Overview of Contemporary Anarchism in the United States

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The following information was compiled by Infoshop.org webmaster Chuck0 in response to a discussion at Libcom.org about the current nature of the anarchist movement in the United States.

Contents

[edit] Organisations and number of people in them

First of all, it has to be understood that most U.S. anarchists are not part of specifically anarchist organizations. Many are involved in anarchist-oriented groups and projects, while others are involved in coalition and community groups, and others aren't active, either out of a dislike for groups or because they are busy with their personal lives. I suspect that this picture holds true for anarchists around the world, with more anarchists outside the U.S. belonging to anarchist organizations than in the U.S.

[edit] Mostly anarchist

  • Anarchist People of Color Network (APOC) – Network with dozens or hundreds. Has an annual meeting.
  • NEFAC - Several locals. Several dozen members (according to an email I got yesterday from a member).
  • NAF - Don't know anything about NAF
  • Capital Terminus Collective (CTC) - Atlanta people, don't know size
  • SCAF - Based in Los Angeles and southern California. Several dozen people
  • IWW - Over 1200 members.
  • GPAN - Great Plains Anarchist Network. Several dozen people in towns from Wyoming to Illinois. Semi-annual meetings usually have at least 50 people.
  • Workers Solidarity Alliance (WSA) - A dozen people?
  • Institute for Anarchist Studies
  • CrimethInc – unknown, core members probably add up to 20 people. Many autonomous cells.
  • Food Not Bombs - Dozens of chapters in cities and towns across the U.S. Usually the first part of a local anarchist scene that develops in small towns. Thousands of anarchists.
  • Alternative Media Project - Runs Infoshop.org and other projects. Nonprofit run by a seven member collective.
  • C.A.L. Press - Nonprofit that publishes Anarchy magazine, Alternative Press Review, and books. Less than a dozen members.
  • RAAN – Network with small collectives in several cities. Dozen or more members?
  • Direct Action Anti-Authoritarians (DAAA)
  • Anarchist Black Cross Network
  • Anarchist Black Cross Federation
  • Small anarchist collectives - unknown number of people, these include ones with names and without. Throw in some affinity groups in this category.
  • Collectives that run infoshops - see below

[edit] Local anarchist scenes

New York City - NYMAA (New York Metro Alliance of Anarchists) has meetings with more than a hundred participants. Also see here for full list of projects.

Infoshop's AnarchoHood section is a good place to get an overview of anarchism in U.S. Cities and towns: http://www.infoshop.org/wiki/index.php/Anarchist_Neighborhood

Also see: http://www.infoshop.org/forums/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=2 and http://www.infoshop.org/forums/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=37

[edit] Anarchists in other groups

  • ARA Anti-Racist Action
  • RASH – Anti-racist skinheads
  • SDS - new student anti-war movement with a presence on many campuses. Many anarchist and anti-authoritarian students, also many Marxists.
  • Earth First - Not sure how big this network is these days. Numbers would be hard to determine given ongoing Green Scare repression.
  • Indymedia - many anarchists involved in local IMCs. There are anarchists involved with other independent media, including pirate radio and community radio.
  • Local unions - Includes organizers and anarchists who are active in their trade union or similar.
  • Community groups and coalitions - Some anarchists who work as community organizers.
  • Animal rights - Lots of anarchists involved in this movement.
  • Book Through Bars and similar groups
  • Mutualaid, Riseup,net and similar radical ISPs.
  • Critical Mass - Still a significant movement around the U.S. Rides in S.F., Chicago and NYC still get hundreds or thousands of riders.
  • Food co-ops and housing co-ops - Widespread.
  • Bands and record distros - Still big. MaximumRocknRoll has anarchist columnists.
  • Znet, Clamor, etc. - Anarchists involved with large progressive magazines.

[edit] Other movements with anarchist members

[edit] Other places to find anarchists

Universities (faculty, staff and students) - Several anarchist student groups exist. Anarchist faculty.

[edit] Circulation and frequency of publications

[edit] Publications

  • Anarchy - quarterly, 6,200 print run (Winter 2006)
  • Alternative Press Review – semi-annual, 7,500-8,000 (July 2006)
  • Anarcho-syndicalist Review – 1,350##
  • Crimethinc publications: Fighting for Our Lives (500,000 copies) , Rolling Thunder magazine (3000 copies, two issues), Harbinger newspaper (100,000 copies each for five issues), Hunter/Gatherer and others. More on the extensive Crimethinc project at: http://www.infoshop.org/inews/article.php?story=20060403151117469

By the way, Crimethinc publications have been translated in Hebrew and Italian, and probably other languages, thus demonstrating an international interest in their politics and works.

