1 00:00:01,680 --> 00:00:06,640 Speaker 1: Cool Zone Media. Hello, and welcome to Cool People Did 2 00:00:06,640 --> 00:00:09,119 Speaker 1: Cool Stuff. You're a weekly reminder that when there's bad 3 00:00:09,160 --> 00:00:12,640 Speaker 1: things happening, there's good things happening too. I'm your host, 4 00:00:12,720 --> 00:00:17,160 Speaker 1: Margaret Kiljoy, and this week is different. Well, every week's different. 5 00:00:17,200 --> 00:00:19,400 Speaker 1: Every week is a completely different thing. That's the great 6 00:00:19,400 --> 00:00:22,200 Speaker 1: thing about having this podcast is that it's different every week. 7 00:00:22,400 --> 00:00:25,800 Speaker 1: But this week is even a different format because instead 8 00:00:25,840 --> 00:00:28,280 Speaker 1: of me being the podcast expert, I'm gonna be the 9 00:00:28,320 --> 00:00:31,960 Speaker 1: podcast idiot. Because the podcast expert this week who's gonna 10 00:00:31,960 --> 00:00:35,840 Speaker 1: explain some stuff to me is my friend Jordan from 11 00:00:36,240 --> 00:00:41,400 Speaker 1: the Dugout, a Black anarchist podcast. Hi Jordan, Hello, how's 12 00:00:41,520 --> 00:00:44,559 Speaker 1: your week? Everything's fine, right. 13 00:00:45,479 --> 00:00:47,519 Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean it's been about the same. I think 14 00:00:47,560 --> 00:00:50,000 Speaker 2: I've been on this earth around twenty three years and 15 00:00:50,080 --> 00:00:53,720 Speaker 2: not honestly, not much has changed, you know, patriarch baby, 16 00:00:53,880 --> 00:00:56,160 Speaker 2: But you know, other than that, we're still out here. 17 00:00:56,560 --> 00:01:01,000 Speaker 1: Yeah. The other voice you're hearing is Sophie producer. Hi Sophie. 18 00:01:01,120 --> 00:01:04,600 Speaker 1: He I'm Magpie. Hi Jordan, Sophie. I'm glad to have 19 00:01:04,640 --> 00:01:05,000 Speaker 1: you back. 20 00:01:05,600 --> 00:01:06,039 Speaker 2: Missed too. 21 00:01:06,360 --> 00:01:11,319 Speaker 1: I think everyone else is too, And if they're not, 22 00:01:11,600 --> 00:01:15,560 Speaker 1: they can stop listening right now. As a podcast for 23 00:01:15,600 --> 00:01:18,120 Speaker 1: Sophie fans only. Don't, but don't because this is a 24 00:01:18,120 --> 00:01:22,600 Speaker 1: really good topic that's true, very important. So what happened 25 00:01:22,720 --> 00:01:26,720 Speaker 1: was I was like, there's this stuff I want to 26 00:01:26,760 --> 00:01:29,040 Speaker 1: know about, and Jordan was like, I've been reading an 27 00:01:29,040 --> 00:01:31,720 Speaker 1: awful lot about that stuff. And I was like, you 28 00:01:31,720 --> 00:01:37,000 Speaker 1: should tell me that's that's what happened. But Jordan, who 29 00:01:37,080 --> 00:01:40,440 Speaker 1: are you and what are you an expert that you're 30 00:01:40,440 --> 00:01:41,200 Speaker 1: going to explain to me? 31 00:01:41,840 --> 00:01:46,320 Speaker 2: Uh? Yeah, I'm Jordan. I am a archivist and queer 32 00:01:46,360 --> 00:01:51,480 Speaker 2: organizer and a Midwest and yeah, I'm going to talk 33 00:01:51,520 --> 00:01:55,200 Speaker 2: today about black anti fascists in the Spanish Civil War. 34 00:01:55,440 --> 00:01:59,320 Speaker 2: This is something that I've been researching for honestly a 35 00:01:59,360 --> 00:02:01,480 Speaker 2: couple of years loose sleeve, but I've been really trying 36 00:02:01,480 --> 00:02:04,160 Speaker 2: to get the fire in my belly for it, and 37 00:02:04,320 --> 00:02:07,440 Speaker 2: having this conversation with you is able to actually help 38 00:02:07,520 --> 00:02:10,200 Speaker 2: my me and my ADHD brain sit down and actually 39 00:02:10,240 --> 00:02:14,079 Speaker 2: finish a book, which I possibly finished too many books 40 00:02:14,080 --> 00:02:16,080 Speaker 2: for this. But the love of the game. 41 00:02:16,200 --> 00:02:19,520 Speaker 1: Love of the game we were talking earlier about, like 42 00:02:20,120 --> 00:02:23,800 Speaker 1: Jordan was like, how do you stop with each topic? 43 00:02:24,960 --> 00:02:28,359 Speaker 1: And the answer is that time deadlines are the only 44 00:02:28,400 --> 00:02:29,399 Speaker 1: reason I stop each stop. 45 00:02:29,520 --> 00:02:33,320 Speaker 2: Why do you think there's always like an entire context episode. 46 00:02:33,639 --> 00:02:37,600 Speaker 1: Yeah, but before we talk about all of that, we 47 00:02:37,639 --> 00:02:40,560 Speaker 1: should talk about the fact that our audio engineer is 48 00:02:40,639 --> 00:02:42,720 Speaker 1: named Rory. Hi. Rory Hi Ri. 49 00:02:43,840 --> 00:02:45,320 Speaker 2: I've been waiting to do that for so long. 50 00:02:45,800 --> 00:02:48,240 Speaker 1: I know. I'm excited that you get to and also, 51 00:02:48,320 --> 00:02:51,160 Speaker 1: dear listener, you get to say hi Rory wherever you are. 52 00:02:51,520 --> 00:02:55,120 Speaker 1: It's always fun to do that in public. And our 53 00:02:55,160 --> 00:02:58,760 Speaker 1: theme music was written forced by own woman. Okay, so 54 00:02:58,760 --> 00:03:01,680 Speaker 1: we're gonna talk about black anti fascists in the spanishivil War. 55 00:03:02,400 --> 00:03:05,280 Speaker 2: Yeah. Absolutely, this is my takeover of cool people. I 56 00:03:05,320 --> 00:03:09,359 Speaker 2: finally get to be the person who tells you who's cool. Yeah. 57 00:03:09,560 --> 00:03:13,000 Speaker 2: I do a lot of researching a lot of black history, 58 00:03:13,040 --> 00:03:16,480 Speaker 2: a lot of black anarchists or black liberation history, and 59 00:03:16,560 --> 00:03:20,880 Speaker 2: in doing that, I have found that there's so much 60 00:03:21,600 --> 00:03:26,600 Speaker 2: like bottom up approaches to fighting against oppressive institutions that 61 00:03:26,680 --> 00:03:30,400 Speaker 2: don't get called anarchists throughout history, and I actually love it. 62 00:03:30,400 --> 00:03:32,800 Speaker 2: It's part of what drives me to my politic in 63 00:03:32,840 --> 00:03:35,960 Speaker 2: and of itself. And in doing a lot of research 64 00:03:35,960 --> 00:03:40,000 Speaker 2: for this episode, there's just a lot of like black 65 00:03:40,040 --> 00:03:44,080 Speaker 2: resistance that is so bold, very beautiful and brilliant, and 66 00:03:44,320 --> 00:03:47,600 Speaker 2: a lot of it gets erased, especially anti fascist history, 67 00:03:48,160 --> 00:03:51,160 Speaker 2: because fascism as we know it right now wasn't really 68 00:03:51,360 --> 00:03:55,520 Speaker 2: named until like nineteen twenty twentieth century. European fascism is 69 00:03:55,560 --> 00:03:58,320 Speaker 2: kind of where we get some of our understandings. 70 00:03:59,080 --> 00:04:02,600 Speaker 1: Yeah, that's a europe problem, right, Like only Europe had fascism, 71 00:04:02,600 --> 00:04:05,320 Speaker 1: and therefore that only affected other Europeans. I think Europe 72 00:04:05,400 --> 00:04:07,880 Speaker 1: historically only affects Europe, isn't it. 73 00:04:08,600 --> 00:04:11,200 Speaker 2: Yeah, they never left the continent. You know, every bloody, 74 00:04:11,280 --> 00:04:15,080 Speaker 2: terrible war was totally absolutely insular, which was great for 75 00:04:15,440 --> 00:04:19,000 Speaker 2: something we might call internal colonizing or I think there's 76 00:04:19,000 --> 00:04:21,560 Speaker 2: this one phrase I love that's like before Europe colonized 77 00:04:21,600 --> 00:04:24,599 Speaker 2: the world, they had to colonize themselves. And I think 78 00:04:24,680 --> 00:04:30,920 Speaker 2: it's a really then truer like exposing like oppressive, violent 79 00:04:30,920 --> 00:04:38,680 Speaker 2: institutions and in exposing like fascism or like othering and 80 00:04:38,920 --> 00:04:43,800 Speaker 2: having that sort of out group to define your terror 81 00:04:43,839 --> 00:04:49,640 Speaker 2: on and build fear around to kind of not sometimes 82 00:04:49,720 --> 00:04:52,359 Speaker 2: control a population, but more control what they think is 83 00:04:52,440 --> 00:04:56,839 Speaker 2: possible and what they think is a reason for certain 84 00:04:56,839 --> 00:05:01,880 Speaker 2: downturns in the economy or certain downturns in social life 85 00:05:02,240 --> 00:05:03,279 Speaker 2: and right. 86 00:05:03,160 --> 00:05:05,080 Speaker 1: So like they have to blame the other in order 87 00:05:05,120 --> 00:05:07,640 Speaker 1: to build the authoritarian state inside. 88 00:05:08,040 --> 00:05:11,240 Speaker 2: Yeah, absolutely, and that kind of displacement of fear and 89 00:05:11,279 --> 00:05:14,360 Speaker 2: displacement of responsibility. Then to then put all of our 90 00:05:14,400 --> 00:05:18,800 Speaker 2: problems onto typically like strong man authoritarian type leadership to 91 00:05:18,839 --> 00:05:20,600 Speaker 2: be like, well, I will solve it. I will give 92 00:05:20,640 --> 00:05:24,520 Speaker 2: you quick and easy solutions, quote unquote quick and easy solutions, 93 00:05:24,600 --> 00:05:30,040 Speaker 2: which are typically just disappearances and the status quo governing 94 00:05:30,080 --> 00:05:34,840 Speaker 2: body going forward. And typically also like capitalists and the 95 00:05:34,920 --> 00:05:37,480 Speaker 2: old power structures, it could be it will see in 96 00:05:37,520 --> 00:05:42,440 Speaker 2: Spain feudal structures alongside capitalist structures that are vuying to continue, 97 00:05:43,040 --> 00:05:46,880 Speaker 2: like their sort of control over the economy, people's labor, 98 00:05:47,080 --> 00:05:50,920 Speaker 2: and the international relations. And in doing a lot of 99 00:05:50,920 --> 00:05:53,919 Speaker 2: this black anarchist research, I found a lot of anti 100 00:05:53,960 --> 00:05:58,000 Speaker 2: authoritarian and communist histories, many that have lived lives of 101 00:05:58,080 --> 00:06:02,479 Speaker 2: resistance without calling themselves. And something in my work is 102 00:06:02,480 --> 00:06:04,640 Speaker 2: that like, I'm not here to label any of these ancestors, 103 00:06:04,640 --> 00:06:09,200 Speaker 2: but drawing a lineage an anti authoritarian thought that reminds 104 00:06:09,279 --> 00:06:12,279 Speaker 2: us how and why folks have fought and why they've 105 00:06:12,320 --> 00:06:16,920 Speaker 2: fought in certain ways because anti fascism and fascism isn't 106 00:06:17,080 --> 00:06:21,560 Speaker 2: something abstract or academic. It's intensely real for a lot 107 00:06:21,600 --> 00:06:25,240 Speaker 2: of folks. And that violence comes through the history and 108 00:06:25,320 --> 00:06:29,560 Speaker 2: legacy of imperialism and colonialism of when Europe especially Europeans, 109 00:06:29,600 --> 00:06:31,760 Speaker 2: were like, well, let's go down to the continent of 110 00:06:31,760 --> 00:06:34,040 Speaker 2: Africa and take over norther theft or even just like 111 00:06:34,080 --> 00:06:38,200 Speaker 2: this whole history even back through the romans of taking 112 00:06:38,680 --> 00:06:43,040 Speaker 2: over in like colonizing other places, and eventually the through 113 00:06:43,040 --> 00:06:45,400 Speaker 2: line of what we see now is like these large 114 00:06:45,440 --> 00:06:49,400 Speaker 2: settler colony societies in which the whole purpose of it, 115 00:06:49,480 --> 00:06:53,040 Speaker 2: the whole foundation of their societies is based on the 116 00:06:53,120 --> 00:06:58,080 Speaker 2: violence of erasure and displacement and stolen labor and forced labor. 117 00:06:58,600 --> 00:07:04,080 Speaker 2: And to keep that sort of control going, one has 118 00:07:04,120 --> 00:07:07,680 Speaker 2: to not recognize it as a fault. And that's where 119 00:07:07,680 --> 00:07:10,520 Speaker 2: we are in America is we've never recognized any of 120 00:07:10,520 --> 00:07:14,800 Speaker 2: our faults or any of our contradictions and our foundations. 121 00:07:15,160 --> 00:07:17,280 Speaker 1: Right, so it's like we can end up fascist in 122 00:07:17,360 --> 00:07:19,760 Speaker 1: part because we don't acknowledge the fact that we started. 