'----l t.

F /'
{

UB,f,RATION f,DUgAT[ON
FREE CLASSES BEGTNNTNG OCTOBER, 26rn AT THE SCHOOL FOR DESIGNING A SOCIETY.

-i -,;-'

"1f y"" thi.k th. s.huuls ar. nr,t teaching things that you ralue then teach and liv. tfuse things yo,rself... Luu[ f,26[ o6 flre past to 'nderstand the present in urder that we r^ight g'ide th. f"t"r. .J*rr.

n'n'ereats

'nd., uw unn l.ad.rship. . ,

died

l::ffi;,;;i:;il::.I,i:'].:'-'e

their airn"

classes held for five weeks, saturdays (2-3:3o) and wednesdays (7-g:so) FoR MORE rnrFoRMA'TroN coNTAcr BrLLy: 884-o299 or TFSPARow@HorMAIL.coM or 4o9 N. RACE sr. uRBAuA.

Liberation Education
Goals and Syllabus

GOALS

t. Engage History
2.

- Present historical information in such a way that it feels relevant to people's lives and enhances current Freedom Struggles.
SupportMultiracial Contexts - Create a setting and a curriculum that makes it possible for Wnit" and Black people (in particular) to begin to understand, name, and work towards
mutual interests. (Jndermine Ylhiteness - Create (another) visible effort to expose White Power - and the existence of White People - as firndamentally rooted in Slavery, Genocide, and other systems of Domination. Cultivate a language and a praxis which frustrates White lnterests. Sustoin and Expand the Schoolfor Designing a Society -Expand the valuable potential of the school's demand for a desirable society by making the demand relevant to Black people. Offer the school the problems inherent in striving to be worthwhile to local Black people as a new means to guarantee the survival of the project. Defend Reading and Writing- In opposition to a society that encourages mediocrity and addiction to Television, offer reading and writing in such a way that people might come to see these tools as powerful weapons for liberation. Defend Creativity - Allow people to hear Creative, freedom-loving music and offer spaces to Create art which speaks to their desires.

, 3. 4.

I
5. 6.
tr.

LEARNING OBJECTTVES

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Students

will have an increased

sense of understanding of three major time periods

in

American History: Slavery, Reconstruction and Apartheid, and the Civil Rights Movement. Every student will have, at the very leas! a good sense of where to go to begin flushing out her understanding of these histories. Students will interact with a learning environment where their input is both relevant and vitai to the success of the class as a whole and the social dynamics between the participants of the class are part of the subject matter. Students will begin to see and hear the stories of the millions of human beings who refuse to simply endure the oppressive conditions they are born into. Students will begin to place themselves within that narrative. Students will see the unjust social systems of the past as responsible for modern social injustice, and will begin to cultivate a desire to do away with unjust social systems. Students will grow excited about the possibility of reconstructing society such that there are no longer slaves or masters, and where the problems unleashed by slavery can be abolished" as well. Teachers will offer material that is urgently interesting to them in such a way that students can also find it interesting; and such that students also receive an offer to become teaohers
themselves. Students and Teachers

will study and interact with various means of resisting oppressive conditions, including, andparticwlarly Art: Writing, Music, Performance, and so forlfi. The class will exist as a fonrm for the cultivation of a Creative and Intelligent resistance.

TV.

THf,MATIC DESIGN:
The Saturday classes will be:
and The Master's Language and the Voice of the Oppressed - Taking examples from slavery language speaks us, and how we can speak it. other systems of dlomtation, we will look at how class, We wiil also try and set some boundaries around the language we will use, throughout the to try and discuss - and undermine - race. exactly how 2. Slavery - Starting with the stories of John Brown, we will try and get a sense of pernicious the sla:vocracy in America was and how that system continues to "color" current racist iealities. We'll focus on what might have made it possible for the ending of slaveryto allow for genuine, profound emancipation of Negroes' for J. Reconstruction and Apartlreid - The end of slavery and the new oppressive arran-gement Negtoes in America. fuh"tr were the pockets of hope for a genuine rebuilding of a society th"*" efforts torn down and "Jim Crof' created in their witlout slaves and masters? How

t.

*"ti

place?
4_

;Whit. Radicals"

and Black Struggle

Democratic Society (SDS) we wilf look at other White revolutionary-minded experiments - both from that time period and currently - and how they succeed or fail in relation to the question of Black Liberation. ..Civil Rights *d gt*k Power" Looking at "the 60's" (55-75) as a Second Reconstruction in 5. America,-this class will evaluate the Black Freedom Movement and the forces of racial on oppression that thwarted genuine dig"ity and equality for Bfack folks. We will also focus what the remaining workls in order to bring about a Third (and final) process of Reconstruction.

- Starting with an evaluation of Students for a

The Wednesday class exists primarily so that students have a meiurs to experiment with different related !o the means of responding to ttre material, and, ultimately, so that we can all perform something particularly focused class. However, theie will also be some presentation related to Arts and Performance,
on the contributions of descendants

of slaves.

The Wednesday presentations

will include:

l.
2.
J.

The Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) - A group of Black Musicians started in the 1950's to unlearn Jazz and play Creative Music. Hip-Hop as a tool for liberation - A brief look at the history of Hip-Hop and how (both explicifly ani tfrougn the fact of its existence) Hip Hop tries to create a Free society. The Performance of every day - Looking at the language, gestures and performances we choose to advocate for our desires, and how we might more carefirlly act in defense of a desirable society.

Liberation Education
Class BibliograPhY
..The Origins of Negro Slavery" Eric Williams. Taken from the book "Capitalism ani Sia;;l-" looks at horv slavery came to be as within a broader, global economic system of qr:r::::;en. Williams (9 pages - hard) i a Slave" - Julius Lester. Shares accounts from slaves about their experience of slal er1 2. Particularly focusing on forms of slave resistance. (9 pages - easy) ..Raising Hoty Hell;'- Bruce Olds. A partially fictional account of John Brown's life, politics and J. attemptJto .ni Sluu.ry through armed itruggle. Particularly, Broln emphasized arming slaves so thar they could fight for themselves. (15 pages - easy) with the 4. ..Cioudsplitt-er" - Russell Banks. A conversation between John Brown's son and a Negro, "White" son to John Brown, race-consciousness is a sin' and yet as narrator. Talks about horv, according people must frequently be in the presence of Negroes (and thus reminded of their Whiteness) in order to war against slavery. (3 Pages) human 5. "Maliolm X on Afro-American History." Explains the role of the "Slave-maker" to break beings and force them to endure bondage. Focuses particularly on language. (4 pages - easy) 6. ,.The Souls of Black Folk" - W.E.B. bu Bois. Describes the process of reconstruction, and particularly the problems facing the Freedmen's Bureau. (7 pages) 7. "Of the Frontier the Yankee Made" - W. J. Cash. Explains how the Civil War not only didn't do away with the Southern mentality of White Supremacy, but actually reinforced it. (10 pages) *ThL Grand Otd Party" - Herbert Henry Harrison. The editor of Marcus Garvey's Negro Voice (3 pages)' newspaper describes how the Republican Parfy is not interested in Liberating Negro people. ,,The Biack Codes" - Louisiana and Mississippi, 1865. Southern legislation passed to try and circumvent the l3th. l4th and l5th amendments and reinforce White power - particularly in terms of agricultural labor. (4 pages) 10. "Looking at the White Working Class Historicatly" - David Gilbert. Using information from two radical texts, this White POW tries to create some understanding of how White people rvere created through historical labor relations. (5 pages - hard) I l. "I Nia not Say What System I might Endeavor to Blow Up" - Truman Nelson. Tells the story of the Boston "Vigilance committee's" attempts to defu the "fugitive slave act" and ensure that no Negro

iol"

in Boston would ever be made a slave. (7 pages). 12. ,,TheMob and the Ghost" - Lillian Smith. A "White" Southern woman's perspective on how Apartheid operates. and particularly how Whiteness, as a pathology, is created and plagued under such

13. *Rebels With A Cause"

James Boggs. Talks about the central role Negroes have in the political history, and future, of America. Stresses that any thought of revolutionary change in America is reliant on addressing the historical concerns of Negroes. (7 pages) 14. "The Ethics of Living Jim Crow" - Richard Wright. Personal stories to describe the "moving theatres of war" that was life under Apartheid as a Black person in America. (7 pages) 15. "A Position Paper on Race" - Members of the Atlanta Project, SNCC. The document which advocated for the expulsion of White people from the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee, 1966. (3 pages). .,The Souls of Wtrite Folks" - Truman Nelson. A White person's telling of why there will necessarily 16.

circumstances. (6 pages).

be a Black revolution in America. (4 pages). 17.

