Alexander Berkman Social Club

Exciting New Publication from the ABSC

2010-03-08T20:41:00.000-08:00

The Alexander Berkman Social Club is pleased to announce our first publication, in cooperation with the Kate Sharpley Library:

The Tragic Procession: Alexander Berkman and Russian Prisoner Aid

We'll be at the San Francisco Bay Area Anarchist Bookfair this Saturday March 13 selling as many copies as we can, come find us. But if you can't make it, copies are also available through the Kate Sharpley Library and AK Press
Original reprint of the collected Bulletin of the Joint Committee for the Defense of Revolutionists Imprisoned in Russia & Bulletin of the Relief Fund of the International Working Men’s Association for Anarchists and Anarcho-Syndicalists Imprisoned or Exiled in Russia

Reprinted here for the first time, this collection of bulletins—edited through the years by Alexander Berkman, Mark Mratchny, Milly Witcop-Rocker, Rudolf Rocker, et al.—chronicle the gradual slaughter of a whole generation of Russian anarchists and revolutionists. They also illustrate the astonishing effort of small groups of radicals who, living often in appalling conditions themselves, attempted to both highlight the vicious reality of the Bolshevik government and alert a wider public to the awful situation its prisoners found themselves in. Imprisoned, tortured, driven mad, and exiled to places so remote no contact with the outside world was possible, the prisoners disappeared into a totalitarian darkness. Each recorded name or initial printed here signifes a life that often had been spent in revolutionary commitment, a life systematically and carefully destroyed by erstwhile “comrades.” To remember them is the least we can do.

Rebel Patagonia Movie Screening

2009-11-12T15:55:00.001-08:00

November 19, 2009

Fundraising rally for the Anarchist newspaper of Venezuela El Libertario

Movie: The Rebel Patagonia

From 1920 to 1921, there was a peasant uprising in Patagonia led by anarchists. The army, led by Colonel Varela, reacted by executing some 1,500 people. Because of the remoteness of the region, the events did not become known in Buenos Aires at first. Once they did, the anarchist movement started a campaign against the "killer of Patagonia", as they called Varela. This led the Tolstoyan anarchist Kurt Gustav Wilckens to assassinate the colonel on January 23, 1923.

Place: AK Press warehouse (674-A 23rd Street Oakland, CA 94612)

Day: Novemer 19th

Time: 7:00 p.m.

Type: Fundraising event

5 dollars entrance

More information:

http://www.nodo50.org/ellibertario/
http://indubioproreovzla.blogspot.com/
http://www.akpress.org/

Upcomming events

2009-11-12T15:40:00.000-08:00

While it might be a few months before there is another meeting of the ABSC, there is still a lot going on around the Bay Area and we thought you might be interested in the following events

November 13, 2009
Anarchism in Venezuela: Another Perspective on the Bolivarian Revolution
Talk and movie about the anticapitalist and anarchism perspective on the Chavez government and his contradictions, the truth behind a revolution was betrayed for one man.

November 13 Hour: 7:00 p.m.
Firehouse 51, 410 James Street. Modesto

Fundraising event in solidarity with Sabino Romero, indigenous leader in prison for fight against the coal exploitation in the indigenous communities and the anarchist newspaper El Libertario, bring your solidarity (money, magazines, newspaper or proposals)
http://www.nodo50.org/ellibertario
http://indubioproreovzla.blogspot.com/
http://www.modestoanarcho.org/
Hosted by Modesto Anarcho Crew and El Libertario.

November 15, 2009

Anarchism in Venezuela: another perspective about the Bolivarian revolution
Conference and movies about the anticapitalist and anarchism perspective about the Chavez government and his contradictions, the true behind a revolution was betrayed for one man.
Movies: Venezuela 27 de febrero
Our oil and other tales
Day: November 15
Hour: 7:00 p.m.
Place: Station 40 (Mission 3030B 16th St San Francisco, CA 94103)
Type: Fundraising event in solidarity with Sabino Romero, indigenous leader in prison for fight against the coal exploitation in the indigenous communities and the anarchist newspaper El Libertario, bring your solidarity (money, magazines, newspaper or proposals)
more information: http://www.nodo50.org/ellibertario/
http://indubioproreovzla.blogspot.com/
Invite: El Libertario and Station 40 crew

October 29th Meeting: Chris Carlsson and FoundSF

2009-10-13T13:46:00.000-07:00

It's that time again, time to let you know about our next exciting Alexander Berkman Social Club meeting. This month our featured guest will be Chris Carlsson, and he will be talking about his project FoundSF and anarchist history in San Francisco.

Chis Carlsson is an urban historian, political activist, author of Nowtopia (2008) and editor of Processed World (1981-1994, 2001, 2004-5), The Political Edge (2005), After the Deluge (2004), Critical Mass: Bicycling’s Defiant Celebration (2002), Reclaiming San Francisco (1998), and Bad Attitude (1990).

This looks to be a great evening, so please come and join the conversation!
As always there will be snacks, raffles and friendly faces.

October 29th, 7pm
522 Valencia St
San Francisco
$5 (or $4 with membership)

Golden Rule: The Investment Theory of Politics

2009-10-08T12:08:00.000-07:00

Free screening of Golden Rule: The Investment Theory of Politics this Thursday, October 8th at Bound Together Books. 8pm, don't miss out on this exciting event!

Special Message from Alex B

2009-09-17T09:34:00.001-07:00

Hello everyone. Alex here.

I hope you can tear yourself away from Facebook and come and support some New Zealand anarchists who are having a bit of trouble with the state. Yes. That is right. New Zealand. We are going to skype one of them (don't worry. I do not think they can arrest you for it and nothing naughty is involved.) She is going to tell us details about the case and ask us to publicise it. As they say over there 'New Zealand: A Long Bloody way from anywhere" so it would be nice if all my friends can show up, have a drink and listen.

If you can't I may have to find you and carry out an attentat on your person. I do apologise but if you don't come you really do need a Fricking. Support your comrades. If it was a good enough strategy for Sabate it is good enough for you.
All proceeds from the event go to their defense costs.

That's it then. Off to have a sleep. All this permanent insurrection wears me out. See you.

Thursday 24th September. 7pm. My place. Tell all of your friends.

September 24th Meeting: New Zealand Anarchism and the 2007 Terror Raids

2009-09-14T15:11:00.000-07:00

Our next meeting will be Thursday September 24.

We are very excited about this meeing as we'll be trying something new this month. We will be talking with anarchist Valerie Morse, live from Wellington, New Zealand using Skype. This will be an exciting opportunity to hear directly from other anarchists about the anarchist movement in New Zealand, and especially about the state of the movement following the 2007 terrorism raids in that country.

If you don't know much about the Terror Raids, then this is the perfect opportunity for you to come to our next meeting!

But in the mean time here is some background info:
The New Zealand Terror Raids
Aotearoa (New Zealand), Personal report of an anarchist of the 15th October 2007 17 arestees
2007 New Zealand Anti-Terror Arrests

Valerie Morse is a Wellington, NZ based anarchist, member of the anarchist publishing collective Rebel Press and author of Against Freedom: The war on terrorism in everyday New Zealand life.