123 00:07:21,000 --> 00:07:23,400 Speaker 1: Let's go with real bad fascism is obviously like a 124 00:07:23,520 --> 00:07:26,000 Speaker 1: unique political ideology, and we can't just apply it to 125 00:07:26,000 --> 00:07:30,360 Speaker 1: everything in the past, but obviously, like the horror mess 126 00:07:30,360 --> 00:07:32,920 Speaker 1: we're dealing with now with rise of fascism is obviously 127 00:07:32,960 --> 00:07:35,320 Speaker 1: like and I was like talking to my friend about this 128 00:07:35,360 --> 00:07:38,160 Speaker 1: the other day where I was like, well, it's like 129 00:07:38,360 --> 00:07:41,240 Speaker 1: we're dealing with something really, really horrible right now, it's 130 00:07:41,240 --> 00:07:45,160 Speaker 1: still better than eighteen fifty in America. Like, even though 131 00:07:45,160 --> 00:07:47,680 Speaker 1: what we have now we could call fascist, it you know, 132 00:07:47,800 --> 00:07:50,680 Speaker 1: derives from the fascist ideology, don't. 133 00:07:50,720 --> 00:07:54,920 Speaker 2: And the fascist that we used to coin the name 134 00:07:55,000 --> 00:07:59,880 Speaker 2: like Hitler and Mussolini and Franco. These are people who 135 00:08:00,120 --> 00:08:05,880 Speaker 2: quoted the US, quoted and cited Jim Crow laws in 136 00:08:06,200 --> 00:08:09,560 Speaker 2: our use of gas chambers in their reasoning and using 137 00:08:09,560 --> 00:08:11,680 Speaker 2: it as like well, if the US did it, and 138 00:08:11,720 --> 00:08:13,920 Speaker 2: actually if you make people second class citizens, it's so 139 00:08:14,040 --> 00:08:17,160 Speaker 2: much easier to actually just erase them and do a 140 00:08:17,200 --> 00:08:21,760 Speaker 2: genocide that this is the model that then Germany tries 141 00:08:21,800 --> 00:08:24,080 Speaker 2: to use. And there's something that I talk about and 142 00:08:24,120 --> 00:08:27,880 Speaker 2: I was like, it does look kind of nineteen thirties 143 00:08:28,040 --> 00:08:31,160 Speaker 2: Germany and America, but it more looks like still eighteen 144 00:08:31,240 --> 00:08:35,120 Speaker 2: nineties America. It looks like a post reconstruction America more 145 00:08:35,120 --> 00:08:37,440 Speaker 2: than it does like we have like our Gilded Age 146 00:08:37,480 --> 00:08:40,520 Speaker 2: or oligarchies, and we have the people. We feel like 147 00:08:40,559 --> 00:08:44,720 Speaker 2: we're on the precipice of something and the ruling class 148 00:08:44,760 --> 00:08:48,480 Speaker 2: is coming in very very hard to maintain its power structure, 149 00:08:48,880 --> 00:08:51,120 Speaker 2: and they know how early they have to get on this. 150 00:08:51,120 --> 00:08:55,000 Speaker 2: This is the basis of like counterinsurgency work, as being 151 00:08:55,080 --> 00:08:58,040 Speaker 2: so preemptive that you end up just creating a police state, 152 00:08:58,640 --> 00:09:02,040 Speaker 2: which in America we've been kind of fine with that 153 00:09:03,480 --> 00:09:05,200 Speaker 2: for the most part. 154 00:09:05,760 --> 00:09:07,679 Speaker 1: Okay, when I derailed us, we'll talk about history part. 155 00:09:07,760 --> 00:09:08,320 Speaker 1: Sorry about that. 156 00:09:08,880 --> 00:09:12,680 Speaker 2: No, you're good. It's a good little conversation. But yeah, 157 00:09:12,720 --> 00:09:14,920 Speaker 2: today I'm going to talk a lot about going into 158 00:09:14,960 --> 00:09:17,679 Speaker 2: the lives of black anti fascists, especially from America, who 159 00:09:17,840 --> 00:09:21,520 Speaker 2: volunteered to participate in the Spanish Civil War, and especially 160 00:09:21,520 --> 00:09:25,640 Speaker 2: those who joined the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, those that came 161 00:09:25,679 --> 00:09:28,600 Speaker 2: to see fascism as a threat to their lives, freedoms, 162 00:09:28,840 --> 00:09:31,959 Speaker 2: how they got suspain, and what they experienced there, kind 163 00:09:32,000 --> 00:09:35,280 Speaker 2: of what happened after the war, and including somehow some 164 00:09:35,360 --> 00:09:39,319 Speaker 2: of them went on to work to protect one of 165 00:09:39,360 --> 00:09:42,120 Speaker 2: the greatest culture icons of the twentieth century, Paula Robinson, 166 00:09:42,320 --> 00:09:46,360 Speaker 2: my opinion, love the man. But one thing to kind 167 00:09:46,400 --> 00:09:49,280 Speaker 2: of talk about before is like, for me, this episode 168 00:09:49,280 --> 00:09:52,040 Speaker 2: and other things is a context episode. I'm not really 169 00:09:52,040 --> 00:09:55,600 Speaker 2: going to start getting into the war until the second episode. 170 00:09:55,720 --> 00:09:58,800 Speaker 1: And for folks who haven't heard more about this before, 171 00:09:58,840 --> 00:10:01,520 Speaker 1: we've done a fair number of pisodes on this, possibly 172 00:10:01,559 --> 00:10:03,760 Speaker 1: too many episodes about it. But why not always talk 173 00:10:03,760 --> 00:10:05,920 Speaker 1: about the Spanish Civil War because it's the war that 174 00:10:06,080 --> 00:10:08,400 Speaker 1: started World War Two in a way, you know, it's 175 00:10:08,440 --> 00:10:11,880 Speaker 1: the mini war before it. This was the first showdown 176 00:10:11,920 --> 00:10:15,800 Speaker 1: between fascist and you would say republican or leftist forces 177 00:10:15,840 --> 00:10:19,760 Speaker 1: that happened in the World War II era from nineteen 178 00:10:19,800 --> 00:10:22,480 Speaker 1: thirty six to nineteen thirty nine, and it started with 179 00:10:22,840 --> 00:10:27,600 Speaker 1: Franco a fascist, a Catholic fascist, attempting a coup, and 180 00:10:27,600 --> 00:10:31,040 Speaker 1: then that coup failed because people resisted it, and instead 181 00:10:31,080 --> 00:10:33,080 Speaker 1: it turned into the Spanish Civil War. All of the 182 00:10:33,120 --> 00:10:36,520 Speaker 1: other powers of the Western Powers, like sat aside while 183 00:10:36,520 --> 00:10:41,800 Speaker 1: the fascists basically Germany and Italy helped Franco win. And 184 00:10:42,960 --> 00:10:46,079 Speaker 1: it was a long, bloody, drawn out fight and also 185 00:10:46,200 --> 00:10:48,480 Speaker 1: one of the most fascinating periods and one of the 186 00:10:48,520 --> 00:10:51,320 Speaker 1: most utopian periods in some ways that has ever happened 187 00:10:51,360 --> 00:10:54,360 Speaker 1: with people experimenting with whole new ways of being, and 188 00:10:54,640 --> 00:10:57,839 Speaker 1: so there's a reason everyone's obsessed with it. And if 189 00:10:57,840 --> 00:11:00,480 Speaker 1: you want to know more about it, check out roughly 190 00:11:00,760 --> 00:11:03,040 Speaker 1: a quarter of our episodes. And I'm sorry about that, 191 00:11:03,080 --> 00:11:04,960 Speaker 1: but this one's good. I've been wanting to hear more 192 00:11:04,960 --> 00:11:07,079 Speaker 1: about this particular aspect of it for a long time. 193 00:11:07,520 --> 00:11:10,680 Speaker 2: Yeah, this I think is a very beautiful time in 194 00:11:10,880 --> 00:11:14,960 Speaker 2: history for anti authoritarians, especially now. But any folks that 195 00:11:15,000 --> 00:11:19,760 Speaker 2: are organizing against fascism, against authoritarianism, against patriarchal violence, and 196 00:11:19,880 --> 00:11:25,200 Speaker 2: are understanding their relationship to violence, their relationship to what 197 00:11:25,280 --> 00:11:29,520 Speaker 2: different roles in organizing against authoritarian structures look like. I 198 00:11:29,559 --> 00:11:33,240 Speaker 2: feel like this little time capsule in history lets folks 199 00:11:33,360 --> 00:11:36,200 Speaker 2: know that there are ways to move through, even like 200 00:11:36,280 --> 00:11:39,960 Speaker 2: military discipline. Like there's a lot of really good essays 201 00:11:40,000 --> 00:11:44,680 Speaker 2: and articles about how anarchists in the time period experimented 202 00:11:44,679 --> 00:11:47,520 Speaker 2: with different levels of military discipline and what that meant 203 00:11:47,559 --> 00:11:51,320 Speaker 2: for them and how that was up versus a lot 204 00:11:51,360 --> 00:11:54,560 Speaker 2: of the machismo that comes with anti fascism in the 205 00:11:54,640 --> 00:11:58,600 Speaker 2: day and age. And one thing I think is also 206 00:11:58,720 --> 00:12:00,400 Speaker 2: very interesting about the time period is I think it 207 00:12:00,440 --> 00:12:04,440 Speaker 2: was only the USSR in Mexico that were supporting the republic. 208 00:12:04,760 --> 00:12:07,319 Speaker 2: There are Republican sides at the time, and Mexico even 209 00:12:07,640 --> 00:12:10,439 Speaker 2: allowed near the end of the war folks to repatriate 210 00:12:10,559 --> 00:12:13,080 Speaker 2: to the area. So a lot of Spanish ANDCI fascists 211 00:12:13,080 --> 00:12:16,480 Speaker 2: went to Mexico, and a lot of people in the 212 00:12:16,520 --> 00:12:19,400 Speaker 2: Internationalist forces as well went to Mexico after the war. 213 00:12:19,960 --> 00:12:22,760 Speaker 1: Yeah, and when we talk about internationalist forces again, for 214 00:12:22,800 --> 00:12:27,080 Speaker 1: folks who were listening while the governments besides Mexico and 215 00:12:27,240 --> 00:12:30,840 Speaker 1: USSR sat aside and didn't help the left in the 216 00:12:30,840 --> 00:12:34,000 Speaker 1: Spanish Civil War, a lot of individuals from the United States, 217 00:12:34,040 --> 00:12:37,719 Speaker 1: from France, from England, from other places Italy went to 218 00:12:38,720 --> 00:12:40,240 Speaker 1: Spain and fought. And that's what we're going to be 219 00:12:40,240 --> 00:12:40,760 Speaker 1: talking about. 220 00:12:41,000 --> 00:12:43,920 Speaker 2: Yeah, I believe there were fifty two different nationalities and 221 00:12:43,960 --> 00:12:48,240 Speaker 2: countries represented in the Internationalists brigades. And it really shows 222 00:12:48,280 --> 00:12:53,520 Speaker 2: like people showed up the attack started happening. And I 223 00:12:53,600 --> 00:12:55,040 Speaker 2: get into this a little bit more, but there were 224 00:12:55,120 --> 00:12:57,800 Speaker 2: very interesting ways in which they used newspapers and media 225 00:12:57,840 --> 00:13:01,160 Speaker 2: to call for people to come and support their struggle. 226 00:13:01,320 --> 00:13:06,640 Speaker 2: But people came. But before there was Spain, there was Ethiopia. 227 00:13:07,160 --> 00:13:11,040 Speaker 2: There was the violence in Harlem in the Deep South, 228 00:13:11,480 --> 00:13:14,839 Speaker 2: and it was a long battle for black dignity and survival. 229 00:13:15,480 --> 00:13:18,240 Speaker 2: And this is about people who refuse to just wait 230 00:13:18,280 --> 00:13:21,240 Speaker 2: for justice, people who saw anti fascism as not just 231 00:13:21,280 --> 00:13:24,480 Speaker 2: a political stance, but a moral one, a spiritual one, 232 00:13:24,559 --> 00:13:28,480 Speaker 2: and a very very personal one. Hell yeah, yeah. The 233 00:13:28,520 --> 00:13:31,480 Speaker 2: paths to Spain didn't start in nineteen thirty six. To me, 234 00:13:31,600 --> 00:13:33,679 Speaker 2: it kind of starts with World War One and how 235 00:13:33,720 --> 00:13:36,959 Speaker 2: we understand some of the concepts and how black veterans 236 00:13:37,240 --> 00:13:40,840 Speaker 2: came home after this quote war to end all wars 237 00:13:41,160 --> 00:13:46,200 Speaker 2: and were still met with extreme racism, poverty, vigilante terror. 238 00:13:46,960 --> 00:13:50,480 Speaker 2: There was in nineteen nineteen the Red Summer, which was 239 00:13:50,679 --> 00:13:55,600 Speaker 2: a blood soaked welcome that sparked something deeper into a 240 00:13:55,600 --> 00:13:58,080 Speaker 2: lot of folks. So when you say the Red Summer 241 00:13:58,679 --> 00:14:02,599 Speaker 2: of nineteen nineteen, what's that about? Is that the like 242 00:14:02,600 --> 00:14:05,240 Speaker 2: like the bombing of Black Wall Street and stuff like that, Like, 243 00:14:05,280 --> 00:14:08,280 Speaker 2: what's the what's the red Summer? You know, I actually 244 00:14:08,360 --> 00:14:10,760 Speaker 2: can't remember if the Tulsa thing happened in the Red Summer, 245 00:14:10,920 --> 00:14:14,320 Speaker 2: but it was a bunch of white supremacists terror and 246 00:14:14,440 --> 00:14:18,520 Speaker 2: race riots that happened, and dozens of cities across the 247 00:14:18,640 --> 00:14:23,240 Speaker 2: US and some rural counties as well. There was a 248 00:14:23,280 --> 00:14:26,880 Speaker 2: lot of civil rights activists that coined the term, and 249 00:14:27,440 --> 00:14:30,920 Speaker 2: they had organized a lot of peaceful protests against racial 250 00:14:31,000 --> 00:14:35,800 Speaker 2: violence in that summer, and they were attacked by racial 251 00:14:35,960 --> 00:14:38,480 Speaker 2: terror by folks who were in their communities and did 252 00:14:38,480 --> 00:14:42,240 Speaker 2: not want to stand for that sort of racial equity. 253 00:14:42,880 --> 00:14:44,120 Speaker 2: In that kind of talk, there was a lot of 254 00:14:44,120 --> 00:14:47,320 Speaker 2: white on black violence. There was a lot of race 255 00:14:47,440 --> 00:14:52,240 Speaker 2: riots in Chicago, Washington, d c. And then it was 256 00:14:52,360 --> 00:14:56,360 Speaker 2: kind of related to the demobilization of folks coming back 257 00:14:56,400 --> 00:14:58,400 Speaker 2: from World War One and kind of the economic downturn 258 00:14:58,480 --> 00:15:00,560 Speaker 2: that the US was kind of starting to ben and 259 00:15:00,600 --> 00:15:04,840 Speaker 2: folks were still coming through too on and there was 260 00:15:04,920 --> 00:15:08,040 Speaker 2: a lot of labor unrest happening in that time and 261 00:15:08,120 --> 00:15:12,360 Speaker 2: a lot of labor organizing that, especially in America, still 262 00:15:12,400 --> 00:15:15,000 Speaker 2: had a lot of racial undertones. So there was a 263 00:15:15,000 --> 00:15:17,960 Speaker 2: lot of folks that came back from the war. They 264 00:15:18,000 --> 00:15:20,400 Speaker 2: came back, they tried to get different jobs. Some of 265 00:15:20,440 --> 00:15:24,040 Speaker 2: them started organizing, but black folks weren't let into the unions, 266 00:15:24,040 --> 00:15:27,040 Speaker 2: they weren't let on shop floors. There was organizing against 267 00:15:27,040 --> 00:15:30,360 Speaker 2: that with the long shore Men's and in the IWW. 268 00:15:29,800 --> 00:15:32,360 Speaker 1: When you're saying that, when you're saying organizing against that, 269 00:15:32,400 --> 00:15:35,040 Speaker 1: you mean not organizing against black people joining, but rather 270 00:15:35,200 --> 00:15:38,120 Speaker 1: organizing against the racism that was preventing black people from joining. 