This section has descriptions of some of the events we have organized or gone to as a group since the beginning of the school year.

September 16th and 19th, 2003:
Dr. Seuss Reading

For our first ASC event, we decided to have a Dr. Seuss reading & book discussion group. Many of us love Dr. Seuss, and what better intro to the basic principles of anarchism than "The Lorax" and "Yertle the Turtle"?

After reading "The Lorax," we discussed the kind of statement the story made about our current society. We found that it gave a clear warning: if we [humans] continue to live the way we are living, we will destroy the earth. Some participants in the discussion wondered whether there is a connection between anarchism and environmentalism. One answer was that there is a connection, because as anarchists we are fighting against greed, and it is the greed of capitalist society that causes people to destroy the earth.

The reading of "Yertle the Turtle" inspired us to consider the hierarchical structure of our society. We thought about what we can do, as individuals and groups, to change that structure.

October 28th, 2003:
FTAA Teach-In

We invited Anna Hendricks to come and give a talk/teach in on the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). 26 people came. Anna explained the effects of the FTAA and what people are doing to fight it.

October 31, 2003:
BAAM Halloween

On Halloween night, 2003, politically minded people from the Boston area (a few people from Israel) met at 6:30 PM in Copley Square. They were greeted by Dan the Bagel Man a prominent local activist (who was wearing a kilt, although it was probably too windy for the occasion) and a deliciously vegan Food Not Bombs meal. There was quite a variety of costumes: a West Cambridge graffiti wall, a chicken-cow, a capitalist (with fang marks on his neck), a creepy old lady-that was Chris, a television, a pig (or a cop-you decide) and many more. The event? A creative action, designed to remind the people of Boston that THEY WERE BEING DECEIVED. More specifically, that they were being misinformed concerning the subject of the war in Iraq. The planned event was actually pretty ineffective, although it was fun for those involved. The large group that showed up was split into smaller groups of four or five people. Each group was given a location, and directions to their locations. They were instructed to flyer all the houses along their route. Surprisingly, most of houses were completely VOID of all human life and/or Halloween sprit. In fact, only two people, a nice young couple, were handing out candy on their doorstep! Anyway, at the given locations, two group leaders were waiting to give further directions, and some 'reward' candy. This was pretty much the entire event, as planned. If there was more, I never found out, due to highly unfortunate circumstances concerning a piece of paper, an innocent and naive youth, and certain assholes with blue uniforms, plastic phalluses and shiny badges. In the end, however, it was a fairly exciting night. Arrests were made, candy was eaten, the people were (still) deceived, street theater was performed, and a good time was had by all. Actually, that's lie. But I heard that most people had a pretty radtacular night.

November 14th, 2003:
ABC Know Your Rights Teach-In

Three members of the Anarchist Black Cross came to give a "Know Your Rights" skillshare. 24 people showed up for the extremely informative workshop. We discussed how to deal with situations in which law enforcement officials might infringe on our legal rights. It was a useful subject not just for anarchists, but for anyone who plans to engage in any sort of dissent.

The topics discussed included legal rights when dealing with police, legal rights at protests, and what to do if arrested at a protest. While it is scary to consider the amount of power that police state exerts over us, the power they have to arrest us or search our homes without any cause, it is important that we learn what we can do to stop them from completely taking our power and infringing on our rights.

This site has copies of some of the (very informitive) handouts that were given to us by the ABC.

November 21st, 2003:
Boston FTAA Solidarity March

Several ASC members went to a protest against the FTAA. On the same day, a very large protest was taking place at the FTAA meetings in Miami. The event we attended in Boston was a solidarity march to support those in Miami. Having had a teach-in about the FTAA recently, it was a good way to put our ideas into action.

Sometime early in the winter 2004:
Weather Underground Movie

Going to see The Weather Underground documentary was our first (and sort of only) ASC field trip. The independent Bijou Cinema in Worchester held a private screening for us (thanks) and a certain faculty member got the CSW van stuck in the parking garage, but that's another story.

The Weathermen emerged during the late 60s in response to the state of the world, the US's role in it and in particular the Vietnam war. Dissatisfied with the peaceful and ineffective tactics of Students for a Democratic Society, a very large student anti-war movement, the Weather Underground split from SDS* in order to execute more militant actions in an attempt to violently overthrow the US government. Chapters formed all over the country, committing violent actions and as a result, being forced underground, thus the Weather Underground. The actions of the Weathermen went on for twenty years, and though its members spent most of that time on the FBI's most wanted list, once underground, they were NEVER apprehended. Many of them turned themselves in much later in order to resume normal lives, some with children.

Without living in the mindset of the times when the Weathermen were most active, it might seem curious or outright ridiculous that they had wanted to overthrow the US government. (We never learn the actual politics of the Weathermen, thought the movie hints they were socialists or communists, not anarchists.) What the movie did an excellent job of doing was explaining why the Weathermen felt what they did was so necessary; the violent images of senseless slaughter in Vietnam were enough to outrage anyone. The Weathermen happened to take their outrage farther than most; bombing the Capitol building, the Pentagon, the Queens courthouse and NYPD headquarters in addition to several other militant acts intended to "Bring the War Home". The Weathermen were careful to make sure all the buildings were evacuated before they were bombed so as not to kill anyone after two of their own had died trying to build a bomb in a Greenwich Village townhouse in New York.