Thursday, September 24
7pm
522 Valencia St.
San Francisco
$5 (or $4 with membership)

Wednesday August 26th Meeting: Race, Ethnicity, and Class in Israel/Palestine

2009-08-13T17:08:00.000-07:00

Hello Friends!

It's that time again, get ready for the next Alexander Berkman Social Club meeting!
This month we will be meeting a day earlier, Wednesday, August 26th, so mark your calender accordingly.

Our guest this month will be Eyal Rozenberg, an anarchist visiting form Israel/Palestine.

He will be be speaking on the inter-relation of ethnicity and class in Israel/Palestine.

Since the 1950s a common saying in Israel is "taamid dofkim et-ha-shchorim", which means "they always fuck the blacks". Israel is at the same time a capitalist project, a nationalist project and a colonialist project, and being an Arab or being a Jew of
non-European descent has always meant that statistically, you're in the lower classes. But it's not as simple as that, and Israeli Capitalism
has had in recent decades very interesting strategies of containment, demobilization and co-optation of movements and organizations which have
attempted to link the ethnic, the racial or the national (Palestinian)struggle with the class struggle.

Eyal Rozenberg is an anarchist and Ph.D. student in Computer Science at the Technion, Haifa. He was an Executive Committee member in the Technion Graduate Students' Organization, and helped form the Technion Teaching Staff Organization. He is active in Koach La-Ovdim, a new multi-industry general union. Rozenberg was drafted into the IDF at 18, but quit military service in the middle and is the editor of the Conscientious Objector's guide to the Military Prison System

We look forward to seeing you soon, and remember, as always, there will be snacks, raffles, and comradely good cheer!

Wednesday August 26th, 7pm
ABSC Meeting Rooms
522 Valencia St., San Francisco
$5 (or $4 w/membership card)

Next Meeting: July 30, with Audrey Goodfriend

2009-07-17T16:18:00.000-07:00

Happy Summer Friends!

Our next meeting will be July 30 and we will be returning to one of our favorite topics, anarchist newspapers.

Anarchism and Anarchist Newspapers with Audrey Goodfriend and Barry Pateman

Please join us as we continue our conversation about the past, present, and future of anarchist newspapers within the movement. This month we are lucky enough to be joined by Audrey Goodfriend, who will be talking about her involvement with The Why (1942-1947), and Barry Pateman, who will discuss his involvement in a number of short-lived anarchist papers.We look forward to seeing you at what is sure to be a stimulating and thought provoking evening!

As always, there will be snacks, raffles, and comradely good cheer!

Thursday July 30th, 7pm
ABSC Meeting Rooms
522 Valencia St., San Francisco
$5 (or $4 w/membership card)

Audrey Goodfriend was born in The Bronx, NY. Her parents were both anarchists and her father was the secretary of the local Ferrer-Rocker branch of the Workingmen’s Circle. Audrey was a member of a youth group for Jewish anarchist children. She first met Emma Goldman in 1934 and visited her in Toronto in 1939. In 1946 Audrey and her partner moved to California and in 1958, with four other families, they opened the Walden School in Berkeley. The school is still functioning today and recently celebrated its 50th anniversary. Audrey was interviewed by Paul Avrich for his book, Anarchist Voices.

Alexander Berkman: November 21, 1870 – June 28, 1936

2009-06-29T10:02:00.000-07:00

To-day is the anniversary of the death of the anarcho-communist Alexander Berkman , who died this day in 1936 from suicide .

Mother Earth and The Blast! Thursday June 25th

2009-06-17T14:50:00.000-07:00

Join us Thursday, June 25th, for a night of exploration and appreciation of two seminal anarchist journals, Emma Goldman's Mother Earth and Alexander Berkman's The Blast.

We'll have special guest Jamie Gooley from the Mother Earth Reprint Project, readings from the papers, a brief history of Mother Earth and The Blast from the inestimable Barry Pateman, discussion of current
and past reprint projects and music by the always astounding The Devin Hoff Platform!

All in all it promises to be a night not to be missed!

Jamie Gooley, intrigued by anarchist history has worked with other history buffs and print makers to collected a rare 22 original mothers earths and has been able to reprint 7 . With the hope of one day having all 22 copies available for all who seek to hold a facsimile of history in their hands. With the originals selling for hundreds of
dollars, the spirit of the editors (Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman) is demystified with reprints available for a few dollars we can all be more linked to the past while being propelled and inspired into the future.

http://devinhoffplatform.com/

2009-06-10T16:29:00.000-07:00

Join the Alexander Berkman Social Club for a night of exploration and appreciation of two seminal anarchist journals, Emma Goldman's Mother Earth and Alexander Berkman's The Blast.
With readings from the papers, a brief history of Mother Earth and The Blast, discussion of current and past reprint projects and music by special guests The Devin Hoff Platform!

All in all it promises to be a night not to be missed!

Thursday June 25, 2009
ABSC Meeting Rooms
522 Valencia St.
San Francisco, Ca
$5 (or $4 with membership)

This month: The Tiger Brigades!

2009-05-20T22:55:00.000-07:00

Our event this month will be a special presentation of the French movie - or is that film? - The Tiger Brigages (Les brigades du Tigre), which features the Bonnot Gang, the French illegalist anarchists & legendary inventors of the getaway car.

Of course food (popcorn!) & refreshments will be available. We hope that you can make it to this exciting event.

Thursday, May 28th, 2009, 7 p.m.
522 Valencia St., between 16th & 17th
$5 admission/$4 with membership card

This Week: Meeting and May Day Picnic

2009-04-28T09:07:00.000-07:00

Our topic this month will be Anarchists and Our Newspapers.

Join us for a discussion of the recent anarchist movement and it's printed voice, the newspaper.

Editors and publishers from a variety of papers, including Erik from The Dawn (2004), Chuck Morse from Perspectives on Anarchist Theory, and Crudo from Modesto Anarcho will share their experiences working on these anarchist projects.

What is the place of the newspaper in the anarchist movement, how have anarchists tried to spread their message, talk to each other, and the larger public. Join us as we discuss the the motivations, problems, joys and challenges, and the future of working on anarchist papers.

Plus, as always, there will be snacks, drink, camaraderie, and raffles.
We look forward to seeing you there!

Thursday, April 30, 2009
7pm
@ 522 Valencia
San Francisco, CA
$5 (or $4 with your membership card!)

And

The Alexander Berkman Social Club presents:
An Anarchist May Day Picnic, Friday May 1st at 4 PM in Dolores Park.
All anarchists and friends welcome!

Please bring food and drink to share and look for us under the red and black flag

Co-sponsored by 1984 Printing, Bound Together, AK Press, Friendly Fire Collective, The Kate Sharpley Library, and UA in the Bay.

Attached are copies of the poster, please help us spread the word, and see you there!

