EACH ONE, TEACH ONE Interview Series #9

An Interview Conducted by the Chicago Local Organizing
Committee of the Black Autonomy Federation

Hybachi Lemar is a forrmer prisoner who Anthony Rayson
introduced to Anarchism by means of handwritten
correspondence and zines in 2006 while in solitary confinement.

Anthony Rayson is a firebrand writer, editor & publisher of
South Chicago ABC Zine Distro.

This is conducted as @ part of the Each One, Teach One
Interview Series by the BAF Chicago Local Organizing
Committee, located on the South Side of Chicago.

Hello, Brother! And, also hello to everybody in Chicago who
fmay run across this exchange and anybody else around the
country, whether they are held captive by this carceral state or in
“minimal security” on the streets, in some form of detention,
“mental health’ facility or sorne flat, house or viaduct,
somewhere. | appreciate the opportunity to be given a written
“voice” in answer to these intensely relevant questions.

s Hybachi has mentioned, we got together via written
correspondence, some sixteen years ago. Brother, you have
proven to be a dedicated and brilliant stalwart of the struggle for
truth and freedom, all these many years. This distro that |
created in the late nineties, has at least a couple dozen of your
unique and insightful works, that stand as powerful teaching
tools for anyone interested in the unbridied truth!

Vou call yourself a *student” and | am older than you, but
mutual aid" also encompasses the complementary gaining of
insight and knowledge, which you have provided me with (and
many others) in selfless abundance. Aswell it isn't just my rants
and essays that you have gained from. Dozens of other
conscious prisoners and other humanist thinkers that explode
throughout this distro (and, of course, other righteous sources)
make up ones’ resume of synthesized understanding, which can
(like you've shown) cross the *fear line” and evolve into ongoing,
adaptable Anarchist action. 50, kudos to you, MAN!

Question # 1. Greetings of solidarity, love & strength, Compa
Anthony, and thanks for taking @ moment to provide
knowledge once more. It's a student’s honor working with you.
How have you been?

Please begin with o few words of revolutionary inspiration to
our Englewood Liberation School students & to other grassroots
Anarchist formations sprouting around the country.

Answer to Question #1. To answer your first question, I'm OK,
for my age, now being 68. I've had a tough go the last few years,
physically, with several surgeries and procedures, but the last
say, six months, I've felt pretty good. I've lost one of my brothers
and my Mother, during the last four years. | have a loving wife,
two sons and two grandsons and they are all good, so | am
happy about all that, intimately involved in their continuing
well-being and am still able to function adequately.

Two years ago, my partner in this endeavor, Mike, suffered a
serious stroke, the same day Kobi Bryant, his daughter and their
crew were killed. He is now back to 90%, after lengthy rehab. |
don't have the explosive amount of energy of years past, but I've
learned to pace myself and peck away at this work, most every
day. Sometimes, | have to drop everything and deal with other
situations, mostly family-related, or to go out of town.

| must mention, we moved to another house in the summer
of 2019, which was a tremendous effort, mostly undertaken by
myself. My extensive distro was thrown into a jumble and | am
still trying to sort it al out. | didn't do a yearly calendar in 2020 or
2021, due to this disruption, various maladies and covid-related
problems. Lately, I've gotten a better handle on things.

Anyways, before | answer the next question, Id love to give a
shoutout to all those folks in Englewood who are struggling with
Hybachi and others, and endeavoring to make Englewocod a
loving and livable community - not an easy task amidst such a
police-state reality. Your fight is not only righteous but the main
struggle here in the “belly of the beast.™ I'm sure many of you
have experienced the racist “copitalism" that is daily facing us.
Many of your family and friends have suffered greatly in the
tombs of our oppressors and the bereft streets.
3
Hopetully, these liberating ideas will resonate and lead to

increased activity in solidarity with your community and help
you reach out to others across Chicago and around the world,
who feel the same way you do.

Like an infant child, progress is made, step by step. Starting a
liberation school s a great move! Genuine and effective activism
is given birth by a few motivated individuals. “Learning the
ropes" is a process of trial and error. You will find solid mentors
along the way. | am glad to help in any way. As Malcolm X has
said, something to the effect that the masses must learn their
true history and the truth of the brutal reality that is being faced
by their people - then they will move. Many great and successful
movements began - often while still a prisoner - by one person
who resolved to “not take it, anymore.”

The harsh reality of many comrmunities, such as Englewood,
cry out for a conscious, anarchist group, who has the peoples’
interests as the sole motivation for whatever they do. There is no
“hidden agenda” o money-making scheme to detract from the
goal - to educate and empower and assist in any way, those
Jiving in the community and by extension, folks similarly situated
across the country and the world.

Chicago has a world-renown history of cutting edge Anarchist
thinking and action. The Haymarket Martyrs cry to this day from
their graves! They initiated the 8hour day which the whole
world has benefitted from. They developed the “Chicago School”
of Anarchism, which resounds as clearly today as back then.

Lucy Parsons, whose husband Albert, was one of the four
murdered men, continued to be active and write in Chicago,
until her death in 1942. She was born a slave yet was able to live
her whole beautiful and long life in revolt! Thanks to these
Herculean examples, we can “stand on the shoulders of giants™
as we adapt anarchism to today’s complex problems. Work
local, think global. Indeed we have a world to wint

Take carel @nthony of South Chicago ABC Zine Distro.

anthonyrayson@hotmail.com
hybachil@gmail.com
Question #2. Thanks. Please tell us. What is an “Anarchist?” y
Answer to Question #2. An Anarchist, to me, is a very focused
and driven person. | would say such a person is motivated by
trying to understand why things are the way they are, makes
dogged efforts to acquire and study cogent argumentation
about the world and this society in particular, and follows her or
his natural inclinations, making adaptations of intellect and
coming to the epiphany that “anarchism” offers the truest set of
£00ls to use to wed thoughts and actions most effectively.

Anarchism s a sophisticated and highly adaptable set of
principles, which anyone, anywhere in the world can feel
comfortable with and that can be useful in dealing with local
situations, no matter what those might be. Collectives of
3narchists can form alliances with other such groups, regionally,
nationally or intemationally. Of course, they can also work with
non-anarchist groups without sacrificing their autonomy.

Anarchism is pretty much universally reviled as nothing more
than pointless banditry by all the governmental powers that be,
around the world. All governments lie and in fact, they are the
world's most horrific criminal enterprises, whose laws give them
the *right” to commit any type of crime imaginable, without
consequence. Anarchist literature is purposely very difficult to
2cquire, because once a serious student does run across the real
deal. she or he s often quite impressed. The very word “anarchy”
s @ buzzword with negative connotations, like “gang-relatea.”
$0,i’s good to go to a real Anarchist to learn about it!

