On Saturday March 19th I will be at the Charlottesville Anarchist Bookfair at Random Row Books with the Wingnut Anarchist Collective, tabling with our zines and books for sale. I will also be doing a presentation on my book The South is Still Rising.
More about this exciting event here:
On March 2nd at 5pm I will be doing a book reading and signing at Chop Suey books in Carytown. If you haven’t picked up a copy of The South Is Still Rising yet, this is your opportunity.
I will be presenting on the Tent City Occupation of Monroe Park in 1998 by the General Strike Anarchist Collective.
The South is Still Rising: Contemporary Radical and Anarchist Movements in Richmond, Virginia from 1994-2004
The South is Still Rising explores the little known story of radical organizing in Richmond, Virginia in terms that Mo’s mom can understand. This story is contextualized in both within the history of Richmond and within the history of radical activism on a national and global scale.
The South is Still Rising reveals the things going on in the old capital of the Confederacy that are not played up in the media, and that many folks don’t get a chance to find out about. This is your window into a better understanding of what is actually going on in the South.
A new type of Southern Pride. A history that includes the resistance to racism, sexism, capitalism, and more.
Hope to see you there!
My book, The South Is Still Rising Contemporary Radical and Anarchist Movements in Richmond, Virginia from 1994-2004, is finally printed!P and L Printing, an anarchist and IWW collective in Denver, Colorado printed the book for me.
It is 266 pages. Maroon cover, perfect bound.
I am selling it for 12 bucks a copy.
Plus shipping if you ain’t from around these parts. If anyone has a bookstore or infoshop and wants to buy multiple copies to sell there, PLEASE DO! We are trying to start a whole bunch of new projects at The Wingnut and could really use the financial support.
From the back cover:
The South is Still Rising explores the little known story of radical organizing in Richmond, Virginia in terms that Mo’s mom can understand. This story is contextualized in both within the history of Richmond and within the history of radical activism on a national and global scale.
The South is Still Rising reveals the things going on in the old capital of the Confederacy that are not played up in the media, and that many folks don’t get a chance to find out about. This is your window into a better understanding of what is actually going on in the South.
A new type of Southern Pride. A history that includes the resistance to racism, sexism, capitalism, and more.
You can send 12 bucks plus 2 bucks for S+H to PO Box 6025 Richmond, VA 23222 for a copy. I might adjust the S+H price if it ends up being very different.
This is a section in my upcoming book, The South is Still Rising. If it doesn’t totally make sense out of context it is because they are parter of a much larger piece about activism and anarchism in Richmond.
But I figured, given the current situation in Monroe Park, and the campaign to keep it open throughout renovations, it might be good to get the information out, and show people that the park has been occupied before.
Tent City
One of the bigger events organized by the General Strike Collective was a Tent City in Monroe Park in 1998. “It was in the late spring of ‘98 that the collective decided unanimously to propagandize and organize a four day takeover of Monroe Park in the form of a tent city aimed at exposing VCU’s ongoing meddling in the homeless community and rapidly increasing gentrification of the Carver Community just North of the main artery of the campus” (Wells 89). Tactics the group used in organizing involved planning sessions, alliance building, fliering campaigns, and street work. The entire summer gave the group time to organize and strategize.
The event was scheduled to start Friday August 28 at noon, and continue through until Monday morning, August 31 (DOC T). This event was radical, noteworthy, and combines many of the subjects which activists in Richmond have organized around. It shows the potential scope of radical activism in Richmond, and it also shows some of the potential pitfalls of such activism.
A Tent City is “where any large group of individuals gather in a single location and utilize it as a temporary living quarter in protest of an oppressive entity”(DOC T). Described by General Strike, the Tent City in this instance was “a non-violent, direct action approach to exposing injustice in this society” (General Strike Oct./Nov. 1998). Tent cities have occurred around the world. They are in some ways associated with the homeless in general. Some of them are more political in purpose, where as others are more survival based- people form tent cities because they have no where else to go. The Tent City in Richmond was of the more political variety, and less about providing a place for people to live for any significant amount of time.
General Strike advertised about the Tent City in a couple of ways. Word of mouth was important, and they talked to people in the park during Food Not Bombs on Sundays about the plan. A flier advertising the event was created, titled in “Monroe Park Tent City” (DOC T). It also featured a photo of a man in a business suit with a briefcase walking by the words “Smash Capitalism” spray painted on a wall. The content of the flier, including the image, show the political leanings of the event, and reveal the radicalism behind it. “Why does this concern you? It is quite simple really. It is the age-old theory of not waiting until the problem is upon your door and there is no one left to fight for youཀ V.C.U.’s ongoing development and gentrification has affected thousands of Richmond’s citizens and it is just a matter of time before you are all that is left…” ( DOC T).
Ideas from an Anarchist in Richmond, Virginia 
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