Lorenzo Komboa Ervin
American class struggle anarchist, community activist and ex-Black Panther.
Reflection On Doctor King
Lorenzo Komboa Ervin's analysis of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
I am not one of a number of persons and commentators who come merely to hypocritically give salutations to Dr. King, when in their own times, they betray his entire history of activism. In fact, the political establishment present us with a Martin Luther King, who never really existed.
Police Death Squads
Police death squads in American cities are a sign of the times. Every year in the USA anywhere about 800-1,000 persons are killed in police custody. Like the nine people in Detroit this year, Amadou Diallo in NYC, Tiyesha Miller in Riverside, California, and many others whose names we don't know, they were undeniably slaughtered by the police.
Will the Revolution Be Televised?
I was reading a letter from an activist a few days ago about the protests around the Democratic and Republican political conventions this past Summer, and about how the media distorted and covered up everything that happened. Did you know that over 3,000 persons have been arrested since the November 30, 1999 demonstration in Seattle?
Where Was the Support for Lorenzo Komboa Ervin and the Chattanooga 3?
Lorenzo Komboa Ervin is a Black Autonomous Anarchist comrade, and a personal friend of mine, who's been in many struggles throughout his life and has paved many paths for the oppressed. This man was once involved with the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)during the early sit-in campaigns in the South to stop racial segregation and inequality.
Anarchist vs. Marxist-Leninist Thought on the Organization of Society
Historically, there have been three major forms of socialism -- Libertarian Socialism (Anarchism), Authoritarian Socialism (Marxist Communism), and Democratic Socialism (electoral social democracy). The non-Anarchist Left has echoed the bourgeoisie's portrayal of Anarchism as an ideology of chaos and lunacy. But Anarchism, and especially Anarchist-Communism, has nothing in common with this image.
Statement by Lorenzo Komboa Ervin (on his imprisonment in Australia)
I wish to make this statement to the Australian people, and especially to the Black people of this country. It will probably be my last statement as I shall have been forced out of the country or held incommunicado at an undisclosed prison in another part of Australia, a place where my attorneys will not be able to freely visit me.
Authoritarian Leftists: KILL THE COP IN YOUR HEAD!
It's difficult to know where to begin with this open letter to the various European-american leftist (Marxist-Leninist and Marxist-Leninist-Maoist, in particular) groups within the United States. I have many issues with many groups; some general, some very specific. The way in which this is presented may seem scattered at first, but I encourage all of you to read and consider carefully what I have written in its entirety before you pass any judgements.
Who's Buying Up All the Black Funeral Homes?
I was talking to a funeral home director in Georgia recently who told me something that shocked me, and I am sure, will shock you too.
Think you know who owns your local Black community funeral home? Think again. It's probably owned by a large multinational corporation, instead of a Black family like in the past. A shadowy group of billionaire white businessmen from British Columbia called the *Loewen Group* owns 30-60% of all the Black funeral homes in America (and over 1,500 funeral homes and cemeteries in all). The Loewen Group is the #2 largest mortuary company in the world, with assets in the billions of dollars, made eating the flesh of our dead.
It's Racism Stupid!
In one of my columns about racial profiling and the Michigan police, a white "radical" wrote in "chastising" me about referring to this form of police harassment as "Driving While Black", since he said that he as a white male had on occasion been stopped by the cops himself because of his "long hair." He also went on to say that I should concentrate on "class politics", instead of "mere racial issues." Since I didn't want to answer him in a personal letter, frankly didn't have the inclination to engage in this discussion with yet another smug white middle class "radical", I decided to do it in my column.
Brutality Canada: On Racial Profiling and the Michigan State Police Report
A couple of weekends ago, the Southwest Michigan Coalition Against Racism and Police Brutality conducted a community workshop in Kalamazoo on racial profiling. From the questions that followed after my presentation, one thing that stood out is that although we hear about all these terms in the media like "driving while Black", "police brutality","racial profiling", most of us don't really know what all this means.
