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Anarchism and The Black Revolution and Other Essays
An analysis of white supremacy vs the black struggle and what African-Americans should do next in three parts: the American government, the best argument for anarchism; a draft proposal for an Anarchist Black Cross Network.
153 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1994
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
January 20, 2021
Read this as part of the Black Anarchism Reader, and it put into words a lot of the challenges I've navigated, and helped me think about my own shortcomings, in grassroots organizing work. Ervin critiques both the white left that seeks to build class consciousness without race consciousness, and the liberal-left that seeks to build race consciousness without class consciousness. He also critiques Marxism-Leninism for working to overthrow existing state power by *taking* state power, rather than eliminating systems of domination.
After working on 8 to Abolition, I saw some critiques online that even the reforms that we proposed would maintain (and even reinforce) state power. My logic has been that we can chip away at the state through abolitionist reforms in order to make it easier to dismantle carceral systems, but I have spent the past few months listening, reading, and interrogating that logic. I've always known that even reforms I've worked toward, like the decriminalization of sex work, most benefit those who are least marginalized within the sex trades. Like Ervin writes, "While winning reforms, in many cases primarily for white workers only, these white radicals have yet to topple the system and open the road to social revolution." I've always reiterated while working on the decrim campaign(s) that Black trans and queer street-based sex workers would still be targeted under new or different laws, and that it was more important to create opportunities to give money directly to workers & change their material conditions, but I also have believed that ending the criminalization of sex work would take away one tool used to target and criminalize marginalized people. Reading this made me further question/interrogate the value of any legislative strategy at all, and reinforced for me that the more important work is political education of communities and meeting people's material needs.
Ervin proceeds to offer ideas for what movements could look like that don't involve negotiating with the state for policy wins - boycotts, rent strikes, squatting, survival programs, and new institutions that are controlled by the community. Rather than using the legislative system to defund, disarm, and demilitarize the police, Ervin writes, "Perhaps this can be done after a rebellion or insurrection drives them out, or perhaps they will have to be driven out by a street guerrilla force, like the Black Liberation Army tried to do in the 1970s."
Ervin closes by describing the different types of anarchisms to help folks understand that there isn't one single way to be an anarchist, and then brings the text home by explaining why he is an anarchist and how his anarchism is connected to anti-imperialism and Black liberation.
This short text is incredibly comprehensive in many ways - and yet I didn't love the section about the reasons people sell and use drugs, because it felt unnecessary and somewhat judgmental, and I also would have loved to see a deeper analysis of the experience of homelessness beyond referring to it as "just the most intensified form of unemployment," but mostly it felt like Ervin was trying to cover everything in a short text, and for the most part, nailed it.
After working on 8 to Abolition, I saw some critiques online that even the reforms that we proposed would maintain (and even reinforce) state power. My logic has been that we can chip away at the state through abolitionist reforms in order to make it easier to dismantle carceral systems, but I have spent the past few months listening, reading, and interrogating that logic. I've always known that even reforms I've worked toward, like the decriminalization of sex work, most benefit those who are least marginalized within the sex trades. Like Ervin writes, "While winning reforms, in many cases primarily for white workers only, these white radicals have yet to topple the system and open the road to social revolution." I've always reiterated while working on the decrim campaign(s) that Black trans and queer street-based sex workers would still be targeted under new or different laws, and that it was more important to create opportunities to give money directly to workers & change their material conditions, but I also have believed that ending the criminalization of sex work would take away one tool used to target and criminalize marginalized people. Reading this made me further question/interrogate the value of any legislative strategy at all, and reinforced for me that the more important work is political education of communities and meeting people's material needs.
Ervin proceeds to offer ideas for what movements could look like that don't involve negotiating with the state for policy wins - boycotts, rent strikes, squatting, survival programs, and new institutions that are controlled by the community. Rather than using the legislative system to defund, disarm, and demilitarize the police, Ervin writes, "Perhaps this can be done after a rebellion or insurrection drives them out, or perhaps they will have to be driven out by a street guerrilla force, like the Black Liberation Army tried to do in the 1970s."
Ervin closes by describing the different types of anarchisms to help folks understand that there isn't one single way to be an anarchist, and then brings the text home by explaining why he is an anarchist and how his anarchism is connected to anti-imperialism and Black liberation.
This short text is incredibly comprehensive in many ways - and yet I didn't love the section about the reasons people sell and use drugs, because it felt unnecessary and somewhat judgmental, and I also would have loved to see a deeper analysis of the experience of homelessness beyond referring to it as "just the most intensified form of unemployment," but mostly it felt like Ervin was trying to cover everything in a short text, and for the most part, nailed it.
August 21, 2020
Is this a well written series of essays? No. It reads at approximately a grade 6 level and is ridiculously repetitive for the total length of the collection and could seriously use an edit. Are the ideas interesting and important? 100%. Decades before the term intersectionality was coined and popularized, he was arguing against white supremacy and for class consciousness and collectivity. Some real seeds of resistance within this collection that should be honoured and remembered 40 years later, as one of the few black voices (that I have come across) pushing for mutual aid and anarchism.
January 8, 2022
I know I just mentioned Noname in my previous review, but I also found out about this book from her and the Noname Book Club. S/o to them again.
This book was a great reminder of how much more there is I have to learn about different leftist political analyses. Some chapters are much better than others. I imagine that it's incredibly difficult to update a book four separate times (as this is the fourth edition). With that, there were moments I was confused as to when certain passages were written. For example, some sentences made it seem as if the Republican Tea Party during the Obama Administation were currently in effect: "Now predictably, these gains are being threatened by the rise of racist conservative movements like the Tea Party" (p. 84).
On the topic of prison abolition, I felt like there were contradictions at times. "We Black Anarchists need to... fight against mass prison slavery as well as the abolition of prisons generally" (p. 12). Yet on page 145, there is a calling to "jail corrupt corporate insider traders or racketeers." There are a few other punitive mentions such as this. The third chapter, Anarchism and the Black Revolution, could have benefited from a greater analysis of accountability and/or transformative justice in libertarian socialist communities.