,.Abolition and the New Society" - Race Traitor Journal (sping 200f). A self-evaluation of the project to create a tangible prolelt designed to push for the Abolition of the White race as a social

'

18.

construct. (4 pages) ..The New LiLReaction to the Black Movement" - Howard Matchinger. An over-all account of the White radical responses from the Black movement's transition out of "civil rights" and into "Black Power" in the late 1960's. (18 pages - hard).

mE LANqUAIE

ls Wli11g.

Class Plans and Evaluation

Saturday Class #1: "The rttling ideas of anv

t"'"';::;;O\een

the ideas of its ruling class"'

l.

of tle over"Housekeeping": intro to the class, introductions if new people, explanation all structure. give assignments: a) what do you want to get out of this class? (if you don't hear what you wart righ now and you know it, speak up now or after class)'

2.

3.
4.

Wright' Quotes from Fanon and Richard tanguage of Whiteness. Hand out "deconstructing the some time for immediate questions or responses'

b)

"Jigsaw" readings'
-.

" pause so folks read it' allorv

sreakin'losmarr-'":'ffi

r:ii$*#"$::i""*lJ#ffi*:*ssions?
$;:ffirffi"":Jff3i*"es

of thinking within the framework

5. 6. *

The small groups should be a space for peopL toreally other out, helP each other. Feedback in large grouppremise (1 far as Talk about premise and consequence as a way of defining the quote, and the Marx quote' Talk language) of this class. Back this up with another Fanon rvith race' about speaking to acknorvledge history and to do arvay
discuss.

3 ffi::'r1!Jil;l1'"ffiJ: ff ',"' generate? draw each grasp the material.

Music Listening Native PeoPle.

- "It is a good day to.die" by Robbie Robertson.

About the genocide

of

Evaluation:

* {. * * *

rvitl four other folks - his Sam Smith pulled through brilliantly, delightfully. He came Those were all of the Black folks in son, two of his son's friends and onl-frierr-d.' -u-u. at a level that kept folks attendance. e"J, s* was vital in maintaining the conversation relevant to them. engaged and feeiing like the things I was saying were * tut * students was a woman named Tejal - an Indian The other delightfui surprise college studeni studying to be a social studies teacher' feeling like I had I need to work on planing. How to structure response better? I left a real sense as to whether folks dug presented a lot of complicatd ideas without much of
groups, but it wasn't There rvas a good level of discussion, both in small and large I was really trying to exactly in thJsection where I was putting across the points "because" statements' emphasize. I feel like t should cut back on supporting There was a stark dtfference between I need to challenge my own nervousness somehow. groups' The explicil the very u"gi""i;'g of the class and the portion after the small participatory activities loosen me up' would have I started with a really diffrcult Fanon quote, and if it weren't for Sam, this I'll have to - as Sam did - break been horrendous. If I want to share qultes that diffrcult, dorvn carefully all the difficult language'

it at all.

* .l * * * *

my type of attack' What is a secondary interest the table. I'm wlnerafile to a horrendous ideas could be nested in? I need to pay attention to how to make the The high-school kids are struggling, it,s clear. class relevant to them. nerv students' Being in an out-of-class I need to think about follow-up rvith all of the wrth establishing students w.ould be excellent'

Idon,tthinkl,mbeingcarefulenoughtonotjustlayall-ofmy.politicaldesiresflatouton

;;i;il;

tie shortest, least book looking reading offeredFolks inevitabty "r,oor. the wednesday and Saturday classes There needs to be explicit cohesion between despite the discontinuous student body' : - r-r ^ -r-^r-. ^-.n people to do them' rn a w_ay that I might actually e-xpect Assignments need t";F;; to share' topics- waysParticularly if I want folfs to write' Specific ,i."; about *'tty I;m doing this' what's on my mind' etc' I was asked to have

";Uifi'

WednesdaY Class #1:

*sharepoetry_GwendolynBrooks..NegroHero.''openupthespacetohearfrom they like.

* * 'i'

or read that other peopii to share things they've rvritten, Harriet Tubman' and Frederick Douglass Share Jacob Lawrence - John Brown,
series.

.:. Present racist Daily Illini photo. Tell about what responses
the concem that Whites

so far exist' Talk about

offer

performance to of class assignment that folks create art and media' respond to and undermine this type of at Duke to of po"iil' waVs tqr9sl*ogL.(talk about work Begin with a brainstorm createstencilswhichsaid..SLAVESBUILTDUKE''toaddtotherebelliousenergy
as an in-and-out

will not respond in any-w.ay'

for orher. more * frlijtfrHTtlr$ill'lr, Prer'S "Africa," positive representations. of,Aficans: Fela ..Gentleman-,'Dead bob Marley's "African's unite," etc'

Kuti's

Then, or

*.r"urr"nt rvith the music - just

open it up for things to be created'

utt;"t#class
before.

rn"

meeting a number of folks attended right was upstaged by a Board of Education ..rqiitv"off"".,,for county is under threat of being fired and champaign

* * * {.

folks are tryingto respond in her defense' rnstead, talk about how to respond to this' Folks wantede:;;;ii"pt in addition, p"trt"pt both the Dl and the school board and what We proceeded to-have i conversationlUo"i

rvethinka"p,out.*is,arrdwhatourcriteriaisforbeinginvolved..... llaction it acted like

The conversation was engaging aod erroneous

oriented" in that

the goal was to

dosomething.wedidn't,however.Weleftwiththeassumption_TP{opinion of art through their orvn initiative - outside

,t

class. wed' and sat' is still unclear to sat' No "new" shrdents arrived. The cohesion betrveen students.

"

p*pf"

"*

una

*id;;;;t;

*Ileftfeelinglikenothinglwantedtohappenhappened.Ineedtofindabalancewhere I"mcomfortablewithmyselfandtheclassarrostittassertingacertainroleas..teacher.''I just discussion' really want *::*"-"ta p"tfo"nun"e" component - -not (i.e. "write about the following" ' " or "draw paniJar

Assignments need to be very

* i$;lt,

counterpoint;*il

example' the music could be a think about the teachingas performance more'.for played' I'm saying, insiead ofjust passively

Saturday Class #2: LEF"TOVER IDEAS: + Mark's poem in response to the reading' * Jacob Lawrence artwork to share' * Syllabi to be handed out' NEW TACTICS: * Begin exactlY atZP.m. * write assignments on board beforehand (don't mention them

except ma1'be to

sa,Y

.r. * * *

ffif;1#?::ilTtT:"::#tl"

(rather than presenting music)

Encourage students to teach/present' Put housekeeping at end - not beginning' Have a secret time-keeper'

TIMING:

(. rrL:1^ i- +ha onem' the first l.PIayDeadPrez..,,..'Whitepoweristhe.enem-..Wastheenemylvhen EuropeanscameandsnatchedourpeopleupfromAfrica,lstheeneml,toda-V. That''s q,hat rve need to understand... " (5 Minutes) 2. S^uif groupt to teach each other readings. (5 minutes for explanation of the e*e.ci;. 20 minutes for the groups. l0 minutes for feedback). "slavery and John 3. Story,-telling about Kansas uia U'utp"t's Ferry. (also, hand out Brorvn" notis about the readings) (30 minutes)'

4. 5.

