Anarchist Black Cross Network
Encyclopedia
The 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 prison
s and the poverty, racism
and genocide
that accompanies them to be symptoms of a social order whose last days are near.
Anarchist Black Cross Network differs significantly with Anarchist Black Cross Federation
, since it has no official joining procedure or strict requirements. So even a group that does not name oneself as Anarchist Black Cross
may join as long as it does work in bettering prison conditions or working to abolish prisons all together. Anarchist Black Cross Network refers to that as defensive work (bettering prison conditions) and offensive work (abolishing prison system).
, wrote "A Draft Proposal for an Anarchist Black Cross Network" in 1979. Here is an excerpt from that proposal:
Later, it became obvious that this is not single issue campaign. But rather a part of a larger fight against racism
, nationalism
, sexism
, homophobia
, religious intolerance
etc. After much dialogue Anarchist Black Cross Network was formed in 2001. Many prison abolition groups who didn't want to or couldn't join Anarchist Black Cross Federation
have joined in. In addition to that many new groups have started up or changed their inner politics to support this struggle.
Anarchist Black Cross
The Anarchist Black Cross is an anarchist politics support organization. The group is notable for its efforts at providing prisoners with political literature, but it also organises material and legal support for class struggle prisoners worldwide...
movement -- of seeing prison
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
s and the poverty, 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 genocide
Genocide
Genocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...
that accompanies them to be symptoms of a social order whose last days are near.
Anarchist Black Cross Network differs significantly with Anarchist Black Cross Federation
Anarchist Black Cross Federation
Anarchist Black Cross Federation was created in 1995 when the North American Anarchist Black Cross collectives from Paterson , Bronx , and Washington DC merged into a federation...
, since it has no official joining procedure or strict requirements. So even a group that does not name oneself as Anarchist Black Cross
Anarchist Black Cross
The Anarchist Black Cross is an anarchist politics support organization. The group is notable for its efforts at providing prisoners with political literature, but it also organises material and legal support for class struggle prisoners worldwide...
may join as long as it does work in bettering prison conditions or working to abolish prisons all together. Anarchist Black Cross Network refers to that as defensive work (bettering prison conditions) and offensive work (abolishing prison system).
History
Lorenzo Komboa Ervin, former member of Black Panthers Party and anarchist political prisonerPolitical prisoner
According to the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, a political prisoner is ‘someone who is in prison because they have opposed or criticized the government of their own country’....
, wrote "A Draft Proposal for an Anarchist Black Cross Network" in 1979. Here is an excerpt from that proposal:
- "The stated purpose of the Anarchist Black Cross Network is to actively assist prisoners in their fight to obtain their civil and human rights, and to aid them in their struggle against the stateState (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...
/ClassSocial classSocial classes are economic or cultural arrangements of groups in society. Class is an essential object of analysis for sociologists, political scientists, economists, anthropologists and social historians. In the social sciences, social class is often discussed in terms of 'social stratification'...
penal and judicial system. The prison system is the armed fist of the State, and is a system for State slaverySlaverySlavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
. It is not really for "criminals" or other "social deviants," and it does not exist for the "protection of societySocietyA society, or a human society, is a group of people related to each other through persistent relations, or a large social grouping sharing the same geographical or virtual territory, subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations...
." - It is for State social control and political repression. Thus it must be opposed at every turn and ultimately destroyed altogether. The abolition of prisons, the system of Laws, and the CapitalistCapitalismCapitalism 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...
State is the ultimate objective of every true Anarchist, yet there seems to be no clear agreement by the Anarchist movement to put active effort to that anti-authoritarian desire. We must organize our resources to support all political/class war prisoners if we truly wish to be their allies, and we must give something more than lip service. - Organizing against the enemy legal and penal system is both offensive and defensive. It is carried on with individuals, groups and among the masses in the community. We must inform the people on a large scale of the atrocities and inhumanity of the prisons, the righteousness of our struggle, and the necessity of their full participation and support. We must organize our communities to attack the prison system as a moral and social abomination, and we must fight to free all political/class war prisoners."
Later, it became obvious that this is not single issue campaign. But rather a part of a larger fight 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...
, nationalism
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
, sexism
Sexism
Sexism, also known as gender discrimination or sex discrimination, is the application of the belief or attitude that there are characteristics implicit to one's gender that indirectly affect one's abilities in unrelated areas...
, homophobia
Homophobia
Homophobia is a term used to refer to a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards lesbian, gay and in some cases bisexual, transgender people and behavior, although these are usually covered under other terms such as biphobia and transphobia. Definitions refer to irrational fear, with the...
, religious intolerance
Religious intolerance
Religious intolerance is intolerance against another's religious beliefs or practices.-Definition:The mere statement on the part of a religion that its own beliefs and practices are correct and any contrary beliefs incorrect does not in itself constitute intolerance...
etc. After much dialogue Anarchist Black Cross Network was formed in 2001. Many prison abolition groups who didn't want to or couldn't join Anarchist Black Cross Federation
Anarchist Black Cross Federation
Anarchist Black Cross Federation was created in 1995 when the North American Anarchist Black Cross collectives from Paterson , Bronx , and Washington DC merged into a federation...
have joined in. In addition to that many new groups have started up or changed their inner politics to support this struggle.