The main difference between an Anarchist and a statist, is the
fact that, as George Washington, said: "Government is not
eloquence. It is force!” Anarchists are totally against coercive
authority, wherever it rears its ugly head - whether by a
government and its array of coercive institutions (such as the
prisons, the military, the police, taxing bodies, laws, etc.) or other
institutions, such as churches, schools, hospitals and so forth,
who are bound to obey government strictures and pass the
unfairness to those they alleged “serve.”
We feel the lawyers and politicians who work for the elites and
bend the laws to benefit the rich and plunder the poor, even to
the point of instilled systemic racism (and slavery) into the very
fabric of their system, have no real legitimacy, which people
should cowtow to. N

OK. I say that anarchists are socialists. What is a socialist?
Socialism basically is the belief that the wealth produced should
be evenly distributed. People have the basic right to life, quality
medical care, adequate nutrition, housing and the right to
pursue their desires and interests without interference, as long
as others are not harmed by them

Communism claims to believe in socialism, but it is not the
way anarchists see it. Communism s basically, state-run
capitalism. The Party runs roughshod over the whole country,
coercively forcing people to do what they are told. That is not
freedom. Nor is capitalism. They encourage the exploitation of
labor, obscene profits for the rich, misery and prison for the poor
and Black, no guarantee of health, welfare or even, life. During
the bloody 20th century, it was said, "the only thing worse than
communism was anti-communism. To this day, the whole
world is disintegrating physically and every man, woman and
child is held hostage by the threat of nuclear annihilation.

Anarchism proposes a set of pliable principles to help folks
figure out a way to conduct themselves and their interactions
with others. | don't have any resources to elucidate these, so Il
just go off the top of my head. Embracing these principles can
lead to genuine personal accountability. Like any other avenue
of thinking, some folks who call themselves “anarchists” or
whatever, do not comport themselves as well as they could or
should. | believe however, that the lucidity and directness of
these principles, allow for people to pursue their talents and
interests in the service of humanity, without the *strings
attached” of so many other ideologies and religions.

NO MASTERS NO GODS. This is a slogan used to express the
refusal to accept coercive authority as something to be
mindiessiy obeyed. This does not infer that decisions cannot be
effectively made or carried out. The Native Americans usually
had a “Chief" This Man or Woman attained a position of respect
through a lifetime of community-conscious activities. They lived
among their tribes, ate the same food and shared their fates.

Decisions were arrived at by consensus. Everybody interested in
the issue was afforded a voice. All decisions were unanimous.
There was no manipulated “majority rule” No edict fromon
high. Of course, not all tribes were so scrupulous. But,
consensus decision-making is an anarchist principle. Some
people claim to have a religion or a spiritual life and still be.
anarchists. But to me, Gods are man-made and almost
invariably, the “sacred texts" are written by men, who had, you've
gotit -an “agenda” | can see the spiritual, by not any religion.

AFFINITY GROUPS. These are small units of autonomous
comrade anarchists, who rely upon each other implicitly.
Especially effective during fluid situations of struggle, they
minimize possibilities of infiltration by fascist forces and make
the day-to-day work they are doing, more quickly realizable.
They can also be part of a bigger group, but they are mostly on
their own and make their own calls on what and how to do what
they feel is important.

PRISON ABOLITION. Did the Natives | spoke of earlier have
prisons? Sheesh! Of course not! But, like any other society, they
had to deal with aberrant behavior, fueled by whatever reason.
The idea of dealing with "bad behavior” is to reach that person in
such a way that he or she can transcend the accused infraction
and rejoin the community. To allow “government” to commit
endless legal genocide is not to be considered as crime, of
course. But, the marginalized and denied and slighted in
endless ways ‘offender” must be insanely punished? How
fraught with evill If a parent held their child in shackles, chained
to abed or putin a closet, theyd (justifiably) be considered the
worst of scum. If the government does it,it's “corrections.” Sane.
methods of dealing with harmful to self & others behavior are
available, which | will elucidate about in a different question.

MUTUAL AID. Sounds simple, right? You help me, | owe you
one. We're allin this together! If a natural disaster strikes,
neighbors help each other. It's common sense. It's what
humans do. Take it to the next level and make such a concept
your everyday priority and watch the quality of your life improvel
It's kinda like this zine - Each One, Teach One Living this
concept in all situations is an endiless trek into the marvelous!

Instead of always being told what to do and not really learning
anything, you are collaberating with brilliant comrades and
everybody involved is learning lots! That's mutual aid, my
friends! In fact, doing someone or a group of people a good turn
is beneficial for your own psychological health, anyways! Be
human and be there for people and some folks will have your
back. We should share everything and push the struggle!

_VOLUNTARY COOPERATION. This one is pretty
self-explanatory. In whatever situation folks find themselves,
coercion, bullying, intimidation and so forth, are not to be
tolerated. Any participation in any endeavor is only legitimate if
that person consciously agrees to be a part of it. With folks who
earnestly look to live as anarchists, gaining their willingness to
participate in some group or particular activity, is based on their
weighing the pros and cons in an objective manner. If however,
say an individual refuses to be involved, for whatever reason,
they have that right, once again, as long as what they do, does
not end up infringing upon the rights of others.

SOLIDARITY. When people are being especially menaced,
almost invariably by a government or government / business
venture, those nearby especially, but also anyone with a
conscience, should be in resolute support of these threatened
people. It helps to build relationships and strengthens
opposition to such abuse. People learn from others struggles,
but they must get involved to find out the details. Soon, their
own confrontations will occur and these ties will be important.

FEMINISM. Women are not only half of humanity, but they
actually incubate, create and sustain life itself. Plus, they can do
anything any man can do and more. It is preposterous to not
think women as equals deserving fair treatment in whatever it
they may be doing. A big reason | despise religion is the galling
claim that “God" is some kind of male! Ridiculous and totally
stupid. People have suffered enormously because of these sick
ideas. Women are in fact, quite “superior” to males, genetically.
They live longer and comport themselves more positively.

ANTI-RACISM. Slavery, to this day, is baked into the
ballyhooed Constitution. Slavery never really ended and it was
meant to be a pro-slavery document. The US. is a uniquely
hyper-capitalist country, underscored by institutional, systemic,
centuries-long, slavery and ‘legalized” discrimination. People

have been forced to be racists since their childhood, if they are
so-called “white” which is an absurd designation, as is "black” A
mere 1/25 of an ounce of the skin pigment melanin separates the
darkest African from the most translucent albino. People need
0 gather in solidarity and oppose their real enemy - the damned
state and their myriad of oppressive institutions. 4

People are all equal and deserve to be respected and
protected against deprecations, by the state, groups or
individuals. no matter their gender preference or where they
come from. Borders are artificial barriers that should be
removed. Everyone has natural rights, including that of
movement anywhere in the world, without restrictions.

DIRECT ACTION. Well, this is rather straightforward! Deal
with crises in real time, directlyl When things are at fever pitch,
it's time to drop everything and get going! Like Frederick
Douglass said, “Without struggle, there is no progress.”