"War to the palaces, peace to the cottage, and death to luxurious idleness!"
The Alarm, April 1886

The Nation: Liberalism at its finest

2009-04-23T15:10:00.000-07:00

An editorial in The Nation from July 28, 1892

Berkman Shoots Frick

May Day Picnic

2009-04-15T14:47:00.001-07:00

As the poster says, bring food to share, Dolores Park, look for the black and red flag, 4pm. What else do you need to know?

April Meeting and Anarchist Picnic for May Day

2009-04-14T12:17:00.000-07:00

Our next meeting will be Thursday April 30th. Our topic this month will be anarchists and our newspapers.

Join us for a discussion of the recent anarchist movement and it's printed voice, the newspaper.
What is the place of the newspaper in the anarchist movement, how have anarchists tried to spread their message, talk to each other, and the larger public. Editors and publishers of anarchist papers published in the last 10 years as well as currently will speak on the joys, challenges, and future of working on anarchist papers.

Plus, as always, there will be snacks, drink, camaraderie, and raffles.
We look forward to seeing you there!

Thursday, April 30, 2009
7pm
@ 522 Valencia
San Francisco, CA
$5 (or $4 with your membership card!)

And That's NOT All!
Friday May 1 is May Day, so join the Alexander Berkman Social Club for a special and social Anarchist May Day Picnic in Dolores Park, starting around 4pm!

April Meeting and May Day

2009-04-03T14:52:00.000-07:00

Just a heads up to let you know our next meeting will be April 30th and we will be talking about anarchists newspapers and anarchist propaganda, past, present, future.

Also Friday, May 1st is May Day, a very important anarchist holiday. Accordingly we will be holding a picnic that afternoon to celebrate. More details forthcoming, but mark your calendars now!

Anarchism and May Day
Haymarket and the Origins of May Day

NEW VENUE FOR THRUSDAY'S MEETING

2009-03-20T22:55:00.000-07:00

Attention:
Our next meeting, this coming Thursday, March 26, will take place at the AK Press Warehouse in Oakland at 674-A 23rd. St., Oakland, b/t MLK and San Pablo - near 19th St. BART and West Grand Exit of 80/980, more details on directions are available on their website: AK Press

It's sure to be a great night featuring exciting guest, Marta Kolarova speaking on Czech Anarchism

See you there!

Czech anarchism: next meeting March 26

2009-03-18T16:55:00.001-07:00

Czech Anarchism: With Special Guest Marta Kolarova

From anarchist poets through anarchists in the government to oblivion and recent revival – that is a story of Czechoslovak anarchism´s marriage and divorce with the communist party.

Marta Kolarova has been active in the Czech alter-globalization, feminist and anti-war movements. She has written for regional anarchist and anarcho-feminist magazines; and published on gender aspects of the anarchist and alter-globalization movements (e.g. Gender in Czech Anarchist Movement 2004, supported by the Institute of Anarchist Studies). She works as a researcher and teacher in Prague.

Join us, as always, for comradeship, snacks, drinks, raffles and good talking!

March 26, 2009. 7pm
AK Press Warehouse
674-A 23rd St. Oakland, CA.
$5/$4 w/ you membership card

Bookfair This Weekend

2009-03-08T13:58:00.001-07:00

Don't miss the SF Bay Area Anarchist Bookfair this weekend in San Francisco. Saturday March 14 and Sunday March 15 at the SF County Fair Building, Ninth Avenue and Lincoln Way, Golden Gate Park. Lots of great speakers and anarchist groups selling books, pamphlets, magazines, art and more. It's not to be missed. And if you look hard enough you just might find the Alex Berkman Social Club....

Details, including hours, directions, list of speakers, workshops, panels, vendors, and more are all at the Bay Area Anarchist Bookfair website.

See you this weekend!

Thanks for coming out to see Lucio

2009-03-05T10:49:00.000-08:00

Thanks to the great crowd that showed up last Thursday to see Lucio, we were able to send $165 to Christiebooks to help them resurrect their fine selection of films. We hope that you all enjoyed the movie! Be sure not to miss next month’s event, on March 26th, with Marta Kolářová speaking on Czech anarchism.

The Angry Brigade: Friday at Bound Together

2009-03-03T08:52:00.000-08:00

Bound Together Bookstore will be screening the 1973 BBC documentary by Gordon Carr, The Angry Brigade this Friday March 5th.
The event will also include Q & A and a discussion and starts at 8:15

More information on the event check is available at Bound Together's website.
For more about the Angry Brigade there was an article published a few years back in the UK Guardian, Look Back in Anger.

Lucio, the movie. This Thursday!

2009-02-23T11:00:00.000-08:00

"The banks are the real crooks, they exploit you, take your money and cause all the wars."
-Lucio Urtubia

The next ABSC meeting will be a screening of the recent documentary Lucio
For more about the film check out the official site Lucio, the move
or the Internet Movie Database listing about the film

Plus, as always, there will be snacks, drink, camaraderie, discussion, and radical musical wallpaper by the Hippolyte Havel House Band.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Thursday, February 26, 2009
7pm
@ 522 Valencia
San Francisco, CA
$5 (or $4 with your membership card!)

Up Against the Wall Motherfu**er

2009-02-19T21:30:00.000-08:00

Osha Neumann at Bound Together this Saturday evening!

Up Against the Wall Motherfu**er; a memoir of the sixties with notes for next time

Osha Neumann reads from his new book about life in an anarchist street gang on the Lower East Side of New York in the 1960s. In addition, Alfonso Texador will provide poetry and there were be rare archival footage of the Motherfuckers.

All this on Saturday, February 21 at 8:00 pm

Bound Together Anarchist Collective Bookstore
1369 Haight Street (near Masonic)
San Francisco
415 431-8355
(bus lines 71, 6, 43, 33 and 37 all stop nearby)

Lucio, the movie

2009-02-09T09:46:00.001-08:00

"The banks are the real crooks, they exploit you, take your money and cause all the wars."
-Lucio Urtubia

Film Event at Bound Together Books

2009-02-06T20:15:00.001-08:00

Saturday, February 7 at 8:00 pm

Bound Together Anarchist Collective Bookstore
1369 Haight Street (near Masonic), San Francisco
Bus Lines 6, 71, 43, 33, 37 & 7 all stop nearby
415 431-8355 / www.boundtogetherbooks.com

Two Short Historical Films on Palestine and Lebanon

followed by Q&A and discussion

The Sons of Eilaboun
A New Film* by Hisham Zreiq. In 1948 the Israeli army marched into the Galilee village of Eilaboun. The Sons Of Eilaboun is a documentary film about the massacre, and the expulsion and eventual return of survivors. In the film the Israeli historian Ilan Pappe will introduce the history behind the Nakba events; the Eilaboun (Eilabun) people tell the story--www.sonsofeilaboun.com.

*(The film is in production, with a full-length version to be released in the future. We'll be showing a short version--about 24 minutes--which has been released in advance.)