271 00:15:38,360 --> 00:15:42,000 Speaker 2: Yeah. Absolutely, absolutely cool. And this is sort of one 272 00:15:42,000 --> 00:15:45,760 Speaker 2: of the motivators for what was called like the Great Migration, 273 00:15:45,800 --> 00:15:48,480 Speaker 2: which has went around like half a million African Americans 274 00:15:48,720 --> 00:15:52,360 Speaker 2: left the southern United States and started going north and west. 275 00:15:52,600 --> 00:15:56,320 Speaker 2: And this is also a time like to recognize that 276 00:15:56,360 --> 00:15:58,560 Speaker 2: like the South wasn't I don't know if it still is. 277 00:15:58,600 --> 00:16:00,800 Speaker 2: I don't think it is is a majority blo space, 278 00:16:01,120 --> 00:16:04,800 Speaker 2: and especially was in the twentieth and eighteenth century, which 279 00:16:04,800 --> 00:16:08,160 Speaker 2: is one reason when I look when fascist dictators, look 280 00:16:08,280 --> 00:16:13,160 Speaker 2: at how the US appropriated violence against black citizen injury, 281 00:16:13,200 --> 00:16:16,320 Speaker 2: a majority citizen injury to have a white rule, a 282 00:16:16,360 --> 00:16:21,920 Speaker 2: white minority rule, it's very influential to the foundations of 283 00:16:22,040 --> 00:16:26,600 Speaker 2: a lot of internal fascist violence or internal violence. Okay, 284 00:16:27,520 --> 00:16:31,720 Speaker 2: but yeah, the black anti fascism is in my opinion 285 00:16:31,800 --> 00:16:35,320 Speaker 2: also it goes back to colonialism. It goes this black 286 00:16:35,440 --> 00:16:42,240 Speaker 2: anti authoritarian urge, goes back to indigenous Africans being stolen, propertied, 287 00:16:42,360 --> 00:16:45,680 Speaker 2: sold into slavery and their descendants and those who immigrated 288 00:16:45,680 --> 00:16:50,120 Speaker 2: here fighting back against that colonial violence and against that 289 00:16:50,200 --> 00:16:54,160 Speaker 2: repatiation is older than the country itself, with the first 290 00:16:54,160 --> 00:16:59,760 Speaker 2: slaver volts, maroon societies, insurrections happening since we landed here. Yeah, 291 00:17:00,280 --> 00:17:01,640 Speaker 2: kind of one of the first things I want to 292 00:17:01,640 --> 00:17:05,119 Speaker 2: give some examples of that is in the Palmarras area 293 00:17:05,280 --> 00:17:08,560 Speaker 2: of Brazil and around sixteen oh four, a republic of 294 00:17:08,720 --> 00:17:12,720 Speaker 2: mainly free Africans and indigenous societies made villages, war camps, 295 00:17:12,880 --> 00:17:18,840 Speaker 2: formed republics to fight off Portugal armies for decades, raiding plantations, 296 00:17:19,000 --> 00:17:22,920 Speaker 2: maintaining agriculture using the forests and like guerrilla tactics and 297 00:17:23,000 --> 00:17:26,119 Speaker 2: knowledge of the land to survive and grow and oper 298 00:17:26,359 --> 00:17:30,240 Speaker 2: in like indirect opposition to colonial slavery. 299 00:17:30,520 --> 00:17:33,800 Speaker 1: Yeah, they like literally had their own basically country going on, right. 300 00:17:34,480 --> 00:17:38,800 Speaker 2: Yeah. Absolutely, it was like the name itself for the 301 00:17:39,720 --> 00:17:43,440 Speaker 2: I think it's Colombos. Colombos it means like I think 302 00:17:43,440 --> 00:17:46,760 Speaker 2: it means like war camp and village. And so they 303 00:17:46,760 --> 00:17:49,080 Speaker 2: were like a bunch of federated war camps and villages 304 00:17:49,119 --> 00:17:53,200 Speaker 2: that were there as both defensive outposts to like very 305 00:17:53,240 --> 00:17:58,359 Speaker 2: purposely maintain the society outside of colonial violence, and also 306 00:17:59,080 --> 00:18:01,600 Speaker 2: I would love to do more research into the race relations. 307 00:18:01,600 --> 00:18:05,359 Speaker 2: But they were very much against the sort of the 308 00:18:05,400 --> 00:18:08,159 Speaker 2: sort of racial hierarchy and cast hierarchy that Portugal and 309 00:18:08,240 --> 00:18:12,480 Speaker 2: the Dutch were trying to implement in that region, though 310 00:18:12,720 --> 00:18:14,800 Speaker 2: they still at some points worked with the Dutch to 311 00:18:15,080 --> 00:18:19,800 Speaker 2: fight off Portugal advancements. But that's what alliances are for. Yeah. 312 00:18:19,840 --> 00:18:21,800 Speaker 1: No, it's like some of that stuff is so interesting 313 00:18:21,800 --> 00:18:24,080 Speaker 1: because even some of the Maroon societies, like I don't 314 00:18:24,080 --> 00:18:26,240 Speaker 1: know about specifically about the Columbos, but some of them 315 00:18:26,280 --> 00:18:29,080 Speaker 1: even like had slavery within them, but they were still 316 00:18:30,440 --> 00:18:33,560 Speaker 1: like they were They're just separate societies that were on 317 00:18:34,160 --> 00:18:37,320 Speaker 1: I don't know, they're fascinating. I always want to know 318 00:18:37,359 --> 00:18:38,320 Speaker 1: more about them, you know. 319 00:18:39,080 --> 00:18:42,040 Speaker 2: I know that's one of those things I found right before, 320 00:18:42,280 --> 00:18:43,760 Speaker 2: like a couple of days ago, and was like this, 321 00:18:44,000 --> 00:18:48,560 Speaker 2: I wanted to put more information on in here. And 322 00:18:48,600 --> 00:18:55,320 Speaker 2: then those Palmara's societies lasted about ninety years, and even 323 00:18:55,400 --> 00:18:58,000 Speaker 2: after that, there was the Haitian Revolution in the late 324 00:18:58,040 --> 00:19:02,439 Speaker 2: eighteenth century that I think some people forget, like I 325 00:19:02,440 --> 00:19:04,760 Speaker 2: think they had like over one hundred and forty revolts 326 00:19:04,840 --> 00:19:09,800 Speaker 2: before they finally had a revolution, and that in and 327 00:19:09,840 --> 00:19:13,400 Speaker 2: of itself, the consistent strikes and then the eventual overthrow 328 00:19:14,160 --> 00:19:18,000 Speaker 2: struck the heart of enslavers across the Western hemisphere. 329 00:19:18,119 --> 00:19:20,200 Speaker 1: Yeah, it'scared the shit out of them. It was so good. 330 00:19:20,920 --> 00:19:24,639 Speaker 2: Yeah, they were terrified. They were terrified for so many reasons, 331 00:19:24,720 --> 00:19:27,560 Speaker 2: and so many good reasons because it also they were 332 00:19:27,560 --> 00:19:32,200 Speaker 2: scared of it inspiring folks in like the American South 333 00:19:32,480 --> 00:19:35,200 Speaker 2: and and I believe also in around Brazil because it's 334 00:19:35,280 --> 00:19:38,640 Speaker 2: one of the still like the second largest slave society 335 00:19:38,640 --> 00:19:42,800 Speaker 2: outside of the US at the time, and it did 336 00:19:43,119 --> 00:19:45,760 Speaker 2: it kept the flame of freedom strong and the heart 337 00:19:45,800 --> 00:19:48,200 Speaker 2: for rebels for generations to come. It is a struggle 338 00:19:48,280 --> 00:19:51,639 Speaker 2: that I still really would love for people to study 339 00:19:51,680 --> 00:19:54,919 Speaker 2: more of because it has so much, so much history 340 00:19:54,920 --> 00:19:57,919 Speaker 2: and nuances and how things played out and how different 341 00:19:57,960 --> 00:20:03,840 Speaker 2: relationships were built through. But it inspired folks like Gabrielle Prosser, 342 00:20:04,200 --> 00:20:10,000 Speaker 2: who was in enslaved literate blacksmiths from the plantations near Richmond, Virginia, 343 00:20:10,640 --> 00:20:14,119 Speaker 2: and they organized a massive, massive slavery vault with one 344 00:20:14,160 --> 00:20:17,040 Speaker 2: hundreds of enslaved folks and their goal was to seize 345 00:20:17,119 --> 00:20:21,720 Speaker 2: control of Richmond and to take the governor hostage, negotiate 346 00:20:21,760 --> 00:20:25,240 Speaker 2: the end of slavery, create a more egalitarian society, whole 347 00:20:25,359 --> 00:20:30,000 Speaker 2: nine yards. And they were very influenced, interestingly by American 348 00:20:30,080 --> 00:20:33,720 Speaker 2: revolutionary libertarian language and equality, and they were like, well, 349 00:20:33,760 --> 00:20:37,760 Speaker 2: why can't this be true? And one thing they wouldn't 350 00:20:37,800 --> 00:20:38,960 Speaker 2: be inspired. 351 00:20:38,480 --> 00:20:41,560 Speaker 1: By, Ah, you did it before I got to do it. 352 00:20:41,640 --> 00:20:44,760 Speaker 1: This is a takeover. You took away that my only 353 00:20:44,880 --> 00:20:48,640 Speaker 1: joy in life of now go ahead. What is inspired 354 00:20:48,680 --> 00:20:50,080 Speaker 1: by these things? I don't know. 355 00:20:50,840 --> 00:20:54,040 Speaker 2: Well, Gabriel was inspired by the American Revolution. And you 356 00:20:54,080 --> 00:20:57,000 Speaker 2: know who else was inspired by the American Revolution? Probably 357 00:20:57,000 --> 00:20:57,960 Speaker 2: our advertisers. 358 00:20:58,640 --> 00:21:04,320 Speaker 1: That's right, all of them. Sorry, I just got really 359 00:21:04,320 --> 00:21:05,400 Speaker 1: excited at the producer. 360 00:21:08,080 --> 00:21:09,600 Speaker 2: Now. For the past two years, I'm trying to think 361 00:21:09,600 --> 00:21:11,080 Speaker 2: of things to say to get that kind of reaction 362 00:21:11,080 --> 00:21:13,280 Speaker 2: out of all if an effort. I am on the. 363 00:21:13,240 --> 00:21:26,080 Speaker 1: Show, and you did it, Andrew back, I got to say, 364 00:21:26,080 --> 00:21:26,720 Speaker 1: Andrew back. 365 00:21:29,960 --> 00:21:33,400 Speaker 2: So there was also so many more rebellions that were 366 00:21:33,760 --> 00:21:38,359 Speaker 2: directly influenced by the Haitian Revolution itself, like Denmark Vessi, 367 00:21:38,440 --> 00:21:41,120 Speaker 2: after buying his freedom after winning a lottery he plotted 368 00:21:41,160 --> 00:21:44,000 Speaker 2: one of the most sophisticated and well organized slaver vaults 369 00:21:44,040 --> 00:21:48,000 Speaker 2: in the US history. In Charleston, South Carolina. He mobilized 370 00:21:48,119 --> 00:21:51,520 Speaker 2: thousands of black people, including both enslaved and free, to 371 00:21:51,560 --> 00:21:55,000 Speaker 2: seize weapons, kill slave holders, and burn Charleston to the 372 00:21:55,040 --> 00:21:59,960 Speaker 2: ground and set sale to Haiti for freedom. Deeply deeply religious, 373 00:22:00,119 --> 00:22:03,440 Speaker 2: Vessi saw slavery as a sin against God, and Haiti's 374 00:22:03,480 --> 00:22:07,280 Speaker 2: successful Black Revolutionaris heavily influenced this thinking, especially a lot 375 00:22:07,320 --> 00:22:09,200 Speaker 2: of the voodoo that was going on at the time 376 00:22:09,400 --> 00:22:11,480 Speaker 2: that it was like faith respects faith. 377 00:22:11,960 --> 00:22:12,680 Speaker 1: Yeah. 378 00:22:12,880 --> 00:22:15,879 Speaker 2: The sad part about it though, is that some of 379 00:22:15,920 --> 00:22:18,639 Speaker 2: the co conspirators I believe they got rained out on 380 00:22:18,680 --> 00:22:22,199 Speaker 2: the day of their action, and two people snitched and 381 00:22:22,240 --> 00:22:25,560 Speaker 2: told their slave masters, and Vessi and I believe at 382 00:22:25,600 --> 00:22:27,639 Speaker 2: least over thirty other people were executed. 383 00:22:28,400 --> 00:22:31,360 Speaker 1: You know what I think about this sometimes is one, 384 00:22:31,480 --> 00:22:33,720 Speaker 1: it's really sad how many of these got shut down 385 00:22:33,760 --> 00:22:37,560 Speaker 1: by snitches, right, But also how many more we never 386 00:22:37,640 --> 00:22:40,320 Speaker 1: heard about because like, in some ways we hear about 387 00:22:40,359 --> 00:22:43,560 Speaker 1: them almost because they got caught, you know. I mean, 388 00:22:43,600 --> 00:22:45,639 Speaker 1: obviously if they've been super successful and burned down all 389 00:22:45,640 --> 00:22:47,600 Speaker 1: of Charleston, we would have heard of it. But it's 390 00:22:47,600 --> 00:22:49,760 Speaker 1: like so many people ploted these things and probably were 391 00:22:49,800 --> 00:22:51,800 Speaker 1: even kind of punished, but in like a low key way. 392 00:22:52,440 --> 00:22:52,800 Speaker 2: I don't know. 393 00:22:52,840 --> 00:22:55,040 Speaker 1: It's just like the more I read about this history, 394 00:22:55,040 --> 00:22:58,120 Speaker 1: the more I'm like, there's so many were never gonna 395 00:22:58,200 --> 00:23:00,760 Speaker 1: learn about, and there's still so many that we can 396 00:23:00,840 --> 00:23:02,960 Speaker 1: learn about, and they're all so fucking cool. 397 00:23:03,480 --> 00:23:07,480 Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah. That makes me think about like my whole 398 00:23:07,520 --> 00:23:09,920 Speaker 2: history of like Roanoke, and it was a lost city, 399 00:23:10,000 --> 00:23:12,080 Speaker 2: lost people when it was like, okay, actually folks just 400 00:23:12,160 --> 00:23:15,199 Speaker 2: left the colony, like the historians now are just like okay, yeah, no, 401 00:23:16,359 --> 00:23:18,800 Speaker 2: But then there's still so many different things that we 402 00:23:19,000 --> 00:23:24,880 Speaker 2: can just enjoy and learn from so deeply. Even more 403 00:23:24,920 --> 00:23:29,639 Speaker 2: rebellions from black anti authoritarians is like Robert Smalls during 404 00:23:29,720 --> 00:23:33,040 Speaker 2: the Civil War in like eighteen sixty two, hijacked a 405 00:23:33,080 --> 00:23:36,520 Speaker 2: Confederate ship, the Planter, and disguised himself as the captain, 406 00:23:37,040 --> 00:23:39,560 Speaker 2: picked up his family and other enslave folks along their way, 407 00:23:39,600 --> 00:23:43,720 Speaker 2: and then surrendered the ship to Union forces. After the 408 00:23:43,760 --> 00:23:47,040 Speaker 2: Civil War, Smalls built a small public education like he 409 00:23:47,080 --> 00:23:51,160 Speaker 2: built and worked around public education, protecting black rights and 410 00:23:51,280 --> 00:23:55,000 Speaker 2: resisting the reimposition of white supremacy during Reconstruction. I believe 411 00:23:55,040 --> 00:23:58,800 Speaker 2: he was elected to office at least five times during 412 00:23:58,840 --> 00:24:02,199 Speaker 2: that like reconstruction period in which that was allowed in 413 00:24:02,240 --> 00:24:04,120 Speaker 2: the early nineteenth century in America. 