Closing discussion' (10 minutes) HousekeePing. (5 minutes)'

.i.
.1.

myself or Beth' Nerv people/ folks who didn't read should go rvith either one another. Tell each other u{rat Explain u.,"ry,l6u, the goal of the groups ito te_ach you got out of the readings' This is the main goal' if t'olu get be1'ond just teaching about the reading' ask: ' - whai do ybu admire about John Brorvn? a) b) what new thing did you learn about slavery? c) How do these things relate to now?

KANSAS:

'

*JohnBrown,ssonsgofirst.Theysendaletterdescribingthearmedpro-slaveryterronsm in Kansas and ask for guns and knives' * Brorvn holds a commu-nity meeting and raises a wagon load full donated lleapons' * John Brown, ir. i, u..freJstate" pJiti"iun. Anti-Negro. Free state politics give more insightintoourcurrentraciatproblemsthanpro-slaverypoliticsdo. *BrownandhismenkillaharrdfulofWhitesinthelatenighVearlymorning.Noneare it' but all are involved in the busincss and profrting from

* * *

slave-holders troops along the Missouri line' The pro-slave forces are in an uproar, backed b-v federal mobs' John Brown is Abolitionists are straight terroriied' iegularll' murdered by vicious at the toP of the list of wanted men' necessary for 18 months' He stays hidden in the woods, and fighting when possible or

HARPER'S FERRY: I * Brown lays out a long range plan to live in the mountains and travel through the south' join his army. arming slaves. freein! othirs to canada and having others * He gets six wealthy abolitionists to fund him' * He solicits the help of Douglass and Tubman. Douglass scoffs' Tubman agrecs'

*onhiswayout,hefrees12slavesinMoandbringsthemtoCanada.

to distribute to He spends some of the money on 1,000 pikes (metal spearish weapons)

* /
.!

* * *

* * *

that addresses He meets in Canada with some 40 Negroes to draft a constitution abolishing slavery and NegroMhite equality' is recruiting to be He rents a cabin in Virginia and hides out, rvaiting for the men his son an anny of 50, and sent. He hopes for 100-men, expects 80, would feel confident with g",. Zf . eUfut a halfdozen are Negro. The Whites almost all had some role in the fighting in Kansas (even independent of Brown)' ferry'. O-espitJ fubman being ill, he goes ahead rvith the attack on Harper's weapons and make slaves aware of their The'plan is to attack tte Fedeial Arsenal, seize passage efforts. Allow those interested pikes to fight with. Seize hostages to secure safe out of Harper's ferry. Only ways in and out are across bridges' the He under-estimatedthe *i[ingn"s of the state to crush revolt, and over-estimated willingness of slaves to rise right away. His proposed "compromise" with the goveriment, for example, wasthat him and his men be allowed to cross the bridgc, uncompletely f,armed and fully u.-"d (including guns seized from the arsenal) and released hostages on the other side' on the promisi to release the 40 without any ill "ff".t, ioo long and was crushed by the marines and a couple of militia forces' He stayed Ferry A rastrof arson, olth" master's property (by slaves) followed the raid on Harper's

slaves.

in the month before Brorvn was hung.

Evaluation:

* * * * * * * *

at the Everyone had done the reading, which particularly impressed those rvho've been school for a long time. Class starled late because folks rvere late' The small groups were successful, from all accounts' Everyone who spoke to me afterwards was very pleased' My notes about the readings were only used as a handout. no discussion. no time' attempt The Kansas and Harper" F"rry piece was mostly me telling the story, with some and so it wasn't very to get input from the class- though very few knern'th.e story puii"lpitory. But it did generate some good discussion about the merit of his work, the tactics of violence and non-violence, and media afientionI neglected to even do the "housekeeping" section. folks still don't "get'Wednesday' Trvo new Black males attended, as well as Tejal, agaln. The poem "The Portent" by Herman Melville was suggested'

Wednesday Class #2 Plan and Evaluation: * plan was to simply play an hour's worth of Creative music and to have folks write or draw in response to the music. Then share' * One Black man from Saturday arrived, plus one new White woman from Urbana High. * The plan rvent well, though there was some awkwardness around changing CDs every song, and some folks got anxious to share after 50 minutes or so. * I had intended the wniing and drawing to somewhat address race and history and (the particularly the two racist events we discussed last week. ln offering this to Taylor irlglr-sct ooter) she said, almost indignant "what does this picture have to do with race? have been Ar-e you saying there's something wrong with this ?" Maybe I shouldn't surprised. but I was. * The sharing time led into a good deal of tense political discussion. with Taylor and Ansalm (the Black man) representing very reactionary/american/ahistorical views like '-rvell- it's all in your mind.!'or "you can't change the american culture," or "people can job if you don't want to'" do whatever they want. you don't have to do a shitty

FiguringouthowtorespondtothisYa:e{remelydifficutt.Iwasmoretimidthant'or incoherenl [ked. particularly with Ansalm's rambling' likely many others- *;;;;"" responded to shit sometirnes' Susan brilliantly no-stance stance. I did intemrpt this all of us are yo,, po""iug thlnss.' with "yeah' and Ansalm,s assertion thut "it'. uu in ho* all the time' ' ' " stuJk with /'t ls dumb perceptions inside some fucking idiot's mind. stuck how to plal
b)' idiots rvho don't knorv Tavlor insisted that the n-"eCrra music *u. "'Lut"A music. I forgot. People think that' ignorant as to what Americans actually I left feeting r*tty .uJ. i^h;;;;." blissfully ignorance' think. It's t*tty t"u.y to come out of that

of Firez La Casa Cultural Latina Class - Memory * Begin with performances. nL^_^^L e^-rorc, o^.o ..r.nve ,, a)My..whit.Man'sBurden,,pieceputtoPharaohSanders'song..l,ove' b)Mark,sexperimentalmusicpi"""uuoutChileandtheC[A'sroleincounter.

{.
* * * * * *

Talk

,.

"
*

of of connections and the establishment history and bringing tttto") and relate it to Connections (an SDS fundamefi people together to be free' . : - that keep people alive. Talk about history as being about stories and Galeano' Read from subcommandante Marcos Ongala's "One World"' or Bob Maybe share a ,ong o' two' Maybe Remmy Marley's "ToP Rankin"' iuft uUo* the English Civil War and the Diggers- -.1 people;s-resistance. Hopefully Barbara' open up the no". ro. ott er stories of James and Tejal will share' as by talking about how i see history Transition out of the iohn Brown piece undermining Whiteness' resistance from different +ilTliil'ii"rn" L,"ss is for people to share stories of *.'ri I'a to di s cu s s th" o ri overau class and to bt uuout the 11,'-:$:::l *11"; pass around

insurgencY there'

about,il;#;ilhment

J.n" ffiffJr'J;J:;;"?ffi

il;;

::T::l

sign-uP sheet. the Zionist project and Intifada' Think about rinHng in something about
due to the inaction of the assistant was extremely poorly advertised, action' director as well as my own very late my email list who have ,r;-r;";ipeople_sho*ed,rp, Black women on

"t":r:"ltlJevent

* * * {. *

only two

never resPonded in anY waY before' and at least two on-campus radical events, The event was also conflicting with a lot' u different timi might have helped one SDS audience, or, at least, an audience "tur,. our plan was designed to addre* i "di'rra.re" that included Latinos' ung they flatly ai{n t "get" Marks' No one really responded to my performanc: clearly radical - which was great' He Mark was really calm, .onu"rrul,iot ut una great - tut i couldn't really keep up with quickly O."iJ"i * ,"iup o.r, ptun - also the discussion and ,t mbling about trying to restore the change.I *", "*t*urd about a "memory of fire'"

*
*

tgy"?liolul racism' the class' reconstruction, We mostly straved, talking uloYi caringfor the physically disabled' und feeling "u"n qu""rty distrat'gt't, down-trodden' sad' impatient' weary. The I left feeling didn't leave until late the next day'