This book was a great reminder of how much more there is I have to learn about different leftist political analyses. Some chapters are much better than others. I imagine that it's incredibly difficult to update a book four separate times (as this is the fourth edition). With that, there were moments I was confused as to when certain passages were written. For example, some sentences made it seem as if the Republican Tea Party during the Obama Administation were currently in effect: "Now predictably, these gains are being threatened by the rise of racist conservative movements like the Tea Party" (p. 84).
On the topic of prison abolition, I felt like there were contradictions at times. "We Black Anarchists need to... fight against mass prison slavery as well as the abolition of prisons generally" (p. 12). Yet on page 145, there is a calling to "jail corrupt corporate insider traders or racketeers." There are a few other punitive mentions such as this. The third chapter, Anarchism and the Black Revolution, could have benefited from a greater analysis of accountability and/or transformative justice in libertarian socialist communities.
December 5, 2021
This is the definitive guide on how to achieve Black liberation via the creation and development of “Anarchist Socialism”—a stateless, self-governing, socialist entity. Black Anarchism is about radical collective self-reliance. Anarchism, more generally, is defined as “libertarian socialism” where the government and state does not exist.
I appreciate how directly and clearly Ervin laid out his beliefs pertaining to Black liberation, libertarian socialism, anti-imperialism, anti-capitalism, anti-racism, and anti-statism. However, Ervin admits that he has not yet formulated a precise model for a future anarchist society. That ambiguity can be frustrating to grapple with as the book proceeds. Nevertheless, Ervin makes clear that revolutionary Black Anarchism is all about building alternatives and exercising “dual power.” In doing so, Anarchist communes (called “affinity groups”) will be able to break the dependency on capitalism and other state forms, paving the way for total liberation.
Ervin goes to great lengths in not only displaying his anti-capitalism, but in demonstrating the real differences between libertarian socialism (i.e “Anarchist Communism” or just “Anarchism”), and Marxist-Leninism / Maoism. As Ervin notes, Anarchists reject Marxists-Leninist notions of the Vanguard Party, Democratic Centralism, and the Dictatorship of the Proletariat, contending that each of these practices give way to authoritarian and oppressive power dynamics. Instead, Anarchists believe in real direct democracy and bottom-up self rule. Ervin further notes that while Marxists seek political revolution to replace capitalist statecraft with socialist statecraft, Anarchists seek social revolution to abolish statecraft and all its systems of domination all together. Social revolution empowers the masses of people, while political revolution only empowers the few.
Ervin’s definition of the “state” and “government” is fascinating. The state is a sociopolitical abstraction—hierarchical in nature—designed to entrench and protect the interests of a defined ruling class. The government is the vehicle of the state, and can be divided into (1) the entities empowered and authorized to use “legitimate” coercive force, and (2) the entities tasked with administering, implementing, and carrying out the law. The government is designed to be the buffer group between the ruling class (capitalists), and the masses.
Interestingly (but not surprisingly), Ervin expresses serious hostility to Black Nationalism. He contrasts “Black Autonomy”—the Black revolutionary Anarchist project—with Black nationalism, explaining that the former does not seek the development of a Black nation-state (whether in America or abroad), nor does it seek to exclude non-Blacks from the fold. While there are some virtues in this humanistic worldview, it also smacks of naivety. Also, the notion that Black Nationalists are “race determinists” simply because they want a safe place to build Black sovereignty free from the terrors of anti-Blackness is both illogical and divorced from history. Ervin merely dismisses Black Nationalism as a replication of state oppressions without even addressing whether Anarchism and Black Nationalism might actually be reconcilable. Similarly, I would have like to have seen a more in-depth analysis of the compatibility (or lack thereof) of Anarchism and Pan Africanism. Ervin plainly states that Pan Africanism is “reactionary” because it relies on state forms organization and collapses class distinctions into a single category of “Blackness.” However, he later states that Black Anarchism via social revolution is the path to “Black unity and freedom,” thus showing that he understands the necessity of Pan African unity. Ervin seems to sell Pan Africanism a short, framing it in the same one-sided and “statist” manner as he does Black Nationalism.
Despite the above critiques, this is an extremely important book. It adds to the rich literature on Black liberation, and Ervin’s personal history as a solider in the struggle shines bright and demands respect in itself.
I appreciate how directly and clearly Ervin laid out his beliefs pertaining to Black liberation, libertarian socialism, anti-imperialism, anti-capitalism, anti-racism, and anti-statism. However, Ervin admits that he has not yet formulated a precise model for a future anarchist society. That ambiguity can be frustrating to grapple with as the book proceeds. Nevertheless, Ervin makes clear that revolutionary Black Anarchism is all about building alternatives and exercising “dual power.” In doing so, Anarchist communes (called “affinity groups”) will be able to break the dependency on capitalism and other state forms, paving the way for total liberation.
Ervin goes to great lengths in not only displaying his anti-capitalism, but in demonstrating the real differences between libertarian socialism (i.e “Anarchist Communism” or just “Anarchism”), and Marxist-Leninism / Maoism. As Ervin notes, Anarchists reject Marxists-Leninist notions of the Vanguard Party, Democratic Centralism, and the Dictatorship of the Proletariat, contending that each of these practices give way to authoritarian and oppressive power dynamics. Instead, Anarchists believe in real direct democracy and bottom-up self rule. Ervin further notes that while Marxists seek political revolution to replace capitalist statecraft with socialist statecraft, Anarchists seek social revolution to abolish statecraft and all its systems of domination all together. Social revolution empowers the masses of people, while political revolution only empowers the few.
Ervin’s definition of the “state” and “government” is fascinating. The state is a sociopolitical abstraction—hierarchical in nature—designed to entrench and protect the interests of a defined ruling class. The government is the vehicle of the state, and can be divided into (1) the entities empowered and authorized to use “legitimate” coercive force, and (2) the entities tasked with administering, implementing, and carrying out the law. The government is designed to be the buffer group between the ruling class (capitalists), and the masses.