Anarchists especially, have a heightened desire to hit the streets
and challenge the state & / or their nazi friends, when the shit
has hit the fan. We must be ready. The state has unfathomable
Wweapons to oppose us. We need many, many people to stand
up to these evil bastards! You saw what happened in 2020!

Well,there are other things to say about what an Anarchist is,
but there are twenty questions here and | don't want to bumn
you ll out on just one. So, suffice to say, being an anarchist is a
serious, awesome and intense, life-long responsibility to those
willing to take on the task. Just remember, it all hinges on your
‘own innate take on any situation and your reasoning turned
proactive. Work hard all the time, whether it is tedious "behind
the scenes work® or outin the streets in front of thousands of
cameras. Do what needs to be done as you learn more daily.

AUTONOMY. We are all individuals. We alone have control
over our lives. As well,if we become part of a group, that group.
is the arbiter of what happens with said group. No one, most
especially, some governmental agency, has a right whatsoever

to try to tell us what to do or how to doit. As well, another
organization, which we may or may not be somehow affiliated
with, cannot dictate our behavior, or how to even respond to a
particular situation. Say a group decides to organize a 9
community collective. Whether you decide tojoin and enter
into various agreements as to what your participation entails,
you can opt out. The only caveat (as always)is, you can do
‘Whatever you want, as long as you are not oppressing other
people. But, if you do, you will no longer be left alone - at least
by anarchists. Freedom is free, until you hold hands with
fascists! Then you have a problem because anarchists will come
to the defense of those being menaced. No co-optation, either!

Question #3. When did you first acknowledge yourself as on
“Anarchist?”

Answer to Question 3. Well, the answer to this question is
‘amazing even to me. I'd been a sort of anarcho-teenager and
really never stopped feeling the way | felt when | was fifteen. |
always hated the government and stupid, coercive authority.
But, | was born in 1953! As | got to be an adult. |learned all about
communist thinking. | read all the bigshot commies. | agreed
\with their class analysis, but not their brutal oppressiveness.
That, sure as hell wasn't *freedom!” But, you really couldn't find
out much of anything about *anarchism.” Id heard about it, ina
negative, desultory manner, but | never really saw it manifested
in any real way. Sure, there were the *Yippies" but explanatory
texts didn't seem to exist.

So, it wasn't until I was forty, that | came to the epiphany that |
was, indeed, an “Anarchi 1 found the “zine" underground and
the anarchist underground. The internet appeared, as did AK
press and other quality sources of anarchist information.
Anyway, coming to this conclusion, spurred me on to an
unbelievable avalanche of activity, co-founding grassroots
groups, writing my brains out and starting my distro. | went to
countless demonstrations and meetings, all over the country,

organized all kinds of events and so forth. So, I took the fact that
{was an anarchist to mean, | had zero time to waste, fooling
around, doing nothing! | no longer had an excuse to be a schiub.
Time was a-wastin’ so | got on the stick and self-taught my way
o figuring out how to use my talents effectively. Luckily, while
you go headlong like this, mentors will show up along the way to
help guide you. Trust your instincts and what you feel is most
important. Invariably, others will feel the same way. ] 0

Question #4. Why do you think so much of the writings you
print are bonned in so many states in this country?

Answer to question #4. Well, look at the sorry history of this
slave-drenched country. Teaching slaves to even read was a
serious “crime!” As slavery is still the linchpin of the hallowed
Constitution, the same mindset holds sway. Sure the Bill of
Rights recognizes “free speech.” But, if you're not just a
regurgitator of standard beliefs, you'll have problems. No one
will hire you to write your true opinions or publish your work into
2 book, if they feel the blowback isn't worth the hassle. OK. | get
it. To genuinely express yourself, you must *go off the grid” thus
the reason why | decided to go the zine route. Prisons demand
that any publication “come from the publisher” outside of
personal letters, which is also *from the publisher” or at least
writer. So, the deal is you have to become a *publisher.” Weirdly,
becoming “publisher” is ridiculously easy. You don't have to go.
10 school or even pay some kind of fee. All you have to dois
proclaim yourself the publisher of whatever and whammo, you
qualify. Simply, create a name and put it on the envelope as a
return address and put that same address in whatever
publication you are sending.

I believe that the real reason zines are allowed into the prisons
s because they allow all kinds of religious tractsin. Plus, the
First Amendment to the Constitution, calls for “free speech.” Of
course, the prisons have a laundry list of reasons why
publications are denied, mostly a vague reference to the
inference that said publication makes problematic the fascistic
running of said gulag. They rarely even cite a particular page of
phrase that worries them so. It's quite pitiful, actually. 1"
There's a whole different set of rules for books. | kind of felt
that zines have no respect by people in general and that goes for
the schrmoes that | call “gulag censor trolls” They're lazy and
rather ignorant and everything is arbitrary. Mostly, they let stuff
slide, because they don't want any hassle and feel nobody can
learn anything anyway about anything by reading. The
educational system itself is structured to crush mental
development and most people hate reading after going through
the miserable experience of mainstream “education.”
Sometimes, it's just a personal vendetta against the prisoner
receiving the zine. He or she may actually be a writer for this
distro or whatever. They just don't want the cat out of the bag of
people realizing the details of social reality. Because, once they
do get a grasp of it, they invariably become liberation-minded
and this is the opposite of the television-dulled bunch they want.

Question #5. Please provide o general outline of Anarchist
teachings.

Answer to question #5. Well, | kind of answered part of that
qQuestion earlier. Anarchist teaching is basically energizing folks
1o begin the journey of self-actualization. People are imbued
with an innate sense of empathy. We're social animals and
thrive in the company of others. We want things to be good for
ourselves and those around us. Anarchists take it to the next
level and care about everybody, wherever they may live. | wrote
2 zine several years ago, entitled: “Anarchism - The Advanced
Studies of Giving a Damn!” That's what anarchism teaches. Give
2 damn about injustice, wherever it may rear its ugly head. Tap
into your humanity and liberate yourself and deal with things as
if it is being hurtful to you, those you're close with and o on.
The dying, starving person in Africa - that person's life is as
important as anyone in this world. You believe in freedom and
justice? Great! Live your lfe as if every single person on Earthis
you and your efforts matter. Anarchist “teachings’ are Iz
impressive suggestions. As with everything else in life, what
your brain compels your hody to o, is what your life s all about.
They teach us to respect ourselves and to use your own
reasoning powers to figure out a response to anything you are
involved with. Whether itis dealing with your own turmoil, that
of your family, your neighborhood, community or anything
going on anywhere on Earth, the response should be the same.
Be loving, be thoughtful, be giving and live your truth that you
feel without any restrictions. Life is most lived in the “doing!"”
Doing good work for others benefits you, actually helps you,
immensely. Just because we live in a sick society, doesn't mean
your one life on Earth has to be truncated. Go for being the best
person you can possibly be. Anarchism welcomes you, friends!