..Hin-Hop and Activism" Class at U of I (and Evaluation): '-'i:' -B'rg* with my "Like I'm Seven" piece' *TalkabouthowCapeoiraisthe.rootsorereat-dancingandtalkabouthowthe so they -k""p tfre master couldn't get u certain rJ"f r""gr"gg $rat capeoiristas had to d;;il;;nihis a'd the idea that Hip Hop could be a
courd

* + * * *

***"

protectil;J;r.

make a that monev can't-understand'

Read introduction to

and the capitalist can't Graffiti 'zioeluout how the street-writer

* g,f"*T"-::tlT,i;llil,rT.""'r1lll3ff;, folks Hip

were the UC

arrived Nor man, who wasn't rhere when we

who invited me' Hop I began with my poem' booming loud'

cloie' Then we gurr'"'"i """ryone *" f it b"t I, ar least, *uJn-t*ot", immediately engaged. A good
I
thoughts and ways of

*Loti i**"-aiately generated about Liberation questlons' rorts asked tough' interested' intelligent g"t""";;;;;;** education and the school in at least' She brought in "J' tt.. found myself often disagreeing;tth;;rh-, an
thinkingrh"iiaiOt;i*t"t
"i'tptt*is need there (like stressing that students

*d b"g-

talklng more informally' of our key points and folks seemed

*
*

nxtffit"Ht
m1' current

guidelines about to those situations and/or set some ahead of time' rvhat are key points to talk about'

txlTi:l?r".t3;l;,1;o

' or *Also,t}e*uyipuu..beforespeaking(which:oT"on",explicitlycomplemented grve me' ;"rt;:';# ffi ,lio .p"ut immediatelv,'-cut me off

rn

aftenvards)'#ffi

"style," less room to speak' to the Messengers" and folks applauded' We ended *irfi Cif Scott Heron'r1'-M"t'ug"

Saturday

class#3:
1-

Z. Teachy teaches "tS." (golset ;f ,h" n-,riiOittgs

"Fresh Start" (Art Ensern rble of chicago)

and Lords of the Lands piece'

3.

backYard)' Performed in the We teach each other "IS'" the readings' small groups - teach each other about the the Black Codes and discuss how b) large groups and still offtciallv*o.a"Ato uifow for';lib"rty and equality"

a)

d;;;;;iitFif."

4.

maintain the same basic power strugture' initiate a discussion about rvhat u'ould we teach each other ""Jiu".;irlu and to genuinely abolish have needed to have tt"pp"t"a duringreconstruction

larvs are

slaveryandconstructanewsociety.lryandhavethisdiscussionlookat Also, try and have this ,pl"ii," ,ocial institutioni o, ,Vrt#t oipo*"t. to be revolutionized of whaiwill need discussion lead into u Jir",rrrion

PresgntlY'
Evaluation:

! rr,:rr:^

5.Again,tobeheard(bysome).saulWilliams,..CanceltheApocalypse.''

* *
'a'

* * * * * *

of preparation to feel rady for a Nervousness remains huge. I need at least two full days format needs to be repeatedly class. Anything i teach iia semi-memorized./lecture practiced. like' I tried to account My teachy time was performed re,allv -fast-which some folks didn't for the rapid talking by being repetitive' Taking people out to the backyard rvas effective' i "must" get across certain The time crunch is a pain. Unresolved whenever i feel and the reconstruction material. The teachy thing, the small groups, the Black codes, thing all each could be a whole class' As Jresult, none really did what i wanted' to thinking Th" .""orr.t-ction piece failed most miserably. People are not accustomed is the case, Ansalm about broad structures of society in this way. And, as often *rrnt"r-1'urgumentiof Christian notions of Freedom being totally

.rpro*t"a

ol, it's because "it's all in your mind, etc'" out of your control, o, if * you, "o-nt kind of shit' I needio figure out how to fuck up this happening enough' what "IS" Stressing what could be done in aliberatory direction isn't is easY to get stuck in. Taylor and cynthia' The fewest new students attended this week. Ansalm,

the typical

Wednesday Class #3 in which all are free and peers' Try and get present society (and the slave society pie-lS65i to ottg

FollowuponSaturday'sattempttobegingenerating.thoughtsabouthowtotransformthe

"p""pr","-'ni,,lu'oudrf

**X".+l[H",T#.i""#:il:H'#:.T"fi ,:Hff ]ro,,o*-,,0

,discussion.

2.

..Brainstorm" about structural change. start with six categories on the in large board and have folks write out their responses. Then share Education, Labor, Land' Law' Language groups. The categories are:
and Government.

Evaluation:

* n *

The class went reallY well. performing my teachy Preparing ahead of time with Beth rvas really helpful. Especially

bit ahead of time. interesting and fun - generatmg Responses to the on the board brainstorming time was the assignment so that lots of good ideas. And,I still haven't figured out how to describe createanything like the answers I'm looking for. The question I, or anyone inequity?" "i*, "* might u" ro."tt lng like "How do w-e design against current systemic
J*4:

Saturday Class

Expected/Predictable Ideas : o Small grouPs discuss readings'

o o

Ansalm says something(s) stupid/pro-White' White Billy talks about SNC| -Aloi SfiS ana the relationships between Black and
people and lessons for todaY. .Billy

.t,",,"s

main points in hand-outs and/or teachy time.

Experimental Idea: o I'm not Present at2P-m. I'm off in the nearby park's gazebo.l have an accomplice begin
class.

o o

(No More Prisons compilation) and Fela Kutt' The accomplice plays atzpeof Hip-Hop Thenhediscreetly..kidnaps,,onepersonandoffersnoinstructiontotheclass. for?" people perhaps a question i"'ru6tten o' the board like "What are White . "u' a job as a member of the wtute Race when kidnapped p";i;;";;,o *", I offer them I say ye-s, I ask rvhy After a bit of this, If they say No, I or"itr,"* enticements. If the-v script and on the other is performance hand them a card. on one side there is a
instructions. from abhorrent in-class statements' The statements are either from the readings or

o o

o o o

Theyareintendedtobeintwocategori",.whit.andNot-White/RaceTraitor.betrveen the others know rvhat happened The only co*mon instruction rs toiot let the two of us. and acts as a teacher for the viewpoint on The first kidnapped person shuts offthe music tfr.i..-a (ebolitionism). The rest intervene as instructed' join the discussion' o After 30 minutes, i come back in and the experiment itself, with questions such as: o The discussion ut"r*-as migrrt look at

,fit *il.

oiwrtuidid you notice? What was frustrating? contrastfe.ldeas in such a \\alr that the I'm trying to get at,ft" f"if"*'i"g'ia) perfo.ming hurt J"-o"n.tiut o without-people's feelings getting seriously differences can be trpical racial statements' "t"uny of teaching against and (b) experimenting with different means pointed out into a new way to discrrss the readings. If it is us
do this?

This could also transition

the readings, we could then open up a broader that the statements on tfr" cards came from gaps' discussion and people could be filling in the

Class Endines:

o o o o

White Man's Burden Piece'

AndY on taPe about Fred HamPton Story-telling about SNCC and/or SDS Talk about ihe need for (and what is) Abolitionism'

o o o

with

with the timing' and use the available ideas these four as options, try and be flexible Perhaps even have a pause before moving on as needed to Jr"uf. t'p iftt Ltuun' dyramic.
the next thing.
responses to abolitionism' Maybe lrure a section where folks go offand write group' Maybe have readings discussion in large

Script for Job Offering: I'm here to offer You a job' (A) Would you like to be a member of the White race?
No? Have you heard about our incentives package? With Your membershiP You get: A "Get Out of Jail Free" card

AreYou sure?

o o o o o o

A cushY corPoratejob A suburban home A college degree An SUV Priests. Presidents, Slave.holders, To be part of a proud legacy of: Kings, Generals,
Wardens, PimPs, Grand Dragons, etc'

tf still "No":

