Posted on by denverabc

Happy New Year to comrades across the world!

As we enter into another year of struggle against predatory social, political, and economic systems, Denver Anarchist Black Cross would like to make an attempt to document the activities and work that we have been a part of for the last year. We hope that this attempt at transparency can open up dialogue, especially amongst our imprisoned comrades, to be able to offer advice about how our energy and time could be better spent, and also better inform people about all the various projects and programs that Denver ABC maintains and provides.

Denver ABC is involved in a wide range of support and organizing activities, and unlike many contemporary ABC chapters, our focus is not strictly limited to prisoner support. Historically, ABC chapters have provided many other types of support roles to the broader social movements that they have been active within, and the spirit of Denver Anarchist Black Cross and our mission statement embody this ideal of multi-faceted and broad based support work for members of liberatory social movements. Our work is intended to ensure that our movements’ work can be maintained and defended.

GENERAL:

Our collective grew massively through 2010. Our collective is now 17 dues-paying members strong and is made up of about 8 working groups focusing on a variety of support and organizing initiatives. 2010 also saw a dramatic change for our collective, as we ceased our working relationship with the Anarchist Black Cross Federation, after an inability to maintain a working relationship that made sense for our collective. We still contribute to ABCF initiatives, including the ABCF Warchest, but do not maintain official membership within the Federation.

In 2010, Denver ABC published three issues of our magazine, PaperMatch, distributing hundreds of copies of each issue. We have also maintained a consistent web presence at our blog (https://denverabc.wordpress.com) with daily updates on state repression, and other attacks on social movements from around the world.

POLITICAL PRISONER/POW SUPPORT:

One of the mainstays of ABC work has been and always will be working to defend members of our movement that come under attack by the legal apparatuses of the state.

To this extent, Denver ABC has been active in the support of political prisoners and movement POWs in a variety of ways.



Once a month, Denver ABC hosts a political prisoner and POW letter writing night. This has been a consistent program since August of 2009. Every month we focus on different campaigns or prisoners, to bring attention to the variety of social movement prisoners now sitting in cages in the United States. Our letter writing nights draw a dozen people on average, with some letter writing nights drawing as many as thirty or more participants. A dinner is provided, as well as all materials necessary for writing letters, including postage. The letter writing is preceded by a short presentation on the case(s) we will be focusing on during the night. Past letter writing nights have included Green Scare prisoners, Black Liberation prisoners, Trans and women prisoners, War on Terror prisoners, Anarchist prisoners, and others. In February, we hosted a special Valentine’s Day letter writing pancake breakfast that was highly successful and sent dozens of cards and letters to our imprisoned comrades.

2010 saw the first year of what will become an annual Political Prisoner and POW art show. The show featured art from dozens of prisoners and raised several hundred dollars for the work of Denver Anarchist Black Cross as well as direct funds for prisoners involved in the art show. Artists featured included David McKay, Oso Blanco, Marilyn Buck, Phil Africa, and Daniel McGowan. 2011’s show will happen sometime this summer, so if you’re interested in contributing art, please contact us.

Another annual event to raise funds and awareness about movement prisoners is Running Down the Walls. 2010 marked the second year that Denver ABC hosted a local run. Participation this year rose dramatically from last year, almost tripling from 15 participants to nearly 40 at this year’s run. The run raised $600, $300 of which was sent to the ABCF Warchest, a program that provides monthly stipends for political prisoners and prisoners of war held in the U.S. The other half of the money went to the Denver ABC Mutual Aid Fund, a fund used to provide emergency economic support to revolutionaries in the Denver area in dire economic need (see Economic Support below).

Denver ABC has published and maintained a comprehensive database of political prisoners and social movement POWs held in the United States since our inception. The database is available online on our blog, and is also available in a print edition. The 7th edition of the print version was released in November, and the 8th edition will be released by the end of January. The listing includes dozens of prisoners, their background information, and constantly updated mailing addresses.

Other work that Denver ABC has done on behalf of movement prisoners has been varied. We send a $30 monthly stipend check to Dr. Mutulu Shakur, a Black Liberation Army prisoner held in Florence, Colorado. Denver ABC has also become the publisher and distributor of 4StruggleMag, a publication written by “North American political prisoners and their friends” edited by United Freedom Front POW Jaan Laaman and the Toronto Anarchist Black Cross. After the publication is edited and compiled by our comrades, we are responsible for the printing and mailing. We have sent out three issues in the past year.

PRISON ABOLITION/MIGRANT DEFENSE:

DABC also maintains several other support initiatives aimed at politicized social prisoners and others imprisoned by the state, including migrant detainees.