The movie does not romanticize the actions and lives of the Weathermen (and women) or paint them as martyrs or heroes. In fact, it at times makes them out to be confused, self-hating, privileged white kids that just wanted a piece of the action, but whether you agree with their politics or not, this movie allowed you a look into their perspective and the reasons for their outrage. Frankly, I think having been able to evade the FBI for 20 years makes them tactical geniuses either way.

(The documentary includes extensive interviews with members of the Weathermen, most of them are still around. A number of them are now professors.)

December 10th, 2004
Bio-lab Meeting

Some of us went to a public meeting being held at the Boston Public Library to "discuss" the level 4 bio-weapons lab that BU plans to build in the South End.

Math teacher Jon had come into our ASC meeting two weeks earlier to talk about it. He explained how dangerous the plant was (anthrax is only level 3), and how the building of such a lab would contribute to the gentrification of the South End. The bio-lab, in fact, is an issue that affects anyone living in the Boston area, as an accident could lead to something like Ebola virus being spread through the city. The city's plan in such an event is not evacuation, but quarantine.

On the tenth, there was a public meeting at the Boston Public Library. Community groups from the South End and Roxbury came to protest the lab. As it turned out, the city and BU did not intend to have any kind of discussion, but rather to present a panel of six speakers, all of whom supported the lab. (And most, of course, had various financial interests tied to it.)

Those of us who were there to protest, from the ASC to local community groups, to Boston Mobilization, managed to shout down the biased speakers and let our voices be heard. When we were finally "allowed" to speak, many people gave eloquent speeches and asked scathing questions, none of which the panelists would answer. Hopefully the action we took had some sort of effect on the plans.

February 14-16, 2004:
No-Democratic National Convention Consulta

Organized by the Bl(A)ck Tea Society of Boston

Valentine's Day Weekend, the Black Tea Society, a network of local anarchists and anti-authoritarians, held a consulta, or conference, for other locals and out-of-towners planning to protest the Democratic National Convention. The crowd of over 100 consisted of anarchists and anti-authoritarians from all over the country including Chicago, NYC, Texas, and San Diego. For some of the sessions there were also members of the press and a group of socialists who showed up.
The people who came all have different reasons for wanting to protest the DNC. Some, because they don't believe there is any substantial difference between the two parties anymore (if ever). Others want to embarrass Boston's Mayor Menino at his big shindig for his Democrat friends.
The Consulta unofficially started on Friday night with a check-in, arrangement of housing and rides for travelers and general festivities. The next morning began with a Food Not Bombs breakfast. Presentations started with a run-down of Boston neighborhoods for non-locals, and a description of where security (headed by the Secret Service) will be constructing a big, black fence (literally) around the FleetCenter, where the convention is being held, to protect the politicians from the people they're supposed to represent, and keep those people from the "democratic" process. (Note: I make no claims of objective reporting.) The presenters also outlined the areas outside of the fence where people will be subject to random searches and ID checks by the police(people live in this area, too). Next, they briefly talked about various local issues including the housing/rent crisis, the labor situation, the bioweapons lab BU wants to construct in Roxbury (to the risk of most Eastern Mass.), and the lack of public transportation in poor Boston neighborhoods. During the final part of the morning's open session, we discussed what kind of events and support people in Boston were going to organize. Essentally, the Black Tea Society is doing three things: setting up a convergence space with space for meetings, food prepairation, a clinic, and posibly some kind of "anarcho-village", organizing a "concert" (a large, safe, and legal protest/festival of everyone, including families), and giving information, legal, and medical support to groups organizing smaller actions.

Afterwards, Food Not Bombs provided an all-vegan lunch complete with banana bread! During the second session we created an agenda of things people wanted to discuss. Some of the more frequently asked questions were about what was being done to network with local community groups and potential ways to outreach and diversify support for the protests. Lastly on Saturday, we had a small session of breakout groups to discuss issues such as setting up a "really, really democratic" (translation: anarchist) festival during the DNC for families and kids with lots of performances and festivities operating on a gift (non-monetary) economy.

Sunday was chock-full o' workshops. There was a presentation by a lawyer from the National Lawyers Guild (all-volunteer criminal defense lawyers, a protester's best friend in many instances) who worked with NEFAC (North Eastern Federation of Anarcho-Communists) that gave a presentation on legal advice. Two people from Boston Indymedia (non-corporate press) spoke on protest reporting and activist profiling. The BALM Squad (Boston Area Liberation Medics [a protester's best friend, hands down]) gave a tremendously useful presentation on street medicine and taught us what to have and how to treat friends who have been tear gassed during a demo. Black Tea Society themselves gave a workshop of dynamics of an effective affinity group, (any group of people that watch each other's backs at a demo). Most importantly from that workshop, we learned that affinity groups work best when there is a strong level of trust and a consensus on risk level of actions and tactics. Also every affinity group should have legal and medical support, and someone who is at no risk of arrest (translation: not at the demo) to contact people that those that have been arrested. Anarchist Black Cross ended the day with a "Know Your Rights" skillshare, which we've done at the school, in regard to dealing with police on the street, various forms of search and seizure, jail solidarity and the after-arrest processes like booking and arraignments.