  • Fifth Estate: 3,000-5,000 (varies by issue)
  • Industrial Worker – 11 times a year, 5,500 copies (November 2005 circ statement printed in newspaper); 5,258 in 1999##
  • The Match! - Once or twice yearly, several thousand copies
  • Murder of Crows - one issue so far, insurrectionist mag from Seattle, 1500 copies (?)
  • Northeastern Anarchist - Annual, 2000 copies(?)
  • Perspectives on Anarchist Theory – Published by IAS.
  • Social Anarchism – journal published in Baltimore, 900#
  • Green Anarchy - Thousands
  • Practical Anarchy – irregular, 500-1000 copies (name change with next issue)
  • Slingshot – 15,000 circulation
  • Arsenal – Out of Chicago, probably a 1000 copies
  • Earth First! Journal – 3,500##
  • Profane Existence – New version of magazine, still sells thousand of records and other materials
  • MaximumRocknRoll - ??
  • The Shadow – New York City newspaper

Anarchist zines: Dozens of titles: Black Badger, Communicating Vessels, Free Voices...
Anarchist blogs: Tens of thousands of readers

Some circulation figures are from the 1999 edition of Annotations: a guide to the independent critical press published by the Alternative Press Center. Most anarchist publications have increased circulation since 1999.

[edit] Websites

  • Infoshop.org – 200,000 unique monthly visitors
  • Flag.blackened.net (all sites but Infoshop) – 100,000 unique monthly visitors
  • Altpr.org – As popular as Infoshop on some days, 100k+ unique monthly visitors
  • Crimethinc websites
  • Anti-politics.net
  • APOC website
  • AK press website
  • Fuckauthority.org
  • Institute for Anarchist Studies (www.anarchiststudies.org)

[edit] Size and frequency of events like book fairs

[edit] Bookfairs

  • San Francisco – Annual, 2500-4000 attendees
  • Mid-Atlantic -
  • Midwest bookfairs – several hundred
  • New England - ?
  • Providence – part of larger bookfair
  • New Orleans Bookfair - Annual, 1,000 attendees

[edit] Conferences

  • NCOR – Annual conference in D.C., run by anarchists. 1500 people.
  • BASTARD – Bay Area conference during SF Bookfair, hundreds
  • Renewing the Anarchist Tradition (RAT) – Annual, Vermont.
  • Anarchists and Academics – Held in L.A. in April, 50-75 people
  • Anarchism and Christianity – put on by the Jesus Radicals
  • Rainbow Gathering
  • Earth First conferences
  • Crimethinc convergences and tours
  • IWW annual conference and regional conferences
  • Burningman
  • Anarchist librarians and Radical Reference (dozens)
  • Born in Flames

[edit] Other events (speaking tours, etc.)

  • Anarchy magazine tour (ongoing)
  • Feral Visions

[edit] Number and size of infoshops, social centres etc

Around 50 in the U.S. and Canada. Infoshop collectives usually have at least a dozen members.

New ones in Springfield, Mo., Kansas City. Atlanta is developing an infoshop.

Midwest: Arise (Minneapolis), Crossroads (Kansas City), Radish Infoshop (Springfield, Mo), Boxcar Books (Bloomington, Indiana), Brighter Days infoshop, Broad Vocabulary, Idle Kids, Infoshopnow.com (Toledo), Madison Infoshop, New World Resource Center (Chicago), Paper Match, Rustbelt Infoshop, S.P.A.C.E. (Suburban Project for Autonomy, Community, and Equality), Solidarity! Revolutionary Center & Radical Library (Lawrence), The Planet, The Wire: A Community Resource Collective, Cream City infoshop (Milwaukee), Rainbow Bookstore (Madison) and more

Northeast: Brian MacKenzie Center (D.C.), Red Emma's (Baltimore), Lucy Parsons (Boston), Bluestockings (NYC), Behind the Rocks Infoshop (New Haven?), Wooden Shoe (Philadelphia), A Space (Philadelphia), Big Idea Infoshop, Black Sheep Books (Vermont), Ironweed Infoshop (Albany), Mad Hatter's Tea Room + Infoshop, May Day Books (NYC), New Jersey Infoshop, Social Justice Center Infoshop (Albany, NY), Better than Television (Charlottesville, VA), Rebel Books, and more...

Southeast: All People's United Infoshop (Fayetteville, Arkansas) , El Kilombo Intergalactico (Durham, North Carolina), Internationalist Books (Chapel Hill, North Carolina), Iron Rail (New Orleans), MadRatz! Infoshop (Atlanta), The Firebrand, Rocktown (Harrisonburg, Virginia), The Black Mangrove (Miami, Florida)

California: Bound Together (San Francisco), Gaian Mind (Los Angeles), Long Haul (Berkeley)

Northwest: Left Bank Books (Seattle), Black Rose (Portland), Laughing Horse (Portland)

After the Infoshop Gathering in Baltimore MD on June 29-30th, an Infoshop Network is being formed... see www.infoshopnetwork.org

[edit] Number of people who march as anarchists in protests

Anarchist participation numbers in the thousands for large national protests. Hard to tell because not all anarchists dress the same way.
See Infoshop News for reports and account by anarchists on their protests.

[edit] Presses and libraries

  • Anarchy Archives – Cambridge, Mass.
  • Kate Sharpley Library – Berkeley, Ca.
  • Emma Goldman Papers – Berkeley, Ca.
  • Labadie Collection – University of Michigan
  • Iron Rail Books Library - New Orleans
  • AK Press – Oakland, Ca (collective has at least 8 people)
  • Autonomedia – Brooklyn, NY
  • See Sharp - Arizona
  • ABC No Rio Fanzine Library - New York City
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