The Colorado Prison Literature Project, a working group of Denver ABC, sends free packages of radical and revolutionary literature to prisoners being held in the state of Colorado. This project is in the process of restructuring, but to date, has sent several rounds of mailings of political literature to prisoners in Colorado. We have lofty goals for the next year, and our catalog has been expanded to now include over 100 titles.

Denver ABC members have been actively involved in efforts to shut down the ICE Detention Center in Aurora, Colorado. We have participated in and helped provide “security” at many protests and demonstrations at the center, ranging from vigils to confrontational protests. Denver ABC also maintains participation in Colorado AID (Abolish Inhumane Detention) an organization that provides visitations and support to migrants in detention.

LEGAL SUPPORT:

In February, former anarchist POW Ojore Lutalo was arrested in La Junta, Colorado after being accused of making “terroristic” threats aboard an Amtrak train. Denver ABC helped organize support for Ojore and arranged for his bail. We provided housing for him for the next week as he waited to see what would happen with his case. Eventually all charges were dropped and Ojore was able to return home to New Jersey.

DABC served as the legal support team for the 2010 Bash Back Gathering held in Denver in May. We staffed a legal line 24 hours a day for the four days of the gathering, and in an interesting turn of events, saw no action until the day after the gathering, when one person traveling home was arrested on a warrant. We worked to help free this comrade, who eventually, with the assistance of their friends, was released a couple days later and made it back home safely.

We have hosted dozens of events over the past year to support anarchists and others facing attack by the state and other repressive forces. Fundraisers have included a cakewalk for G20 detainees, a film screening of the Oakland 100 documentary, and a speaking event/puppet show for the Conspiracy Tour.

Over the course of 2010, we raised funds for the following cases:

-Toronto G20 arrestees: $150

-Asheville 11: $500

-Eric McDavid: $100

-Marie Mason: $100

-Denver Got Yo Back (three local felony cases): $800

-State Street 29: $100

-Oakland 100: $100

-Mt Hope Infinity: $1,100

-Conspiracy Tour (RNC 8, Carrie and Scott): $150

ECONOMIC SUPPORT:

Denver ABC provides economic support to members of social movements in several ways, but most notably through the Denver ABC Mutual Aid Fund, a fund that donates and lends money to radicals and revolutionaries in dire economic need. In 2010 we provided nearly $1000 to Denver based revolutionaries for rent assistance, grocery money, car repairs, legal fees, health care needs, and other situations requiring urgent financial assistance.

Our major fundraiser for the Mutual Aid Fund is an annual costume ball, the Martyr’s Ball, where participants are encouraged to attend dressed as a political martyr they would like to have remembered. Food, dancing, and pinata smashing mark a fun and fabulous evening, and over the past two years, nearly $900 has been raised for our Mutual Aid Fund through this event.

TACTICAL DEFENSE:

A working group of the Denver Anarchist Black Cross, the Denver Armed Resistance Committee, focuses on providing tactical defense training to members of DABC and social movements active in the Denver area.

In 2010, we hosted four public introductory level firearms skillshares, sharing knowledge with over 50 people. These introductory classes cover safety and handling, as well as mechanics and history of tactical firearms. DARC members also participated in and led several live fire trainings, as well as a direct action tactical training, focused on unarmed, but militant, street demonstrations.

Throughout 2010, DARC members and others from Denver ABC tabled at Denver area gun shows with anti-white supremacist and anti-Minutemen materials, as well as self defense related materials written from an anarchist perspective.

CHILD AND FAMILY SUPPORT:

One important note about Denver ABC is that we put a lot of emphasis on building a multigenerational movement. This emphasis is manifested in a variety of ways, from providing childcare at every DABC meeting to ensuring that anyone that DARC instructs in firearms use can change a diaper before they are allowed to fire a gun. Over half of the members of the collective are parents or find themselves in parental roles, and this certainly is a large motivating factor in our desire and need to include children and families in our organizing work, and to provide support to families and kids active within the movement.

The Nurturing Liberation working group has been the primary organizing body for childcare or other forms of family support. Last year, Nurturing Liberation held a free kids clothing and toy swap, provided childcare at several movement events hosted by other organizations, and helped organize a reading of the book, “My Baby Rides the Shortbus” about the experiences of parenting kids with disabilities.

Denver ABC also helped provide childcare for the weekly meetings of local participants of the Black Mesa Caravan, a group providing material and direct support for indigenous people resisting coal mining at Big Mountain.

