved with the Quebec City Summit of the Americas
Quebec City Summit of the Americas
The 3rd Summit of the Americas was a summit held in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, on April 20--22, 2001.This international meeting was a round of negotiations regarding a proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas...
in 2001, and the Republican National Convention in New York City
2004 Republican National Convention protest activity
2004 Republican National Convention protest activity includes the broad range of marches, rallies, performances, demonstrations, exhibits, and acts of civil disobedience in New York City to protest the 2004 Republican National Convention and the nomination of President George W. Bush for the 2004 U.S...
in 2004. A radical feminist, Warcry has organized public support for secular movements for self-determination of Iraqi women, as co-founder of Solidarity with the Organization of Women's Freedom in Iraq which opposes a theocratic
Theocracy
Theocracy is a form of organization in which the official policy is to be governed by immediate divine guidance or by officials who are regarded as divinely guided, or simply pursuant to the doctrine of a particular religious sect or religion....
State. She has also organized What Would Emma Do? - the Anarcho-Feminist Panel at the New York Anarchist Bookfair in April 2007 and was a member of the New York City Direct Action Network May 2001. Warcry has explained property destruction and black bloc
Black bloc
A black bloc is a tactic for protests and marches, whereby individuals wear black clothing, scarves, ski masks, motorcycle helmets with padding, or other face-concealing items...
as protest tactic and phenomenon at demonstrations, commenting that "I don't think Seattle
WTO Ministerial Conference of 1999 protest activity
Protest activity surrounding the WTO Ministerial Conference of 1999, which was to be the launch of a new millennial round of trade negotiations, occurred on November 30, 1999 , when the World Trade Organization convened at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center in Seattle, Washington,...
would be on the map if it weren't for the catalyzing level of rage that was made visible through property destruction". And, "we can't sit this one out."
Media appearances
- Breaking the Spell (film)Breaking the Spell (film)Breaking the Spell is a 1999 anarchist documentary, directed by Tim Lewis, Tim Ream, and Sir Chuck A. Rock.Using amateur camera footage recorded by protesters at the scene of the 1999 WTO riots, it documents the riot from the perspective of the anarchists, their opinions of fellow protesters, local...
(1999) - This Is What Democracy Looks Like (2000)
- "Keepers of the Flame", The Village VoiceThe Village VoiceThe Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
2002 - Jeff "Free" Luers was Sentenced to 22 Years in Prison for Burning 3 SUVs Democracy Now!Democracy Now!Democracy Now! and its staff have received several journalism awards, including the Gracie Award from American Women in Radio & Television; the George Polk Award for its 1998 radio documentary Drilling and Killing: Chevron and Nigeria's Oil Dictatorship, on the Chevron Corporation and the deaths of...
, July 17, 2003
External links
- warcrycinema.blip.tv
- Mohawks opening the Canadian Border for FTAA protest!
- RNC Update Number Two: Power and Anarchy by StarhawkStarhawkStarhawk is an American writer and activist. She is well known as a theorist of Paganism, and is one of the foremost popular voices of ecofeminism. She is a columnist for Beliefnet.com and On Faith, the Newsweek/Washington Post online forum on religion...
August 2004 - RNC Update Number 4: Action Bardo by Starhawk August 19, 2004