414 00:24:04,800 --> 00:24:07,000 Speaker 1: He was fucking cool. We covered him a little bit 415 00:24:07,040 --> 00:24:10,520 Speaker 1: on the Civil Civil War war, maybe like the second 416 00:24:10,520 --> 00:24:11,520 Speaker 1: episode we ever did of. 417 00:24:11,560 --> 00:24:13,639 Speaker 2: This show, Okay, because I knew I had heard that 418 00:24:13,680 --> 00:24:17,840 Speaker 2: story before when I had found am And there was 419 00:24:17,920 --> 00:24:21,680 Speaker 2: like even more organized efforts to fight against the sort 420 00:24:21,720 --> 00:24:25,399 Speaker 2: of racialized violence that was happening in the States, with 421 00:24:25,560 --> 00:24:29,359 Speaker 2: Marcus Garvey being a big inspiration for Pan Africanism, the 422 00:24:29,400 --> 00:24:33,879 Speaker 2: Back to Africa movement and establishing the UNIA, the Universal 423 00:24:33,920 --> 00:24:37,760 Speaker 2: Negro Improvement Association. There was also this a little lesser 424 00:24:37,840 --> 00:24:41,960 Speaker 2: known communist group called the African Blood Brotherhood founded by 425 00:24:42,000 --> 00:24:46,240 Speaker 2: Cyril Briggs, a black journalist around lasted around nineteen nineteen 426 00:24:46,320 --> 00:24:47,440 Speaker 2: to twenty twenty. 427 00:24:47,200 --> 00:24:51,479 Speaker 1: Five, which is a sick name. I'm just gonna Zeril Briggs. No, No, 428 00:24:51,720 --> 00:24:56,639 Speaker 1: well that too, but no, the Blood Brotherhood, what was it. 429 00:24:57,000 --> 00:24:59,720 Speaker 2: Yeah, the African Blood Brotherhood. They were inspired by a 430 00:24:59,720 --> 00:25:05,199 Speaker 2: lot of like traditional African Blood Brotherhood rituals that are 431 00:25:05,280 --> 00:25:07,320 Speaker 2: kind of like a coming of age sort of thing. 432 00:25:07,560 --> 00:25:10,800 Speaker 2: And then also they were heavily inspired by the Irish 433 00:25:10,800 --> 00:25:15,840 Speaker 2: Republican Brotherhood at the time. Cyral Briggs was a Black 434 00:25:15,880 --> 00:25:19,480 Speaker 2: journalist and socialists from the Caribbean islands around like the Nevies, 435 00:25:19,840 --> 00:25:23,040 Speaker 2: and they were like a semi secret, super hierarchical but 436 00:25:23,119 --> 00:25:28,640 Speaker 2: semi secret radical organization promoting black self determination, armed self defense, 437 00:25:28,960 --> 00:25:32,840 Speaker 2: anti racism, and anti capitalism. They were heavily inspired by 438 00:25:32,840 --> 00:25:36,000 Speaker 2: the Russian Revolution that had just happened in nineteen seventeen 439 00:25:36,240 --> 00:25:39,200 Speaker 2: and the failures of American democracy to deliver any sort 440 00:25:39,200 --> 00:25:43,680 Speaker 2: of racial justice. They advocated for self defense, organized self 441 00:25:43,720 --> 00:25:47,359 Speaker 2: defense classes against racial violence, especially after that Red Summer 442 00:25:47,400 --> 00:25:50,400 Speaker 2: of nineteen nineteen when a bunch of white mobs attacked 443 00:25:50,400 --> 00:25:53,880 Speaker 2: Black communities and they urged for the overthrow of white 444 00:25:53,880 --> 00:25:59,119 Speaker 2: supremacist capitalism, solidarity with revolutionary movements globally like they were 445 00:25:59,160 --> 00:26:02,800 Speaker 2: really big into like early Black internationalism outside of just 446 00:26:02,840 --> 00:26:05,760 Speaker 2: doing like a Pan African kind of scheme, and they 447 00:26:05,920 --> 00:26:08,640 Speaker 2: leaned a lot of their roots in media and published 448 00:26:08,680 --> 00:26:12,480 Speaker 2: the Crusader Magazine. They can be quoted in their pamphlets 449 00:26:12,520 --> 00:26:16,320 Speaker 2: saying in like their Principles of the African Blood Brotherhood 450 00:26:16,359 --> 00:26:19,240 Speaker 2: that was published in the Crusader Magazine saying quote we 451 00:26:19,320 --> 00:26:22,000 Speaker 2: must offend ourselves with arms in hand whenever the lynchers 452 00:26:22,080 --> 00:26:25,199 Speaker 2: or mobs invade our homes or threatens our life, with 453 00:26:25,440 --> 00:26:29,200 Speaker 2: their founders going on to continue saying, quote without arms, 454 00:26:29,280 --> 00:26:31,560 Speaker 2: there can be no power. Without power, there can be 455 00:26:31,600 --> 00:26:34,880 Speaker 2: no freedom. The African Blood Brotherhood stands for the organized 456 00:26:34,960 --> 00:26:38,000 Speaker 2: might of the Negro worker end quote, which Briggs wrote. 457 00:26:38,080 --> 00:26:40,240 Speaker 2: Kind of he did a lot of like the editorial 458 00:26:40,320 --> 00:26:42,919 Speaker 2: and writing for The Crusader, and was like the point 459 00:26:42,960 --> 00:26:45,439 Speaker 2: person for it, which is why folks like tend to 460 00:26:45,440 --> 00:26:48,280 Speaker 2: look back on it as super hierarchical. But they were 461 00:26:48,320 --> 00:26:52,919 Speaker 2: like an explicit workers association trying to organize unions for 462 00:26:52,960 --> 00:26:55,680 Speaker 2: people that would be normally excluded, which for them was 463 00:26:55,720 --> 00:26:58,200 Speaker 2: also people who were not considered white at the time, 464 00:26:58,600 --> 00:27:02,119 Speaker 2: and trying to build that bridge the gap between class 465 00:27:02,160 --> 00:27:04,960 Speaker 2: conscious white people and Irish folks and people who were 466 00:27:04,960 --> 00:27:08,320 Speaker 2: like newly immigrated and black folks, especially during the one 467 00:27:08,359 --> 00:27:11,159 Speaker 2: of the Great migrations when folks were going north. So 468 00:27:11,280 --> 00:27:14,199 Speaker 2: they advocated a lot of alliances with communist movements and 469 00:27:14,240 --> 00:27:17,000 Speaker 2: with the Party itself eventually dissolving into the party. 470 00:27:17,600 --> 00:27:19,280 Speaker 1: And I think one of the things that's so fascinating 471 00:27:19,280 --> 00:27:21,480 Speaker 1: to me about this. I hadn't heard as much about this, 472 00:27:21,600 --> 00:27:24,919 Speaker 1: and that's I'm really excited about it is that I 473 00:27:24,920 --> 00:27:28,919 Speaker 1: think we get presented this idea that like Black American 474 00:27:29,000 --> 00:27:33,280 Speaker 1: radical history and then like the labor movement and you know, 475 00:27:33,640 --> 00:27:38,879 Speaker 1: sort of named ideological positions are just completely separate things, 476 00:27:39,240 --> 00:27:43,320 Speaker 1: and it like ignores this incredible amount of overlap between 477 00:27:44,080 --> 00:27:48,840 Speaker 1: you know, leftism and black politics in America. I mean, 478 00:27:48,880 --> 00:27:51,159 Speaker 1: obviously in the by the end of the twentieth century, 479 00:27:51,200 --> 00:27:53,720 Speaker 1: we that's less seen as the case. But when people 480 00:27:53,720 --> 00:27:57,040 Speaker 1: talk about the sort of early legacy of fighting against racism, 481 00:27:57,359 --> 00:27:59,800 Speaker 1: I feel like the like class consciousness part of it 482 00:27:59,840 --> 00:28:00,760 Speaker 1: is left out. 483 00:28:01,720 --> 00:28:04,840 Speaker 2: Yeah, I've always loved telling people that Lucy Persons was 484 00:28:04,840 --> 00:28:07,679 Speaker 2: a part of founding the IWW here in America. Like 485 00:28:07,760 --> 00:28:12,960 Speaker 2: this has been something very integral to black autonomous politics 486 00:28:13,200 --> 00:28:16,639 Speaker 2: and scenes for a really long time, and something we 487 00:28:16,680 --> 00:28:19,199 Speaker 2: see a lot in Black communities is like this, some 488 00:28:19,240 --> 00:28:21,520 Speaker 2: of the stuff for like the sense of safety is 489 00:28:21,920 --> 00:28:25,160 Speaker 2: still kept insular. Your politics is kept insular. You will 490 00:28:25,160 --> 00:28:29,080 Speaker 2: tell your family, your kid, like people at the cookout. 491 00:28:29,119 --> 00:28:30,520 Speaker 2: We know what to talk about and how to talk 492 00:28:30,560 --> 00:28:32,720 Speaker 2: about it. But when it comes to being out in 493 00:28:32,800 --> 00:28:36,719 Speaker 2: a very above ground organization. There's so many risks that 494 00:28:36,760 --> 00:28:39,800 Speaker 2: come with that that, yeah, and also so many different variations. 495 00:28:39,840 --> 00:28:42,680 Speaker 2: This is also how like after the nineteen sixties, they 496 00:28:43,280 --> 00:28:46,920 Speaker 2: stopped killing black leaders because folks started keeping their really 497 00:28:47,000 --> 00:28:50,160 Speaker 2: radical politics insular. Again, can also shift to like the 498 00:28:50,200 --> 00:28:53,760 Speaker 2: sort of black excellence that's like black without others, so 499 00:28:53,960 --> 00:28:57,520 Speaker 2: like blackness but no solidarity, which still having some sort 500 00:28:57,520 --> 00:29:04,200 Speaker 2: of principles there that don't really reach towards liberation in 501 00:29:04,280 --> 00:29:07,600 Speaker 2: my humble opinion. And that's also something that the African 502 00:29:07,640 --> 00:29:11,200 Speaker 2: Blood Brotherhood kind of had in their mode of organizing 503 00:29:11,200 --> 00:29:14,720 Speaker 2: as well, because they had a big distaste for Garvy, 504 00:29:15,480 --> 00:29:19,120 Speaker 2: especially at the time because he won. Actually I don't 505 00:29:19,120 --> 00:29:20,959 Speaker 2: know if they had the issue with his misogyny. I do, 506 00:29:21,320 --> 00:29:24,800 Speaker 2: but they had an issue and I have an issue 507 00:29:24,800 --> 00:29:26,560 Speaker 2: with this too, is because he I believe it was 508 00:29:26,640 --> 00:29:29,640 Speaker 2: him that said Franco can't be a fascist. I coined 509 00:29:29,680 --> 00:29:34,080 Speaker 2: the word fascism and quite literally worked with the KKK 510 00:29:34,360 --> 00:29:36,920 Speaker 2: and would have meetings with people like legal Clerk of 511 00:29:37,080 --> 00:29:39,960 Speaker 2: the Ku Klux Klan. Because it's kind of this mentality 512 00:29:40,000 --> 00:29:42,880 Speaker 2: of all right, separate but equal, How do we really 513 00:29:42,920 --> 00:29:46,360 Speaker 2: stay separate? What does that mean? How do you want 514 00:29:46,400 --> 00:29:48,280 Speaker 2: us over here, Fine, we want us over there. Y'all 515 00:29:48,280 --> 00:29:49,040 Speaker 2: got to stay over there. 516 00:29:49,080 --> 00:29:52,200 Speaker 1: Then, Yeah, nationalism is a thing. 517 00:29:52,720 --> 00:29:56,160 Speaker 2: Yeah, it's one hell of a drug. And the beef 518 00:29:56,200 --> 00:29:58,960 Speaker 2: got so heated that Garvy and their meetings. Actually this 519 00:29:59,360 --> 00:30:04,240 Speaker 2: instructed p to disrupt the African Blood Brotherhood meetings and activities. 520 00:30:04,760 --> 00:30:07,280 Speaker 2: But then like by like the mid nineteen twenties, many 521 00:30:07,400 --> 00:30:11,000 Speaker 2: of the African Blood Brotherhood were already members of the 522 00:30:11,000 --> 00:30:14,040 Speaker 2: Communist Party. And I want to look more into this history, 523 00:30:14,080 --> 00:30:16,000 Speaker 2: but it's kind of like seems like like the Central 524 00:30:16,040 --> 00:30:19,440 Speaker 2: Committee inside of the Communist Party absorbed and it was 525 00:30:19,440 --> 00:30:21,520 Speaker 2: like y'all got to shut down. The ABB just become 526 00:30:21,560 --> 00:30:25,160 Speaker 2: like an auxiliary council inside of us. 527 00:30:25,520 --> 00:30:26,960 Speaker 1: Which there was a lot of that going on with 528 00:30:26,960 --> 00:30:29,880 Speaker 1: the American Communist Party around that time. They tried to 529 00:30:29,920 --> 00:30:32,120 Speaker 1: do it to a bunch of unions and stuff too. 530 00:30:32,240 --> 00:30:33,680 Speaker 1: I'm sure they succeeded with some. 531 00:30:34,480 --> 00:30:37,080 Speaker 2: Yeah, and then kind of to put a chef's kiss 532 00:30:37,120 --> 00:30:41,360 Speaker 2: on the history of black resistance and oppressive institutions and 533 00:30:41,360 --> 00:30:43,800 Speaker 2: like the violent societies that they inhibit. I want to 534 00:30:43,840 --> 00:30:46,560 Speaker 2: read Claude Mackay's poem If I Must Die, which has 535 00:30:46,600 --> 00:30:49,600 Speaker 2: been reprinted an uncountable amount of times, and through doing 536 00:30:49,600 --> 00:30:53,760 Speaker 2: this research, I have seen mentioned and cited like by 537 00:30:53,800 --> 00:30:57,600 Speaker 2: almost every person that that I've read through, either whether 538 00:30:57,640 --> 00:31:00,000 Speaker 2: they talk about Claude Mackay themselves as an anti fashion 539 00:31:00,600 --> 00:31:04,400 Speaker 2: or antiasis writer, or people like James Yates and Salary 540 00:31:04,400 --> 00:31:07,080 Speaker 2: a key that we'll talk about now or later on 541 00:31:08,800 --> 00:31:13,320 Speaker 2: adoring and using as a kind of mantra. So quote, 542 00:31:13,920 --> 00:31:16,760 Speaker 2: if we must die, let it not be like dogs 543 00:31:17,200 --> 00:31:21,000 Speaker 2: hunted and penned in an inglorious spot while round us 544 00:31:21,080 --> 00:31:24,160 Speaker 2: bark the mad and hungry dogs making their mock at 545 00:31:24,160 --> 00:31:27,840 Speaker 2: our accursed lot. If we must die, Oh, let us 546 00:31:27,880 --> 00:31:31,040 Speaker 2: nobly die, so that our precious blood may not be 547 00:31:31,160 --> 00:31:35,040 Speaker 2: shed in vain. Then even the monsters we defy shall 548 00:31:35,080 --> 00:31:39,360 Speaker 2: be constrained to honor us through dead. Oh, kensman, we 549 00:31:39,440 --> 00:31:42,800 Speaker 2: must meet the common foe, though far outnumbered, let us 550 00:31:42,840 --> 00:31:46,960 Speaker 2: show us brave and further thousand blows, deal one death blow. 551 00:31:47,760 --> 00:31:51,120 Speaker 2: What though before us lies the open grave like men 552 00:31:51,200 --> 00:31:54,840 Speaker 2: will face the murderous, cowardly pack, pressed to the wall, 553 00:31:55,160 --> 00:31:58,800 Speaker 2: dying but fighting back. End quote. 