Overall, I thought the consulta was a positive experience. It was great to network and meet with other anarchists, anti-authoritarians and traveler kids (usually falling into one of the already mentioned catergories). It was interesting to learn about projects people were working on at home, and hear their experiences. Many had been in Miami for the FTAA demonstrations. I met one guy who runs his diesel car on leftover vegetable oil given away by fast-food restaraunts (biofuel) and I cooked lunch (vegan, of course) with a convicted member of the ALF (Animal Liberation Front). The diversity of interests and projects was really interesting. Overall, I think I learned a good deal, and hopefully made some connections that will stick and prove useful during the DNC as well. Countdown till the summer, kids. Who said nothing ever happens in Boston?

April 8, 2004
Live Beyond the Law Day

In response to our school's "Law Day" assembly, we decided to have an event to celebrate people who had made change without using the legal system and people who had chosen to live their life without regard to laws.

After the somewhat informative (but extremely boring) assembly, we set up folding tables and drew 4-square courts in front of the auditorium. About 25 people showed up for games, discussion, free food, literature, and patches. Although we only had a few copies, it was also the first time we gave out copies of our zine. The unusually warm, sunny weather, the festive atmosphere, and good vegan cookies made the event a huge success.

September 27, 2004:
Voting Discussion

The name pretty much says it all. We talked about the canidates in the presidential election, the electoral collage and two party system, the ideas behind representitive democracy, and whether voting can make significant change. About 20 people showed up. It was an awesome, lively discussion, since the group had a huge range of opinions on voting.

Sometime between October and January:
Prison Discussion and Mental Health/Mental Health Industry Discussion

We had two more discussions, but no one wrote anything about them before they slipped into distant memory...

January, 2005:
Bulworth

Over the time of 3 meetings, we watched the movie Bulworth. What a better way to relax at the end of a Mod than to watch a mainstream comedy about a Congressman who is driven to insanity by not sleeping during the final week of his reelection campaign and starts telling people the truth (in rhyme).

February 14, 2005 (Valentine's Day):
Fair Trade Chocolate

We set up a table to sell fair trade chocolate bars and give out flyers during lunch. The bars were sold a store price, so we did not make any money, but it was a chance to raise awareness about free trade vs. fair trade at school. (As well as a chance to eat some damn tasty chocolate.)

February 18, 2005:
Saliagua

Former CSW students Jake and Clara came to help run Saliagua, an interactive skit. Although the country (called Saliagua) is imaginary, it helps explain the past 30 years of South American history and how globalization, free trade, and the IMF/World Bank have affected the people living there. About 20 people showed up.

March 11, 2005:
APOC discussion

We discussed the Anarchist People of Color (APOC) zine that we had passed out. We read one article together and discussed it in depth.

March 12, 2005:
Boston Anarchist Summit

Members of the ASC went to the Boston Anarchist Summit to meet with other anarchists and local groups. Two members did a short presentation on the ASC and what we do. We made plans to bring speakers to school and made contact with other anarchist high school students who we are interested in organizing with.

March 14, 2005:
Diversity Day Discussion

We talked about how we thought Diversity Day, a school-wide event, had gone and how we thought it could be improved. We discussed a number of issues, such as class, race, gender, and sexual orientation.

April 11, 2005:
Fair Trade Presentation

We did a presentation on the difference between free trade and fair trade at assembly. With a power point presentation, a short video clip, and a number of presenters, we explained the importance of fair trade and what people can do to get more involved. We also announced that the school will be serving only fair trade coffee for the rest of the year. Afterwards, we set up a table with more information, and stickers and temporary tattoos that said "Make Trade Fair."

April 15, 2005:
Mexico Solidarity Speakers

We hosted two speakers from the Mexico Solidarity Network to discuss the effects of free trade on Mexico, specifically in Chiapas. We watched a movie that focused on a Zapatista WomenÕs Collective and received informative literature. A Spanish teacher who came found it so interesting that she got the speakers to stay longer and brought her next class to hear the presentation again! www.mexicosolidarity.org/

May 1, 2005:
May Day

ASC members took part in an anti-capitalist demonstration, where a handful of people took over the streets and marched throughout Boston before heading over to the Immigrant Rights rally. May Day has been celebrated as a workers holiday ever since the general strike in 1886 (in the United States) for an eight hour work day. As a result of the Eight Hour Movement, thousands of activists were rounded up, especially in Chicago where the largest demonstrations occurred. In addition, eight anarchists were sentenced to hang for allegedly killing police officers. The state later admitted that the anarchists, who came to be known as the Haymarket martyrs, were innocent. Since then, May Day has been celebrated around the world, but is no longer officially celebrated in the United States due to severe state repression.

May 2 and 4, 2005:
Race Discussions

The Anarchist Social Club held two meetings to discuss race and how it relates to education, specifically drawing on our own experiences. A range of topics was discussed, especially how to confront racism in the classroom.

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