Listen, this is your job whether you like it or not. Here are your instructions. Follon' them to the letter and tell no one of this conversation. (B) Would you like to be a teacher's assistant? I'm needed to do other things right norv. Just follow the instructions' If you don't know what to do or say - make it up'
The experiment worked to the point that most people who did not go out to meet rvith me in the gazebo hud no idea rvhat was happening. The class rvas almost entirely discussion based, with,{nsalm acting so well his part * iWhit" guy that many people would not have guessed that he was performing. I even got d-own right mad with him at one poin! he was saying such obnoxious shit. But it was ill in character. It was a useful experiment to try and teach Abolitionism simply through responding to a flowing conversation with blatantly pro-White viewpoints strewn about. I was pieased by Naomi's willingness to take on the role of assistant teacher for a class advocating for the abolition of the White race. ln fact, all the SDS folks intent of seemed willing (while asking questions) to advocate for something similar to the overall the class. All we did other than discussion was to spend about 15 minutes talking about the readings. Brief, rather surhce level large group discussion. Many people commented that the experiirent with the cards could be intentionally expanded into an actual performance mocking the easy to take on, and devastating language of Whiteness'

Evaluation:

Wednesday Class #4 (and evaluation): Doris Houston, a friend of Sam Smith's, came in to teach about her family history- and specifically about their participation in the great Northern migration of Negroes during the 1940's. She volunte"r"d to teach the class and rvas obviously delighted to be teaching. She had clearly put a lot of hard work into gathering this family history and wanted an opportunitl'to

I didn't do enough to give her a sense of the general politics, desires and goals of the class, and thus inadequaiely prepared her for her presentation. Her presentation - while excellent our five rn'eeks of discussions. The presentation did not easily fit into the overall framework of was missing somewhat the work of placing her family"s history within a broader social and economic history. As a result, some of the pedagogical benefit of telling personal stories I fear may have been lost in people understanding her sharing as simply "personal." I also need to work on introducing nerv people to the space, and giving the group some sense of why I feel like the guest is important. (This probably applies to new students as well.) I shared my interview with my father and uncle Andy about 1969, race, the Vietnam war and political struggle. There was very little discussion afterwards. Mostly about how conditions might chang" ru"h thut the current American rvar machine sparks the same level of funous resistance that eisted during my father's time' Saturday Class #5 (and evaluation):
Sundiata Keita Cha-Jua" Director of Afro-Amsrican studies at U of I came to present about the Black Freedom Movement (in the '60's). The first half of the class was a brilliant lecture about "What is History?" and the need to understand the Black Freedom Movement as having different periods of struggle, utilizing different strategies and tactics over time. Sundiata explained why the "60's" need to be understood as spanning from 1955-75 by telling brilliant stories of the Civil Righb Movement, Black Porver, and Negro legal reform work.

share it.

but calmly' He wrote three main He worked entircly without notss, and spoke confidcntly emphasis' He used difficult Marxist points on the boara anJ k"p, *._*.1fng that these were his unapologetically so that everyone could terms and, for the most part, defined them calmly and easilv understand what was being talked about' ahead of time, Sundiata placcd Perhaps intuitively. perhaps through reading the syllabus of the Liberation Education program' his words deftly *O *,oni"tf.rlly within the overall intent il; ;"p*r"dly brought tt " "onc"pt of Reconstruction into the discussion- most notably by of demand strugp;ie for reparations and its historic precedent in the

teaching about the current Freedmen for Land. forward and creating a Sundiata's attempt to steer the discussion torvards looking attempts' Though reparations is a useful liberated society were about as successful as my previous it is not the same as the class beginning, and generated some very interesting discussion, america such that White pow'er is generating their own thoughts about how to aJ to influence successfully overthrown.

If I had to critique the class, I would

generate a participatof'err.rri.orrment. feel burdened by being "lectured delightful and easy to iisten to. Clear, confident, calm- I didntt man speak for over an hour' at,, as I might assume rvould happen listening to one beginning of the class fluent and to welcome my Again, I needed to do more to makeihe

say that Sundiata spoke too long and didn't enough Howev"t, ttit sryle of s-ne9ch was- for myself at least'

guest more.

Over-all Class Evaluation:

Criteria for evaluation:

l) 2) 3) 4) 5i

Establishing connections with Black people' (a) Bringing Black students to SDS' (b) Working with Black organizations' (c) Offering Black teachers space to teach' Providing Race Traitor work for SDS participants' (a) Bringing SDS folks to new spaces' (bl Crea"ting new curriculum : combining SDS ideas with History.

(c)CombiningHistoryclasswithArtsandPerformance. Presenting History as engaging / engaging people in history' (a) Making seductive offers to college students' (b) Making seductive offers to High School students' (c) Defending reading and writing' Law and LanguageCntiquing Recreatin!/rekindling my connection to my uncle Andy'

Glaring Holes:

tr tr

No work with High Schools, except Taylor' Only three events not at the Schoolhouse'

trNopresentationbyMarkorSusan(i.e.lowemphasisonlarrguage) o Extremely minimal newspaper/radio prosence' o Almost no performance Created in response to class material' o Association for the Advancement of ireative Musicians (AACM) not well taught to new

tr

people. The value of Hip-Hop not well taught to SDS studcnts'

o tr

schedule) cross-over into the overall school No full-time students created (those who No grant requests created/sent out'

Obvious Successes:

. . . . .

which seemed to please them' Andy and Gregory had dignified roles Connection with Sam Smith further solidified' to the school' iejal, Taylor and Lsah got an introduction readings' fufot, foks gratefully participated in the center- and the casa cultural Latina, Black cultural Groundwork laid wi,r, r-u Central Black Student Union' Men of Impact, uc Hip Hop, and the (possibly problematici*r"*a*"rk laid with
Douglass CommunitY Center'

GoodrelationshipestablishedwithsundiataCha-JuaandtheAfro-Americanstudies
a a
a

department. Doris and Sundiata taught classes' Black organizations and struggles' A great deal more i, kt'-o*o about local of working against racist education in Some nascent efforts in the directions

a a

a a

-humpaign county-have been fostered' o:t SDS has shifted Itf*t "UJ*vers at U of I comment that the general percepilon us, ptus a number of more casual not at the Schoolhouse, but put on by in Black spaces' irr.tur,"., of white SDS folks finding themselves this project School folks seem interested in supporting racettun" repeatedly attempted to articulate when giu"r, opporturrities, SDS rotis traitor!oliti", - "rr"r, in opposition to other viewpoints' by the social climate at the school' No new students upp"u'"4 A'couraged with the effort so far' Nate and Cynthia were both pleased

ffi::t:i:r"

Response from others:

o o o o o o o

tTi"iy Impressed by the connection of designing on the Uto:ugttiUa"t in more oftin' More emphasis have been Herbert's qrrot" "outO discussion oflaw and Language' in response to the 'Black Codes" reading' Could t au. aru*r, out formulaiions of presenting material' Maintain u**n"" of different ways Maybe having all the same people didrr';;;; how to talk about what they'diead. ,"udiogt would have helPed' statement in and of itself' The selection of readings made a nice
to history' could come more than once and Nice that each class was self-contait"a. very different exPcrienccs' from what was presented' Lots of possible variations to be created

oAsahost'makesureaguestpresenteriscaughtuponwhatwe'vebeendoingandhorv new students as rvell' their contribution fits in' This goes for -s"t"one get

The

lqw is white

the offer of history is to unravel the web

which birthed Your bondage. you're not careful, if studying history will simply get you stuck there,
in the web,
a feast

for past, present and future

carnivourous beasts.

the offer of history is to invite you into a society of weavers. if you're careful, studying history will show you how to avoid getting stuck in the master's web when trying to build your own. the offer of history is to create it. the crucial thing is not the offer, but whether you accept or decline.

history can't wait. either you accept the offer to weave yourself a new world, or you accept being offered uP to the machine which devours You.
the easy thing is

to be devoured bY the machine.

the easy thing is

to (act as if it's Possible to) not choose.

That the current system

"brutally powerfully, but here and there imperfect..." reigns, also, through our creating and defending it whether knowingly or willinglY is a given.

That violence will be committed, both to perpetuate our bondage and to attempt to liberate us ls a glven.