554 00:31:59,080 --> 00:32:00,800 Speaker 1: That's fucking metal, Yeah. 555 00:32:00,760 --> 00:32:03,600 Speaker 2: It really really is. I'm like, Oh, I could put 556 00:32:03,640 --> 00:32:07,120 Speaker 2: that through a little diy punk songe real quick yeah yeah, 557 00:32:07,120 --> 00:32:09,840 Speaker 2: and many people, many of the people we will talk 558 00:32:09,880 --> 00:32:12,640 Speaker 2: about in the future, know the levels of fascism and 559 00:32:12,680 --> 00:32:16,520 Speaker 2: what resisting sort of violent colonial and racial violence and 560 00:32:16,640 --> 00:32:20,760 Speaker 2: terror means. James Yeates, who I will be hooting heavily 561 00:32:20,920 --> 00:32:24,800 Speaker 2: in this episode, describes kind of the conditions of Mississippi 562 00:32:24,880 --> 00:32:29,280 Speaker 2: during his upbringing. Quote. There was a mass lynching near 563 00:32:29,320 --> 00:32:32,640 Speaker 2: the town of Shibudah where the highway and railroad across 564 00:32:32,640 --> 00:32:36,160 Speaker 2: the Chickasaio River. Some parts of the incident were written 565 00:32:36,240 --> 00:32:38,920 Speaker 2: up in northern newspapers. No one ever is charged with 566 00:32:38,920 --> 00:32:41,440 Speaker 2: the crime, although the local members of the klu Klux 567 00:32:41,480 --> 00:32:44,440 Speaker 2: Klan were well known. Five men and four women were 568 00:32:44,520 --> 00:32:48,560 Speaker 2: hung their feet dangling just inches above the river's muddy waters. 569 00:32:49,440 --> 00:32:52,240 Speaker 2: Such was Mississippi in those times. The only thing a 570 00:32:52,280 --> 00:32:54,240 Speaker 2: black man or woman had to do to get lynched 571 00:32:54,360 --> 00:32:56,400 Speaker 2: was not move off the side work for miss Ann 572 00:32:56,520 --> 00:32:59,560 Speaker 2: or mister Charlie. A black must never be caught drinking 573 00:32:59,560 --> 00:33:01,920 Speaker 2: from a white only fountain, or making the mistake of 574 00:33:02,000 --> 00:33:04,640 Speaker 2: using the front door instead of the back door. Stealing 575 00:33:04,640 --> 00:33:07,880 Speaker 2: a chicken or a pig was very dangerous. Being caught 576 00:33:07,920 --> 00:33:09,920 Speaker 2: at this could get you twenty years on the chain gang. 577 00:33:10,400 --> 00:33:13,080 Speaker 2: If you were black in Mississippi, lightning would surely strike 578 00:33:13,120 --> 00:33:15,560 Speaker 2: home sooner or later. Here's an example of how it 579 00:33:15,600 --> 00:33:19,440 Speaker 2: struck equipment. Around nineteen eighteen. My uncle Willy, while working 580 00:33:19,440 --> 00:33:21,920 Speaker 2: in the sawmill one day, accidentally hit a white man 581 00:33:21,960 --> 00:33:24,479 Speaker 2: with a piece of lumber he was carrying. He managed 582 00:33:24,520 --> 00:33:26,800 Speaker 2: to make it home before being chased away from the mill. 583 00:33:27,360 --> 00:33:30,840 Speaker 2: The news spread like wildfire all throughout town, passing word 584 00:33:31,160 --> 00:33:35,080 Speaker 2: lynching tonight. I can remember Grandma Lizzie pacing the floor 585 00:33:35,120 --> 00:33:38,400 Speaker 2: all throughout the afternoon. Aunt Bell, my uncle's wife, was 586 00:33:38,440 --> 00:33:41,520 Speaker 2: almost speechless. He would die fighting rather than be hung 587 00:33:41,560 --> 00:33:44,920 Speaker 2: by the clusters. The only problem now was a supply 588 00:33:44,960 --> 00:33:48,480 Speaker 2: of ammunition. That day, the town merchants had stopped selling 589 00:33:48,520 --> 00:33:51,600 Speaker 2: shells to black folks. Living almost next door to my 590 00:33:51,720 --> 00:33:54,840 Speaker 2: uncle Willy was a white family, the Linens, a husband, 591 00:33:54,880 --> 00:33:58,120 Speaker 2: a wife, and three daughters. We call the man mister gus. 592 00:33:58,760 --> 00:34:00,720 Speaker 2: He had an unusual way of speak, teaking English, I 593 00:34:00,760 --> 00:34:02,680 Speaker 2: could only catch one or two words out of ten. 594 00:34:03,200 --> 00:34:05,720 Speaker 2: Mister gus knew more about lumber than anybody in the 595 00:34:05,720 --> 00:34:09,800 Speaker 2: sawmill equipment. Still, he was an outcast, quote white trash 596 00:34:09,880 --> 00:34:12,440 Speaker 2: to most white people. It was said he came from 597 00:34:12,520 --> 00:34:14,960 Speaker 2: up north, but I still often heard him talk about Ireland, 598 00:34:15,120 --> 00:34:17,920 Speaker 2: a place I had never heard about before. Mister Guss 599 00:34:18,000 --> 00:34:20,520 Speaker 2: was a small in structure but big in heart. He'd 600 00:34:20,520 --> 00:34:22,880 Speaker 2: heard the news about the klu klutz Klan was coming 601 00:34:22,920 --> 00:34:26,280 Speaker 2: to lynch my uncle. That night, Uncle Willy heard a voice, 602 00:34:26,440 --> 00:34:29,839 Speaker 2: Willie Willie. Mister Guss wanted to make sure my uncle 603 00:34:29,840 --> 00:34:33,799 Speaker 2: wouldn't start shouting. Mister Guss asked, my uncle, what can 604 00:34:33,840 --> 00:34:36,399 Speaker 2: I do to help you? Uncle Willy told him about 605 00:34:36,440 --> 00:34:38,799 Speaker 2: how the white merchants even refused to sell rabbit shot 606 00:34:38,840 --> 00:34:42,080 Speaker 2: to blacks. Mister Gus walked away without even saying a word. 607 00:34:42,560 --> 00:34:45,400 Speaker 2: He made his way to equipment and bought ammunition and 608 00:34:45,440 --> 00:34:48,560 Speaker 2: then returned to my uncle's house with it. Here he said, 609 00:34:48,719 --> 00:34:50,880 Speaker 2: defend yourself. And then he went back to town and 610 00:34:50,920 --> 00:34:52,960 Speaker 2: told the whites, some of y'all are going to get 611 00:34:53,000 --> 00:34:54,640 Speaker 2: killed by those niggers if you try to lynch that 612 00:34:54,719 --> 00:34:59,200 Speaker 2: Willie end quote. And this is like a kind of 613 00:34:59,239 --> 00:35:01,359 Speaker 2: like really long part of the text that I pull 614 00:35:01,400 --> 00:35:04,359 Speaker 2: a lot from James Yate's memoir Mississippi to Madrid, which 615 00:35:04,400 --> 00:35:06,600 Speaker 2: I highly recommend folks check out. It's really beautiful and 616 00:35:06,680 --> 00:35:08,400 Speaker 2: hits a lot of the points that I really wanted 617 00:35:08,440 --> 00:35:09,440 Speaker 2: to hit in this piece. 618 00:35:09,560 --> 00:35:11,959 Speaker 1: But okay, so this person who's quote this is from 619 00:35:12,080 --> 00:35:13,680 Speaker 1: is one of the people who later went and fought 620 00:35:13,719 --> 00:35:16,759 Speaker 1: in Spain. Yes, absolutely, yeah, fuck yeah, okay. 621 00:35:16,560 --> 00:35:19,160 Speaker 2: And this is kind of his kind of understanding of 622 00:35:19,200 --> 00:35:23,160 Speaker 2: like this is what racial terror and what living in 623 00:35:23,200 --> 00:35:26,920 Speaker 2: Mississippi kind of was at the time. And to me, 624 00:35:27,000 --> 00:35:28,719 Speaker 2: one of the big lessons around this is like, you 625 00:35:28,800 --> 00:35:31,799 Speaker 2: never know who your neighbor may be, or those like 626 00:35:31,840 --> 00:35:35,160 Speaker 2: those with conviction around you will let themselves be known. 627 00:35:35,520 --> 00:35:39,000 Speaker 2: And the answer isn't always to react immediately, but always 628 00:35:39,040 --> 00:35:42,680 Speaker 2: to prepare as soon as possible. And one thing I 629 00:35:42,800 --> 00:35:47,960 Speaker 2: read from this text was like one like the intricacies 630 00:35:48,080 --> 00:35:51,720 Speaker 2: of race even in Mississippi itself, with like this obviously 631 00:35:51,719 --> 00:35:54,200 Speaker 2: outcast Irish man being like what can I do to 632 00:35:54,239 --> 00:35:59,719 Speaker 2: help you? As well as like folks their relationship being 633 00:35:59,760 --> 00:36:02,640 Speaker 2: base on the shop floor in the lumber yard, and 634 00:36:02,719 --> 00:36:05,799 Speaker 2: how they're also your neighbor, and like these are the 635 00:36:05,880 --> 00:36:10,200 Speaker 2: spaces of organizing against racial terror, against patriarchal violence that 636 00:36:10,880 --> 00:36:13,640 Speaker 2: organizers all around the world do a lot of brilliant 637 00:36:13,640 --> 00:36:15,960 Speaker 2: work in that I wanted to highlight as well that 638 00:36:16,120 --> 00:36:18,640 Speaker 2: there's a lot of life saving work that happens just 639 00:36:18,760 --> 00:36:21,640 Speaker 2: on your shop floor and in your neighborhood that we 640 00:36:21,640 --> 00:36:23,920 Speaker 2: could be extending and organizing so that we are more 641 00:36:23,960 --> 00:36:27,160 Speaker 2: prepared for the levels of increasing violence that Americans face. 642 00:36:27,920 --> 00:36:30,280 Speaker 1: No, that makes sense. It's like like just literally finding 643 00:36:30,320 --> 00:36:33,640 Speaker 1: ways to make sure that well we have class solidarity 644 00:36:33,680 --> 00:36:35,880 Speaker 1: with each other, you know, like realizing like, all right, 645 00:36:35,880 --> 00:36:37,480 Speaker 1: we're all dealing with a bunch of different shit, but 646 00:36:37,520 --> 00:36:39,279 Speaker 1: like at the end of the day, here we are 647 00:36:39,320 --> 00:36:44,000 Speaker 1: on the like fucking shop floor. No that that's cool. Yeah, 648 00:36:44,040 --> 00:36:46,120 Speaker 1: but you know what else is on the shop floor? 649 00:36:46,160 --> 00:36:48,719 Speaker 1: I'm coming in before Jordan has a chance to do it. 650 00:36:48,719 --> 00:36:50,239 Speaker 1: But now I'm messing it up because it's not the 651 00:36:50,239 --> 00:36:51,720 Speaker 1: best transition I've ever done. 652 00:36:51,920 --> 00:36:53,440 Speaker 2: I was gonna say, you know what's not on the 653 00:36:53,440 --> 00:36:57,600 Speaker 2: shop floor? Solidaire Wait, solidari is actually I don't remember. 654 00:36:57,680 --> 00:36:59,120 Speaker 1: I was gonna say, well, this usually adds on that 655 00:36:59,120 --> 00:37:01,520 Speaker 1: because it listen to the radio while you're working and stuff. 656 00:37:02,080 --> 00:37:04,440 Speaker 1: Maybe you're listening to this while working right now. And 657 00:37:04,520 --> 00:37:07,600 Speaker 1: if so, well, even if you're not working, here's ads 658 00:37:07,680 --> 00:37:09,280 Speaker 1: I don't know here they are. 659 00:37:16,800 --> 00:37:21,480 Speaker 2: And we're back. You can stop it skipping unless you're 660 00:37:21,520 --> 00:37:23,600 Speaker 2: a cool Zone Premium member or whatever that means. I 661 00:37:23,640 --> 00:37:24,600 Speaker 2: don't know if that's still a thing. 662 00:37:25,200 --> 00:37:28,239 Speaker 1: Cooler Zone Media, Cooler Zone Media, then you didn't have 663 00:37:28,239 --> 00:37:29,000 Speaker 1: to listen to ads. 664 00:37:29,800 --> 00:37:33,200 Speaker 2: Is that available and Android yet? Nope? Yeah, I'm gonna 665 00:37:33,200 --> 00:37:35,959 Speaker 2: say I wouldn't know. I'm purely an Android user. 666 00:37:37,440 --> 00:37:40,800 Speaker 1: Yeah, fair, I have no excuse. I'm on an iPhone 667 00:37:40,800 --> 00:37:43,719 Speaker 1: and I still end them out. I don't even know. 668 00:37:43,920 --> 00:37:45,560 Speaker 1: I haven't even signed up for it, and all I 669 00:37:45,600 --> 00:37:48,000 Speaker 1: listened to is school Zone Media. That's why haven't I 670 00:37:48,040 --> 00:37:51,920 Speaker 1: done it. It makes no sense I should do it anyway. 671 00:37:52,800 --> 00:37:54,600 Speaker 2: Yeah, for the past five years, I think Cool Zone 672 00:37:54,600 --> 00:37:57,319 Speaker 2: Medias have been in my top five podcasts every year. 673 00:37:57,960 --> 00:38:01,280 Speaker 1: So yeah, we make good stuff, cool. 674 00:38:01,040 --> 00:38:01,840 Speaker 2: Stuff even. 675 00:38:03,160 --> 00:38:03,759 Speaker 1: We're all right. 676 00:38:07,920 --> 00:38:10,160 Speaker 2: So in this time in America around like nineteen ten, 677 00:38:10,320 --> 00:38:14,080 Speaker 2: nineteen twenties, even with the Great Migration happening and before then, 678 00:38:14,840 --> 00:38:18,880 Speaker 2: especially during like James Yates' upbringing, it's important for me 679 00:38:18,920 --> 00:38:22,000 Speaker 2: to remind folks that the South was a majority black 680 00:38:22,200 --> 00:38:26,400 Speaker 2: and that the apartheid progressiveness of American liberty was in 681 00:38:26,680 --> 00:38:30,640 Speaker 2: full force towards its black residence, with both secret and 682 00:38:30,680 --> 00:38:36,480 Speaker 2: open organizing collectives for land, economic stability, and education forming 683 00:38:36,520 --> 00:38:39,399 Speaker 2: in many communities. It's where like a lot of where 684 00:38:39,400 --> 00:38:41,680 Speaker 2: snit comes from, Like when we think about like a 685 00:38:41,680 --> 00:38:43,960 Speaker 2: lot of revolutionary stuff that came out of like the 686 00:38:43,960 --> 00:38:47,520 Speaker 2: sixties and thirties. Ella Baker like these anti authoritarian traditions 687 00:38:47,520 --> 00:38:50,680 Speaker 2: as well, and that black anti fascist urge to drive 688 00:38:50,760 --> 00:38:54,360 Speaker 2: for communal institutions in which participants were valued and relied 689 00:38:54,400 --> 00:38:56,960 Speaker 2: upon was not just the tools that they used, but 690 00:38:57,000 --> 00:38:59,719 Speaker 2: it was like the motives for how they viewed leadership 691 00:38:59,760 --> 00:39:00,640 Speaker 2: and of itself. 