DENVER BASED ORGANIZING AND SUPPORT EFFORTS:

DABC is an active member organization of the 27 Social Centre, an anti-capitalist and revolutionary community space in Denver that provides space to a host of organizations, including the Denver Zine Library, Sent(a)mental Studios, the Bread and Roses Workers Cultural Center, Build Up Books, the Denver IWW, Comite Defensa del Pueblo, P&L Printing, and many other initiatives and programs.

DABC and its members support the center financially, help staff and organize events, and also live in and work out of the space.

Denver has had a busy year in the streets in 2010. Denver ABC members were present and helped organize several demonstrations in response to increased police violence, and the murder of a homeless street preacher, Marvin Booker. Though neither demonstration was organized directly by DABC as an entity, members were heavily present and involved in outreach, security, and logistics for the events.

Along with various allies, including Resistencia Mexicana, and Comite Defensa del Pueblo, DABC helped to organize a Mayday demonstration that saw over 500 people march for social justice and anti-capitalist revolution.

In October, a local organization that works in solidarity with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, Denver Fair Food, hosted an encuentro (gathering) of organizers from across the midwest organizing for justice for agricultural workers. DABC helped cook food and provide housing for the event.

P&L PRINTING

Members of Denver Anarchist Black Cross co-own and run a collective printshop: P&L Printing. The printshop has been providing commercial printing to radicals, non-profits, and unions for over three decades. Utilizing offset, digital, and screen printing, P&L functions as a worker collective that provides direct employment for 4 members of ABC as well as print support for a variety of radical and revolutionary projects.

In 2010, P&L Printing offered free or discounted work to many movement groups including:

-The Asheville 11

-The Jericho Movement

-Black Mesa Support Caravan

-Rob Will/DRIVE and the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty

-Denver Food Not Bombs

-Bash Back

-4StruggleMag

And of course, Denver ABC…

OTHER SUPPORT WORK

Other work that DABC was involved in over the course of 2010 included organizing a solidarity demonstration against the verdict in the Oscar Grant murder trial, organizing a local event for the Isreali based group Anarchists Against the Wall, screening the film “Bloody Sunday” on the anniversary of the Bloody Sunday massacre that took place in Ireland, hosting a talk about the Greek anarchist movement by Peter Gelderloos and organizing an emergency demonstration in solidarity with Georgia prisoners in revolt.

THE FUTURE:

2010 was a busy year for the Denver ABC, and 2011 is shaping up to be even busier. The attacks on our movements will not relent as long as our movements remain vibrant and consistent threats to domination. In 2011, we will maintain our usual work and role within the Denver anarchist movement, and will also continue our several annual events, including Running Down the Walls, our Political Prisoner Art Show, Martyr’s Ball, and our monthly political prisoner letterwriting events.

Several larger initiatives are also underway, including planning for a North American Anarchist Black Cross conference to take place this summer, in which we hope to have ABC collectives from across the continent represented to meet, form social bonds, and strengthen our collective work to support social movements and their prisoners.

SUPPORTING DENVER ABC

You can support the work of Denver ABC in a variety of ways.

-Buy our annual calendar!

For a second year, DABC has released a high quality, full color calendar featuring scenes of social revolt from around the world. The sales of this calendar directly benefit DABC’s Mutual Aid Fund, and our own stipend program for prisoners.

-Buy a Martyr’s Ball poster print!

Each year before Martyr’s Ball, DABC releases a limited run of three color screen printed posters featuring three fallen icons of liberatory social movements. This year’s print features Emiliano Zapata, Marilyn Buck, and Harriette Moore. The posters measure 19×27 and are hand signed by the artist, DABC’s own Matt Verges.

-Donate to the DABC Mutual Aid Fund

DABC’s Mutual Aid Fund is always in need of donations! The money is well spent and goes a long way to offer meaningful financial support to Denver based comrades in urgent economic need.

-Subscribe to our email announcement list and our Emergency Response Network

Details are available on our blog at https://denverabc.wordpress.com

-Get involved!

DABC hosts open meetings every other week at the 27 Social Centre in northwest Denver. For details, check out our blog.

-Print with P&L Printing

Supporting P&L directly benefits the 27 Social Centre (for which P&L pays most of the rent and bills) and Denver ABC. For information, email P&L at plprinting@msn.com

-Support your local ABC or other anti-authoritarian projects!

To inquire about purchasing posters, calendars, or making a donation, drop us a line at denverabc@rocketmail.com or visit http://plpress.bigcartel.com

In love and solidarity!

Your comrades at Denver Anarchist Black Cross

2727 W. 27th Ave Unit D

Denver, CO 80211

https://denverabc.wordpress.com

denverabc@rocketmail.com

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Filed under: ABC Event, History, News | Tagged: DABC News |