That the legal sYstem and for that matter the school system and for that matter all of the social institutions of the reigning order are not now - and can never be designed to do other than break human beings is a given.

That you, and i, and we, do not Yet, know how to get out of this mess"
ls a glven.

'

..we cannot dissociate ourselves from our society without, advertently or not, dissociating ourselves from its victims. we cannot associate with our society without' advertently or not, associating with its rulers' all we can do is avoid being either its rulers or its victims.
as, however' not being its rulers means being its victims,

and not being its victims means being its rulers' all we can do is not, and will never be, enough, until its members, all of us, will be neither rulers nor victims.

this requires a different structure of society' we must understand and make known to all our contemporaries structure, who do not understand yet, that it is our society which requires a different and that thii different structure will define our society then, as the present structure defines our society now' it will always be our society, now composed of rulers and victims, then composed of neither rulers nor victims'" -herbert brun

now, some of the legitimate questions (the ones to which we do not yet have answers)
are'.
I
il

what can be done to liberate human beings? what will we build instead of the current oppressive institutions?

which institutions do we prioritize revolutionizing? what are the short term stePs? how do we invite others to participate?

The Bosses of the Buildings and the Lords of the Land

tr: :: ::i,x: *;; :'1, i":;ii Ronkin'... " i!!f ;,,

,

Top

-Bob MarleY

t. The First thing that

needs to be understood is that there are two classes of Masters. Both have slaves, and both need to maintain their power at all cost; but the slavery

and the power differs.

The Lords of the Land (LOL) maintain power and slaver-v through owning land and people. -Th" Bo.r"r of the Buildings (BOB) maintain power and slaver through owning the means of industrial production and by robbing the surplus value of human laborLOL is an oli phenomenon. and maintains itself solely by resorting to old methods and ideologies of repression. BOB is a new class of human beings, created and sustained throug-h drivingpeople offof the land and constantly' expanding sites and means of repression. gbB and LOL need each other to survive. LOL begin as the dominant master class, but the BOB cannot exist without eventually striving to overtake the LOL asthe overall rulers of society. By 1860- the dominance of the BOB is near complete. Human bondage is becoming an untenable economic model - it is abolished in all of Europe's colonies, and Europe has had 200 plus years to force people into the city. In the United States, the BOB control the North, and the LOL control the South-

The Bosses of the Buildings Maintain wage-slavery through democtacy.

access to choosing your masters. More clearly, democracy is about equal access

to choosing the representatives of your masters (voting)'

classes.

premise, not an aberration.

3. The Bosses of the Buildings will,use any tactic

to maintain power.

BOB ittempt a compromise. The Bosses place immense pressure on their governmental representatives to pass amendments to the Constitution which

the only way slavery would make Slavery eternal. The amendment stated that to abolishing it' could be abolished would be if all of the Lords agreed

modify it' existence of slaves. Masters cannot abolish slavery, only

in competition with on the Lords' Land. The northern Bosses are also in order to run European Bosses (such as the British) who also need-cotton their factories and continue their robbery of industrial workers'
means of maintaining Bosses declare war against the South. War is a primary

slavery. continue to be viewed the four million human beings stolen from Africa must as property.

population Q'{egroes) as owning). t-lnderstanding the majority of the Southern undermines the power human-s capable of being treasonous soldiers seriously exiit without viewing them (Negroes) as property. of those *ho

"a*ot

4. The Bosses of the

Buildings don't intend to abolish the Lords of the Land' to ensure that the nor to liberate the Lords'il"t.r. The Bosses merely wish Lords are willing to cooperate with the Bosses' power (capitat).
from human bondage and raw tyranny to democracy and wage slavery'
threat' And it is property - th" 13*, 14ft and l5th amendments - is a type of develop new tactics of also a lesson. the bosses' are teaching the Lords' to democratic example maintaining dominance. The "Black Codes" are a perfect, of this.
lessen, the Power of the Bosses'

"Freedmen" is clear' thoroughly "niggerized" worker. The definition of

They establish labor to produce cotton whicir can then be used by the Bosses' the right to sell contracts between ex-slaveholders and ex-slaves - establishing your labor, democracY.
Slaves

did not revolt to free themselves. They did not assert their

independence.
struggle to abolition was as soldiers fo1. th" Union (of Ir'iasters) army. So, their cause. slavery was forever fettered to the Northern (Bosses')

status of wards of the State. happen in

Haiti, 1798-1803

sixty years before the legal ending of slavery in

America.

seizingland for themselves, most waited for the Masters to give it to them. Instead of creating their own schools, they depended on the Masters to crpate schools for them, and so on.
6.

The .,Hayes-Tilden" compromise of 1.877 seals the victorT of the Bosses of the Buildings. Reconstruction ends - successful on its own terms.

Republicans (party of the Bosses and legal abolition) assert that the votes in four Southern states - where hundreds of thousands of Black people would vote Republican - are skewed.

maintain what little power they have. perfectly congruent with the Bosses' interests. A similar alliance between White *ug"-Jluues and White Bosses is steadily fostered in the North.
(S Republican, 7 Democratic)

agree that the Republicans (Rutherford B'

Hayes) win the election.

leave the Lords to continue rule without interference - in exchange for the Presidency. So it goes. The Bosses of the Buildings win.
7.

1877 is the foundation

for the American Empirez globalizecl slavery.

monopolize and concentrate their wealth in fewer and fewer hands.

profit of th" Bost"s. They intervene in Cuba and the Philipines to halt revolutions against Spain and to install, instead, democrocy. The right to sell your labor to the Boss (America).
America's Bosses. These nations also provide the raw materials for the Bosses' factories and the markets for the manufactured products. role as colony for Northern Bosses is crucial in the global expansion of American Capitalist power.

something delightful I enjoy knowing John Brown as a mythic character. There's the right angle' The when you catch him from about the scraggly otd dfristian Patriarch loaded up a wagon fuIl of guns, knives and man was $200,000 in debt in 1855 when he thosl that would bring slavery to another swords and headed out to Kansas to war against part of the world.

Hewasaprrncipledfighter,forsure,evenwenttogreatlengthstodrafta alongside' John Brown intended constitution for himself and the Negroes he fought

Every move - even the dumb ones - was nothing he did to U" ttuptt azardor u-nintentional. principled-in no.way negates the fact that he deliberate. But saying that John Brown is political or religious reasoning' was drivenuy ,o*"if,l"g r.t beyond simple grown foughi foi extremely impractical reasons' He fought' That is ro ,uy, lofrn anything else' He read the bible to say: in his words, for his own redemption as much as ,,Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them' and, accordingly felt an enslaved in America' Such a inescapable connection to the millions of Africans feeling yourself as "bound with" the fate connection is more ,t un u little painful. In fact, personality' of slaves stokes a raucous, vicious fire within the himself in the mid-st of a system atic war against humanity John Brow", bV ;f ""itg that war to enter him. In seeking to utterly lay to - on the side of the'rt*ir- all-owed into products, he consented to allowing both the waste the practice of turning people him' slave and ihe master to live - and war - within
ioi<

reality of the nisqlls.he The so-called "free" white person lives as if the are Black houses and White houses' produces i, comptetelyseparate from her life. There jobs and White jobs, Black History and White Black schools and White schools, Black History.

ThisisexactlythekindofpersonJohnBrownsetouttokill.
**t The 'White Man's Burden' is as follows:

1.

of life. Sever all Accept denial aS a State of mind, oblivious as a way Take pleasure in the ties to the rest of humanity and live as vampiresdoesn't exist' Invite your slaughter of millions, and, if asked, pretend it 'pret' to aspire to become vampires' in your image; invite your own execution.

Or AcceptyourprivilegeaSaterriblegashthroughyourheartandmind.
your brother. Live Learnthat when you feast, you gnaw at the flesh of your friend' your teacher, your liberator'

foreverinexilefromthepalacesofthievesandtakeuppennanent the nigger to live residence with the degraied, despised majority. Allow
inside you

HNquAlE

WH|TE.