Interestingly (but not surprisingly), Ervin expresses serious hostility to Black Nationalism. He contrasts “Black Autonomy”—the Black revolutionary Anarchist project—with Black nationalism, explaining that the former does not seek the development of a Black nation-state (whether in America or abroad), nor does it seek to exclude non-Blacks from the fold. While there are some virtues in this humanistic worldview, it also smacks of naivety. Also, the notion that Black Nationalists are “race determinists” simply because they want a safe place to build Black sovereignty free from the terrors of anti-Blackness is both illogical and divorced from history. Ervin merely dismisses Black Nationalism as a replication of state oppressions without even addressing whether Anarchism and Black Nationalism might actually be reconcilable. Similarly, I would have like to have seen a more in-depth analysis of the compatibility (or lack thereof) of Anarchism and Pan Africanism. Ervin plainly states that Pan Africanism is “reactionary” because it relies on state forms organization and collapses class distinctions into a single category of “Blackness.” However, he later states that Black Anarchism via social revolution is the path to “Black unity and freedom,” thus showing that he understands the necessity of Pan African unity. Ervin seems to sell Pan Africanism a short, framing it in the same one-sided and “statist” manner as he does Black Nationalism.
Despite the above critiques, this is an extremely important book. It adds to the rich literature on Black liberation, and Ervin’s personal history as a solider in the struggle shines bright and demands respect in itself.
January 15, 2015
This dude needs an editor in the worst way. Ervin presents his ideas from the perspective that Blacks in America are doubly oppressed, once as workers, and again because of their superior tans. He maintains that no social revolution can take place before white supremacy is defeated. His background is interesting and he does offer a unique framework for his ideas, but it is difficult to read because of typos and bad grammar. I'm one of those people who doesn't believe in a "proper English", but there were times where I would get stuck trying to contextually derive his meaning from some fragment that made no sense.
Glad I read it, would talk about the ideas, would not recommend.
Glad I read it, would talk about the ideas, would not recommend.
December 2, 2021
I actually began slowly meandering through a previous edition of this book many months ago. I had an ebook on my phone that I would dig into when I was out and about and didn't have another book handy. I wasn't far in when Anarchism and the Black Revolution: The Definitive Edition was released, so I grabbed a copy and switched over to that. The newest edition includes some extras: "...an interview with writer and activist William C. Anderson, as well as new essays, and a contextualizing biography of the author's inspiring life," making it worth revisiting even if you have read another version in the past.
As one can tell from the title and the blurb, this book merges together anarchism and Black liberation. It should go without saying that they shouldn't need to be merged because they are part of the same thing. Unfortunately, though, the reality that occurs as a result of a large majority of white people organizing: there is a critical need to carve out a space for Black people that is created and filled by Black people. Ervin is not just critical of white supremacy when it governs the actions of white people, including anarchists, though. He also has strong criticism of organizations like The New "Black Panthers," whose hierarchical structures make them unfit to use the name. He also discusses the unfortunate results of oppression such as when the oppressed turn their pain on one another through violence and other harms and offers solutions to deal with such phenomena.
What struck me most about this book while reading both the previous version and the new one is just how relevant everything in it remains. I am aware of the whole, "oppression doesn't disappear, it only changes shape," adage (though I always forget who a similar quote should be attributed to.) So, I won't say I am surprised necessarily that everything still applies. Yet, it is still striking to read Lorenzo Kom'boa Ervin's assessments, and especially his predictions, and realize that they all were true and/or came true.
Another thing that makes this book standout aside from the subject matter itself is just how detailed Ervin's suggestions and guidelines are for creating a better world. They are also wonderfully ambitious. Many anarchist texts that end up being "how-to's" of sorts regarding the larger implementation of living in an anarchist world tend to focus more on smaller community structures. Ervin definitely does this. But, he also calls for international solidarity- an anarchist planet full of cultures and societies that organize among themselves as well as together across the globe. The idea is so daunting, but it makes sense. When one is left asking how it would even be possible, Ervin maps out various strategies and the importance of the methods in detail.
There are some things with room for improvement- I think that Ervin focuses a lot on the general ideas of race and class for good reason. I think he could have gone more into misogynoir, sexuality, disability, etc. There are also some parts that show Ervin's hubris. This is especially evident in the interview at the end of the book, but in a couple of other places as well. Ervin states that no one likely would have known about Black anarchism had he not written this book and that he was the only Black anarchist during the civil rights era. Aside from the fact that any claim that someone is the only one of something or the only source of information should be met with suspicion, Ervin himself credited Martin Sostre for introducing him to anarchism and claimed he still didn't become one until the 70s. Some people also mention Lucy Parsons coming long before any of them, but it can be argued that her avoidance of the topics around racial justice does not make her a good comparison. I am not sure what prompted him to change his story in these ways, or if there is a misunderstanding on my part, but it was a strange move while calling for an anti-authoritarian worldwide movement of cooperation and solidarity.
Nonetheless, this book was and remains a critical part of any reading list for those interested in justice and liberation. I especially encourage those who are involved in racial justice, but who do not identify as anarchists or who see anarchism as a white movement, to give this book a shot. I think that when you give yourself an essay or two, you won't be able to put it down.
This was also posted to my blog.
As one can tell from the title and the blurb, this book merges together anarchism and Black liberation. It should go without saying that they shouldn't need to be merged because they are part of the same thing. Unfortunately, though, the reality that occurs as a result of a large majority of white people organizing: there is a critical need to carve out a space for Black people that is created and filled by Black people. Ervin is not just critical of white supremacy when it governs the actions of white people, including anarchists, though. He also has strong criticism of organizations like The New "Black Panthers," whose hierarchical structures make them unfit to use the name. He also discusses the unfortunate results of oppression such as when the oppressed turn their pain on one another through violence and other harms and offers solutions to deal with such phenomena.
What struck me most about this book while reading both the previous version and the new one is just how relevant everything in it remains. I am aware of the whole, "oppression doesn't disappear, it only changes shape," adage (though I always forget who a similar quote should be attributed to.) So, I won't say I am surprised necessarily that everything still applies. Yet, it is still striking to read Lorenzo Kom'boa Ervin's assessments, and especially his predictions, and realize that they all were true and/or came true.
