SOUTHSIDE CHICAGO ARA'S OFFICIAL REPORTBACK ON DAY OF ACTION

Here is a broader report from Southside Chicago Anti-Racist Action on their activities on July 31. As it is they did a lot more than just embarass the local Nazis. There was some outreach and performances that everyone took advantage of and it looks like a good time was had by all!  By the way it was good to see that Anarchist People of Color (APOC) are still out and about in the Windy City, so mad props go out to them! Chicago is one of the few places we hadn’t visited during our little spring fling about the country, so hopefully this fall we will be able to make it out there.

Southside Chicago ARA

Chicago-area anti-racist organizations came together for the July 31st Day of Action Against Racism and Fascism, organizing a variety of actions and events.

During the day, South Side Chicago ARA hosted a meet-and-greet barbecue event with like-minded anti-racists. We ate awesome vegan food, played games, and distributed literature. In attendance were members from Bring The Ruckus, North Side ARA, Four Star Anarchist Organization, Iowa City’s Wild Rose Collective, and a handful of other anti-racists and antifas. After the barbecue, folks supported a local punk show benefitting Anarchist People of Color (APOC) and tabled with literature and “Know Your Illinois Nazis” posters.

Additionally, we released detailed personal information on several Illinois area nazis including members of the National Socialist Movement(NSM) and “White Boy Society”, reminding them that they will no longer be able to organize and spread their hate in secrecy. (View the updated “Know your Illinois-Area Nazis” poster). In the week prior to the 31st, we also flyered the neighborhoods of several nazi scum to inform their neighbors of their involvement in hate groups.

On July 29th, members of ARA participated in a national day of action against SB1070 and rallied at Cook County Jail, where hundreds gathered to demand a moratorium on deportations. Cook County Jail has frequently been found violating prisoner’s human and civil rights resulting in numerous lawsuits and criminal investigations, and is also the major place in Chicago where ICE and local police collaborate to deport immigrants using “immigrant holds”.

Other Chicago revolutionary groups participated in the July 31st Day of Action by organizing several actions throughout the day. In the morning, members of Four Star Anarchist Organization distributed flyers and spoke with community members near the CVS at 26th and Pulaski where Anthony Kyser, an unemployed person of color and father, was murdered by the hands of a CVS manager for stealing crayons and toothpaste while a Cook County Jail Correctional Officer (CO) pointed a gun at Kyser. In the evening, members from Bring The Ruckus flyered Rogers Park informing neighbors about Soren Renner, a white supremacist who lives in the area and actually spotted and confronted the creep while he was slinking around the Heartland Cafe.

Finally, we also released a zine documenting much of the work we’ve done over past year. We hope that this publication will start alarger discussion in strategizing ways we can more effectively combat all forms of oppression in our city.

We are satisfied about how folks came together in Chicago for the Day of Action – both taking the offensive against known white supremacists while also organizing against broader forms of racist injustice in society. We are also excited to hear reports coming in from other ARA chapters about how their actions went . We expect great things throughout the year.

Fascists beware, we are here to stay. Always on the prowl, South Side ARA!