Question #6. What is your take on “the importance of
education?”

Answer to question #6. Education is a fundamental
prerequisite in all facets of life. A child comes out of babyhood
into toddlerhood craving to learn all that she or he can. This
should be 3 lifelong desire, but all too often, this drive is blunted
and misdirected by the authoritative controllers of what is really
miseducation. The government controls standard education
and itis a miserable force-fed avalanche of lies and slanted
“teachings” extolling the alleged virtues of said government.
Mostly, it turns people away from seeking knowledge and stifles
their reasoning powers. Religions weigh in with their various
brands of untruths and threats to those who would question
their dogmas.

The real truth s lied about and hidden. It's no wonder that
teaching slaves to even read was such a dread to theri that it
was a crime. For prisoners, modern-day legal slaves, much the
same attitude continues. They want zombies, who take the
rmind-melting drugs forced upon them, whossit in front of the
idiot box all day long - not educated thinking human beings.
For, once you've been exposed to the brutal truth, you are
looking for effective ways to challenge such an oppressive
system. The great Malcolm X said something to the effect that
people need to learn their identity - their past and their place in
the present - then they'll move towards the future with 2
revolutionary consciousness. Fascists burn books. Anarchists
write them! It's why | work closely with conscious prisoner
writers and artists. They are in the know, being in the belly of the
besst. So, a person like myself can be a useful conduit of ideas.
13
Question #7. Who are some of the thinkers who've had a
particulor impact on your intellectul life and in general?

Answer to question #7. Well, | feel a well-rounded education
from different strains of thinking is very helpful. You can leam 3
lot about other cultures and ways of looking at things that can
expand your perceptiveness. I've always read a lot of books
throughout my life. When | was young and in my teens, | read
lot of RD. Laing, a radiical psychiatrist. As well, | got heavy into
existentialism, such as Jean-Paul Sartre. | read a lot of classic
writers, especially the great Russians, such as Fyodor Dostoevsky,
Nikolai Gogol and Leo Tolstoi. read many Black writers, such as.
Claude McKay, W.E.B. Dubois, Frederick Douglass, Richard
Wright and many others. Lorenzo Komboa Ervin is very big!
JoNina Abron (Lorenzo's partner) was one of the last editors of
the original Black Panther Newspaper and is a brilliant professor
and writer, as well.

As | got older, | read all the communist classics and
appreciated their class analysis and condemnation of racist,
capitalist oppression, but could never warm to their own brutal
fmethods. Mostly, | wanted solid history and cogent analysis. For
the best, in my opinion, ranked the anarchist thinkers - Bakuni
Kropotkin, Emma Goldman and many others.

These days, | enjoy the writings of conscious prisoners. Folks
like Sean Swain, Coyote Acabo, Talib Rasheed, Lisa Savage.
Khalfani Malik Khaldun, and Hybachi Lemar! Lately, I've been
reading a lot of civil war books. Why were so many young men
murdered in this country defending one bad system or the
other? Basically, they were heavily brainwashed and coerced
into doing so.

But, education s also in the doing, not just reading. Involving
Yyourselfin struggle is a huge learning experience. Living a life of
truth-seeking and involving yourself in the lives and struggles of
others brings a deep meaning to life, plus the fruit of wxsdor;

!
Question #8. Which books /zines do you recommend every
sincere student of anarchism absorbs? (Please list 10 books and
10zines)

Answer to question #8. Well, obviously, like any other
subject, you must go to the shining lights of that belief system.
We all know that governments and mainstream media, schools
etc. lie incessantly about what anarchism is and what anarchists
actually do. So, here's a list of books and zines, with a brief
description of each.

Agreat place to start is the book, Direct Action Against
Capital, by Peter Kropotkin. It's a lengthy anthology of his
wiitings. Chomsky on Anarchism. Even the mainstreamn
recognizes Chomsky as the most brilliant thinker the world has
seen these last several decades. The Great Anarchists, Ideas
and Teachings of Seven Major Thinkers, by Paul Eltzbacher.
First, he outlines the problem. The second chapter is “Law, the
State, Property. Then each of the seven is given a chapter. These
are: William Godwin, Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, Max Stirner,
Mikhail Bakunin, Peter Kropotkin, Benjamin Tucker, and Leo
Tolstoi - also recognized as the world's most outstanding
novelist! In the last two chapters, he summarizes the teachings
of anarchism and clarifies the various strains of anarchism and
debunks the lies told about it. Good stuff!

Killing Hope - U.S. Military and CIA Interventions Since World
War IL. The work, by William Blumn, is succinct. The Most
Dangerous Superstition. Written by Larken Rose, this littie
beauty hammers away at the *supetstition” that most folks hold
dearly to, that society needs coercive authority to function,
DURRUTI, by Abel Paz tells the story of the Spanish Revolution
2nd Durruti's central ole in it. My Disillusionment in Russia, by

Emma Goldman gives an eyewitness account of the failure of
the Russian Revolution to actually liberate Russians and others
the Bolsheviks swept over. The Divided Self, by R.D.Laing is 2
stirring rejection of mainstream psychiatry, written in 1960. A
et hmtter of Genocide, by Ward Churchill. s subtitied. / S
Holocaust and Denial in the Americas 1492 to the Present. He
\was drummed out of his teaching professorship in Colorado for
being much too honest about America's culpability. ABC of
Anarchism, by Alexander Berkman. Written over 100 years ago,
it's clarity is still very relevant for our world's complex reality.

As far as zines, I'l select from those | distro, although I'm sure
there are many great zines, besides these. Principles of
Anarchism, by Lucy Parsons. An awesome firebrand in her own
right, her husband, Albert Parsons, was hung as one of the
Haymarket martyrs in 1887, Against All Odds: My Transition
from a young street thug to a socially conscious, politicized
prisoner. Written by Uhuru Baraka Row, an Afrikan anarchist
prisoner Virginia, it details how a genuine education can
Hransform 3 person into a solid @ - even while held captive. Zero
to Anarchist in 12 Seconds. Here | interview Lisa (Lee) Savage,
then held in maximum security in a prison in Florida. She was
under terrific abuse from prison authorities for defending her
sisters. Another brilliant woman prisoner writer is Anastazia
Schmid. She wrote, Shackled Sex: Gender Disparities and the
Continued Criminalization of Female Sexuality in Prison.
Happily, | can report both women are now out and positively
engaged. Interviews with Russell Maroon Shoatz. This zine
includes two separate interviews and three of his excellent
essays. He recently passed away, after decades of harsh
imprisonment. He was in the Black Liberation Army.