Another thing that makes this book standout aside from the subject matter itself is just how detailed Ervin's suggestions and guidelines are for creating a better world. They are also wonderfully ambitious. Many anarchist texts that end up being "how-to's" of sorts regarding the larger implementation of living in an anarchist world tend to focus more on smaller community structures. Ervin definitely does this. But, he also calls for international solidarity- an anarchist planet full of cultures and societies that organize among themselves as well as together across the globe. The idea is so daunting, but it makes sense. When one is left asking how it would even be possible, Ervin maps out various strategies and the importance of the methods in detail.
There are some things with room for improvement- I think that Ervin focuses a lot on the general ideas of race and class for good reason. I think he could have gone more into misogynoir, sexuality, disability, etc. There are also some parts that show Ervin's hubris. This is especially evident in the interview at the end of the book, but in a couple of other places as well. Ervin states that no one likely would have known about Black anarchism had he not written this book and that he was the only Black anarchist during the civil rights era. Aside from the fact that any claim that someone is the only one of something or the only source of information should be met with suspicion, Ervin himself credited Martin Sostre for introducing him to anarchism and claimed he still didn't become one until the 70s. Some people also mention Lucy Parsons coming long before any of them, but it can be argued that her avoidance of the topics around racial justice does not make her a good comparison. I am not sure what prompted him to change his story in these ways, or if there is a misunderstanding on my part, but it was a strange move while calling for an anti-authoritarian worldwide movement of cooperation and solidarity.
Nonetheless, this book was and remains a critical part of any reading list for those interested in justice and liberation. I especially encourage those who are involved in racial justice, but who do not identify as anarchists or who see anarchism as a white movement, to give this book a shot. I think that when you give yourself an essay or two, you won't be able to put it down.
This was also posted to my blog.
Read
November 28, 2025it took me a while to finish this not because it is not important but because, too me, it felt a bit repetitive. i understood it is because initially the book were just a collection of leaflets, however i think with the revision and the gathering of it all in one single book it could have benefited from some tailoring on that.
as a starting point for those beginning to read about black anarchism (and already know what anarchism is!) this book is exactly that starting point -as it intends to be. the author writes a story of how black people have in their best interests to organise and revolt against the state, going back to centuries of transatlantic slave trade and ending in today's police violence and the prison industry.
i felt the need for it to explore a bit more in detail the 'how' you put into practice some of the ideas in the book, but I guess that was not the intention here.
i read a version revised and published in 2021. it is interesting to read a version of this book that begins around the 60s and includes movements like the BLM and the influence of COVID 19 in our politics and economic systems (and Trump). the changes are clear, but it is also clear what has not changed and should've.
this version also includes an interview with the author that states what for me was lacking in the book: the recognition that yesterday's tactics no longer work in today's world and that we need to collectively not only built political theory that is up to date with our current reality but also political action that recognises were we stand and how we live now.
as a starting point for those beginning to read about black anarchism (and already know what anarchism is!) this book is exactly that starting point -as it intends to be. the author writes a story of how black people have in their best interests to organise and revolt against the state, going back to centuries of transatlantic slave trade and ending in today's police violence and the prison industry.
i felt the need for it to explore a bit more in detail the 'how' you put into practice some of the ideas in the book, but I guess that was not the intention here.
i read a version revised and published in 2021. it is interesting to read a version of this book that begins around the 60s and includes movements like the BLM and the influence of COVID 19 in our politics and economic systems (and Trump). the changes are clear, but it is also clear what has not changed and should've.
this version also includes an interview with the author that states what for me was lacking in the book: the recognition that yesterday's tactics no longer work in today's world and that we need to collectively not only built political theory that is up to date with our current reality but also political action that recognises were we stand and how we live now.
July 18, 2022
A very good book. Many many intros, re-intros. Basic practical advice on how to think about politics. For a book of this type is has a practical angle that comes from years of struggle and seeing things fail. Not surprised it is not very popular on this site. Meeting people's material needs in a way that centered Black independence without capitulating to the Democratic Party's cooption of Black power is sure to piss off just about everyone (Marxists, anarchists, politicos) but the core of the argument in solid.
My criticism are all stuff that one should expect if they know the author and their context. He dedicates a lot of time to criticize the model of Soviet top-down state communism, a model that was hegemonic in his day but today, outside of few fringe circles, lacks support. There is a conceptual slippage between the author's support of "reorienting state money into economic development and community services controlled by Black people" and his criticism of the Black political class, who would argue this is exactly what they have been trying to do over the past 50 years.
Hammering out specifics around what makes the reforms the community control advocates did "selling out" and what he is advocating should be the core of this book, or a future book, but this book would not get the same kind of publicity because that's an internal Black political conversation and books like this only matter to the academy and white leftist media if they hit on some tenants of white political theory and dogma. The nuances of things like the failure of community control and Black lives matter require EXTENSIVE SPECIFIC study, not just lumping them together with flipent dismissals based upon a few online articles, which is what it feels like the author does. It is too easy just to lump all previous Black political action as not really worth taking seriously because look at how messed up our community is. If you don't study their mistakes you end up repeating them, which is what I feel the author does with the focus on squats and community assemblies. The author seems unaware that people have been trying these tactics and they have not led to revolutionary changes. Having some in-depth empirical analysis of the limitations of these tactics would be useful, but they fit too perfectly into the author's notion of "the sellouts would NEVER get THIS radical..and that's how you know this is good".
The logistics of just these two actions are INCREDIBLY complex and beg SERIOUS questions as to how you relate to government money, philanthropic money, and how you build with (and or against) established Black political classes. We need time and space for Black people to have these conversations in depth, not just throw them around as political gotchas that prove the illegitimacy of your least favored political class.
It's clear to me the failure of Black power is an emotional trauma those who lived through it can never forgive or forget. What our generation desperately needs is some sort of objective analysis of what worked, what failed, why did it fail, what were the larger conditions and how to take these lessons in the future. What we get too often are superficial analyses that, whether they be Marxist, feminist, nationalist, or pan Africanists, chalk the failures up to the personal failings of the leaders rather that putting those actions in this larger context. I get it, Karenga was an asshole, but can we talk about community control, Black power and Black nationalism with some small degree of objectivity to see what are the useful lessons in institution building. The answer seems, over and over again, to be, 'NO, we can't, I am too angry and hurt but what I saw, felt, and saw to ever not indict an entire political theory for the actions of a few men.' This makes me very sad and is a massive scholarly failure for our people.