The War of 33
In July 2006 Israel invaded Lebanon. The War of 33 is an intimate, personal and powerful telling of the story of the 2006 war in Lebanon. A series of letters written by Hanady Salman--a mother living through the war in Beirut--carve a narrative arc through the intense and haunting images of conflict. She tells the stories of her family and the people she lives the war with--the refugees, the wounded, and the everyday Lebanese, struggling to maintain their sanity and their humanity during a time of war. (For additional info on this film, visit PM Press website, www.pmpress.org ) The War of '33 is more than a document of a particular historical experience. What emerges is a universal story--a complex picture of love, pain, resistance and survival in the face of uncertainty and violence. (Big Noise Tactical Media is a collective of media-makers dedicated to circulating beautiful, passionate, revolutionary images.)

Anarchist movie party!!

2009-02-03T14:58:00.000-08:00

The ABSC will be showing the exciting film:

Lucio
(Directed by Aitor Arregi and José María Goenaga)

Thursday, February 26, 2009
7pm
@ 522 Valencia
San Francisco, CA

This wonderful documentary is a great gateway drug into working class anarchism for the uninitiated and circle @ curious, as well as a shot in the arm and a humbling inspiration for already convinced anarchists.

Plus snacks, drink, camaraderie, discussion, and radical musical wallpaper by the Hippolyte Havel House Band.

Lucio Urtubia's life is the stuff of legend. A bricklayer by profession and an anarchist by conviction, as an activist in 1950s Paris he counted André Breton and Albert Camus amongst his friends, worked with anarchist guerrilla Francisco Sabate in attempting to bring down Franco's fascist regime and carried out numerous bank robberies to fund the struggle to free Spain. In 1977, after having his earlier scheme to destabilize the US economy by forgery rejected by Che Guevara, he put his plan into action. Lucio successfully forged 20 million dollars of Citibank travelers checks to fund guerrilla groups in Latin America, bringing the bank to its knees in the process. In between he helped organize the kidnapping of Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie from his hideout in Bolivia, aided the escape of Black Panthers from the US and not surprisingly was targeted by the CIA. Lucio has defended his life's work saying…'we are bricklayers, painters, electricians - we do not need the state for anything'.

"The banks are the real crooks, they exploit you, take your money and cause all the wars."
-Lucio Urtubia

Meeting on Thursday: Sheila Rowbotham

2009-01-20T16:53:00.000-08:00

British socialist feminist historian Sheila Rowbotham will be our featured speaker this coming Thursday evening, January 22. She will be speaking on the topic of her recently published book, Edward Carpenter: A Life of Liberty and Love.

Want more information about the book? Check out this recent review published in the Guardian, Tristram Hunt applauds a superb biography of the socialist pioneer pilloried by Orwell and Shaw
This will be her last speaking engagement before her return to the UK. If you are interested in anarchist history, don't miss this event!

As always there will be raffles, food & drink throughout

Admission is $5 ($4 with a membership card)

7pm at the ABSC meeting rooms
522 Valencia St.
San Francisco

Oakland and Athens

2009-01-08T16:15:00.001-08:00

[Editor's note: The following statement was sent to us by comrade Devin Hoff, and was originally published at AK's blog Revolution by the book

* * *

On December 6, an Athens cop shot and killed a young unarmed anarchist, Alexis Grigoropoulos. In a matter of hours, Athens exploded in a mass uprising of anarchists, students, migrant workers, and the unemployed. For over two weeks, in their anger and frustration, they attacked not just the police themselves but the oppressive institutions cops are armed to defend: banks, government buildings, multi-national corporate interests. Not since 1968 had Europe seen such militant and targeted mass direct action, and actions around the world echoed the heroic actions of our comrades in Greece. Not far from where I am writing, in San Francisco, solidarity actions were held and moving speeches given decrying police violence and the state capitalist hierarchies such violence is inevitably in service of, and vowing to “bring the fight home.”

Sadly, the fight has, once again, come home. On New Years Day in Oakland, an unarmed butcher and father from Hayward, Oscar Grant, was shot in the back at point blank range by a transit cop after being pinned face-down on the ground. There can be absolutely no justification for this cold-blooded police murder. As was the case in the murder of Alexis, there are several witnesses who have come forward stating the officer was in no danger, some even with video recordings of the atrocity. Predictably, though, the cop who fired the shot, Johannes Mehserle, has not been arrested or even officially interrogated about the incident. This is no surprise; we know how the authorities will respond (or fail to), given their total disregard for the lives and humanity of working and poor people of color.

But how will we respond?

We are loudly indignant when police kill a militant in Athens, and applaud the just and outraged response of his comrades. We are furious when state violence kills oppressed people in Gaza, as is horrifically happening at this moment. But what do we do when a working class black man is murdered in cold blood by the cops in our own community? Do we value the lives and well being of Palestinians and Greeks and Oaxacans and adventurous middle-class white radicals more than those of working people we see every day in our own neighborhoods?

It has been five days and counting since Oscar was killed. What have we—supposed radicals and would-be revolutionaries—actually done?

Perhaps a better question is, how should we combat police violence in our own communities?

Sheila Rowbotham in San Francisco Bay Area

2009-01-05T15:29:00.000-08:00

EDWARD CARPENTER: A LIFE OF LIBERTY AND LOVE

By Sheila Rowbotham

Noted socialist feminist historian Shelia Rowbotham will be giving a series of lectures on her recent book on Edward Carpenter throughout January around the Bay Area. Check them out!

Thursday, January 8, 2009, 6-7:30 pm
San Francisco Main Library,
100 Larkin Street in the Latino/Hispanic Room.
The event is co-sponsored by the SF Public Library Hormel Center, the Edward Carpenter Forum and the SF GLBT Historical Society.

In conjunction with Rowbotham's appearance, the Library will mount the exhibit, My Days and Dreams: The Worlds of Edward Carpenter, Early Gay Freedom Pioneer, during the month of January on the 3rd floor of the Main Library.

Sunday, January 11, 2009, 2-4 pm
Bound Together Bookstore
1369 Haight Street
San Francisco, CA 94117
415.431-8355

Wednesday, January 14, 2009, 7:30 PM
Moe’s Books
2476 Telegraph Avenue
Berkeley CA 94704

Thursday, January 22, 2009 , 7:00 PM
Alexander Berkman Social Club
552 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110

The first major biography of late Victorian sexual and political libertarian, Edward Carpenter, by renowned feminist historian, Sheila Rowbotham. A rare document of the alternative lifestyles and radicalism of Carpenter's times by a woman who was on the frontline of the left and feminist movements of the sixties.

Edward Carpenter, libertarian and campaigner for gay love, women's suffrage, nudism and recycling, was a central figure in the cultural and political landscape of late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Meticulously researched and beautifully written, this biography situates
Carpenter's life and thought in relation to the social, aesthetic and intellectual movements of his day, and explores his friendship with figures such as Walt Whitman, Robert Graves, Oscar Wilde, E.M. Forster, Isadora Duncan and Emma Goldman.

With a commitment to bringing out the range of interconnections evident in Carpenter's life, through his network, his mix of causes, his interests and his thinking, Rowbotham knits together a great alternative social history of Victorian England and presents a compelling portrait of a man described by his contemporaries as a "weather-vane" for his times.