One thing | did with several books was turn them into zines.
Hybachi Lemar’s compilation, The. ived Depraved was
first published as a book by the Chicago IWW. | zined it up
(smile) He takes us through his. life before, during and after
prison with a unique literary dynamism. Check it out! Another
book turned zine is by Lorenzo Komboa Ervin, titled, Anarchism
and the Black Revolution. Lorenzo makes anarchism relative to
Black folks. His mentor, while in prison, was Martin Sostre. His

“crime?” Running a revolutionary bookstore in Buffalo, NY and
serving his community. High Risk Potential, by Coyote Acabo, is
one of several excellent projects we worked together on. He was
a prisoner in Nevada, but now he is out!

There are so many, many more | could talk about but I'm up
10 #10. Here's where | give myself a shoutout. | put together,
Agitation / Education - Activism Using Zines, right when the
pandemic hit, published on February 5th, 2020. It's kind of a
journal of my work and how zinemaking can be of use during
Various grassroots struggles. OK, folx! Start reading.

Question #9. Do you believe people, including those in prison,
can evolve and make better choices in life?

Answer to question #9. Well,just because the rotten
government classifies prisoners as deserving of slavery (thanks.
Constitution!) doesn't mean prisoners are any less human than
everybody else. So, of course, prisoners can evolve into
productive sisters and brothers. It may be more difficult to find
fmentors, amidst all the repression and predation from, inside
and out, and once the resolve is made and strides commenced,
the heightened repression does not mean that people will be
stymied in their quest. For, people have an amazing reserve of
fortitude, if they only tap into their own inner strength. Just as
living our lives is ultimately completely up to us, so do our
life-changing corrections hinge on our ability to weather change
and learn more and do better.

Bakunin said something to the effect that children are not
created by or beholden to government or religion, but rather, are
created by their parents, and are unique individuals whose sole
course in life is determined by themselves. Also, as Leo Tolstoi
proclaimed, the sole purpose of education is freedom. So,a
person’s personal quest for freedom and meaning is all on her or
his shoulders. Of course, legitimate mentors and teachers are of
tremendous value. But, their epiphanies and revelations and the
incorporations of those new insights, can and are weiahed.

thought through and sent forward due to the mental and
physical efforts of these individuals, themselves. You know how
some nights you have some lingering unresolved issues. Once
awake, the solution presents itself. Your brain s figuring these
things out, while you are in repose! The same thing happens
when revelatory information strikes a chord and leads to a better
way forward.

Iget letters every single day that go out of their way to explain
how the acquisition of my zines has helped them to see and
think more clearly and commence the journey towards their
futures’ positive development. Sure, some folks are too ruined
from trauma or via a defense mechanism (or timidity) and can't
be reached - at least at that point. But, even the most
incorrigible person can become golden.

Check out the history of Malcolm X. As a low-life criminal
tossed into prison, he became, perhaps, the most eloquent of
teachers. I've seen it happen, over and over. It happened to me!
It can happen to anyone!

Question #10. An estimated 90,000 prisoners were
moass-released in the 1905 Russian Revolution. Over 1.5 million
more were set free following the 1953 amnesty declared in
post-Stalin Russio. How would society outside the walls best
receive a mass release today here in amerika?

Answer to question #10. They'd be overwhelmingly
mortified! We're real close to the situation here in America, so
‘we may not see this country as a whole, maybe like other people
do. The brainwashing and fear-mongering from media and
government, schaols, etc. is unrelenting and has been since the
beginning. Prisoners are “the bad guys" and most people don't
want to know about their situation and don't care about any
type of relief. Again, they've been severely maleducated.
Remember when the U. S. was ramping up to unieash
genocide in Iraq (the most recent one in 2003)? Well, Saddam
Husein released almost all of his prisoners, who, like the
prisoners here in the U.S. were *political” prisoners. The people
were overjoyed. That bum Colin Powell, then Defense Secretary
to Bush I, called the move *political.” Yeah, it was politicall It
was also smart because those released prisoners formed the
bulwark against the occupying U.S. “coalition” forces. They
willingly gave their lives to defend their country. 1y

Of course, the people whose family members were
mass-incarcerated feel a lot more realistically about their loved
ones in prison and sure, want them released. But, that's not how
tne U.S. government does things, is it? | remenmber visiting Al
Knalid Abdullah in Trenton prison. He was very ill and his wife
and others tried to get him a “compassionate release” to die
among those who loved him. Did it happen? Shit, no! So, until
the outside support for prisoners is really ramped up in this
country, nothing good is going to happen. Only when the
government is very desperate, will this idea even surface in their
thinking.

Sure,a few brave caring people will be thrilled if such a mass
release happens, but where is the “safety net?" Hell, this country
can't even take care of people.on the “outs!” Mental health
sufferers, shell-shocking veterans, the homeless, so-called
“minorities” - whole huge areas of cities - these people can't get
any relief. And when prisoners are released (after serving
draconian sentences, often for piddly “crimes") they face a
society that has nothing for them, except laws that basically
insure that they will become recidivists.

So, until the “revolution” has advanced significantly, such a
scenario is but a pipe dream and would be a death sentence to
many of them. Let’s remember, this virulently racist society is
armed to the gills and most of these weapons are in the hands
of the police-adoring crowd. I love to see mass release of
prisoners amidst joyous reunions, but until people get a helluva
lot more busy organizing and educating, there's no chance - at
least not yet! This doesn't mean we should be bummed out and
siacken our efforts. Who saw the explosion in the street of 2020
coming? So,work hard every day and be prepared for things to
move quickly, some day, hopefully in the not too distant future.

Question #11. How could we deal with crimes committed

against us in o society with no more prisons? (Can you list any
alternatives?) 19

Answer to question #11. This is a very good question! We
know that incarcerating an individual in this brutal system only
Pours gas on the problem and (usually) makes things worse for
notonly that prisoner, but society in general. Sometimes,
people gain a consciousness while in prison and come out the
better for it and do positive things, once out. They sort of slip
through the cracks. But, without a job, housing, money, food,
even family support for many, serious education - it is extremely
difficult

Earlier, | spoke of the Native Americans and their society of
consensus decision-making and “leaders” who could be
genuinely expected to do right by her or his people. Of course,
some groups were terrible or bad. But, did these enlightened
societies treat aberrant behavior by encaging therm? No, they
didn't. The idea was to treat them with care and love and help
them transcend their criminal tendencies. Its kind of like drug
abuse. You can treat them horrible and things get worse. Or
You can treat them sanely and they have a chance at returning
to the community in good stead. OK, here's some alternatives to
aberrant behavior that have those same goals of returning these
people into normal society.

Humane and much more effective methods of helping
Ppeople retun to society, after veering off into criminality include:
ostracism, denunciation, payments in some form by the
wrongdoer to his victim(s), persuasion, education, social
pressure, non-compulsory therapy, the help of friends and
neighbors, non-collaboration and nonviolent resistance. It's like
they suffer from COVID-19. They need special care.

