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Jul 21, 22

This Is America #170: Building Revolutionary Care for Post-Roe Times

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Welcome, to This Is America, July 21st, 2022.

On today’s episode, we speak with Minerva, a full-spectrum mid-wife, herbalist, and abolitionist, about the struggles ahead now that Roe v Wade has been overturned and how we should be thinking about organizing our communities to meet our needs directly.

We then switch to our discussion, where we touch on the mass police repression in Akron, Ohio in the wake of the police murder of Jayland Walker, the growing housing crisis, and much more.

All this and more, but first let’s get to the news!

Living and Fighting

Class War

Hundreds of independent truckers are holding pickets and disrupting commodity flows at the Port of Oakland in protest of a new law that threatens a large section of the workforce from being able to pick up jobs from shipping companies. Meanwhile in cities like Seattle, Detroit, and Boston, Starbucks workers have gone on strike in the face of ongoing attacks by management against newly unionized stores.

In Minneapolis, camp defenders mobilized to push back against yet another tent city eviction. According to Unicorn Riot:

On July 8th, dozens of community members rallied at the encampment in the early morning hours and staved off what many thought was an eviction attempt by the city. [One resident] told Unicorn Riot that she’d heard the police will stay away “as long as there’s defenders present.”

In Lockport, New York, mobile home owner’s rent strike has now entered its third month. Tenants in Laurel, Maryland launched a rent strike recently over housing conditions and have forced landlords to the table as tenants in Louisville, Kentucky have also launched a rent strike to demand repairs.

ACAB

Community members in Albuquerque, New Mexico protested after police murdered a 15-year old after a SWAT raid resulted in a house fire. In New York, Copwatch Media has a new report about Sunset Park vendors organizing to push back against police harassment.

Solidarity actions with the ongoing protests in Akron, Ohio have take place across the US, from banner drops to militant street marches in Pittsburgh, PA, Sacramento, CA, Bronx, NY, Washington DC, and Portland, OR.

Fighting Back Against Gender Fascism

In Tampa, Florida, a massive crowd took to the streets and protested outside of the Christian Nationalist ‘Moms for Liberty’ conference.

In Santa Monica, California, antifascists mobilized to defend a Planned Parenthood clinic that had been targeted the week before by Proud Boys and other far-Right groups. Antifascists and defenders of reproductive freedom rallied in front of the clinic and also protested against a small far-Right rally, successfully keeping the fascists from harassing the clinic. On Twitter, one person wrote: “Antifascists held it down for folks seeking services from Santa Monica Planned Parenthood today. Folks kept fascists antagonized at the waterfront so clinic defense could focus on access to services. Well coordinated & organized. A win for reproductive rights & community today.”

In Dallas, Texas, Elm City John Brown Gun Club reported: “On [July 9th], thousands of locals marched in 107 degree heat. The message was clear, “We will not go back.” Fascist streamers were kept out, all medical emergencies were handled. Dozens of armed protesters kept watch for politically motivated mass shootings & vehicle attacks.”

In Chicago, Illinois, forced birth counter-protesters were vastly outnumbered by supporters of reproductive freedom. Also in Orlando, Florida, “Hundreds took to the streets of [the] downtown to protest the Supreme Court ruling on Roe v. Wade. Demonstrators destroyed several signs held by fascist anti-choice preachers, and were able to resist a later attempted cordoning off of the area by police,” reported Tequesta Black Star.

Sabotage and targeted vandalism has also continued, often under the moniker of “Jane’s Revenge,” across the US. Reports of vandalism to pro-life centers has been reported in Nashville, TN, Raleigh, NC, Hialeah, FL, Overland Park, KN, Madison, WI, St. Paul, MN, and Baton Rouge, LA.

In Worcester, MA, according to a communique posted to Abolition Media Worldwide:

Two fake clinics in Worcester, Massachusetts (Problem Pregnancy and Clearway Clinic) have been attacked. The assholes who lie to vulnerable pregnant people about abortion to confuse them and convince them to not seek abortions discovered this morning that their buildings had been redecorated with paint and broken glass. As others have said, it is fun and easy to attack. As more people discover the joy in attacking the infrastructure of the patriarchy, the attacks will surely continue with increasing frequency.

