Brother Ali and everyone:
I am on a speaking tour of the United Kingdom at the time when I received this letter. Since it is pertinent to what I am seeing during this tour, and since it is something I have run into over the last 25 years of my life as an Anarchist, I think it appropriate that I reply. I demanded that this speaking tour involve the Black community, and most of them have at least been held in Black community institutions, with the appeal to our Black community in the UK. And even though the attendance has been multiracial, I am happy to be able to connect with Black community elements, some of whom are very progressive and may be the nucleus for long term future work.
You are correct with the problems of European, lifestylist domination of the Anarchist movement in the USA, more so than any other movement that I have ever been part of. But I think the argument is one placed in a context from which we can only get one answer, and an obvious one in my opinion: Black people in the anarchist movement must build their own autonomous organizations of struggle, and do organizing in the Black inner cities of America, the UK, and other countries. It's clear that the Anarchist movement cannot racially integrate or adopt a Black political line, that's a waste of time and effort. Even the Anarchists I have talked to believe that it would be best to deal with Anarchist autonomous tendencies in Black community, rather than trying to get Black folks to join their groups. But one problem is that Anarchist ideology is not popular at this time in the Black community. It is new and we have not built a mass base as of yet, but it will happen. I can tell you from dealing with creating a Black Autonomy movement since 1995, it is very difficult to obtain tangible material aid or political support from the majority white Anarchist movement. We do not seek to do stooge work for the white Left, and that may be one reason why, but perhaps some groups see us as some sort of competition in anarchist circles, I don't know. Politically, we have been on our own, and sometimes even in fierce opposition with the North American Anarchist movement. I could recount example after example, but I won't. It just needs to be said that a Black Anarchist tendency is in existence, and is doing grassroots community work in the cities it's located in. It's still a formative group with very few resources, but it is sincerely motivated.
It will grow if it is based on a practical mass program, and not just be another Black political cult. I want to briefly allude to the fact that you refer to yourself as a "New African", that is a citizen of the Republic of New Africa or the New African Peoples' Organization, both Black nationalist organizations, seeking to build a Black nation-state in the Southern region of North America, while you still refer to yourself as an Anarchist. Do you not see the *deep contradiction* in this? It simply cannot be valid. Our organization, the only group of Black Anarchists in existence, has had serious ideological differences with the various "New African" political formations on various political grounds, certainly much of the hostility is ideological. I ask you to reexamine that position. I do not have the time for long drawn out debate on this matter, because I think the issue is to organize, rather than bemoan the shortcoming of the Anarchist movement. We are attempting to make Anarchism real in the Black community, against all kinds of obstacles, while we also win elements of Anarchism generally to our position of community based organizing, anti-racism/colonialism, and a class line of organizing the poor and oppressed of all races, but our long-neglected communities especially with a call for "Let's Organize the 'Hood"!
Since we will soon be directing our efforts to Michigan soon, maybe we can work together. I have seen some of your materials and heard of your work in the prison movement, and have great respect for it.
Lorenzo Komboa Ervin
National Facilitator Black Autonomy Network of Community Organizers
I would like to add one additional comment: the Black Autonomy Network of Community Organizers created the Southwest Michigan Coalition Against Racism and Police Brutality, which is leading the fight against racial profiling and police brutality. On April 8, 2000 we led a demonstration of over 100 persons in Kalamazoo against racial profiling in that city, and the attendant prison confinement of over 25 predominately Black men in the jail system naked and without food or water. So, we are not sitting on our asses, and we again would be willing to work with Ali in whatever capacity we can both do that. I do not believe in one sided prison support, and I respect him for starting his own organization and prison news service.
Because our basic approach is community based organizing, instead of prison work, and we are just now doing any work in Michigan, we have not connected.
That does not mean that we have no interest. We do what we can, and do not promise to deliver things that we cannot. We are not a mass organization, at this point, and can only do what our numbers allow.
Love and struggle,
Lorenzo Kombvoa Ervin