We're on the brink of losing the elders who were there on the ground when these critical events happened and I just hope somehow someway we find ways to transmit this knowledge down to another generation so that those who seek it out can try to learn from these lessons.
My criticism are all stuff that one should expect if they know the author and their context. He dedicates a lot of time to criticize the model of Soviet top-down state communism, a model that was hegemonic in his day but today, outside of few fringe circles, lacks support. There is a conceptual slippage between the author's support of "reorienting state money into economic development and community services controlled by Black people" and his criticism of the Black political class, who would argue this is exactly what they have been trying to do over the past 50 years.
Hammering out specifics around what makes the reforms the community control advocates did "selling out" and what he is advocating should be the core of this book, or a future book, but this book would not get the same kind of publicity because that's an internal Black political conversation and books like this only matter to the academy and white leftist media if they hit on some tenants of white political theory and dogma. The nuances of things like the failure of community control and Black lives matter require EXTENSIVE SPECIFIC study, not just lumping them together with flipent dismissals based upon a few online articles, which is what it feels like the author does. It is too easy just to lump all previous Black political action as not really worth taking seriously because look at how messed up our community is. If you don't study their mistakes you end up repeating them, which is what I feel the author does with the focus on squats and community assemblies. The author seems unaware that people have been trying these tactics and they have not led to revolutionary changes. Having some in-depth empirical analysis of the limitations of these tactics would be useful, but they fit too perfectly into the author's notion of "the sellouts would NEVER get THIS radical..and that's how you know this is good".
The logistics of just these two actions are INCREDIBLY complex and beg SERIOUS questions as to how you relate to government money, philanthropic money, and how you build with (and or against) established Black political classes. We need time and space for Black people to have these conversations in depth, not just throw them around as political gotchas that prove the illegitimacy of your least favored political class.
It's clear to me the failure of Black power is an emotional trauma those who lived through it can never forgive or forget. What our generation desperately needs is some sort of objective analysis of what worked, what failed, why did it fail, what were the larger conditions and how to take these lessons in the future. What we get too often are superficial analyses that, whether they be Marxist, feminist, nationalist, or pan Africanists, chalk the failures up to the personal failings of the leaders rather that putting those actions in this larger context. I get it, Karenga was an asshole, but can we talk about community control, Black power and Black nationalism with some small degree of objectivity to see what are the useful lessons in institution building. The answer seems, over and over again, to be, 'NO, we can't, I am too angry and hurt but what I saw, felt, and saw to ever not indict an entire political theory for the actions of a few men.' This makes me very sad and is a massive scholarly failure for our people.
We're on the brink of losing the elders who were there on the ground when these critical events happened and I just hope somehow someway we find ways to transmit this knowledge down to another generation so that those who seek it out can try to learn from these lessons.
Read
June 7, 2024crucial reading
Want to read
July 15, 2022Recommended to us by the Massy Books ghost in Vancouver— as I was checking out my big stack, the ghost knocked this over! A great radical comrade.
January 5, 2017
Rebellious & revolutionary as the author sound, this writing lacked a great deal of coherence. They were a lot of contradictions throughout the writing.
1. The fact that Anarchism means freedom can't be compatible with the dreamy structure that the author expressed. Anarchism is meant to be a non-structural organization.
2. In one of his sentences, the author deliberately admitted to the so-called fact of "the rise of the cost of living"... But if the Capitalist scheme is destroyed, how will this rise keep on going? Isn't the basic purpose of Anarchism to form a stable market place.
3. Anarcho-Communism tends to be Marxist, any Marxist or Socialist movement eventually converts to be Authoritarian except the Great Givara's revolution. Castro's reign is the nearest example.
Most of the ideas presented potential practicality, however, the over-exaggerated cry of Black oppression & the intention of getting "fair" turned the piece into a revenge plot rather than a social reform call.
Enjoyed reading the book & would definitely recommend reading it.
1. The fact that Anarchism means freedom can't be compatible with the dreamy structure that the author expressed. Anarchism is meant to be a non-structural organization.
2. In one of his sentences, the author deliberately admitted to the so-called fact of "the rise of the cost of living"... But if the Capitalist scheme is destroyed, how will this rise keep on going? Isn't the basic purpose of Anarchism to form a stable market place.
3. Anarcho-Communism tends to be Marxist, any Marxist or Socialist movement eventually converts to be Authoritarian except the Great Givara's revolution. Castro's reign is the nearest example.
Most of the ideas presented potential practicality, however, the over-exaggerated cry of Black oppression & the intention of getting "fair" turned the piece into a revenge plot rather than a social reform call.
Enjoyed reading the book & would definitely recommend reading it.
September 12, 2025
“I am not here to save America or anarchism as a white radical movement. I am one of the gravediggers of capitalism, of which there are millions more born and fighting each day. Black anarchism is part of the Black radical tradition.”
This book is lethal. It is a fist. A fist to Marxist-Leninist-Maoist thought. A fist to democratic centralism, vanguardism and authoritarianism. A fist to reformist, state-accommodating demands and electoral politics. A fist to Eurocentrism and white supremacy in organizing spaces. And a fist to the nation-state.
These past two years felt like Marxist-Leninist, Maoist, Abolitionist, Black Radical and Decolonial thought have been clashing in my mind. And now Anarchism has just entered the chat.
Anarchism feels like the truth no one wants to swallow. It feels like the pill organizers don’t wanna take. There’s a reason the Marxist-Leninists (MLs) shit on them and it’s because they stay exposing the MLs.
Anarchists are the homies that tell you the straight, unfiltered truth, and are gonna hurt your feelings. They give you the run down on how these socialist states, leaders and organizations operate. Thank them later.