January 22, 2009 Meeting

2008-12-31T11:35:00.000-08:00

We are very excited to be hosting English author and historian Shelia Rowbotham, who will be speaking at our January meeting about her recently published book, Edward Carpenter: A Life of Liberty and Love.

More information coming soon, but in the meantime, here is a recent article about Shelia in the Guardian: An Unshowy Icon

GREECE! MORE!

2008-12-20T16:50:00.000-08:00

Ok -- I'm excerpting a lot here because it should be read... For more go to their site

LIBERATED CITY HALL OF AGHIOS DIMITRIO

AGAINST PROSECUTIONS AND DETENTIONS

SOLIDARITY WITH ALL WHO HAVE BEEN ARRESTED AND ARE PROSECUTED FOR THEIR PARTICIPATION IN THE POPULAR INSURRECTION

The events that have taken place so far, both inside and outside of Greece, following the murder of 16-year old Alexandros Grigoropoulos from the special guard Epaminondas Korkoneas, show clearly that we are in the midst of a popular insurrection. Ever growing segments of society (high school and university students, workers, unemployed, immigrants, detainees, poor,…) decide to come out in the streets and transform their rage for whatever oppresses them in every _expression of their lives into action (dynamic mobilizations during which there are mass clashes with the forces of repression and attacks on government and capitalist targets, occupations of public buildings, open assemblies, counterinformation actions,…).

Within the frame of this insurrection, the City Hall of Aghios Dimitrios has been occupied since the morning of Thursday Dec. 11, so that it may become a place of counter-information, meeting, and self-organizing of the residents of the wider region and for the collective formation and implementation of actions. A main component of this occupation is the daily popular assembly with participation of up to 300 people, a process that functions in contrast to the entrusting of the management of our demands as well as of our struggles to whichever "representatives," elected or not. A process that tends to be implanted deeply into the consciousness of its participants on their role as political beings.

Without a doubt, this popular insurrection is clearly turning against the very structure of the current regime. Therefore, it follows that the subjects of this insurrection will face the repressive fury of the defenders of the system (the state, the businesses, the comfortable, …). Already there have been about 200 arrests around the country (often accompanied by violence and trumped up charges). Some of the charges, misdemeanors as well as felonies are: resisting arrest, disobedience, disturbing the peace, attempting to free detainees, use and possession of tools and explosives, attempt to inflict serious bodily harm, etc. In some instances, the state has prosecuted minors under anti-terrorist statutes (Larissa). Nevertheless, for us it is obvious that all these charges are political in nature. And of course the "not at all" predatory state (in conjunction with the "not at all" profiteering business people) has the audacity to prosecute so-called "looters".

By participating in the popular insurrection both inside and outside of the now liberated City Hall of Ag. Dimitrios, we express with our deeds our solidarity with those arrested and procecuted for their actions in this social struggle. The struggle for their release and the cessation of prosecutions is absolutely connected with the very insurrection and must constitute a main demand.

A few lines above there was a reference to the defenders of the system. Unfortunately this category also includes those segments of society, which, while objectively belong on the side of the oppressed, whether by their opposition to the social struggle or whether by their silence (a result as much of the brainwashing from mass media as from the growing tendency to abandon collective claims and pursue individual solutions) end up playing the game of their oppressors. It is necessary that we realize what is the source of our problems and that all of us "below" are already on the crosshairs of the system, therefore it is to our advantage to join this insurrection.

DROP ALL CHARGES FOR THE EVENTS OF THE LAST SEVERAL DAYS

IMMEDIATE RELEASE OFF ALL DETAINEES

THE SOCIAL STRUGGLES ARE NEITHER LEGAL NOR ILLEGAL – THEY ARE JUST.

RALLY – MARCH

Tuesday December 16, 2008, 7:00pm

at the liberated City Hall of Ag. Dimitrios

INVITATION TO THE OPEN POPULAR ASSEMBLY
OF THE LIBERATED CITY HALL OF AGHIOS DIMITRIOS

On December 6^th, 2008, the special guard Epaminondas Korkoneas pulled out his gun and murdered a citizen, a 16-year old kid. The rage that everyone feels is huge, despite all the attempts by the government and the mass media to disorient public opinion.

It is now certain that this insurrection is not only homage to the unjust loss of Alexandros Grigoropoulos. There has been a lot of talk since then about violence, thefts and pillages. For those in the media and power, violence is only what destroys the proper order.

For us however:

Violence is to work 40 years for crumbs and to wonder if you will ever retire.

Violence is the bonds, the stolen pensions, the securities fraud.

Violence is to be forced to take a housing loan that you will pay back through the nose.

Violence is the managerial right of the employer to fire you at will.

Violence is unemployment, temporary employment, 700 euros a month.

Violence is the "industrial accidents" because the bosses cut costs at the expense of worker safety.

Violence is to take psycho-medications and vitamins to withstand the exhaustive work schedule.

Violence is to be an immigrant, to live with the fear that you can be thrown out of the country at any time and to be in a state of constant insecurity.

Violence is to be simultaneously a wage worker, a housewife, and a mother.

Violence is to be worked to death and then to be told "smile, we are not asking that much of you."

The insurrection of high-school and university students, of temporary workers and immigrants broke this violence of normality. This insurrection must not stop! Syndicalists, political parties, priests, journalists and businesspeople do whatever they can to maintain the violence we described above.

It is not just them, but we too are responsible for the perpetuation of this situation. The insurrection opened a space where we can finally express ourselves freely. As a continuation of this opening we went forward with the occupation of the City Hall of Ag. Dimitrios and the formation of a popular assembly open to all.

An open space for communication, to break our silence, to undertake action for our life.

Saturday December 13 2008, 7:00pm, open popular assembly at the Ag. Dimitrios city hall.

NO PROSECUTION – IMMEDIATE RELEASE OF ALL THOSE ARRESTED

OCCUPATION OF AG. DIMITRIOS CITY HALL

Ειδικοί Φρουροί , Special Guards, an elite force within the police department.

Average salary in Greece, approx. US$930.00, not nearly enough to survive on.

Liberated City Hall of Aghios Dimitrios

Solidarity with Greece, this Saturday in San Francisco

2008-12-19T14:10:00.000-08:00

/////FORWARD WIDELY/////

INTERNATIONAL DAY OF SOLIDARITY WITH THE GREEK UPRISING
THIS SATURDAY, DECEMBER 20TH!

For two weeks now, Greek youth, immigrants, and workers have been taking over streets and schools demanding an end to police brutality and capitalist exploitation. Their uprising is an inspiration to all of us who understand that their conditions of oppression are also ours, and that their resistance is our resistance. Greece is everywhere!

From the streets of Athens to the streets of San Francisco, we who are faced with the precarious conditions of economic decline, we who are increasingly denied the basic right to food, affordable housing, education and dignified conditions of labor, can no longer look on in helpless isolation. While the banks get bailouts, we get pink slips and eviction notices, police harassment and the skyrocketing cost of living, schools close and social services are cut. And in the Mission District of San Francisco we get gentrification and ICE raids. In order to survive the great storm that is upon us, we must come together as a community and develop autonomous ways of supporting and sustaining each other. We must create forums and spaces for the practice of mutual aid and social solidarity.