All of these methods hold within them the idea that the goal
is not to consider these people irredeemable! The whole point is
10 get them back to where they belong - not to throw them ina
cage, located in some out of the way hellhole and throw away
the key, which is what happens here. These methods are about
love, redemption and 3 quick return to a forgiving and
encouraging society, much like a loving farnily tries to do when
one of their children (or a parent) goes astray, somehow. 2.5

The sad reality is that this society is coercion-based so that
those in wealth and power can stay that way and those who
chafe at such a dreadful system are made to suffer horribly, as an
example to those contemplating not toeing the line, but rather,
meekly be exploited their whole lives only to see their children
suffer. “Land of the free and home of the brove s bullshit!

See why government so hates genuine education? Yeah! It
can be dangerous because once hipped to reality, peoples' basic
humanity has a chance to unfetter itself and compels that now
enlightened individual to rebel against "normal* lfe. It's now

i So,yeah! A great measure of
rehabilitation is the level of dediication by that once
offender, against the system that has warped him and harmed
all of those around him. It's now time to deal with the real
criminals!

Answer to question #12. Well, | look back at the sixties when
3 lot of people were conscious to a much more unified degree
against the USS. government, which was waging genocidal war
in Vietnam and harsh repression, here at home. What was the
government freaking out about? They raided progressive
bookstores, implemented COINTELPRO against serious
opposition, such as the Black Panthers, tried to sow divisiveness
and lies and so forth. They did not want people to become
educated to the reality of how the government operates.

When the Pentagon Papers came out, which were written by
government employees, they went after those who leaked them.
Same thing these days. Chelsea Manning, Eric Snowden and
Jeremy Hammond exposed what the government was doing in
Iraq and the US. using the governments’ own documentation!!
The “crime” was not the hundreds of thousands of people being
hideously murdered or otherwise oppressed, but those with the
courage to expose it!
So, they fear people being made aware of their insatiable
bloodlust, greed and lie-based evil. | call it “crossing the fear
line." Once you gain a certain level of consciousness, you come
to an epiphany. You can't go back and be unknowing of the
ways of government, anymore. Your conscience won't let you
play the fool, anymore. You must act! You overcome your fear
and trepidation and start learing just how wonderfula 2.1
freedom-loving life can be. You meet wonderful people and
learn while doing positive, ife-affirming things for those around
you, elsewhere in the community, even across the country and
world. You've become your true self and stop self-policing
yourself into timidity.

Look! We've all done things we regret and wasted time due
to lack of self-respect and proper education. But, life goes on
and it's incredible, once you resolve to "do the right thing” how
exhilarating and beautiful your life can be, once dedicated to
truth, freedom and genuine justice. Life is in the present. We
can't change the past, but we can live fulllives in the present,
going into the future and build life that others are grateful to
have run across. Let'sdoit! The hourglass is running low..

Question #13. According to the World Health organization,
approximately 70,000 people commit suicide every year. What
should everyone mentally suffering right now intimately come
to understand?

Answer to question #13. Well, this subject is one that | am
intimately familiar with. | come from a big family and | was
smack dab in the middle of a family of seven. My brother just
younger than me, Leland, was pushed through the “mental
health” system starting at about age seventeen. He was
hospitalized at Michael Reese, brutalized and shipped off toa
place in Washington D.C. where he was institutionalized for
several years, until about age 24. He was diagnosed with
schizophrenia, addicted to horrific arugs, electro-shocked and
physically assaulted.
When he returned, he lived in a halfway house for several
months, and then he moved into my house for a few years. Like
many such people, he became heavily addicted to cigarette
smoking, which eventually overtook him at age 62. Al the other
members of our family pretty much turmned their back on him
Our Mother had become a psychologist at Michael Reese! She
was from the mainstream school and signed off on this brutal
regimen for him. Lee finally got section 8 housing nearby, as |
had remarried. He lived with another brutalized man in a rather
dangerous apartment complex. | tried to help him as much as |
could. Afew years later, he even married. | was his best man.

His wife was similarly tenderized and vulnerable. They couldn’t
really work and their SSI money was meager. They ended up
addicted to gambling, mostly by stupid lottery tickets. 22—

They were under the “care” of the psychiatry industry and he
was a sort of a guinea pig to an unscrupulous psychiatrist, in the
administering of new, dangerous and powerful drugs.

Before his lifelong nightmare, he and | were sent to a shrink to
get us to stop smoking pot - asif that was our problem! The
shrink didn't care, which was a sort of positive. Look at how
weed is viewed these days! It is ‘medicinalt” Of course, we knew
thatall along.

Anyway, they got divorced, he moved to another couple, few
places and they both ended up permanent residents of “nursing
homes. | tried to be a real brother to him, but it was not
enough. He needed real friends, real comrades and real help.
from his other family members, which he rarely ever got.

So, people labeled as “mentally ill" need the support of friends
and family and most certainly not from the psychiatry racket
and their horrific “treatments.” They need to know and
genuinely feel from those around them that they are loved and
their fears and confusion is not some sort of disease or failing of
their life. It is actually a sane reaction to the insane and brutal
treatment they have been subjected to, in the name of
“treatment”

Read R.D. Liang and you'll understand what | am saying. The
thorazine, stelazine and myriad other horrible drugs they were

purposely addicted to destroys the minds' ability to function,
really. As well, they combine with nicotine in such a way as to
make tobacco addiction basically impossible to quit, and
actually makes them smoke it much more than a normal 23
'smoker would.

People in this vulnerable condition need to have friends
around them who have their best interests at heart and who are
fling to look after them and prevent them from going through
such a psychological, drug-drenched money-making endless
hell that the system subjects them to.

Your brain is 3 primary part of your body. When it seemingly
malfunctions, it does not deserve to be bludgeoned. Say you
broke your leg. Would you feed your body with mind-melting
drugs??? Nope. You'd need it set and with proper therapy, work.
it back to a functional state. The same holds true with “mental
iliness Their lives most certainly matter as much as anybody
else. They need treatments that will actually help their brains
overcome dysfunction, as much as possible. They need tender
loving care and personalized attention. They needed to be
treated as equals. They need to not be menaced and
marginalized by society. They need their pain and suffering
lessened - not increased by their interactions with others.

Nowadays, most “mental health patients (victims)" are harshly
incarcerated in regular prisons. This is the most hideous
“treatment” possible. This whole social nightmare is another big
reason why the whole system needs to be overthrown and a
sane, humanistic, de-centralized anarchist approach created to
deal with this and every other social, psychological, physical,
mental, economic and environmental problem. Reality needs to
be totally rethought and dealt with, with genuine healing and
support being paramount. | think about Lee every day and can
still hear his desperate, pleading voice, beseeching me to help
him.