Defend the Atlanta Forest

The fight to save the Atlanta forest from destruction and stop the construction of ‘Cop City’ continues. Check out a recent message from a tree-sitter here. In early July, a report posted to Scenes from the Atlanta Forest wrote:

This last week, barricades were erected to protect the South Atlanta Forest from police incursions with chainsaws. The north gate was sealed off…with an array of concrete, thick wood, broken glass, & cunning! To make matters worse for the police, a lovely bucket of shit was chained to the gate as well! In conjunction, a banner reading, “Give Up,” was aptly placed on the front of the Barricade to rightfully celebrate the WITHDRAWAL of subcontractor Reeves Young from the Cop City project, as well as what appears to be (but not yet confirmed!) Main contractor Brasfield & Gorie.

Barricades will continue to be constructed as long as the South Atlanta Forest is threatened by cops and is in any danger of clear-cutting to build Cop City. If the cops keep trying to enter the forest on UTV’s with hopes of terrorizing forest defenders, abusing non-human animals, or killing trees with evil tools, they will be consistently met with treacherous roadblocks…

On July 4th, a communique took credit for busting out the windows to a construction firm involved in the cop city project in Springfield, MA and a few days later another report wrote that a larger surveillance post was taken down. The communique read:

…We noticed that police escorted a white work truck with boom lift affiliated with The City of Atlanta to install a very large & approximate 40 foot wooden pole on Key Road near the prison ruins in south Atlanta yesterday, for what appeared to be a high altitude surveillance tower…Us beavers just so happen to LOVE a good hardwood pole, & will surely gnaw down more if you bring them! Thanks for the snack APD! We saved some leftovers for you on the side of the road in what also appears to be a mounting pile of broken surveillance cameras…

In Solidarity with Forest defenders holding it down in the South Atlanta Forest,
The Beaver Gang

Outside of the forest, a chorus of activity continued, with supporters continuing to drop off supplies to tree-sitters, canvas neighborhoods and put up posters, and across the US, drop banners and put up graffiti in solidarity with the campaign. There has also been a widespread speaking tour taking place across the US, so be sure to check out our upcoming events list for more info.

On July 17th, as Atlanta Community Press Collective reported that law enforcement put up concrete barricades and “private property” signs at one of the entrances to the forest, drawing backlash. Lastly, mark your calendars, because there is a week of action to defend the Atlanta forest that kicks off on Saturday, July 23rd. Be sure to follow Scenes from the Atlanta Forest and Defend the Atlanta Forest on social media for more updates.

Upcoming Events

  • July 23rd: Building Power with the Lights Out. Wooden Shoe Bookstore, Philadelphia, PA. More info here.
  • July 23rd – 30th: Week of Action to Defend the Atlanta Forest. More info here.
  • July 25th: International Day of Solidarity with Antifascist Prisoners event, Portland, OR. More info here.
  • July 26th: International Day of Solidarity with Antifascist Prisoners event, MonkeyWrench Books, Austin, TX. More info here.
  • July 29th – 30th: At Dual Power 2022 we want to foster an atmosphere of generative co-learning and co-creativity. We want to connect people and bring them together around shared work. We want to create a space where ideas are exchanged, stories are told, and futures are imagined, in the context of building and maintaining dual power. More info here.
  • July 30th: Buffalo Books Block Party! Buffalo, NY. More info here.
  • August 4th-9th: Earth First! Summer Gathering. North Coast California. More info here.
  • August 6th-7th: Montreal Anarchist Bookfair. More info here.
  • August 13–21st: This August will mark the fourth Institute for Advanced Troublemaking’s (IAT) Anarchist Summer School — eight days of popular education, blending theory and practice, for adults of all ages. Apply by April 22: tinyurl.com/IATapplication
  • August 20th: Rock Against Racism Mutual Aid Benefit Show, Reno, NV. More info here.
  • August 27th – 28th: Philly Anarchy Fair, Philadelphia, PA. More info here.
  • September 3rd (4th Rain Date): Halifax Anarchist Bookfair. More info here.
  • September 10th and 11th: New York City Anarchist Bookfair. La Plaza Community Garden (10th) and virtually (11th). More info here.
  • September 11th: Austin Anarchist Bookfair! More info here.
  • September 11th: Running Down the Walls, Philadelphia, PA. More info here.
  • September 17th: Running Down the Walls, Austin, TX. More info here.
  • September 18th: Pushing Down the Walls, Southern California. Benefit for political prisoners. More info here.
  • September 24th-25th: Victoria Anarchist Bookfair. More info here.
  • October 15th: Radical Atlanta Bookfair. More info here.

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In search of new forms of life. It's Going Down is a digital community center and media platform featuring news, opinion, podcasts, and reporting on autonomous social movements and revolt across so-called North America from an anarchist perspective.

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