692 00:39:01,600 --> 00:39:04,440 Speaker 1: That makes sense to me, I haven't. I've read a 693 00:39:04,440 --> 00:39:07,640 Speaker 1: lot about like black cooperative stuff and especially like, uh, 694 00:39:08,320 --> 00:39:10,279 Speaker 1: there's a lot of like black cooperative farming that came 695 00:39:10,320 --> 00:39:12,880 Speaker 1: out of the South and stuff that that that's cool, 696 00:39:12,920 --> 00:39:14,719 Speaker 1: that tracks that, that's interesting to me. 697 00:39:14,960 --> 00:39:17,680 Speaker 2: Yeah, Ellen Baker, who came up during this period and 698 00:39:17,719 --> 00:39:21,719 Speaker 2: in this area down South, was very much a They 699 00:39:21,719 --> 00:39:25,480 Speaker 2: were big on doing leadership training so that everybody could 700 00:39:25,560 --> 00:39:29,920 Speaker 2: see leadership, call out terrible leadership and be able to 701 00:39:29,960 --> 00:39:33,399 Speaker 2: take it upon themselves, to have the reins, to feel 702 00:39:33,440 --> 00:39:37,239 Speaker 2: their own power to make decisions and have those decisions 703 00:39:37,280 --> 00:39:41,480 Speaker 2: be valued, and to see bad decisions and authoritarian leadership 704 00:39:41,640 --> 00:39:46,480 Speaker 2: and cut that shit off. Hell yeah yeah, And so 705 00:39:46,719 --> 00:39:49,200 Speaker 2: by around like the nineteen thirties, the Great Depression had 706 00:39:49,440 --> 00:39:54,080 Speaker 2: deepened economic disparities. Black activists were organizing, and the beatings 707 00:39:54,120 --> 00:39:56,720 Speaker 2: that they took for protesting unemployment, both in the South 708 00:39:56,880 --> 00:39:59,880 Speaker 2: and the north, helped them see repression at home as 709 00:40:00,160 --> 00:40:04,640 Speaker 2: part of a global authoritarian surge. Groups like the Unemployment 710 00:40:04,680 --> 00:40:07,439 Speaker 2: Councils and the League of Struggle for Negro Rights began 711 00:40:07,520 --> 00:40:12,200 Speaker 2: tying local conditions to international fascism. The state's brutal crackdowns 712 00:40:12,280 --> 00:40:16,000 Speaker 2: mirrored what was happening both at home and abroad. And 713 00:40:16,040 --> 00:40:19,520 Speaker 2: then there was the invasion of Ethiopia by Mussolini in 714 00:40:19,640 --> 00:40:22,520 Speaker 2: nineteen thirty five that really lit a fire under a 715 00:40:22,520 --> 00:40:25,840 Speaker 2: lot of black activists and under a lot of internationalists 716 00:40:26,239 --> 00:40:29,759 Speaker 2: as well. From about nineteen thirty five, the invasion of 717 00:40:29,760 --> 00:40:33,680 Speaker 2: Ethiopia began, ending in February of thirty six. There was 718 00:40:33,680 --> 00:40:36,800 Speaker 2: still a lot more going on there, but italiand forces 719 00:40:36,840 --> 00:40:40,919 Speaker 2: invaded with over two hundred thousand soldiers, utilizing tanks, firearms, 720 00:40:41,040 --> 00:40:45,120 Speaker 2: aerial offenses including poison gas, mustard gas, and bombing civilian 721 00:40:45,160 --> 00:40:49,040 Speaker 2: and military positions, both to deter resistance and also to 722 00:40:49,080 --> 00:40:51,040 Speaker 2: just destroy and be able to use the land as 723 00:40:51,080 --> 00:40:55,080 Speaker 2: they needed. They were also, as they even claimed, practicing 724 00:40:55,160 --> 00:40:57,480 Speaker 2: what they wanted to do, which is like this extension 725 00:40:57,480 --> 00:41:00,719 Speaker 2: of this colonial imperial violence being the this for how 726 00:41:00,760 --> 00:41:03,880 Speaker 2: they would do what we see now as colonialism. 727 00:41:04,200 --> 00:41:06,680 Speaker 1: Oh okay, so we're going to go practice on these 728 00:41:06,719 --> 00:41:08,680 Speaker 1: people who don't have any kind of munitions to fight 729 00:41:08,760 --> 00:41:10,600 Speaker 1: us back as equals or whatever. 730 00:41:11,160 --> 00:41:13,200 Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, And they also just like something we 731 00:41:13,239 --> 00:41:15,680 Speaker 2: see now in Gaza as well, like international medical units 732 00:41:15,719 --> 00:41:18,520 Speaker 2: were bombed, killed discriminately, even though there was no way 733 00:41:18,520 --> 00:41:21,600 Speaker 2: to not know they were medical units, but they didn't 734 00:41:21,640 --> 00:41:25,560 Speaker 2: really care. That was kind of their point. Yeah, because 735 00:41:25,560 --> 00:41:28,759 Speaker 2: for many black folks at the time, Ethiopia represented hope, 736 00:41:29,239 --> 00:41:32,799 Speaker 2: pride in resisting all sort of colonial advances. It's still 737 00:41:32,880 --> 00:41:35,040 Speaker 2: kind of known as this place in the black community 738 00:41:35,040 --> 00:41:38,759 Speaker 2: as like Ethiopia was never colonized. It's like a really 739 00:41:38,760 --> 00:41:42,160 Speaker 2: big phrasing. Whether that's what people consider true or not 740 00:41:42,440 --> 00:41:44,719 Speaker 2: is a different thing in my head. But like there 741 00:41:44,800 --> 00:41:48,719 Speaker 2: is a history and really long resistance because this is 742 00:41:48,760 --> 00:41:51,200 Speaker 2: not the first time Italy had advances in the region 743 00:41:51,320 --> 00:41:53,640 Speaker 2: at all, especially if you know about the history of Rome. 744 00:41:54,239 --> 00:41:56,839 Speaker 1: Well, okay, so this is really fascinating to me because 745 00:41:56,840 --> 00:42:00,560 Speaker 1: I hadn't. This means that those are like literally the 746 00:42:00,600 --> 00:42:04,200 Speaker 1: first anti fascists, the first people fighting a war against fascism. 747 00:42:05,160 --> 00:42:07,400 Speaker 1: Maybe I'm missing something, but I don't think Italy invaded 748 00:42:07,440 --> 00:42:10,080 Speaker 1: anyone prior to that, right, I mean you have, you 749 00:42:10,160 --> 00:42:13,120 Speaker 1: have anti fascists in terms of people fighting within Italy 750 00:42:13,200 --> 00:42:18,120 Speaker 1: and within Germany. But the first like war against fascism 751 00:42:18,160 --> 00:42:18,880 Speaker 1: is in Ethiopia. 752 00:42:18,920 --> 00:42:22,160 Speaker 2: Then, uh yeah, like the by the fascists who want 753 00:42:22,160 --> 00:42:25,080 Speaker 2: to name themselves absolutely, yeah. 754 00:42:25,120 --> 00:42:28,960 Speaker 1: Shit, So like black folks are literally the original anti fascists. 755 00:42:28,600 --> 00:42:31,080 Speaker 2: In this context, and that's cool. We do it good, 756 00:42:31,120 --> 00:42:33,919 Speaker 2: we do it best. Well best we do it first. 757 00:42:33,960 --> 00:42:34,959 Speaker 2: I don't know if we do it best. 758 00:42:35,480 --> 00:42:37,279 Speaker 1: Oh whatever, yeah, you fuck it. 759 00:42:38,480 --> 00:42:40,560 Speaker 2: But it was very much like Ethiopia, especially at the time, 760 00:42:40,640 --> 00:42:43,799 Speaker 2: was seen as a place for European domination was not 761 00:42:43,920 --> 00:42:47,160 Speaker 2: taking its rain on the afternitt continent, and with the 762 00:42:47,280 --> 00:42:50,840 Speaker 2: rising authoritarianism after a bunch of tumultuous years of the 763 00:42:50,840 --> 00:42:54,319 Speaker 2: First World War led a lot of world leaders and 764 00:42:54,440 --> 00:42:59,960 Speaker 2: especially America into like their isolationalists kind of vibe at all. 765 00:43:00,120 --> 00:43:05,880 Speaker 2: So with the rising authoritarianism led for like these strong 766 00:43:06,000 --> 00:43:10,000 Speaker 2: man type leadership narratives to be built by people who 767 00:43:10,000 --> 00:43:14,280 Speaker 2: were already had access to material into things that moved 768 00:43:14,280 --> 00:43:18,520 Speaker 2: the political scenes. So they relied on like rising nationalism 769 00:43:19,080 --> 00:43:23,000 Speaker 2: and like the same collapse of economic conditions that social 770 00:43:23,120 --> 00:43:28,279 Speaker 2: justice advocates and revolutionaries built communal campaigns of economic emancipation on. 771 00:43:28,800 --> 00:43:33,000 Speaker 2: Authoritarians then went around and built nationalism through alleged quick 772 00:43:33,040 --> 00:43:37,360 Speaker 2: and easy solutions just founded in fears, enophobia and terror 773 00:43:37,480 --> 00:43:38,760 Speaker 2: and violence through. 774 00:43:38,719 --> 00:43:41,280 Speaker 1: Okay, so the same shit that nothing changes, that's what you're. 775 00:43:41,239 --> 00:43:44,200 Speaker 2: Yeah, no, no, yeah no. And then they used technological 776 00:43:44,200 --> 00:43:47,280 Speaker 2: advances that become very accessible at the period, like radio 777 00:43:47,360 --> 00:43:51,440 Speaker 2: and film to kind of bolsterrough this imagery of strong 778 00:43:51,560 --> 00:43:58,160 Speaker 2: leadership and of their imagination being worked through. And it's 779 00:43:58,200 --> 00:43:59,800 Speaker 2: kind of like the saying that we're living in somebody 780 00:43:59,840 --> 00:44:02,200 Speaker 2: else is dream. It's just our nightmare, so we should 781 00:44:02,200 --> 00:44:05,360 Speaker 2: be able to build our dream reality right now as well. 782 00:44:05,880 --> 00:44:08,640 Speaker 2: And like somebody dreamed of this system that we're living 783 00:44:08,640 --> 00:44:11,440 Speaker 2: in and they think it's hunky dory and it's actually not. 784 00:44:13,120 --> 00:44:16,360 Speaker 2: But yeah, there were groups in different formations of communists, anarchists, 785 00:44:16,360 --> 00:44:19,279 Speaker 2: and social reformers alike, that we're organizing to unite the 786 00:44:19,320 --> 00:44:22,560 Speaker 2: working class away from capitalist based solutions and to look 787 00:44:22,600 --> 00:44:26,080 Speaker 2: towards each other for even just figuring out new solutions. 788 00:44:26,560 --> 00:44:28,040 Speaker 1: What are you talking about now, you just talk about 789 00:44:28,040 --> 00:44:29,240 Speaker 1: globally or is this really. 790 00:44:29,120 --> 00:44:31,360 Speaker 2: Oh yeah, kind of globally like around like the nineteen 791 00:44:31,400 --> 00:44:35,719 Speaker 2: thirties and like with this rise of fascism. And I 792 00:44:35,719 --> 00:44:38,520 Speaker 2: don't know who coined this phrase, but there's like this 793 00:44:38,640 --> 00:44:41,600 Speaker 2: real idea that fascism is always writing the tales of 794 00:44:41,600 --> 00:44:42,840 Speaker 2: a failed revolution. 795 00:44:43,360 --> 00:44:44,479 Speaker 1: And yeah, that makes sense. 796 00:44:44,560 --> 00:44:48,160 Speaker 2: I kind of. It gives that aesthetic of dealing with 797 00:44:48,239 --> 00:44:51,520 Speaker 2: social and economic problems, and it can sell that aesthetic 798 00:44:51,560 --> 00:44:55,200 Speaker 2: to you without selling you material conditions or actually changing 799 00:44:55,200 --> 00:45:00,120 Speaker 2: your material conditions. So as this invasion of Ethiopia uful, 800 00:45:00,160 --> 00:45:02,520 Speaker 2: it was a clear escalation for folks in the States 801 00:45:02,680 --> 00:45:08,080 Speaker 2: about the escalation in world authoritarian violence, and across the 802 00:45:08,200 --> 00:45:12,320 Speaker 2: nation of the US, people erupted on protests signs reading 803 00:45:12,360 --> 00:45:16,880 Speaker 2: hands Off Ethiopia, and the organizing to expose the links 804 00:45:16,920 --> 00:45:20,920 Speaker 2: of anti colonial resistance abroad to the anti lynching campaigns 805 00:45:20,920 --> 00:45:23,759 Speaker 2: at home became even stronger, and it all kind of 806 00:45:23,800 --> 00:45:27,960 Speaker 2: became part of the same struggles there is Salary a key. 807 00:45:28,160 --> 00:45:30,480 Speaker 2: Who is someone else I'm going to talk about a 808 00:45:30,480 --> 00:45:32,920 Speaker 2: lot more. Who's a black nurse and anti fascist that 809 00:45:32,960 --> 00:45:37,120 Speaker 2: went over to go lend aid to the Spanish Republic. 810 00:45:37,320 --> 00:45:40,719 Speaker 2: They were at this time still in the south end 811 00:45:40,760 --> 00:45:41,960 Speaker 2: of that, I believe at this point they were in 812 00:45:41,960 --> 00:45:44,600 Speaker 2: the Midwest, and they were helping raise funds for an 813 00:45:44,760 --> 00:45:47,600 Speaker 2: entire seventy five bed hospital to be built in Ethiopia. 814 00:45:48,560 --> 00:45:51,440 Speaker 2: And Yates goes on to describe some of the organizing 815 00:45:51,480 --> 00:45:54,560 Speaker 2: that they saw in their book Mississipia Madrid as quote. 816 00:45:55,120 --> 00:45:58,920 Speaker 2: As Mussolini's massive attacks against Ethiopia continued, we focus all 817 00:45:58,920 --> 00:46:01,560 Speaker 2: of our energy in to stop the fascists. We roamed 818 00:46:01,600 --> 00:46:04,200 Speaker 2: the cities collecting food clothing to be sent to the 819 00:46:04,280 --> 00:46:07,120 Speaker 2: victims of the bombs. In addition to passing out leaflands 820 00:46:07,160 --> 00:46:09,759 Speaker 2: denouncing the war, we gathered signatures and sent them to 821 00:46:09,800 --> 00:46:13,440 Speaker 2: President Roosevelt and treating him to stop Mussolini end quote. 822 00:46:13,640 --> 00:46:16,480 Speaker 2: So it really like this beginning of these like people 823 00:46:16,560 --> 00:46:20,480 Speaker 2: recognizing the global fascist and authoritarian threat and doing like 824 00:46:20,520 --> 00:46:23,319 Speaker 2: the on the ground at home grassroots organizing to talk 825 00:46:23,360 --> 00:46:25,480 Speaker 2: to your neighbors about it. See if we can talk 826 00:46:25,480 --> 00:46:27,719 Speaker 2: to any of our politicians who have way more sway 827 00:46:27,760 --> 00:46:30,520 Speaker 2: when it comes to other world leaders, unless well, I'm 828 00:46:30,560 --> 00:46:34,640 Speaker 2: not gonna get into that. And then there were street 829 00:46:34,800 --> 00:46:39,360 Speaker 2: demonstrations and riots over the invasion in most large cities. 