Anarchists believe in the abolition of the instruments of exploitation: the state and capitalism. Decentralized, non-hierarchical organizations and free associations.
Anarchism is libertarian socialism as opposed to authoritarian socialism or democratic socialism.
No government, no state, no capitalism, no centralized power. Classless society. No authoritarian rulers.
This book covers the different strands of anarchism and clears up misconceptions on anarchist organizing. It feels like everything I’ve read up to this point has just been thrown out the window.
When it comes to theory, read widely.
Master different organizing styles.
This book is lethal. It is a fist. A fist to Marxist-Leninist-Maoist thought. A fist to democratic centralism, vanguardism and authoritarianism. A fist to reformist, state-accommodating demands and electoral politics. A fist to Eurocentrism and white supremacy in organizing spaces. And a fist to the nation-state.
These past two years felt like Marxist-Leninist, Maoist, Abolitionist, Black Radical and Decolonial thought have been clashing in my mind. And now Anarchism has just entered the chat.
Anarchism feels like the truth no one wants to swallow. It feels like the pill organizers don’t wanna take. There’s a reason the Marxist-Leninists (MLs) shit on them and it’s because they stay exposing the MLs.
Anarchists are the homies that tell you the straight, unfiltered truth, and are gonna hurt your feelings. They give you the run down on how these socialist states, leaders and organizations operate. Thank them later.
Anarchists believe in the abolition of the instruments of exploitation: the state and capitalism. Decentralized, non-hierarchical organizations and free associations.
Anarchism is libertarian socialism as opposed to authoritarian socialism or democratic socialism.
No government, no state, no capitalism, no centralized power. Classless society. No authoritarian rulers.
This book covers the different strands of anarchism and clears up misconceptions on anarchist organizing. It feels like everything I’ve read up to this point has just been thrown out the window.
When it comes to theory, read widely.
Master different organizing styles.
June 25, 2023
In many ways, Ervin presents an interesting take on the promises of an explicitly-Black anarchism or as he calls it: libertarian-socialism. From rejecting the state and all its participation entails (e.g. voting and election) to rejecting capitalism as a global system (e.g. imperialism and consumerism), there is a lot to digest when it comes to how we approach more radical world building.
At the same time, some of Ervin's meditations collapse in on themselves and even offers uncritical lenses on deviance (e.g. drug dealing). In the first case, Ervin points to how Black communities must carve themselves out of U.S. jurisdictions, reject vanguard parties, and remain suspicious of police and hierarchy. But not too long after, Ervin will call for the prosecution of corrupt cops, place trust in administrative bodies meant to address communal needs, and even call for community-controlled police. In the second case, he seems committed to castigating/removing drug dealers and saying that those prone to violence may have mental deficiencies.
Even on its third edition (Pluto Press, 2021), it's clear this book is still a product of its time. But, these contradictions become difficult to square after a certain point and somewhat undermine its revolutionary potential once you see how Ervin does make an attempt to update his analysis with recent events while leaving other claims untouched and, ironically, counter-revolutionary.
At the same time, some of Ervin's meditations collapse in on themselves and even offers uncritical lenses on deviance (e.g. drug dealing). In the first case, Ervin points to how Black communities must carve themselves out of U.S. jurisdictions, reject vanguard parties, and remain suspicious of police and hierarchy. But not too long after, Ervin will call for the prosecution of corrupt cops, place trust in administrative bodies meant to address communal needs, and even call for community-controlled police. In the second case, he seems committed to castigating/removing drug dealers and saying that those prone to violence may have mental deficiencies.
Even on its third edition (Pluto Press, 2021), it's clear this book is still a product of its time. But, these contradictions become difficult to square after a certain point and somewhat undermine its revolutionary potential once you see how Ervin does make an attempt to update his analysis with recent events while leaving other claims untouched and, ironically, counter-revolutionary.
August 31, 2020
I'm partly sympathetic to the cause but am not sold on the overly militaristic application in some places, particularly in regards to how policing should be applied to communities that break local ethical rules (ie, "we should by sympathetic to drug dealers up to a point, but after that, they get the bullet just like the exploiting class does"). On the other hand, the macro-level analysis is on point and the awesome simplicity of a post-racial and classless society referring to one another as North Americans rather than as white or Black will haunt me for a long time.
December 24, 2024
devoured this in one go and feel like this is a book i’ll have to sit on for a while, i’ve been told it’s somewhat surface level so i feel that if i deepen my knowledge on the subject as a whole i could come back to this and feel even stronger about it than i do now.
despite my entrance level understanding of the topic it really has made me think, i enjoyed it and will definitely do more research.
despite my entrance level understanding of the topic it really has made me think, i enjoyed it and will definitely do more research.
February 24, 2022
As one of my classmates said about this book, “how are you gonna talk about the Sandinistas and not mention the Contras???”
A great book that broadened my Marxist training/background and pushed my thinking. One star off for really lazy critiques of “authoritarianism” see: never mentioning the embargo when critiquing Cuba, the example above…
A great book that broadened my Marxist training/background and pushed my thinking. One star off for really lazy critiques of “authoritarianism” see: never mentioning the embargo when critiquing Cuba, the example above…
October 10, 2022
I enjoy reading a contemporary update to a text that continues to influence black political organizing and movement building. The thinking on harm reduction, the sexual economy, and their utility in black revolutinary community deserves more attention. I can think of strategies that weren't explored in the book that will be helpful for communities to consider.
January 5, 2024
While it can get a tad repetitive and might not be the most polished collection of these ideas, they’re all still very much worth reading as too often anarchism doesn’t directly address how to best help The Black Community, both in America and the world in general, the way this group of essays does, so for that and Ervin’s clear passion for this world view, it’s definitely worth checking out.
July 16, 2023
This is essential Anarchist reading for anyone interested in the political movement and organizing. It is easy to read and an incredible condemnation of capitalism, colonialism, white supremacy, and statism.
January 10, 2021
Very informative read that's not tedious to get through. A must-read for those who want to understand anarchy.
January 28, 2024
I think this book is full of details, it's like a manual, step by step and what to do. Its the best book if you really want to change the world and make it a better place.