Caoitalism and Slaverv

Eric Williams

the "other things" that slaves make possible'

are economic, not racial.

by the legal system and made to produce'

'transportiation' to the 'new world' as Africans'

trade.

"Blood of the Orlop"" Raisine Holv Hell

Bruce OIds

to Africans and The rulers never confused their "democracy" as having any relevance their descendants. anti-African' The constitutionis inherently ftomits inception, pro-slavery and "Union"" and ended slavery as a means iitt"oto fought the Civil War to preserve the toward that end. He had no intention of ernancipating anyone' The Master cannot design the slave's emancipation' of bis economic The slave is kept alive ithough the law sanctions killing - bscause worth. it . i, kept just barely alive to ensure that she remains a money-making "thing" and not a
person.

Malcolm X on Afro-American Historv

iukiog people,s language away is one way to make them dumb - to break and deliberate. The diiruction of Afri&n languages in America was systematic '|he law not only allows, but [resiribes violence as a meuls of breaking humans
making slaves. The law serves the interests of property' to the law' The M-aster makes the laws. The slave is punished for disobedience The Master then convinces the slave that:

Slaves are made when humans are broken'

them.

and

The law is in his interest. sense of history as a European Imperialism in Africa helps to obliterate the Negto's
people descended from Africa.

A) B)

She never had a language and

Raisine Holv Hell

- Bruce Olds
and

kidnappers and the courts that backed thJm extinction from those Pro-slavery'

for abolitionists facing threat of

so forth' government, oifr", Abolitionists, the merchants, the religious leaders, and

Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass'

John Brown's Position:

I.
anti-Negro' Negro in anY waY'

between."-t;;;;

1.

Z.

3 ffJ:HH:'hin uu.of.,t"ri""i"nuin"ed He was

america.

organized means for "whites" Many of his efforts includeJestablishing slavery' "race Ntgto"" to work together to abolish coupling) and the end of advocated He openly in g or slaves as e s e n ti'a !: *:-T:'"p-": ::,"J::?,?.:t1vev btftmustt,&re -s only could' ^t
and

and ex-Whites' This was three-fold:

**;g;;;,;1-i""i-tu"e

part';;gfting ugui*t

them' those that would enslave

lrratl.'{effinot

n.
whi_ch to ffi31g;:,',lT:ffir';1ir: war,*"*'il" musr be ptorided.with the tools (weapons) slaves the

aborished immediatetv

In order to abolish slavery,

;;;il.

As a not-slave, participating in this

th"*"tui'-tom

those that would enslave them'

with those procesJ."q""* a"q"ent interaction

made-

be reminded of their causes.lvhite" peopteto constantlv -{!|u:1ffitffii#1", of race' Whiteness; to be conscious

l. What is a social Movement?

Social Movement = an identity or interest group organized for collective action change or conserve a current policy, Pra(tice or social order. Social Movements include

to either

the following comPonents: r) Theoreticians/strategists, z) Tacticians, 3) 6rassroots Organizers (A) Leadership: (B) MembershiP i-j aeotogy = coherent interpretation of history & <ontemporary condition. lt identifies; (i) '-' proble'm(s)/issues, (ii) alliis & enemies, &(iii) the direction change/conservation should
f

take (D) Strategy = analysis of the conjuncture (current historical moment), establishes goals & objectives & long-term plan ot actlon (E) Tattics = short-t-erm apiroaches/actions to achieve strategic objectives

ll. How does

a social

movement develop?

The political Process Model identifies four sets of factors that are critical in developing a social movement. Political mobilization is facilitated by structural changes or long term socioeconomic transformations that <reate the political space for the oppressed to challenge the existing system. The most crucial is the op.pressed commun.ity's level of inlernal oiganiiati,in'be.ars" it is the basis upon which they mobilize their resources for strugg,!.e. Third ana616sely related is the extent to which the opp-ressed believe in their own Polilical efficacy or iUtf ity to ihunge their conditicn. The stru.cture of pol.itical oPPo.rtunities is fourth and it involves the in-tersection between expanding political opportunities and the strength of the subordinated community. Collectiveiy, thes-e factors create the "structural Potential" for successful politi(al mobilization (McAdam, :976).
3. Expanding political opportunities

(political alliance, incorporation into existing system, critical balance of electoral power)

4. Cognitive liberation = Social r. Broad socioeconomic processes Movement (belief in ability to affect (reorganization of the economY, cha nge/conservation) new technologies, urbanization mass education, etc.) z. lndigenous institutional strength (identity/interest grouP caPacities: leadership, institutional, financial & <ultural resources)

lll.

Stages in

the History of the Black Liberation Movement, r89o-P

This is a periodization of the modern BLM, according to the historical periods dominant strategy. ln the zotn century (rB9o the BLM has gone through five phases.

Accommodation, r89o-r9o4: acceptance of segregation & disfranchisement; opposition to labor unions, advocicy of self-help & menial labor status. Dominated by Tuskeegee Machine, tB95-t9zos.

1. z.

Accommodation: Tuskeegee Machine, tB95-t9t5 Militant Reform: National Afro-American League, r89o-r9o4 3.6radual Reform: National Association of Colored Women, t89o-P

B. New Negro Movement, 1go4-1935: by r9o9, Militant Reform eclipses a<<ommodationism. Dominated by the NAACP.

' 1. Militant Reform: Nia-gara Movement, r9o5-r9o8; National Equal Rights League, 19o8r9z5; Brotherhood of 5leeping (ar porters, r9z5-r96os 2. Cradual Reform: NAACP, r9o9-P; National Association of Colored Women, r896-193os 3. Accommodation: Urban League, rgrr-P +. Conservative Black Nationalism: Universal Negro lmprovement Association, r9r619jos; Nation of lslam, r93o-P 5. Radicalism: belief in fundamental <hange in the e(onomy & politi(alsystem, links race,
cla.ss &-gende.r

Labor Council, A. Philip Randolph, the Messenger. :rg17-1g>s

C. Gradual

opglelsion. African Blood Brotherhood, tgtg-tg>5, American Negro

Reformism,lgts-1g1+: Dominated bythe NAACP, lobbying, litigation, & legislation

1.

Gradual Reform: "Blacl< Cabinet," 'tg36-tg44; National (ouncil of Negro Women, 19j5-p

Wash i ngton Moveme nt,

3.

Militant Reform: "Don't Buy, Where you (an't Worl<" Boycotts,

19 41

1g3os; March

on-

D. Civil Rights Movement,1955-65

1. z. j. +

Cradual Reform: NAACP; National Urban-League Conservative Black Nationalism: Nation of lslam Revolutionary Black Nationalism: Robert F. Williams, :956-59; Malcolm X, post 1963

Militant Refoi-m: Mass direction a(tion and non-violence civrl disobedience. Dominated by Martin L. l(ing, Southern Christian Leadership Conference, ry57;Student Non Violent Coordinating (ommittee, r96o & the Congress of Racial Equality, r94r.

E. Black PowerMovement,tg66-'tgls: Three majorapproaches: cultural nationalism, interest grouP Politi(s, revolutionary nationalism. Dominated by cultural nationalists.

1. z. 3. 1.
2.

Radicalism/Revolutionary Nationalism: 5NCC, Blacl< Panther Party, .tg66-76; Third world Women's alliance, tg69-tgl>;League of Black Revolutionary Workers, tg68-74; African Liberation Support Committee, gTt-tg76; National Black feminist Organization, ryB-75 cultural Nationalism: u5 organization, congress of African people, ryz>-eD-zg;- ' Council of lndependent Black lnstitutions, t97z-p 6radual Reform (interest group politics): Congressional Blacl< Caucus, t97o-p

F. Political & Economic lncorporation, r97z-p

Electoralism, igTo->ooa. Dominated by the congressional Blacl< caucus Cradual Reform (interest group politics): Congressional Blacl< Caucus, mayoral vi(tories (6ary, (leveland, Newarl<, Detroit, (hicago, 5t. Louis) Militant Reform: Operation PUSH/Rainbow Coalition, :969ftg84; National Action 3. Network , i996 +. Radicalism: African Liberation 5upport committee, gTl-77; cary convention, t97zlNational Blacl< Political Assembly, tglz-26; National Blacl< United Front, rgBo-p; Black Radical Congress, r998-P Conservatism: Fairmount Conference, 198r, +.