Come join us this Saturday for a march and General Assembly where we can begin to imagine a new society – a free Mission District, a free Greece, and a free world. Come in solidarity with the university occupations and street battles in Greece, France, Italy and Spain and with the occupation of the New School in New York City. Their struggle is our struggle.

From the wreckage of the old world whispers new possibilities. This tinderbox is only just being lit.

In resistance and struggle,

Global Solidarity in Action, San Francisco

--------------------------------------------------
March and General Assembly

On Saturday, December 20th a march will begin at 24th and Mission at 4:00 PM as part of an international day of action called for by the assembly of the occupied Athens Polytechnic University. Worldwide actions are planned in resistance to global capital and exploitation, in memory of all assassinated youth, and in solidarity with migrants and other marginalized people and all those struggling for freedom and human dignity.

GREECE!

2008-12-15T13:47:00.000-08:00

Video of Anarchists attacking the Greek Riot Police and Special Forces (From Athens Indy Media)

BBC: General Strike and Street Clashes

BBC: General Strike

BBC: Street Fighting

Witness tells of Greek Police Brutality

Athens Indy Media

2008-12-08T16:30:00.000-08:00

A message from the group which has been occupying Athens Polytechnic in response to the death of a 15-year-old at the hands of police has been published on Athens Indymedia.

"On Saturday December 6, 2008, Alexandros Grigoropoulos, a 15-year old comrade, was murdered in cold blood, with a bullet in the chest by a cop in the area of Exarchia.

"Contrary to the statements of politicians and journalists who are accomplices to the murder, this was not an “isolated incident”, but an explosion of the state repression which systematically and in an organised manner targets those who resist, those who revolt, the anarchists and anti-authoritarians.

"It is the peak of state terrorism which is expressed with the upgrading of the role of repressive mechanisms, their continuous armament, the increasing levels of violence they use, with the doctrine of “zero tolerance”, with the slandering media propaganda that criminalises those who are fighting against authority.

"It is these conditions that prepare the ground for the intensification of repression, attempting to extract social consent beforehand, and arming the weapons of state murderers in uniform!

"Lethal violence against the people in the social and class struggle is aiming at everybody’s submission, serving as exemplary punishment, meant to spread fear.

"It is part of the wider attack of the state and the bosses against the entire society, in order to impose more rigid conditions of exploitation and oppression, to consolidate control and repression. From school and universities to the dungeons of waged slavery with the hundreds of dead workers in the so-called “working accidents” and the poverty embracing large numbers of the population… From the minefields in the borders, the pogroms and the murders of immigrants and refugees to the numerous “suicides” in prisons and police stations… from the “accindental shootings” in police blockades to violent repression of local resistances, Democracy is showing its teeth!

"From the first moment after the murder of Alexandros, spontaneous demonstrations and riots burst in the center of Athens, the Polytechnic, the Economic and the Law Schools are being occupied and attacks against state and capitalist targets take place in many different neighborhoods and in the city centre. Demonstrations, attacks and clashes erupt in Thessaloniki, Patras, Volos, Chania and Heraklion in Crete, in Giannena, Komotini and many more cities. In Athens, in Patission street –outside the Polytechnic and the Economic School- clashes last all night. Outside the Polytechnic the riot police make use of plastic bullets.

"On Sunday the 7th December, thousands of people demonstrate towards the police headquarters in Athens, attacking the riot police. Clashes of unprecedented tension spread in the streets of the city centre, lasting until late at night. Many demonstrators are injured and a number of them are arrested.

"We continue the occupation of the Polytechnic School which started on Saturday night, creating a space for all people who fighting to gather, and one more permanent focus of resistance in the city.

"In the barricades, the university occupations, the demonstrations and the assemblies we keep alive the memory of Alexandros, but also the memory of Michalis Kaltezas and of all the comrades who were murdered by the state, strengthening the struggle for a world without masters and slaves, without police, armies, prisons and borders.

"The bullets of the murderers in uniform, the arrests and beatings of demonstrators, the chemical gas war launched by the police forces, not only cannot manage to impose fear and silence, but they become for the people the reason to raise against state terrorism the cries of the struggle for freedom, to abandon fear and to meet –more and more every day- in the streets of revolt. To let the rage overflow and drown them!

State terrorism shall not pass!

We demand the immediate release of all those arrested in the events of 7th-8th December.

We are sending our solidarity to everyone occupying universities, demonstrating and clashing with the state murderers all over the country.

- The Occupation of the Polytechnic University in Athens

Meeting Tonight!

2008-12-04T09:17:00.000-08:00

Our Topic will be Anarchism and Class

Featuring Barry Pateman
(curator of the Kate Sharpley Library, editor of the Emma Goldman Papers Project, star of print, audio, and film, and one of the leading anarchist historians of our time)

And new music by the
Hippolyte Havel House Band
(with Danishta Rivero, Ava Mendoza and Devin Hoff)

Plus special guests, food, drink, raffles,
and comradely good cheer!

7pm

522 Valencia st.
San Francisco
$5 ($4 if you show your membership card!)

BOOK SALE!

2008-11-25T11:18:00.000-08:00

Cheep books are always good.

The AK Press Annual Winter Sale!
Friday, December 5th, 4–10 PM
Free Admission!

Join us at the AK Press warehouse for our semi-annual sale. Everything in the warehouse 25% off! Hundreds of books on an even bigger sale, with some items as cheap as $1! Take a break from the pre-holiday frenzy and enjoy some snack and beverages on us. Bring your pals!

More details at AK Press website

Free Dee

2008-11-18T13:05:00.000-08:00

We, the undersigned, stand in solidarity with student, activist and poet Lamont (Dee) Allen, who was singled out and arrested while participating in the July 30 counter-demonstration against the Minuteman Project. Allen’s only “crime” is having the courage, as a Black man, to stand up against an aspiring lynch mob.

To the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office

On behalf of Lamont (Dee) Allen

Members of the Minuteman Project have visited San Francisco twice in the past few months to spew their white supremacist drivel in front of City Hall. (Although the Minutemen shrewdly welcome haters of all races and ethnic origins into their ranks, their rhetoric leaves no doubt as to what they stand for.)

These visits have been prompted by recent concerted attacks levied by the San Francisco Chronicle and the Newsom administration against San Francisco’s 20-year-old sanctuary ordinance. On July 30 and again on September 25, the Minutemen rallied under the auspices of the Newsom administration.

They were opposed by a large and spirited crowd of counter-demonstrators on both occasions. Yet, the conduct and very physical posture of law enforcement officers on the scene made it clear that the counter-demonstrators - not the Minutemen - were regarded as suspect by City government.

We, the undersigned, stand in solidarity with student, activist and poet Lamont (Dee) Allen, who was singled out and arrested for no good reason while participating in the July 30 counter-demonstration against the Minuteman Project. Mr. Allen was booked on trumped-up misdemeanor charges and held in police custody for nearly two days before his eventual release.

