Anarchism and the Black Revolution: The Definitive Edition

225 Pages·2021·1.267 MB·English

by  Lorenzo Kom’boa Ervin

Anarchism and the Black Revolution
“A powerful—even startling—book that challenges the shibboleths
of ‘white anarchism’. Its analysis of police violence and the threat of
fascism are as important now as they were at the end of the 1970s.
Perhaps more so.”
—Peter James Hudson, Black Agenda Report
Black Critique
Series editors: Anthony Bogues and Bedour Alagraa
We live in a troubled world. The rise of authoritarianism marks the dominant
current political order. The end of colonial empires did not inaugurate a more
humane world; rather, the old order reasserted itself.
In opposition, throughout the twentieth century and until today, anti-racist,
radical decolonization struggles attempted to create new forms of thought.
Figures from Ida B. Wells to W.E.B. Du Bois and Steve Biko, from Claudia Jones
to Walter Rodney and Amílcar Cabral produced work which drew from the
historical experiences of Africa and the African diaspora. They drew inspiration
from the Haitian revolution, radical black abolitionist thought and practice,
and other currents that marked the contours of a black radical intellectual and
political tradition.
The Black Critique series operates squarely within this tradition of ideas and
political struggles. It includes books which foreground this rich and complex
history. At a time when there is a deep desire for change, black radicalism is one
of the most underexplored traditions that can drive emancipatory change today.
This series highlights these critical ideas from anywhere in the black world,
creating a new history of radical thought for our times.
Also available:
Moving Against the System: Cedric J. Robinson:
The 1968 Congress of Black Writers and On Racial Capitalism, Black Interna-
the Making of Global Consciousness tionalism, and Cultures of Resistance
Edited and with an Introduction by Edited by H.L.T. Quan
David Austin
Black Minded:
I am a Revolutionary: The Political Philosophy of Malcolm X
Fred Hampton Speaks Michael Sawyer
Edited by Fred Hampton Jr. and
Bedour Alagraa Red International and Black Caribbean
Communists in New York City,
A Certain Amount of Madness: Mexico and the West Indies, 1919–1939
The Life, Politics and Legacies of Margaret Stevens
Thomas Sankara
Edited by Amber Murrey The Point is to Change the World
Selected Writings of Andaiye
Edited by Alissa Trotz
Anarchism and the
Black Revolution
The Definitive Edition
Lorenzo Kom’boa Ervin
Forewords by William C. Anderson and Joy James
First published 2021 by Pluto Press
New Wing, Somerset House, Strand, London WC2R 1LA
www.plutobooks.com
Copyright © Lorenzo Kom’boa Ervin 2021
The right of Lorenzo Kom’boa Ervin to be identified as the author of this work
has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act
1988.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 978 0 7453 4580 2 Hardback
ISBN 978 0 7453 4581 9 Paperback
ISBN 978 0 7453 4575 8 PDF
ISBN 978 0 7453 4579 6 EPUB
Typeset by Stanford DTP Services, Northampton, England
Contents
Foreword by William C. Anderson ix
Catalyst by Joy James xv
Introduction 1
1. Anarchism Defined: A Tutorial on Anarchist Theory and
Practice 33
What is Anarchism? 33
Economic and Social Organization 35
Types of Anarchists 37
Why I Am an Anarchist Today 41
Anarchist versus Marxist-Leninist Thoughts on the
Organization of Society 48
General Principals of Anarchist-Communism 56
Capitalism, the State and Private Property 57
Anarchism, Violence and Authority 60
Anarchists and Revolutionary Organization 64
The American Government: The Best Argument for Anarchism! 68
Law and Government in America 69
The Anarchist Case against Representative Government 70
The American Bureaucratic State 75
Down with the Government! 77
2. Capitalism and Racism: An Analysis of White Supremacy
and the Oppression of Peoples of Color 79
Race and Class: The Combined Character of Black/POC
Oppression 83
Autonomy as a Revolutionary Tendency 85
Anarchism + Black Revolution = New Black Autonomous
Politics 86
Black Autonomy is Not Separatist 91
3. Anarchism and the Black Revolution 94
Whither the Black Revolution? 94
vi . anarchism and the black revolution
A Call for a New Black Protest Movement 97
What Form Should This Movement Take? 98
Revolutionary Strategy and Tactics 100
A Critique of the New Black Panther Movements 107
Conclusion: The Party’s Over. Build Something New! 117
Let’s Organize the ’Hood: Inner City Organizing Projects 118
Crimes Against the People 145
The Drug Epidemic: A New Form of Black Genocide? 153
Community Control of the Police 159
Armed Defense of the Black Commune 161
Insurrection and Class Warfare 165
4. Pan-Africanism or Intercommunalism? 169
African Intercommunalism 169
Building an Autonomous Peoples of Color Movement 175
Structure 179
A Black Partisan Militia 180
Black Autonomy International Federation Council 182
The International Black Appeal 183
Community Organizing Institute 184
Reparations or Liberation? 184
Ungovernable: An Interview with Lorenzo Kom’boa Ervin 188
Index 197
Dedicated to Martin Sostre, my late mentor; JoNina Ervin, my loving
wife; Munyiga Ras Nokashere, staunchest comrade of the Black
Autonomy movement from the beginning and throughout; William C.
Anderson, who pushed me to re-write and to come to Pluto Press for this
edition; Bedour Alagraa, of the Black Critique series, and others who
helped and encouraged me to write this edition. I also give credit to the
Institute for Anarchist Studies, which financed and encouraged me to
write the previous edition of the book, and, by extension, this definitive
edition. Thank you all.

Foreword
By William C. Anderson
It’s not an exaggeration to say that Lorenzo Kom’boa Ervin has changed
the world. Countless people have been affected and influenced by his
work throughout the years. His story is a testament to the extraordinary
possibilities that lie just beneath the surface of the many passing moments
of our lives. Unforeseeable, explosive events may erupt just because of
someone making the decision to take a chance. Lorenzo decided to do
this many times and that’s what’s led to yet another major event in his
life. The first official publication of his legendary book, Anarchism and
the Black Revolution, is yet another monumental occurrence in a life that
almost seems cinematic.
Lorenzo Kom’boa Ervin was born in 1947 in Chattanooga, Tennessee,
to a mother who was a domestic worker and a father who was a chauffeur.
With two parents working in service to wealthier white people in the
apartheid of the Jim Crow South, it wasn’t long before Lorenzo intimately
understood the risks of being Black. At the age of five, surrounding
white community members attempted to burn down his family home.
The traumatic near death experience he wouldn’t completely understand
until he was older runs parallel to his radical trajectory. The symbolism
in it shouldn’t be neglected because it frames much of what’s to come.
As recalled by Harry Belafonte, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said
that he believed Black America was integrating “into a burning house.” A
question that responds to such a statement was raised in James Baldwin’s
The Fire Next Time,1 “Do I really want to be integrated into a burning
house?” Ervin’s story answers “no,” time and time again.
As a young man, Lorenzo joined the army during the Vietnam War
where he became an anti-war activist. This was the year the first U.S.
combat troops arrived on the ground in a country that has still yet to
recover from all the damage that was done by imperialist forces. At
the same time, the USA was embroiled in the Civil Rights movement.
The Voting Rights Act was signed this same year that Alabama police
assaulted marchers on “Bloody Sunday” in Selma and attacked activists
1. James Baldwin, The Fire Next Time, Dial Press, New York, 1963.