(opyright Dr. 5undiata l(eita (ha-Jua 2ooo

Table

r: Racial Formation and Transformation: Periodization of African American History

I l. Processes Racialization

l. Components

A. Races
B. Racial Oppression

r. Racist lnstitutions
z. Racist ldeologies

C. Modes of Production

ate Capitalism, I I I . Periods of African American Racial Formation

very, r619-r865

pita ism, r99o-P

antation Economy,

Vl. Stages within African American Racial Formations

Transitions Forced Labor, r6t9-

Transformation

Transitions

r66o

-- - -

(ivilWar,
Emancipation
Enslavement, r6+o&
----

6iatt itttik M;iah-Wdat;

r879-r9oo
M ib

6ie;t
-

rition;-iei ii-1-ilt

Deproleta rian ization,

1979-P

----------!e9------Consolidation, 1701rSoz

Recon struction, t8 6't -t877

----

Sdcitnil C;eaf Mi-gr;tioir,19+0-197o

----

King (otton, r8o3-t865

Plantation EconomY r87o-r94o

5u

bproleta ria n ization, r99o-P

V. Periods of Racist ldeological RePresentation

Geneti< lnferioritY,
175os-19+os

Saiantiik Ra(il m; iii

Scientific Racism, r88os-r94os

ei&;t4&-

Color-Blind, Racism, t99os-P

-\

\{q

'{
t'\

F.J

The lcrw is white

the masterts new chains.

what does it take to create a society that can read, but doesn't? what does it take to write for that society?
**rf

the men in chains came running at the offer to learn what the master had always denied, must always denY.
and then the master learned a new

trick'

it's possible to
teach a slave into existence. the old whips and chains were out of fashion' not worth the effort.

to give us what we want and still keeP us needing him.

so a master once is a master alwaYs'

the new message of domination is equality'

my father never that the majority of high school peers were black. lost offin obscure hallways, trailers, and cells'

just a short walk to the cotton fields.

and now Black folks are gunning for the american dream'

finally coming to roost in their suburban homes, SUVs and college degrees'
equality is the right to saY: ..FUCK YOU, OSAMA BIN LADEN! NUKE 'EM TO I{ELL!" COME ON, SAY IT WITH MEI one, the same american glory.
I
I

to have it all the same as Whites

and to have Whites all the same.

people say. we're going from

old to new from

slavery to freedom. but we just carry the old slaveries to new places. the public school mind is a plantation economy. working from sun up to sun down to profit the master. then he visits in the night and violates your dreams. we live with ghosts as friends. teachers, preachers and politicians shadow us through the cotton fields to our bedrooms and lonely, barren kitchens. sometimes i open my mouth to sPeak but they sPeak, instead.
{<

,f

r$

if the master will drive

railroad spikes into stolen soil or chain gangs for corporate Prisons let's ride underground...

we'll travel with the virginian slaves, and set fire to the world that hates us. honor john brown with a world ablaze.
dream of worlds

continents away no maps yet seen. or on islands set adrift as we build the soil day by day. we are,

officially,
nowhere.

we'll ride underground

north,
east,

west, anywhere

to be free.

t,
I,

Reconstruction
Accjeptj:ng: for a moment the possibiTity tbat the endiag of tbe cjtwj.J- war mi-gbt have brougrbt about a series of

changes ::ate'lded.

slaveza" what woald haveneeded,tolzawehappenedtobrj-rrgaboutthose

to fulTy

aboJ-jBsh

under olur r,reseat we make , ia &.e overaTT socj.aT sttuctures of america, &atmig}rtprowokesituatior.swberetr]oPJebegj,ndoj.';g
away w1th oPpress

changes? systxe of bonda.g'e, wbat changres can

ioa once and for aII?

EDUCATION:

(attheexpenseofothers)wiltbeteachers,ordenied access to the student rol-e ' (forthebenefitofothers)wil].beteachers,orliberated from studyi-ng beneath those that teach idiocy'

openlY and overtlY'

I,ABOR:

fellow emPloYees)

place to work, knowing it's unpleasant labor.

not'

group)

Law is minimized wherever abol-ition proves impossible. Law addresses local sPaces -

Transient report of populus (not "public opinion") ' only practicaf l-aws (l-ike against mr:rder and/or beating children) . Nothing el-se.

I,ANGUAGE:

The domain through which other domains achieve domj-nance. Parts of language need to be reclaimed! T,anguage adds ]anguage. Not thinking adds thinking. Our mouths are seen as publj-c forums. Abolish articulation as power-ovel. Cultivate articulation

as offer. Instigate miriad local- Ianguages. Teach transl-ation.

I,AND:

countries or nations. Divide the fand equallY Use is a premise for PrivacY"The land is to be owned? How owned?" Land as a consequence. Land has rights and interests and advocates in decisions
No

about use. The capacity to live off of other people using land is abolished. AlI landless workers are offered land.

GOVERNMENT:

Where the oppressed

abolition of violence is deemed impossible, the are supplied weapons - Language is a weapon of self-defense and al-ternative to violence. Everyone in the world gets five votes for leaders of anY
country.
t,
I,

In the public domain. Decision making and leadership are the core curriculum. None. No one on toP, no one on bottom.

along the ocean floor.

spent years wandering parched earth begging for water to carry me away. home?

slept in the belly of the great machine as it walked across water and spat me out covered in the blood and grime of our time together'

birthed in blood, nursed in stagnant waters bathed in torrential rains'

i want to sliP back inside inviting mYself to be cradled

in the deeP recesses of the vehicle which broke me, spoke me. abandoned me thirstY, and crawling'
,<*t<d<*

this ship brings the old world more than it goes. and anew world still beckons' what maY be new would still be a discovery. there's nothing to be gained in this staying' gold piled higher drowns me deePer. falling down all around me. i'll like to swim in healing waters but all mY gifts threaten to murder me.
*'Frl.**

i'd rather not be run aground.

endlessly you Push us forward but the tides swell higher

the islands choke, cough

and fade away.

forward. ever forward.

skeletons laid out as tracks, headed west, again

silencing torrents
above and below.

the wind whiPs at our backs, screaching, so that we might halt' but forward. ever forward.

i'm digging

mY heels deeP enough to sprout roots' i've been homeless too long.

there's nowhere left to wander'

*****
i wrote you a letter
old frlend. we laughed again in it, taking in the breadth of the fields remember how theY filled our eYes? remember the taste of sunshine on yoru back? remember the touch of the mountain air? when we lived it i swore we'd live better
here.

now my nights are full of then, with you.

images so beautiful

i awake with a skriek.

at this distance,

you can't helP but think me dumb. as if forgetting is the only respite as if i could harvet this parched ground and reaP joY from a memorY of fire'

t,
I

if i could walk the ocean floor, i'd trace the machine's stePs,

and embrace You in the morning'

r<

Th" $.hool {orPesigningu $odety "lib erati o n f du c. ti o n"

'shrftrng idi,,eies. e nonent in histury gou are Colured, il.gru, Aftu-An.tic"n, Afti""n-Anerican, llino.ity, etc

Th. vVt'it. people fav. b..n vVtrite. "lways 'Civil Rightr' noyenent. tnlrny p.upl. glorify ttr. A'e Civil ftghts diffe'ent fron Constit.^tiunal ftghts? v/'lli"h is $e (reater Right? b..n vVtrit (&Sht)." n. vVtrit. p.upl. fiav.

:'
Classes meet

"1""9s

for five weeks. Sahrrdays (2-3:30) and Wednesdays (7-8:30) For more informarion, contact Billy: 384,0299 or Participate@desiqninqsociety.ors or 409 N. Race Sr Urbana