830 00:46:39,880 --> 00:46:43,120 Speaker 2: There was like a minority of black folks looting a 831 00:46:43,160 --> 00:46:45,640 Speaker 2: lot of Italian shops at the time, Like there's a 832 00:46:45,640 --> 00:46:49,880 Speaker 2: lot of horizontal racial violence happening. Well horizontal weird to 833 00:46:49,920 --> 00:46:53,960 Speaker 2: say for me, but yeah, groups ended up organizing and 834 00:46:54,000 --> 00:46:57,799 Speaker 2: putting out statements that Italians themselves did not agree with Mussolini, 835 00:46:58,080 --> 00:47:00,520 Speaker 2: which to a lot of folks that went over to fight, 836 00:47:00,600 --> 00:47:04,040 Speaker 2: which they were about ninety black anti fascists from America 837 00:47:04,120 --> 00:47:06,399 Speaker 2: that went over to go fight. It became even clear 838 00:47:06,440 --> 00:47:09,360 Speaker 2: to them with how many Italian soldiers ended up joining 839 00:47:09,400 --> 00:47:12,759 Speaker 2: the internationalists brigades in the Spanish Civil War. 840 00:47:14,040 --> 00:47:16,399 Speaker 1: Yeah, it's a kind of a good moment to be like, oh, yeah, right, 841 00:47:16,400 --> 00:47:19,840 Speaker 1: there's internationalists and anti fascists in every fucking place. Is 842 00:47:19,920 --> 00:47:23,719 Speaker 1: like all going over there together, that's beautiful. 843 00:47:24,360 --> 00:47:27,319 Speaker 2: Yeah, And as most people listening now may know, protesting 844 00:47:27,360 --> 00:47:30,560 Speaker 2: and urging your state to change foreign policy decision on 845 00:47:30,600 --> 00:47:32,920 Speaker 2: an ongoing war that the state has already deemed its 846 00:47:32,960 --> 00:47:35,840 Speaker 2: response to it's very hard, tiring, and a lot of 847 00:47:35,800 --> 00:47:39,160 Speaker 2: the times some consider fruitless, but it's not. There are many, 848 00:47:39,200 --> 00:47:41,640 Speaker 2: many things to do, and this is a constant in 849 00:47:41,800 --> 00:47:45,480 Speaker 2: US history that leads every generation of protesters to advance 850 00:47:45,520 --> 00:47:48,359 Speaker 2: their tactics and develop and reimagine what goals they have, 851 00:47:48,520 --> 00:47:52,239 Speaker 2: to reconsider what is a winning campaign, and for folks 852 00:47:52,280 --> 00:47:55,839 Speaker 2: in the early twentieth century, especially black people. Yeates talks 853 00:47:55,880 --> 00:47:58,239 Speaker 2: about what it feels like or what it felt like 854 00:47:58,280 --> 00:48:02,759 Speaker 2: to decide to start getting engaged, and a lot of 855 00:48:02,760 --> 00:48:06,719 Speaker 2: that came when Republican Spain itself started to come under 856 00:48:06,760 --> 00:48:12,200 Speaker 2: attack after the invasion of Ethiopia. And read the decision 857 00:48:12,320 --> 00:48:16,719 Speaker 2: that James Yates in their affinity group with were just 858 00:48:16,760 --> 00:48:18,600 Speaker 2: like they were living with a bunch of artists in 859 00:48:18,719 --> 00:48:21,160 Speaker 2: New York at this time, or maybe it was Chicago, 860 00:48:22,200 --> 00:48:27,160 Speaker 2: just being around, organizing scenes, going to rallies, train hopping, 861 00:48:28,360 --> 00:48:29,000 Speaker 2: just doing the thing. 862 00:48:29,320 --> 00:48:33,279 Speaker 1: Yeah, same shit, yeah, uh huh, he said. 863 00:48:33,400 --> 00:48:37,480 Speaker 2: Quote. The loft had become a very gloomy place. Then 864 00:48:37,520 --> 00:48:40,240 Speaker 2: one day Hermann rushed in with an armful of groceries 865 00:48:40,280 --> 00:48:43,080 Speaker 2: and newspapers. He held five different papers in his hands 866 00:48:43,080 --> 00:48:46,920 Speaker 2: and all of them read in effect Republican Spain under attack. 867 00:48:47,400 --> 00:48:50,360 Speaker 2: The headlines screamed out at us and the fascist collaboration 868 00:48:50,440 --> 00:48:53,400 Speaker 2: in Spain seemed to jump off the pages. One paper 869 00:48:53,440 --> 00:48:57,480 Speaker 2: boldly announced Mussolini pledges the support of his troops. The 870 00:48:57,600 --> 00:49:01,880 Speaker 2: article concluded by saying that Spanish Republican government, democratically elected, 871 00:49:02,040 --> 00:49:04,560 Speaker 2: was asking the entire worlds for volunteers to come to 872 00:49:04,600 --> 00:49:08,120 Speaker 2: Spain and aid in his fight against Mussolini, Hitler and 873 00:49:08,160 --> 00:49:12,000 Speaker 2: the fascist generals. Hermann shouted at no one in particular. 874 00:49:12,560 --> 00:49:15,080 Speaker 2: Now you see what did I tell you? I've been 875 00:49:15,120 --> 00:49:18,000 Speaker 2: saying for three years that Hitler would move. First he 876 00:49:18,160 --> 00:49:20,759 Speaker 2: tightened his Nazi grip on Germany, and then he'd look 877 00:49:20,800 --> 00:49:23,880 Speaker 2: around the rest of Europe. Such a maniac cannot be appeased. 878 00:49:24,040 --> 00:49:26,480 Speaker 2: I've said it over and over. But who will listen? 879 00:49:27,320 --> 00:49:30,520 Speaker 2: Alonzo didn't look up. He stared silently at his paper, 880 00:49:30,680 --> 00:49:33,360 Speaker 2: and then he said, in his typical quiet manner, I'm going. 881 00:49:33,960 --> 00:49:37,480 Speaker 2: I'm volunteering. The time for talking is over. You've got 882 00:49:37,520 --> 00:49:40,440 Speaker 2: to put your convictions where your mouth is. I was 883 00:49:40,480 --> 00:49:43,319 Speaker 2: silent with the question pressed upon me, Am I ready 884 00:49:43,360 --> 00:49:45,680 Speaker 2: to go to Spain with Alonzo? I had been more 885 00:49:45,719 --> 00:49:49,080 Speaker 2: than ready to go to Ethiopia, but that was different. Ethiopia, 886 00:49:49,239 --> 00:49:51,840 Speaker 2: a black nation was part of me. I was just 887 00:49:51,880 --> 00:49:54,560 Speaker 2: beginning to learn about the reality of Spain and Europe, 888 00:49:54,600 --> 00:49:57,040 Speaker 2: but I knew what was at stake. There was the poor, 889 00:49:57,239 --> 00:50:00,239 Speaker 2: the peasants, the workers, and the unions. The socialists and 890 00:50:00,280 --> 00:50:04,120 Speaker 2: the communists together had won an election against the big landowners, 891 00:50:04,160 --> 00:50:07,120 Speaker 2: the monarchy, and the right wingers in the military. It 892 00:50:07,160 --> 00:50:08,799 Speaker 2: was the kind of victory that would have brought black 893 00:50:08,840 --> 00:50:10,880 Speaker 2: people to the top levels of government if such an 894 00:50:10,920 --> 00:50:13,600 Speaker 2: election had been won in the US. The new government 895 00:50:13,600 --> 00:50:17,000 Speaker 2: in Spain was dividing its wealth with the peasants, Unions 896 00:50:17,000 --> 00:50:20,360 Speaker 2: were organizing in each factory, and social services were being introduced. 897 00:50:20,840 --> 00:50:23,400 Speaker 2: Spain was the perfect example of the world I dreamed of. 898 00:50:23,719 --> 00:50:28,720 Speaker 1: And that's fucking cool. I was just gonna like that moment. 899 00:50:29,480 --> 00:50:31,440 Speaker 1: I don't know, I know, I know that most of 900 00:50:31,440 --> 00:50:33,600 Speaker 1: my response to the script so far as that's fucking cool, 901 00:50:33,760 --> 00:50:37,400 Speaker 1: but like that moment of like, no, we just got 902 00:50:37,440 --> 00:50:40,040 Speaker 1: to do it, yeah, and being like oh shit, yeah, 903 00:50:40,040 --> 00:50:43,200 Speaker 1: you're right, this is the same struggle in a different place, Like, 904 00:50:44,040 --> 00:50:45,320 Speaker 1: I don't know, it's cool. 905 00:50:45,560 --> 00:50:47,200 Speaker 2: Yeah, And I think it's a lot of to me. 906 00:50:47,600 --> 00:50:50,040 Speaker 2: Something in the beauty of this that I see is 907 00:50:50,280 --> 00:50:52,600 Speaker 2: it's kind of also some of the beauty I see 908 00:50:52,640 --> 00:50:55,960 Speaker 2: in snick the oh what is their actual name? 909 00:50:56,040 --> 00:50:57,719 Speaker 1: Student Onnviolent Coordinating Committee? 910 00:50:57,800 --> 00:51:01,880 Speaker 2: Yeah, Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. And with Martin Luther King Junior, 911 00:51:02,719 --> 00:51:06,040 Speaker 2: my coast and I print Secure talk a lot, especially 912 00:51:06,080 --> 00:51:08,680 Speaker 2: during the election, around like what voting means to us 913 00:51:09,520 --> 00:51:13,520 Speaker 2: and what especially as black anarchists, and what voting that's 914 00:51:13,560 --> 00:51:17,000 Speaker 2: respected by the state means. And there's these beautiful speeches 915 00:51:17,080 --> 00:51:20,880 Speaker 2: of Martin Luther King very early on, being like, we 916 00:51:20,960 --> 00:51:24,040 Speaker 2: will have our black judges, our black cops, our black 917 00:51:24,560 --> 00:51:26,960 Speaker 2: lawmakers will be at everywhere. If they just give us 918 00:51:26,960 --> 00:51:29,080 Speaker 2: the vote, we won't need to even hear from the 919 00:51:29,080 --> 00:51:32,319 Speaker 2: white oppressors anymore. And I know, damn well, even as 920 00:51:32,320 --> 00:51:34,000 Speaker 2: a black anarchist, if I had heard that one hundred 921 00:51:34,040 --> 00:51:36,600 Speaker 2: years ago, I'd be in the back like, yeah, let's 922 00:51:36,640 --> 00:51:39,480 Speaker 2: get our thing on. And because it's one of those 923 00:51:39,560 --> 00:51:44,399 Speaker 2: fundamental human urges that folks see something being denied them, 924 00:51:44,440 --> 00:51:47,560 Speaker 2: something granted access to others, and they're like, well, why 925 00:51:47,600 --> 00:51:55,040 Speaker 2: not us, And the imagination of being able to think, 926 00:51:55,200 --> 00:51:58,879 Speaker 2: oh well, if we were able to, especially post reconstruction 927 00:51:59,520 --> 00:52:04,279 Speaker 2: actually have a black republic outside of that that was 928 00:52:04,920 --> 00:52:07,719 Speaker 2: like based on the majority and based on how things 929 00:52:07,760 --> 00:52:09,479 Speaker 2: were going, they would be the government of the South 930 00:52:09,480 --> 00:52:11,799 Speaker 2: would be a lot blacker than it is now and 931 00:52:11,920 --> 00:52:13,799 Speaker 2: has ever been post reconstruction. 932 00:52:14,320 --> 00:52:16,160 Speaker 1: I think about this constantly. As soon as I learned 933 00:52:16,160 --> 00:52:19,839 Speaker 1: about how terribly you know, the Ku Klux Klan came 934 00:52:19,880 --> 00:52:22,560 Speaker 1: in and was like, we're going to fuck this up 935 00:52:22,640 --> 00:52:26,160 Speaker 1: through random, non legal violence. But then instead they just 936 00:52:26,200 --> 00:52:27,960 Speaker 1: came in with Jim Crow and were like, actually, we're 937 00:52:28,000 --> 00:52:32,080 Speaker 1: gonna put this down legally, and like, yeah, how completely 938 00:52:32,280 --> 00:52:35,080 Speaker 1: fundamentally different the United States would be without Jim Crow. 939 00:52:35,320 --> 00:52:37,040 Speaker 1: It wouldn't just be like, oh, we had reached a 940 00:52:37,160 --> 00:52:40,680 Speaker 1: quality sooner or whatever, but like just literally it would 941 00:52:40,680 --> 00:52:45,200 Speaker 1: be a different country, and a almost certainly substantially more 942 00:52:45,320 --> 00:52:46,399 Speaker 1: interesting and good one. 943 00:52:46,920 --> 00:52:52,320 Speaker 2: Yeah, like extremely interesting. And that's something that even now urges. 944 00:52:52,600 --> 00:52:55,279 Speaker 2: There's efforts for like the Republic of New Africa, which 945 00:52:55,320 --> 00:52:58,240 Speaker 2: is like the combination of like the Deep South states 946 00:52:58,320 --> 00:53:01,640 Speaker 2: into being formed of public and even through to the 947 00:53:01,680 --> 00:53:05,560 Speaker 2: Black Panther parties kind of held this this political line 948 00:53:05,560 --> 00:53:08,480 Speaker 2: that I still love, which is we still haven't got 949 00:53:08,520 --> 00:53:11,000 Speaker 2: to decide whether we wanted to be US citizens or not, 950 00:53:11,400 --> 00:53:15,200 Speaker 2: and we should have a referendum on that because I mean. 951 00:53:15,600 --> 00:53:17,720 Speaker 1: Yeah, like all right, we got we get to choose, 952 00:53:17,760 --> 00:53:19,840 Speaker 1: and we're going to try and choose. Yeah, no, it's interesting. 953 00:53:20,640 --> 00:53:25,000 Speaker 2: Yeah, And with that conviction, they had decided they were 954 00:53:25,040 --> 00:53:28,319 Speaker 2: going to travel to Spain. And that is a kind 955 00:53:28,320 --> 00:53:32,040 Speaker 2: of conversation that happened with a lot of folks, with 956 00:53:32,800 --> 00:53:36,040 Speaker 2: some folks lying to their family about where they were going. 957 00:53:36,680 --> 00:53:39,520 Speaker 2: And one thing before in this off like to talk 958 00:53:39,560 --> 00:53:43,400 Speaker 2: about how isolationless the US was at this point and 959 00:53:43,480 --> 00:53:46,720 Speaker 2: how they very much I think, as you said earlier, 960 00:53:46,760 --> 00:53:50,200 Speaker 2: they were like, we're not picking a side, which usually 961 00:53:50,280 --> 00:53:53,879 Speaker 2: means neutrality usually means you're never fully neutral. Like they 962 00:53:54,400 --> 00:53:57,240 Speaker 2: stopped people from getting passports to go over to Spain 963 00:53:57,320 --> 00:54:00,759 Speaker 2: to go and try to actually participate. So a lot 964 00:54:00,760 --> 00:54:03,760 Speaker 2: of folks had to go directly to France and cross 965 00:54:03,880 --> 00:54:08,120 Speaker 2: the Pyrenees mountain range, and like all these different ways. 966 00:54:08,120 --> 00:54:10,040 Speaker 2: It was not a straight shot for anyone to go 967 00:54:10,160 --> 00:54:13,640 Speaker 2: straight to Spain unless you were already over there. There's 968 00:54:13,680 --> 00:54:16,279 Speaker 2: like a combination of boat, train and hiking through these 969 00:54:16,360 --> 00:54:17,200 Speaker 2: mountain ranges. 