Question #14. What are economic altematives to the current
dog-eat-dog capitalism running amok that we can use today
and for the post-capitalist society we're organizing to build?
Answer to question #14. What's the matter? Billionaires
and beggars, endless wars and Earth literally melting down, is
not doing it for you? How do voluntary collectives sound?
People working together for a common purpose, sort of like 3
well-run family. Everyone shares the fruits of their labor and has
their basic needs met. Sounds like “socialism” right? Yes!
Technology could be harnessed to meet real needs instead of
weapons of mass destruction. People could be legitimately
educated instead of brainwashed and lied to al their lives. ~ % 4

f unfettered from coercive authority, incredible opportunities
would arise to enjoy life, be creative, help self and others and
pursue one’s talents and interests, which would benefit all of
humanity. Real global problems could be meaningfully
ddressed without shoving all the talent, time and energy into
some bastard's profit-making scheme.

“The Spanish Revolution of the 1930's gave us a glimpse: of how
such cooperative efforts would work. The first thing they did was
empy the prisons and make them storage facilities for various
goods. Services for food and other needs were streamnlined and
offered freely, most especially to those most in need. Workers
had their economic and social needs based through their unions
(syndicalism.) Popular and accountable representatives were
cent to deliberate and work on problems, subject to frequent
recall. The "means of production” were in the hands that
actually did the work - without bloodthirsty Bolshevik types.
Jording over them. It was a lot of work and responsibility,
especially since the fascists, the communists and the alleged
+democratic” governments were all at their throats. But for a
brief time, it was what real liberation is all about!

It gave us a blink at what real people power can do. These
days, there are *autonomous zones” all over the world. Even,
armidst such endless tyranny. Wouldn't it be amazing to see all
coercive authority melt away and let basic human instincts and
creativity finally have a chance to grapple with our suffering
world? Is it actually possible to save this enchanted planet? 'd
say, it is certainly worth any and all efforts to that goal we can
make! What's the phrase? “Think global and work local.”

Question #15. What are some examples where oppressed
Ppeople were overthrowing the government successfully through
an Anarchist revolution?

zs

Answer to question #15. Maybe | should have read all the
questions first before | commenced to answer them, eh? Well,
the Russian Revolution had a huge anarchist component.

Néstor Mahkno and his anarchist afmies and communities did
tremendous work throughout the Ukraine and Caucasus before
being bludgeoned to death by the Leninists. Spain brought
forth a glorious example, before Franco, Mussolini, Hitler and
Stalin murdered them by the million. Subcomandante Marcos
and his group the Zapatistas fought the Mexican government
and their U.S. masters and turned all of the province of Chiapas
into an autonomous zone that exists to this day!

There are anarchist groups in Nigeria, South Africa and in
every country of the world, who have set up areas of cooperative,
anarchist-driven zones and collectives. Sure, we don't know
much about them, as any and all governments don't want
people to know about them, and some may react brutally if
these areas of liberation were known to them. But, we have the
internet these days. People can google any subject and find out
what enlightened people are doing. There are videos and books
and zines and music that explain what anarchists are up to. Itis
incumbent upon us to seek out this information. For, just as
marijuana was so demonized for so long, but it is now a miracle
“medicine" so too is the very idea of anarchism. Weirdly, we're
the “bad guys” But, those are like Trump - endiess lies. Do your
research and see where it takes you! There's a world to win!

Question #16. What are fundamental tactics of guerrilia
warfare every freedom fighter should know?

Answer to question #16. Well, Il tell ya. That's a hard
qQuestion. Guerrilla and freedom fighter are sort of buzz words.
They mean different things to different people. | pretty much
understand what you are getting at. However, | must confess,
I'm no expert on guerrilla warfare. I've read various accounts by
those who were actual guerrilas, but | dor't feel asif f'm - /
someone knowledgeable about this subject. For, | have to
admit, | am not someone who has gone anywhere near those
desperate straits.

| understand the importance of knowing how to function
under such societal duress, but | haven't been there, myself. I'm
Just lucky, I guess. | "struggle” amidst the “battlefield of ideas"
instead of actual armaments. But, | would say those compelled
to take such activities, that the anarchist principle of affinity
groups will stand them in good stead. Dangerous operations
necessarily need a tight bond between those directly involved
You cannot allow the chance that an infiltrator, government
snitch or whatever, will compromise those involved. Some
societal situations demand such a response. Look at Cuba! A
dozen or two revolutionaries were able to escape a brutal
dragnet and spearhead a country-wide revolution. How could
this happen? The country was supremely ready for such a
thrust.

Perhaps the most impressive example of “guerrilla warfare”
Was waged by the amazing “Viet Cong” in South Vietnam, They
took on the gestapo-esque US. military and whipped them,
totallyl Fearlessness, attention to detail, rigorous community
connectedness were vitally essential. A history of struggle
against centuries-long invasive forces, set the tone.

In America, these types of examples are very rare, except for
the native nations. Brainwash has been ultra-saturating. Many
people do not realize what their true best interests are or where
their sympathies should lay. Guerrillas need pretty much total
support from the community. This cannot be guaranteed in the.
country we now live in. Other methods of struggle seem to me
to be more immediately important than armed struggle against
the government.

There are various levels of struggle, such as physical, meaning
armed struggle and to me, more importantly these days,
psychological. Is it the sword or the pen? Well, we would need
both, but to get to a physical victory, you first need to set the
table. You need the pen. You need people to know what is truly

at stake here, otherwise there is no focus, but rather, isolation
from the people and annihilation by a ruthless and well-armed
adversary. 2

Guerrillas can lose every battle, yet win the war. But, certai
conditions have to be met. What Fidel & Che accomplished in
Cuba, did not work in Bolivia. As much as it would be wonderful
to see a successful anarchist-led revolution succeed, here in the
US.it's not going to happen due to the intense earnestness of a
few conscious individuals.

Let's look back a year or two. 2020 saw an enormous uptick of
social activism, across the country. Portland went to war every
single night for several months. What do they have to say?
There are opportunities here. I'm Joe Egghead. What are the.
‘rads on the streets, sayin'? Make yourself useful to your
community and go from there.

Question #17. What kind of individuals do you feel the world is
in dire need of today?

Answer to question #17. The people in this world are fine!
They have the capability to make things right. For pretty much
their entire fives, they have been manipulated to believe things
that do not ring true to their real being. All people have natural
empathy towards others and a hope and dream that people
everywhere are happy, well cared for and given a fair chance in
life. The vile brainwash that drives the capitalist ethos is quite
unrelenting and starts pretty much as soon as one is born.

When people face severe hardships, they necessarily take on a
mindset that upchucks all the preconceived garbage and
focuses on what needs to be done to deal directly with the crises
at hand. Sadly, most people do not come to this level of clarity
and selfless action, until the problems they and their
communities are forced to deal with, are pretty much beyond
salvaging. So, the fascists will destroy them because they were
too late in implementing an anarchist response of genuine and
effective resistance. Sad, but oh 0 too often true!

