Freedom Socialist • Vol. 23, No. 3 • October-December 2002

Anarchist Black Cross conference forms prisoner solidarity network: a socialist feminist reports

by Luma Nichol

SO THERE I WAS, the only socialist at the National Anarchist Black Cross Conference in Austin, Texas. Even before I opened my mouth, I stood out like a bright sore thumb with my grayish hair and colorful clothes. The one hundred or so other participants, clad in black, were mostly in their late teens and twenties. They came from all across the U.S. and as far away as Melbourne, Australia.

The Missouri Prisoners Labor Union, Green Anarchy, Anarchist Prisoners Legal Aid Network, Industrial Workers of the World and my organization, the Freedom Socialist Party (FSP), were among the groups represented. We had all been called together at the University of Texas over the July 26-28 weekend by Christopher Plummer, a thirty-something anti-fascist anarchist and former prisoner.

I’d known Chris chiefly through our correspondence. In 1993 he had been sentenced to eight years in prison for breaking into the office of a white-supremacist group and destroying their Nazi lit. United Front Against Fascism (UFAF), which I helped to found, had offered him our support, first during his trial and later when he was in prison. Writing back and forth, Christopher and I did not always agree on tactics to fight fascism, but I respected his commitment.

Recently released and still on parole, Chris is a man on a mission to help others behind the walls. His vision of an effective, well-organized anarchist prisoner support network became a reality by the end of the conference.

Primarily aimed at helping political prisoners while advancing anarchist ideals, the Black Cross Anarchist Network will also try to assist social prisoners, those who are jailed because the system is rigged against poor and workingclass folks.

 

THE WHOLE WEEKEND proved to be an eye opener for me. Not only did I learn more about the prison-industrial complex and its many abuses, I discovered that not all anarchists operate in apparent disorganization.

There were tasty, low-cost meals, effective facilitators, and dynamic speakers like Robert King Wilkerson, a former Black Panther who spent 29 years in solitary in Angola prison after he was framed for the murder of a guard. Still, I noticed that not one of the main speakers was a woman. Emma Goldman would not have approved and neither did I.

However, unlike the grotesque, time-consuming, process-manic manipulations I have experienced in Seattle "peace" coalitions run by – excuse the expression – anarchist bureaucrats, these energetic organizers got right down to business.

Decisions were made by consensus, but with an eye on the clock. Conference sessions started on time and discussions about the seriousness of prisoner support work and the necessity to be accountable, disciplined and responsible had a familiar ring to my workingclass ears.

There were other surprises. A young man from Eugene asked about FSP’s position on gays, saying he understood that in general Trotskyists think that homosexuality is a bourgeois deviation. It turns out he had run into the Spartacists somewhere.

He also wondered what I found inspiring in the Russian Revolution. When I explained that our party was a pioneer in defending and advancing queer rights and feminism, he decided we must not be "orthodox communists." He also seemed intrigued by my explanation of the rise of Stalinism and the ultimate betrayal of the Russian workers by the bureaucracy.

There were other spirited conversations about the anti-globalization movement, the Socialist Workers Party’s abstention during the Seattle WTO protests, and support for the looming dock workers’ strike.

 

TRUE, WE DIDN’T SEE eye-to-eye on all questions, the key one being whether the main problem in society is the existence of a state apparatus or the existence of capitalism.

Also, I have mixed feelings about their approach to direct action. Who doesn’t get a thrill from the blatant taunting of authority, especially when it is as venal as the U.S. government? At the same time, I want to urge these youthful politicos to be smart. Free, an anarchist from Eugene, recently got 23 years for torching a truck at a Chevy dealership.

Then too, not everyone responded positively to my call for solidarity between socialists and anarchists. Lorenzo Komboa Ervin, an anarchist theorist, ex-prisoner and onetime Black Panther, pointedly ignored my friendly overture.

However, for the first time in a long time, I felt that we lefties were on the same side and that a basis had been laid for future work together. So thanks, Chris, for the invitation, and we’ll be doing what we can for prisoners. With George W. criminalizing ever more forms of free speech and association, we’re all just a demo away from needing help ourselves.

Seattle FSP Organizer Luma Nichol has won wide respect in the Pacific Northwest for her work fighting fascists, whether suits or skinheads.

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