970 00:54:17,840 --> 00:54:21,240 Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, the whole like isolation has just mean deciding 971 00:54:21,280 --> 00:54:26,200 Speaker 1: with the oppressor, like the US, France and England, we're like, oh, 972 00:54:26,200 --> 00:54:27,920 Speaker 1: we're staying out of it. And by that, I mean 973 00:54:27,960 --> 00:54:33,240 Speaker 1: we're putting an embargo on arms for either side to Spain, 974 00:54:33,480 --> 00:54:35,920 Speaker 1: whereas like Germany and Italy like sweet, we're gonna send 975 00:54:36,120 --> 00:54:39,080 Speaker 1: fucking munitions to the fascists. That's great, you know, and 976 00:54:39,480 --> 00:54:42,880 Speaker 1: leaving you know, the overwhelming majority of international munitions came 977 00:54:42,880 --> 00:54:44,600 Speaker 1: in through the USSR, which of course has its own 978 00:54:44,640 --> 00:54:46,120 Speaker 1: mess because then they were like and now we're in 979 00:54:46,200 --> 00:54:46,920 Speaker 1: charge of everything. 980 00:54:47,640 --> 00:54:50,360 Speaker 2: Yes, absolutely, And I think there's there's a lot of 981 00:54:50,440 --> 00:54:53,320 Speaker 2: stuff written about, like the Communist Party and how the 982 00:54:53,480 --> 00:54:57,080 Speaker 2: USSR engaged in the SPANISHI War, which is not something 983 00:54:57,160 --> 00:55:00,160 Speaker 2: I get too into in these next couple episodes, but 984 00:55:00,640 --> 00:55:04,680 Speaker 2: it is a very interesting way to see international relations 985 00:55:04,719 --> 00:55:08,080 Speaker 2: be played out, and how the USSR took that mantle 986 00:55:08,160 --> 00:55:10,919 Speaker 2: up when it came to other revolutionary causes, something even 987 00:55:11,040 --> 00:55:12,400 Speaker 2: Sha Gavera had issues with. 988 00:55:13,920 --> 00:55:16,080 Speaker 1: Oh shit, I need to one day, I'll read more 989 00:55:16,080 --> 00:55:19,960 Speaker 1: about that whole thing. That's the infinite onion of history. 990 00:55:20,280 --> 00:55:23,800 Speaker 2: Yeah. Fun fact Shay went and fought in the Democratic 991 00:55:23,880 --> 00:55:26,960 Speaker 2: Republic of Congo after he yelled at the USSR for 992 00:55:27,000 --> 00:55:31,319 Speaker 2: having terrible revolutionary politics with other international brigades, and went 993 00:55:31,320 --> 00:55:33,080 Speaker 2: over there to go try to help them before he 994 00:55:33,160 --> 00:55:37,000 Speaker 2: went over to more South and Central America. Yeah, yeah, 995 00:55:37,040 --> 00:55:42,479 Speaker 2: it's very very interesting, And yeah, travel wasn't a straight shot. 996 00:55:42,480 --> 00:55:45,319 Speaker 2: It was a combination of boat train and hiking through 997 00:55:45,360 --> 00:55:49,560 Speaker 2: treacherous mountains. James Yates describes one of like the last 998 00:55:49,600 --> 00:55:53,520 Speaker 2: moments of their climb as quote, Within minutes of beginning 999 00:55:53,560 --> 00:55:55,680 Speaker 2: the second lap of the climb, we tossed away most 1000 00:55:55,719 --> 00:55:59,799 Speaker 2: of our possessions. Men threw away their knapsacks, coats, blankets, 1001 00:56:00,040 --> 00:56:02,440 Speaker 2: anything to lighten the load. They even took off their 1002 00:56:02,480 --> 00:56:05,440 Speaker 2: socks and flung them into the darkness. I kept my shoes, 1003 00:56:05,440 --> 00:56:08,160 Speaker 2: but threw away most everything else. When it came to 1004 00:56:08,200 --> 00:56:10,360 Speaker 2: my books, I tried to fit them into my pockets, 1005 00:56:10,360 --> 00:56:13,560 Speaker 2: but they felt like pieces of lead. I fingered them regretfully, 1006 00:56:13,760 --> 00:56:16,919 Speaker 2: then pulled too out, letting them drop. They flittered down 1007 00:56:16,920 --> 00:56:19,440 Speaker 2: through the blackness. It was a part of me falling. 1008 00:56:20,239 --> 00:56:22,040 Speaker 2: Later I found the books I still had was the 1009 00:56:22,080 --> 00:56:26,880 Speaker 2: one by Lynston Hughes end quote. And then when arriving 1010 00:56:26,960 --> 00:56:30,959 Speaker 2: I really love how Yates describes their first contact after 1011 00:56:31,040 --> 00:56:34,120 Speaker 2: these like the Pyrenees mountain range is like they went 1012 00:56:34,200 --> 00:56:37,799 Speaker 2: up one mountain, then down another steep, steep mountain, and 1013 00:56:37,840 --> 00:56:41,480 Speaker 2: then up another steep, steep mountain, and then down another steep, 1014 00:56:41,480 --> 00:56:44,040 Speaker 2: steep mountain, and then the second lap was up Another's 1015 00:56:44,320 --> 00:56:46,680 Speaker 2: like it was a lot of up and down And 1016 00:56:46,880 --> 00:56:50,319 Speaker 2: it's to me one of those convictions because a lot 1017 00:56:50,320 --> 00:56:54,160 Speaker 2: of folks died just getting to Spain and specifically on 1018 00:56:54,239 --> 00:56:59,280 Speaker 2: that mountain range, and it kind of to me colors 1019 00:56:59,400 --> 00:57:02,560 Speaker 2: some of the approach of this is something that I 1020 00:57:02,560 --> 00:57:04,640 Speaker 2: didn't really mention it, but like Yates talk about, like 1021 00:57:04,680 --> 00:57:07,680 Speaker 2: it didn't really hit James what they were really going 1022 00:57:07,760 --> 00:57:10,160 Speaker 2: to do until they were on the boat to France 1023 00:57:10,560 --> 00:57:15,960 Speaker 2: and they were like, crap, I might die. Yeah, And 1024 00:57:16,040 --> 00:57:18,520 Speaker 2: I think that's also something that really shows how little 1025 00:57:19,000 --> 00:57:21,200 Speaker 2: society back then, even kind of now we have an 1026 00:57:21,200 --> 00:57:23,840 Speaker 2: issue with it. But talked about war, the trauma of war, 1027 00:57:24,080 --> 00:57:26,720 Speaker 2: what it means to like engage in violent acts, but 1028 00:57:26,760 --> 00:57:30,120 Speaker 2: then also what it means to take those violent acts 1029 00:57:30,120 --> 00:57:32,480 Speaker 2: that are being disposed onto you and do something to 1030 00:57:32,520 --> 00:57:36,280 Speaker 2: dismantle the system that is making that systemic. 1031 00:57:36,880 --> 00:57:37,360 Speaker 1: Yeah. 1032 00:57:37,880 --> 00:57:40,280 Speaker 2: But yeah, and then the kind of through lines that 1033 00:57:40,400 --> 00:57:43,640 Speaker 2: in also highly recommended like folks read this Mississippi to 1034 00:57:43,680 --> 00:57:48,320 Speaker 2: Madrid because they bring so many beautiful comparisons between Spanish 1035 00:57:48,360 --> 00:57:52,440 Speaker 2: culture and Black American culture that kind of struck me, 1036 00:57:53,000 --> 00:57:54,880 Speaker 2: which I guess I'll just end some of this off 1037 00:57:54,920 --> 00:57:58,280 Speaker 2: by saying another quote from James Yates book is quote 1038 00:57:58,800 --> 00:58:01,360 Speaker 2: around five in the morning, we arrived at our first 1039 00:58:01,360 --> 00:58:05,040 Speaker 2: Spanish outposts, a monastery. It was midway down the mountain 1040 00:58:05,080 --> 00:58:06,760 Speaker 2: and served as a way station for those who have 1041 00:58:06,840 --> 00:58:09,520 Speaker 2: been forced to take this route into Spain. No monks 1042 00:58:09,560 --> 00:58:12,520 Speaker 2: were there. A few Spanish loyalists guarded the posts, receiving 1043 00:58:12,520 --> 00:58:15,840 Speaker 2: and dispatching volunteers. It struck me that this monastery was 1044 00:58:15,920 --> 00:58:18,760 Speaker 2: much like the places used by abolitionists who temporarily house 1045 00:58:18,840 --> 00:58:22,840 Speaker 2: slaves escaping the plantations of the South in America. 1046 00:58:23,960 --> 00:58:26,840 Speaker 1: That's cool, I mean, sorry, I keep fucking saying that, 1047 00:58:26,920 --> 00:58:29,440 Speaker 1: But like this idea of the through line that they 1048 00:58:29,440 --> 00:58:32,560 Speaker 1: don't see this as a separate thing, and I don't know, 1049 00:58:32,760 --> 00:58:33,800 Speaker 1: sometimes it's interesting. 1050 00:58:33,960 --> 00:58:36,440 Speaker 2: Yeah, And this was only the beginning of their journey, 1051 00:58:36,520 --> 00:58:39,240 Speaker 2: and one that was mirrored by many anti fascists and 1052 00:58:39,280 --> 00:58:42,600 Speaker 2: black anti fascists alike that had to go through these long, 1053 00:58:42,800 --> 00:58:47,120 Speaker 2: long tracks. Yeah, and there's even more to come, and 1054 00:58:47,160 --> 00:58:49,320 Speaker 2: I hopefully I'm going to tell you even more about 1055 00:58:49,360 --> 00:58:54,120 Speaker 2: the specific anti fascists that came through next episode. 1056 00:58:54,720 --> 00:58:58,320 Speaker 1: Hell yeah, I am impressed that you managed in true 1057 00:58:58,360 --> 00:59:01,120 Speaker 1: cool people who did cool stuff style. One half of 1058 00:59:01,160 --> 00:59:04,560 Speaker 1: the podcast is to get you to where the thing happens. 1059 00:59:05,200 --> 00:59:05,919 Speaker 1: That's what we do. 1060 00:59:06,480 --> 00:59:06,760 Speaker 2: Yup. 1061 00:59:07,000 --> 00:59:09,000 Speaker 1: I'm making fun of myself when I say this, but 1062 00:59:09,000 --> 00:59:11,080 Speaker 1: it's like, it makes so much sense with this because 1063 00:59:11,080 --> 00:59:14,320 Speaker 1: it's like, yeah, the whole point is that this connection 1064 00:59:14,480 --> 00:59:17,680 Speaker 1: between these two struggles is so often ignored and so 1065 00:59:18,600 --> 00:59:22,280 Speaker 1: showing the connection directly, Fuck yeah, I'm excited to find 1066 00:59:22,280 --> 00:59:22,960 Speaker 1: out what happens. 1067 00:59:23,320 --> 00:59:25,480 Speaker 2: Yeah, And there's so much more history for folks to 1068 00:59:25,520 --> 00:59:29,480 Speaker 2: delve into in context of anti racist and anti oppressive 1069 00:59:30,000 --> 00:59:35,560 Speaker 2: organizing that drove fifty two different nationalities to come to 1070 00:59:35,640 --> 00:59:40,160 Speaker 2: Spain and fight some fascists and yeah, yeah, I think 1071 00:59:40,240 --> 00:59:44,360 Speaker 2: it's a really beautiful context for folks to look into, 1072 00:59:44,520 --> 00:59:46,400 Speaker 2: or like point of history for folks to look into. 1073 00:59:46,520 --> 00:59:49,200 Speaker 2: I think there's a lot of really dopeap like organizing, 1074 00:59:49,320 --> 00:59:52,960 Speaker 2: especially like black autonomous and cooperative organizing that happened post 1075 00:59:53,000 --> 00:59:55,880 Speaker 2: reconstruction that is rarely rarely talked about. 1076 00:59:56,960 --> 01:00:00,000 Speaker 1: Well, we're gonna hear more about what happened in Spain 1077 01:00:00,120 --> 01:00:03,800 Speaker 1: with it on Wednesday. But in the meantime, what if 1078 01:00:03,800 --> 01:00:07,360 Speaker 1: people are like, wow, I sure liked hearing Jordan talk 1079 01:00:07,400 --> 01:00:10,200 Speaker 1: about a thing. If only there was another podcast where 1080 01:00:10,240 --> 01:00:13,000 Speaker 1: I could hear Jordan talking about a thing. What could 1081 01:00:13,000 --> 01:00:13,360 Speaker 1: they do? 1082 01:00:14,160 --> 01:00:18,040 Speaker 2: Well? They could hop over to anywhere that they listen 1083 01:00:18,080 --> 01:00:22,520 Speaker 2: to podcasts and look up The Dugout, a Black Anarchist Podcast, 1084 01:00:23,000 --> 01:00:25,200 Speaker 2: or you can go to our Instagram at Dugout Podcast 1085 01:00:25,440 --> 01:00:28,000 Speaker 2: and check out the link in our bio to get 1086 01:00:28,080 --> 01:00:30,520 Speaker 2: us on Spotify or any of those major platforms. Because 1087 01:00:30,520 --> 01:00:32,880 Speaker 2: sometimes it's still a little hard to reach out to 1088 01:00:32,960 --> 01:00:36,080 Speaker 2: us because we did a podcast called The Dugout in America, 1089 01:00:36,480 --> 01:00:39,160 Speaker 2: so it's very baseball heavy things. It's kind of hard 1090 01:00:39,200 --> 01:00:40,320 Speaker 2: to find our show. 1091 01:00:40,720 --> 01:00:43,800 Speaker 1: Whenever you're listening to this podcast, just go over listen 1092 01:00:43,840 --> 01:00:46,919 Speaker 1: to The Dugout, a Black Anarchist podcast, or just start 1093 01:00:46,920 --> 01:00:51,000 Speaker 1: getting into baseball. That's another thing you could do if 1094 01:00:51,000 --> 01:00:55,640 Speaker 1: you want, sofa, are you into baseball? Basketball? I know 1095 01:00:55,720 --> 01:00:58,240 Speaker 1: you're into basketball, but I was wondering if you're multi 1096 01:00:58,880 --> 01:01:05,680 Speaker 1: sport us. I don't dislike baseball, but it's not a passion. Okay, 1097 01:01:05,720 --> 01:01:06,200 Speaker 1: fair enough. 1098 01:01:06,280 --> 01:01:08,400 Speaker 2: Yeah, I only ever played in the outfield and my 1099 01:01:08,400 --> 01:01:09,960 Speaker 2: parents would always gett mad at me because I just 1100 01:01:10,000 --> 01:01:12,920 Speaker 2: did like gymnastics in the outfield and was never there 1101 01:01:12,920 --> 01:01:14,040 Speaker 2: when the ball was coming my way. 1102 01:01:14,120 --> 01:01:20,760 Speaker 1: Exactly, exactly, all right, We will see you all on Wednesday. 1103 01:01:20,920 --> 01:01:29,240 Speaker 2: They Cool People Who Did Cool Stuff is a production 1104 01:01:29,320 --> 01:01:32,520 Speaker 2: of cool Zone Media. For more podcasts on cool Zone Media, 1105 01:01:32,680 --> 01:01:35,919 Speaker 2: visit our website Coolzonemedia dot com, or check us out 1106 01:01:36,040 --> 01:01:39,400 Speaker 2: on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get 1107 01:01:39,440 --> 01:01:40,280 Speaker 2: your podcasts.