2025-finished
January 6, 2025Be ungovernable!
June 28, 2022
i realized i didn’t know much about anarchism as a political and social theory. this book is def a good introduction. written very easy to read and straight forward, with lots of responding to alternate perspectives, it’s a good book to gain a wider perspective on the diff poli, social, and economic theories!!
i ♥️ lorenzo kom’boa ervin and i ♥️ black anarchism
i ♥️ lorenzo kom’boa ervin and i ♥️ black anarchism
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January 22, 2024This was a mixed bag for me. Some very good parts, some confusing ones and some questionable ones.
• The second and last essays, “Capitalism and Racism” and “Pan-Africanism or Intercommunalism?” were very informative. The second in particular.
• The core, titular essay less so. This is partly due to most of it dealing with organizing in poor black communities and me being a WT. So I don’t feel I can comment on it much.
• I will say that the segment on drugs seems a little outdated (Lorenzo wrote it in ‘79). It just seems like he wants a different war on drugs. He also says some stuff about the US government being behind most organized drug dealing in America. I have no idea if that’s true but since he doesn’t really use citations it sounds a bit conspiratorial imho. That being said, this is a small segment so I’m being nit picky.
• Some of Lorenzo’s statements seem to contradict each other, leaving me confused as to what his opinion is (or maybe I’m just misunderstanding). Like when he uses ”militant” as a positive term but also says to “reject militarism”, or when he talks about not waiting for the state to fix things/not rely on the state but also how we need to make demands of the government. In “Pan-africanism or inter communalism” he clearly thinks of the UN as a waste of time (with good reason of course) but in ‘Black Revolution’ he says we must “hold international tribunals to expose the role of the US government in pushing drugs in our communities”. You could argue that he doesn’t mean the UN, but in that case I’m not sure who is holding the tribunals. I think he could be more clear about these things.
• Overall his approach to things is way too Organizationalist for my liking. Indeed, in “anarchism defined” Individualist Anarchism seems to be confused with mutualism/market “anarchism”, but this book isn’t a primer on the various sister ideologies under the Anarchy umbrella, so I forgive him for that mistake.
• The biggest criticism I could make is that the US is given too much importance. I understand that Lorenzo is from the US and that his analysis focuses on it, but it sometimes feels as though if he thinks that the US us the only country we have to worry about, like if it were gone, the rest of the world would fix themselves overnight or something.
• My edition contains a fairly recent interview with Lorenzo which is overall a great addition to the book, but he says he ”was the only Black Anarchist in the USA and even other parts of the world for years, actually decades”. That just doesn’t seem like it could possibly be true and even if it were, how could he possibly know? He‘s extremely important to the history of Black Radicalism to be sure, but it sounds like it’s gone to his head.
• The second and last essays, “Capitalism and Racism” and “Pan-Africanism or Intercommunalism?” were very informative. The second in particular.
• The core, titular essay less so. This is partly due to most of it dealing with organizing in poor black communities and me being a WT. So I don’t feel I can comment on it much.
• I will say that the segment on drugs seems a little outdated (Lorenzo wrote it in ‘79). It just seems like he wants a different war on drugs. He also says some stuff about the US government being behind most organized drug dealing in America. I have no idea if that’s true but since he doesn’t really use citations it sounds a bit conspiratorial imho. That being said, this is a small segment so I’m being nit picky.
• Some of Lorenzo’s statements seem to contradict each other, leaving me confused as to what his opinion is (or maybe I’m just misunderstanding). Like when he uses ”militant” as a positive term but also says to “reject militarism”, or when he talks about not waiting for the state to fix things/not rely on the state but also how we need to make demands of the government. In “Pan-africanism or inter communalism” he clearly thinks of the UN as a waste of time (with good reason of course) but in ‘Black Revolution’ he says we must “hold international tribunals to expose the role of the US government in pushing drugs in our communities”. You could argue that he doesn’t mean the UN, but in that case I’m not sure who is holding the tribunals. I think he could be more clear about these things.
• Overall his approach to things is way too Organizationalist for my liking. Indeed, in “anarchism defined” Individualist Anarchism seems to be confused with mutualism/market “anarchism”, but this book isn’t a primer on the various sister ideologies under the Anarchy umbrella, so I forgive him for that mistake.
• The biggest criticism I could make is that the US is given too much importance. I understand that Lorenzo is from the US and that his analysis focuses on it, but it sometimes feels as though if he thinks that the US us the only country we have to worry about, like if it were gone, the rest of the world would fix themselves overnight or something.
• My edition contains a fairly recent interview with Lorenzo which is overall a great addition to the book, but he says he ”was the only Black Anarchist in the USA and even other parts of the world for years, actually decades”. That just doesn’t seem like it could possibly be true and even if it were, how could he possibly know? He‘s extremely important to the history of Black Radicalism to be sure, but it sounds like it’s gone to his head.
June 7, 2024
Straightforward defense of anarcho-communism from a Black Autonomy perspective. Ervin's fascinating life gives him a lot of street cred. He's quite effective at critiquing both the authoritarian right and Statist Marxist-Leninist/Maoist left. He's less effective at convincing me that his small affinity group/commune, completely non-capitalist direct democracy anarchism is any better, or that it could be maintained with any less coercion. It sounds as if Ervin wants small communities where everything is directly controlled by the people in face-to-face democracy, then sending members to represent at higher federations. But of course, why wouldn't these local communitarian enclaves perpetuate all the racist, misogynist, homophobic, xenophobic, and fundamentalist crap they always have in the past? Ervin says these evils wouldn't be permitted---well if someone is going to deny permission for something, doesn't that mean they're going to apply coercion? I am an anti-authoritarian anarchist---being coerced into conformity by the democratic vote of my neighbors is not going to make such oppression any more palatable to me. Giving my HOA complete control of every aspect of my life is my idea of hell. I think communitarian anarcho-communists are extroverts who have a visceral need to be part of an extended family or clan. That's a recipe for the very worst sorts of individual oppression. If families (natural or chosen) were benign, there would be no need for psychologists. I'm an introvert who loves the anonymity of the big city. I'm an individual, a non-conformist, and a contrarian. Ervin is great at showing how pervasive and malevolent coercion is in present society---not so great at assuring me that it wouldn't be just as coercive under anarcho-communism.
