The event, hosted by the autonomous Austin ABC
collective and former political prisoner and Texas
anarchist Chris Plummer, comes on the heels of the
release of ?A New Draft Proposal for an Anarchist
Black Cross Network,? which advocated the creation of
a new network of anarchist anti-prison groups.
Organizers say they expect this conference will bring
together organizers to network around issues of
prisoner support, prison abolition and
anti-authoritarian struggle; and for founding the
Anarchist Black Cross Network.
Speakers scheduled include:
Standing Deer Wilson, former political prisoner and
longtime comrade of Leonard Peltier
Lorenzo Komboa Ervin, former political prisoner and
author of Anarchism and the Black Revolution
Chris Plummer, former anarchist political prisoner
Longtime prisoner-rights activist Anthony Rayson
(South Chicago ABC)
Members of New York City ABC, who will present on INS
detentions
ABC activists from Seattle, Eugene, Atlanta, Houston,
Chicago and elsewhere.
Some goals of this meeting include: to build our
solidarity and communications among the various
autonomous prisoner support tendencies; to learn
together and from one another via our experiences, and
educate on the ins and out of prisoner support,
freedom campaigns, etc.; to get autonomous anarchist
anti-prison groups acquainted and developing an ABC
network; and to help people interested in prisoner
support work to organize effective ABC groups in their
communities. Those affiliated with an autonomous
Anarchist Black Cross group, anti-prison group,
prisoner support collective or who are active in the
movement against prisons, criminalization and
incarceration; and those interested in forming an ABC
group or in being involved in supporting the movement
against prisons and in support of prisoners are
welcome to attend.
While its history is fuzzy, the Anarchist Black Cross
has reportedly been around for close to a century.
The Anarchist Red Cross was started in Tsarist Russia
to organize aid for political prisoners captured by
the police, and to organize self-defense against
political raids by the Cossack Army. During the
Russian civil war, they changed the name to the Black
Cross in order to avoid confusion with the Red Cross
who were organizing relief in the country. After the
Bolsheviks seized power the Anarchist movement moved
the ABC offices to Berlin and continued to aid
prisoners of the new regime, as well as victims of
Italian fascism and others. The Black Cross fell apart
during the 1930s depression due to the incredible
demand for its services and a decline in financial
aid. But in the late 1960s the organization resurfaced
in Britain, where it first worked to aid prisoners of
the Spanish resistance, which had not in fact died
after the civil war and were fighting the dictator
Franco's police. Now it has expanded and works in
several areas, with contacts and other Black Cross
groups in many countries around the world. The North
American section started in the early 1980s.
For more information, contact: Austin ABC, P.O. Box
19733, Austin, TX 78760-9733 or email
austinabc_@hotmail.com.
Listen Chris Plummer expose the use of prison labor in
Texas and Louisiana (MP3 file)
http://radio.indymedia.org/local/webcast/uploads/metafiles/chrisrobert.mp3