Ashanti Alston
Encyclopedia
Ashanti Alston Omowali is an anarchist activist, speaker, and writer, and former member of the Black Panther Party
. Even though the party no longer exists, Alston sometimes refers to himself as a Black Panther, and sometimes as "the @narchist Panther", a term he coined in his @narchist Panther Zine series. He was also member of the Black Liberation Army
, and spent more than a decade in prison after police captured him and he was convicted of armed robbery. Alston, like most anarchists, disputes the moral issues of property and terms his activity in the BLA "bank expropriation". Alston is the former northeast coordinator for Critical Resistance
, a current co-chair of the National Jericho Movement (to free U.S. political prisoners), a member of pro-Zapatista
people-of-color U.S.-based Estación Libre
, and is on the board of the Institute for Anarchist Studies
.
Since 1999, Alston has produced four issues of the zine
, @narchist Panther Zine (the name being a reference to his current affiliation as an anarchist, and his past membership in the Black Panther Party). Alston has identified himself as a black anarchist as well as a postmodern anarchist.
Alston rejects traditional anarchist dogma and says "Every time I hear someone talk about my people as if we are just some 'working class' or 'proletariat' I want to get as far away from that person or group as possible, anarchist, Marxist, whatever" (Beyond Nationalism, but Not Without It). Opponents of this perspective within the Anarchist People of Color
camp insist that opposing authority yet placing the needs of people of color above others represents racism, and that black nationalism
would mean using force to exclude people based on the color of their skin and is utterly incompatible with anarchism. Also pointed out is that one cannot deny a "white nationalism" if one is to have a "black nationalism" and thus it is best that neither exist. While Alston supported a nationalist position in the first issue of his publication, it was a far milder version of the position Lorenzo Kom'boa Ervin
has taken and Alston cannot be seen as totally supporting nationalism or trying to purge anarchism of "non black people".
Alston occasionally speaks at events as diverse as animal rights events and union activist conferences.
Black Panther Party
The Black Panther Party wasan African-American revolutionary leftist organization. It was active in the United States from 1966 until 1982....
. Even though the party no longer exists, Alston sometimes refers to himself as a Black Panther, and sometimes as "the @narchist Panther", a term he coined in his @narchist Panther Zine series. He was also member of the Black Liberation Army
Black Liberation Army
The Black Liberation Army was an underground, black nationalist-Marxist militant organization that operated in the United States from 1970 to 1981...
, and spent more than a decade in prison after police captured him and he was convicted of armed robbery. Alston, like most anarchists, disputes the moral issues of property and terms his activity in the BLA "bank expropriation". Alston is the former northeast coordinator for Critical Resistance
Critical Resistance
Critical Resistance is a national, member-based grassroots organization that works to build a mass movement to dismantle the prison-industrial complex...
, a current co-chair of the National Jericho Movement (to free U.S. political prisoners), a member of pro-Zapatista
Zapatista Army of National Liberation
The Zapatista Army of National Liberation is a revolutionary leftist group based in Chiapas, the southernmost state of Mexico....
people-of-color U.S.-based Estación Libre
Estación Libre
Estación Libre, an activist group founded in 1997, works in solidarity with the EZLN in San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico. It was founded specifically to strengthen "the connections between communities of color with each other and the Zapatista movement."Since, according to Estación...
, and is on the board of the Institute for Anarchist Studies
Institute for Anarchist Studies
The Institute for Anarchist Studies is a non-profit organization founded by Chuck W. Morse following the anarchist-communist school of thought, in 1996 to assist anarchist writers and further develop the theoretical aspects of the anarchist movement...
.
Since 1999, Alston has produced four issues of the zine
Zine
A zine is most commonly a small circulation publication of original or appropriated texts and images. More broadly, the term encompasses any self-published work of minority interest usually reproduced via photocopier....
, @narchist Panther Zine (the name being a reference to his current affiliation as an anarchist, and his past membership in the Black Panther Party). Alston has identified himself as a black anarchist as well as a postmodern anarchist.
Alston rejects traditional anarchist dogma and says "Every time I hear someone talk about my people as if we are just some 'working class' or 'proletariat' I want to get as far away from that person or group as possible, anarchist, Marxist, whatever" (Beyond Nationalism, but Not Without It). Opponents of this perspective within the Anarchist People of Color
Anarchist People of Color
Anarchist People of Color is an American anarchist/anti-authoritarian group created to address issues of race, anti-authoritarianism and people of color struggle politics within the context of anarchism, and to increase/create political space for people of color.Initially started as an e-mail list...
camp insist that opposing authority yet placing the needs of people of color above others represents racism, and that black nationalism
Black nationalism
Black nationalism advocates a racial definition of indigenous national identity, as opposed to multiculturalism. There are different indigenous nationalist philosophies but the principles of all African nationalist ideologies are unity, and self-determination or independence from European society...
would mean using force to exclude people based on the color of their skin and is utterly incompatible with anarchism. Also pointed out is that one cannot deny a "white nationalism" if one is to have a "black nationalism" and thus it is best that neither exist. While Alston supported a nationalist position in the first issue of his publication, it was a far milder version of the position Lorenzo Kom'boa Ervin
Lorenzo Kom'boa Ervin
Lorenzo Kom'boa Ervin is an American writer, activist, and Black anarchist. He is a former member of the Black Panther Party. He has lived in Memphis, Tennessee since 2010.- Youth and early activism :...
has taken and Alston cannot be seen as totally supporting nationalism or trying to purge anarchism of "non black people".
Alston occasionally speaks at events as diverse as animal rights events and union activist conferences.