The City is now prosecuting - and seems bent on making an example of - Mr. Allen, whose only “crime” is having the courage, as a Black man, to stand up against an aspiring lynch mob. We are outraged that the City is pressing charges against Mr. Allen and demand that the charges be dropped.

• The Gray Panthers, San Francisco Chapter

• La Raza Centro Legal

• The Idriss Stelley Action & Resource Center

• Education Not Incarceration, San Francisco Chapter

• Black & Brown Equitable Drug Policies Coalition

• The Uhuru Solidarity Movement

• Poor Magazine

• Colored Ink

• The African People’s Solidarity Committee

• The San Francisco Bay View

• Deporten a la Migra

• St. Peter’s Housing Committee

• Phil Horne, Civil Rights Attorney

• Modesto Anarcho

• San Francisco Tenants Union

• HackBloc

• San Francisco Coalition on Homelessness

• Avalon Autonomous Free State

• Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador, San Francisco Bay Area Chapter

• Ben Rosenfeld, Civil Rights Attorney

• Ramsey Kanaan, Publisher, PM Press

• Tommi Aviccoli Mecca, Volunteer Coordinator, San Francisco Housing Rights Committee

• Iraq Veterans Against the War Chapter 10, San Francisco Bay Area

• San Francisco Food Not Bombs

• American Indian Movement West

• Veterans for Peace, Chapter 69, San Francisco

• Patrick Reinsborough, smartMeme Strategy and Training Project

• San Francisco Living Wage Coalition

• SF_COPWATCH

Write DeeAllenDefenseCommittee [at] gmail.com for more information.

http://sfbayview.com
Indybay

Class War

2008-11-10T13:21:00.000-08:00

Anarchism vs Capitalism, Thursday Oct. 30th

2008-10-24T10:05:00.001-07:00

Announcing the fifth exciting meeting of the
Alexander Berkman Social Club:

Anarchism vs. Capitalism
Thursday, October 30, 2008

Featuring:
Tom Wetzel from the Workers Solidarity Alliance and the San Francisco Community Land Trust will speak on the past and present of anarchist workers struggles against capitalism.

Alternatives to the irrational and inhumane capitalist system will be discussed as well.

We hate to say we told you so, but...

Surprise guest speakers, raffles, free food & drink throughout.

7pm, $5 (or show your membership card and get in for $4)

Lucio - tomorrow night at Roxie (SF)

2008-10-20T12:27:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow night the 7th Annual San Francisco International Documentary Film Festival will be screening Lucio, a documentary about the anarchist expropriator Lucio Urtubia, at the Roxie Cinema. More information can be found at the film’s web site. From the film festival synopsis:

Lucio Uturbia’s working-class roots sapped his faith in capitalist and religious institutions. His upbringing under Franco’s regime drew him towards the philosophical tenets of anarchism. And his talent for forgery helped him to cripple the world’s largest bank. The story of how this bricklayer with a skill for forgery brought down powerful institutions without resorting to violence is riveting and inspiring.

The stunning style of the film matches the rapid and almost unimaginable trajectory of Lucio’s tale. Testimony from Lucio and his cohorts intermingle with a mesmerizing procession of archival evidence and tasteful re-enactments. Directors Aitor Arregi and Jose Mari Goenaga create tension and excitement without sacrificing gravitas or distracting us from the simple lessons at the heart of the film—difficult feats to achieve in the face of such drama.

The sensibility of this former fugitive is pure and enchanting: fight power altruistically without ever aspiring to hold power. In this context, Lucio’s fate makes perfect sense, and his fight on behalf of anarchism comes across as a sober commitment to a solid philosophy, not as the empty gestures of a marginalized troublemaker. With great respect for the fight against political, economic and social injustice in Spain and around the world, LUCIO chronicles one man but recognizes a global struggle.

-Deborah L. Jaramillo, SilverDocs

Listen to the audio from past meetings

2008-10-10T12:11:00.000-07:00

We've posted audio of all past events. You can follow the gabcast sidebar link to your right or you can listen here.
Special thanks to our good friend D.J. Malatesta for providing all the audio recordings.

Photos From Our September Meeting

2008-10-07T14:17:00.001-07:00

We had another great meeting last month. Thank you to all who attended and especially to Audrey Goodfriend and Andrej Grubacic for their thoughtful and information packed talks.
Audrey spoke about her experience founding and working at the Walden School in Berkeley and Andrej gave a great overview of anarchism and education in Europe and the United States in the nineteenth and twentieth century.
To top off the evening Lorna the Laminator helped those interested laminate their membership cards. Thanks Lorna!

Meeting Programs

2008-09-29T10:52:00.001-07:00

Have you missed a recent meeting?
Curious about what was discussed?
Feel like you're missing out?
Want to more about a topic or the awesome speakers? Reports of prior meetings or a little more about the ABSC?

Well yes we do eventually try to publish pictures and audio of the events, but now we also have programs for the events. Oh the excitement!

August Meeting Program

September Meeting Program

Happy Reading!

Meeting Next Thursday, September 25th

2008-09-15T14:45:00.000-07:00

Our September meeting will focus on anarchism and education.

Audrey Goodfriend will speak about her experiences as a lifelong educator and co-founder of the Walden School in Berkeley.

Andrej Grubacic, a lecturer at the ZMedia Institute and University of San Francisco, will discuss anarchist alternatives to traditional education.

Music provided by the Hippolyte Havel House Band, featuring Devin Hoff.

Raffles, food & Drink Throughout

Admission is $5 ($4 with a membership card)
7pm at the ABSC meeting rooms
522 Valencia St.
San Francisco

Another august event!

2008-09-11T07:58:00.000-07:00

Last month’s event (has it been that long already?) was another success, thanks to all the people who came out. On the billing were Isaac Ontiveros of Critical Resistance, who gave an inspiring talk on the meaning of our opposition to what CR calls the “prison-industrial complex,” and Barry Pateman, who spoke on the history of the Anarchist Black Cross in Britain & Europe. We also had two surprise guests, Rodolfo Montes de Oca, from the Venezuelan Anarchist Black Cross, and Marshall Trammel. And thanks to the generosity of Bound Together Books, we were able to raffle off a gift certificate to that fine establishment. Finally, hats off to the Hippolyte Havel House Band, who provided great music throughout!

Unfortunately, we do not yet have audio from this event. When we have the audio, we will make it available. You can see pictures of the event at the AK Press blog. And while you are there, be sure to browse around; the AK blog is livelier than our little backwater here, full of news & views for the Bay Area & beyond.

Meeting: Thursday August 28, 7pm

2008-08-27T10:55:00.000-07:00

The Alexander Berkman Social Club will be meeting tomorrow, Thursday, August 28th at 7pm.
As always there will be raffles (this time with an extra special treat), snacks, and drinks.
All funds collected at this meeting will be sent to the Los Angeles chapter of the Anarchist Black Cross.