So, 1 still believe that transforming anarchist insight is

seriously necessary to help folks struggle through the mis and
mal education they have been saturated in, their whole lives.
They must come to the realization that to save the world, the evil
systems must be stopped and replaced by a genuinely free ;g
society of caring, thinking and doing people. It's 3 beyond
difficult possibility. But, isn't life itself such a stretch? Who else
is going to have a chance at making things right? It's all up to
us! All we can do is try our best. Luckily, we get to stand on the
shoulders of giants, who have faced similar dilemmas in the

Ppast. We cannot be afraid or downcast. We must try our
damndest! Our voice and actions matter to those next!

Question #18. If farmers in the rural area would be able to aid
our community with donatable harvest, what are some things.
lincluding Time-Banking) that'd be particularly resourceful that
worker co-ops in the city could provide through Mutual Aid?
What are folks in rural Chicagoland generally in need of at the
moment?

Answer to question #18. Well, I'm not a farmer, myself. |
have worked with many in Will and Kankakee Counties, fighting
off government intrusions such as a massive unneeded airport, a
privately-owned toliroad and a regional immigration detention
prison complex. As well, the folks in Hopkin's Park (a black
farming community in Kankakee County) also had to fight off a
Women's prison, touted to “uplift” their community.

Starting with the folks in Hopkin's Park. Now, they are quite
progressive (except the Mayor, Police Chief and a Preacher)
These three were in favor of a women's prison - and they were
the only three. Jesse Jackson chimed in from Chicago trying to
encourage them to accept the prison, which they refused to do.
Later, they were menaced as a site for the regional immigration
prison. The authorities had gotten to the point of putting down
3 $1 million foundation for the women's prison, before they had
t pull the plug.

As | said, these folks are progressive! They had people come
from Cuba to help teach them methods of organic farming, not
using harmful chemical fertilizers. Some farmers provided
vegetables for city activists, when we put on a Prison Abolition
Conference, held in Chicago that lasted 3 days. Also,every 2.9
summer they put on a sort of festival they call "Marcus Garvey
Days” So these people would be perfect to outreach to.

Other (mostly so-called “white")farmers out here couldn’t be
considered very “progressive” but they did come up with many
interesting tactics, while fighting off the airport and toliway.
Aftef decades of attempting to impose these unwanted
behemoths, they still have yet to build anything, although at one
point Jesse Jackson, Jr. bussed a group down and turned a
symbolic few shovels of dirt.

Many of these farm towns put on farmer's markets once a
week and some would be willing to help provide fresh produce
0 our brothers and sisters in the city.

At one point in challenging the state of lilinois over the airport
proposal, we suggested that, on the property already
confiscated for it, could be better used as an agricultural college,
where children from the city could come down and learn
sustainable farming methods.

So, | could see an opportunity for skills sharing of farming
methods and organic farming knowledge could and would be
very beneficial to those in the city. They could start their own
freedom gardens! How do we take care of the land in a
sustainable manner, from year to year? How are we to use water
toirrigate crops in such a way that does not pollute the water o
the land? How do we get these groups to learn from and get to
know each other in a solidarity-minded manner?

There's an enormous amount of talent and vibrancy to be
learned from people living in Chicago. Quality, healthy food is a
basic need of everybody. These connections would be beneficial
toallinvolved! It takes outreach, much like organizing these
people into a powerful grassroots group to help them fight for
their farms and farming communities, for many years running.
I'd be glad to be a conduit for just such a project!
Question #19. What's your brief political assessment of Chicogo
& its surrounding suburbs right now? 32

Answer to question #19. Well, we're all still stuck with
various levels of authoritarian rule. Private property creates
homeless and hungry people, everywhere, including the
suburbs. Churches trade off nightly to house the homeless.
They were even sleeping in the post office building in
Homewood, but have since been shooed off. People still
struggle to make enough money to buy their children food and
pay bills. Police are ubiquitous and the laws are written to
support the already rich.

But, things are not all bad! More and more grassroots groups
are taking form and dealing with local issues with an
emboldened attitude. | would say it is a sort of flexing of political
muscle after the country-wide upheaval of protests and activity
the wake of George Floyd's murder, up in Minneapolis
Look at Portland, Oregon! For months, every single night
they battled the police and their fascist buddies in the streets! A
whole new level of mutual aid was needed for dealing with the
victims of tear gas, beatings, jailings, etc.

Early on, when the authorities were being overwhelmed, they
talked of making minor concessions, but rarely actually did or
they just reneged, as things calmed down. The reaction has sort
of set in. Right-wing pro-police candidates are trying to mock
and lie about what Black Lives Matter and other groups were
saying. There is a newfound boldness in the hearts of our young
people and this bodes very well for the future.

Yeah, they're trying to squeich black voters, but we've gone
past merely worrying about which schmoe is elected to some
focal or national office. We want fundamental change! We want
genuine equality and real freedom, not some damn law words
that are ignored or soon obfuscated. We must learn to be totally
self-sufficient and not rely whatsoever on the government to see
the changes in our lives and our communities. That's the beauty

of Anarchism. We are not out to rule over anybody! We want to
help facilitate the flowering of people in non-exploitative
relationships with each other and our surroundings. Like a wild
forest, trees, plants, water animals - alllive in a marvelous.
synergy. It doesn't mean there are not dangers. Predators exist
but the reality is sustainable! Everything living or dead o
inorganic is not something to be exploited by the greedy few or
heartless corporations! We are at a very crucial time, on Earth.

Question #20 Are there any parting thoughts youd like to share
with the Committee?

Answer to question #20. Yes! Our problems are quite
serious and are crying out for practical, lasting solutions. But, we.
can stil live, learn, love and enjoy our journey through life.
Anarchist ideas are applicable no matter what you are doing or
who you are with. It's a selfiess way of thinking and doing. It
helps the soul to treat people with respect and work shoulder to
shoulder with them on whatever is being dealt with. Doing
good things for others helps you!

By doing things with awareness and alacrity, you revel in the
experience of shared struggle. The day-to-day interactions form
the fabric of our understanding and bring us friendships and
pleasant memories. You do someone a good turn, often they
will come back at you when you need them to.

Years ago, when I started out with this educational project, |
was a sort of “Lone Wolf McQuade” - even to my immediate
family. Now, I've learned a lot of things, people know about me
all over the country, DePaul University carries my whole archive
and sends zines to prisons. I'm aporeciated for what | can
provide (mainly zines to prisoners) and am more-or-less
accepted for what | am - a hardworking, kind, intelligent
grandpa who also happens to be 3 serious anarchist.
Let’s Organize The 'Hood!

Black Autonomy Federation

The ideas of the present Let's Organize the Hood-
BLACK AUTONOMY FEDERATION (BAF) go back to
1994, when the Black Autonomy Collective was
created in Atlanta, GA, by seven black college
students and five community activists. The collective
soon spread to ten other cities in the US. and
Canada and eventually involved several huncired
people.
We believe that poor and working class people of
African descent are the ones who can free us - not
traditional civil rights leaders or politicians
South Chicago ABC
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