This is the 4th "deluxe" extended edition. The text suffers from saying the same thing over and over and over. It's an important fifty-page pamphlet bloated through repetition to four times that length. I would've liked to have seen the added length used to discuss the numerous problematic areas that Ervin glosses over or detailed accounts of how his grassroots community organizing paid off or failed over the years.
This is the 4th "deluxe" extended edition. The text suffers from saying the same thing over and over and over. It's an important fifty-page pamphlet bloated through repetition to four times that length. I would've liked to have seen the added length used to discuss the numerous problematic areas that Ervin glosses over or detailed accounts of how his grassroots community organizing paid off or failed over the years.
August 14, 2023
"The Civil Rights/Black Liberation movement even acted as a catalyst to spread revolutionary ideas and images of liberation and hope of a new society to millions, which coaxed forth the various opposition movements of that period."
As the New Left waned, various members of the BPP and BLA went over from Maoism to anarchism. Ervin masterfully explains what an anarchist movement in the US should look like, and lays out the importance of Black Autonomy, even placing it in the international context as well. While recognizing the drag that middle-class reformers have had on the Black struggle, Ervin certainly does not give up on it, insisting on its key importance in the US social structure. Real change will have to emerge from grassroots direct action movements in the most oppressed, exploited and terrorized urban neighborhoods.
I think it's a shame that part of the US left, seemingly still smarting from the Bernie dream, wants to use valid criticisms of BLM to downplay anti-racism completely, treating the Black middle class as a bigger obstacle to liberation than the white middle class! When a movement brings 20 million people into the streets demanding radical changes to the apparatus of state repression, you would think the left would universally want to build something from that instead of sniping from the sidelines. Ervin's book should be a touchstone for anyone interested in bringing down white capitalist patriarchy.
As the New Left waned, various members of the BPP and BLA went over from Maoism to anarchism. Ervin masterfully explains what an anarchist movement in the US should look like, and lays out the importance of Black Autonomy, even placing it in the international context as well. While recognizing the drag that middle-class reformers have had on the Black struggle, Ervin certainly does not give up on it, insisting on its key importance in the US social structure. Real change will have to emerge from grassroots direct action movements in the most oppressed, exploited and terrorized urban neighborhoods.
I think it's a shame that part of the US left, seemingly still smarting from the Bernie dream, wants to use valid criticisms of BLM to downplay anti-racism completely, treating the Black middle class as a bigger obstacle to liberation than the white middle class! When a movement brings 20 million people into the streets demanding radical changes to the apparatus of state repression, you would think the left would universally want to build something from that instead of sniping from the sidelines. Ervin's book should be a touchstone for anyone interested in bringing down white capitalist patriarchy.
June 4, 2023
This book is an important read, especially for white radicals and anarchists. Lorenzo Kom'boa Ervin connects, at length, the anarchist-communist tradition to the struggle for Black liberation and autonomy. Though I do not agree with every piece of his analysis or prescriptions (see the section on the handling drug dealers), Ervin's perspective is wildly rich, challenging the reader at every turn to think concretely about the world we, as revolutionaries, are trying to build. The book covers many issues, ranging from the pitfalls of Marxist-Leninist theory and practice to the lessons learned from the original Black Panther Party to the organizational structure of a future libertarian socialist society constructed by a liberatory front led by Black autonomists and other working-class POC radicals. At times, the diversity of the subject material comes at the cost of the depth of the discussion of some of the very important, interconnected crises produced by the global system of racial capitalism. At the same time, every word reads with an infectious energy and urgency born out of Lorenzo's personal and organizational experience. He repeatedly emphasizes the importance of books such as these, which ensure that middle-class academics do not monopolize radical analysis and instead encourage organizers to record collective knowledge for future generations committed to liberation.
January 28, 2022
loved a lot of stuff in this book, including the discussion of anarchist ideas (other ideas from an anarchist lens) like the catalyst group, the federation, survival programs, urban organizing, etc without any white, individualist, or overly idealist nonsense. also he has a really compelling and sensible internationalist perspective.
not my business to "rate" the ideas in here but just took off one star bc this edition is repetitive at times and bc he doesnt really cite other people. like i heard from a podcast that Ella Baker was important to how he thinks about things and yet she's never named or discussed. also once in a blue moon he would name individual statistics that weren't cited to anywhere ... ik the original pamphlet is from a long time ago but .... there must be a way to locate those numbers ? anyways im glad i read this book overall and it was quite readable imo
not my business to "rate" the ideas in here but just took off one star bc this edition is repetitive at times and bc he doesnt really cite other people. like i heard from a podcast that Ella Baker was important to how he thinks about things and yet she's never named or discussed. also once in a blue moon he would name individual statistics that weren't cited to anywhere ... ik the original pamphlet is from a long time ago but .... there must be a way to locate those numbers ? anyways im glad i read this book overall and it was quite readable imo
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February 13, 2022Makes the case that white racism against people of color is a product of capitalism, while arguing for an alternative to socialism in the form of self-governing socialism, a sub-genre, let's call it, of anarchism. An updated edition from the original that Ervin wrote while incarcerated in 1979 that was then passed around as a pamphlet; builds off of ideas from Frantz Fanon, who saw the colonized rebelling against the colonizers only to adopt the same system of oppression. It follows then that Ervin is anti-reform. Completely breaking down the nation state is the lone solution from his perspective. His prescription for filling the void that's left over is to organize into federations made up of small, truly democratic groups that also dodge the cults of personality that afflicted earlier revolutionary movements. Overall, this is an illuminating, provocative read.
November 5, 2014
The author describes the usefulness of anarchist principles within the black struggle and revolution. He also talks about where he thinks some of the black struggles in the sixties went wrong or right because of their Marxist-Leninist or grassroots(SNCC) organizational structures and that a more anarchistic non-hierarchical structure would have reduced the problems that came from having central leaderships. He also goes over some of the different forms anarchism can take and explains how he came to be one.
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