Barry Pateman will be speaking on the early days of the Anarchist Black Cross.
Isaac Ontiveros from Critical Resistance will speak on prison abolition.
Music provided by the Hippolyte Havel House Band, featuring Devin Hoff.

See you there!

Admission is $5 (show your membership card and get in for $4)
ABSC meeting rooms
522 Valencia St.
San Francisco

"Watching
Through the iron-barred window
The sunbeams streaming
Today
Also I spent"

-Kanno Suga

Berkman: Confessions of a Convict

2008-08-18T12:53:00.001-07:00

"Who is the real criminal, Ladies and Gentlemen? Is it the starveling who occasionally steals a loaf of bread or burglarizes my house or is it he who is the eternal vampire on the body of labor, forever feeding on the bone and marrow of the worker, exploiting and oppressing him, always keeping him on the verge of starvation that he may exercise his benevolent charity upon him, and ultimately degrading him to the lowest depths..."

"...Everyone even slightly familiar with conditions in our penal institutions is aware that the whole system is built on the principle of revenge, of brutal humiliation and barbarous punishment. I need only refer to the blackjack, the dungeon, the bullring, the water cure, to give you an idea of the spirit dominant in those insitutions. And no wonder. For the prison in the last analysis is the mirror of society at large, the perfect mmodel of our social arrangement whose cornerstone is hypocrisy, deceit, oppression and injustice. Punishment is degrading, even more to the one wielding the whip than to his victim. The history of crime clearly demonstrates that the more punishment is inflicted, the more crime is produced. And after you have tortured the poor convict for several years, degraded him to the lowest, broken him in body and spirit, you turn him out into a cold world without money or friends, and with the stigma of "convict" burned into his very soul. Having embittered and demoralized him to the verge of desperation, you demand that he become a good and useful citizen."

--Alexander Berkman, Confession of a Convict, 1913
Read the entire essay at the Anarchy Archives

August Meeting

2008-08-14T08:51:00.000-07:00

Our next meeting will be on Thursday, August 28th at 7pm. As always there will be raffles, snacks and drinks. All funds collected at this meeting will be sent to the Los Angeles chapter of the Anarchist Black Cross. We hope to see you there!

Barry Pateman will be speaking on the early days of the Anarchist Black Cross.
Isaac Ontiveros from Critical Resistance will speak on prison abolition.
Music provided by the Hippolyte Havel House Band, featuring Devin Hoff.

Admission is $5
ABSC meeting rooms
522 Valencia St.
San Francisco

Our Second Event

2008-08-01T21:17:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone who came to our second event. The turnout has been amazing and we hope to continue our meetings into 2009.

Jessica Moran gave a brief introduction to anarchism and free love in the U.S. during the late 19th century, Terence Kissack spoke about his book Free Comrades: Anarchism and Sexuality in the United States 1895-1917, and Joey Cain gave a thrilling presentation on Edward Carpenter.

Our next meeting will be August 28, 2008, same place, same time, further details to follow.

Meeting on Thursday!

2008-07-28T11:05:00.000-07:00

We're meeting this Thursday, July 31 at 7pm sharp! (doors will open at 6:45)
Our topic this month is Anarchism and Sexuality and we've got a jam packed lineup for you.

First up, the musical stylings by the beautiful and talented Jesse Quatro.

Our featured speakers will be Joey Cain and Terence Kissack.

Joey is a co-founder of the Edward Carpenter Forum and a member of Bound Together Bookstore and will be speaking on Edward Carpenter.

Terence Kissack is the author of the Free Comrades: Anarchism and Sexuality in the United States, 1895-1917, recently published by AK Press. Terence will be speaking on the topic of his book, but with a focus on your friend and mine, Mr. Berkman.

As always our meeting will include refreshments, (this time including snacks and maybe something more exciting to drink than coffee) time for socializing, raffles and more. All for the low low price of $5!

Hope to see you all there!

ABSC meeting rooms
522 Valencia St.
San Francisco

I dream of Pittsburgh

2008-07-17T11:03:00.001-07:00

Reason number two to visit Pittsburgh:

The Loose Organization of Surreal Ethereal Realists presents the first annual Alexander Berkman Memorial Music and Labor Festival. 8pm at the Frick Fine Arts Auditorium, Oakland.

According to the organizers, "The evening also includes a farcical re-enactment of the shooting and a Berkman lookalike contest meant more to encourage period dress than to locate a posthmous body double for the author of Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist

A New Music Festival is Founded in Memory of Alexander Berkman
Alexander Berkman Music Festival

Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist

2008-07-16T12:09:00.000-07:00

"Prison Memoirs is a fascinating insight into prison life, his relationship with Emma Goldman, and the slow evolution of his personality, from complete wanker to alright guy."

From a recent review of Berkman's Prison Memoirs of an Anarchists at Dreaming Neon Black

If you've never read this book, you really should.

Book Talk in San Francisco

2008-07-16T12:05:00.000-07:00

Terence Kissack will be presenting his new book, Free Comrades, at the GLBTHS on Wednesday, July 30th from 6 to 7:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served.

In his book, Kissack examines the trial and imprisonment of Oscar Wilde, the life and work of Walt Whitman, periodicals including Tucker's Liberty and Leonard Abbott's The Free Comrade, and the frank treatment of homosexual relations in Berkman's Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist.

Terence Kissack is a former Executive Director of San Francisco's Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Historical Society, and he currently serves on the board. His writings have appeared in Radical History Review and Journal of the History of Sexuality.

GLBT Historical Society
657 Mission Street #300
San Francisco, CA 94105

Phone: 415.777.5455
Fax: 415.777.5576
email: info@glbthistory.org

Consulta July 20th at Bound Together Books

2008-07-16T11:55:00.000-07:00

WHAT: DNC / RNC Bay Area Consulta

- discuss the conventions - learn about what's planned - bring proposals - network and plan with other groups in the area who are going
WHERE: Bound Together Bookstore, 1369 Haight Street (near Masonic) San Francisco, CA
WHEN: Sunday July 20th 12Noon to 6 pm

This will be a BT backyard event -- enter thru the bookstore. For more information contact Bound Together Books

Our Next Meeting - July 31, 2008

2008-06-27T13:00:00.000-07:00

Anarchism & Sexuality
July 31, 7 p. m.,
at 522 Valencia St., btwn. 16th & 17th, S. F. $5 admission.

With music by Jesse Quattro
from the Secret Chiefs 3 and Hammers of Misfortune

Words by
Joey Cain
co-founder of the Edward Carpenter Forum
Terence Kissack
author of Free Comrades: Anarchism and Homosexuality in the United States
Jessica Moran
former assistant editor, Emma Goldman Papers Project

Plus quizzes, raffles, and who knows what else!

Thanks to All

2008-06-27T12:12:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone who came to our inaugural event last night. It was a great success.

Barry Pateman, (Kate Sharpley Library and Emma Goldman Papers) spoke on the history of anarchism in San Francisco and Devin Hoff (Xiu Xiu, Nels Cline Singers, Devin Hoff Platform) and Danishta Rivero performed music.

Our next meeting will be July 31, 2008, same place, same time, further details to follow.