Going through a mob of people outside and upon entering the Southern California Library the first thing you notice is the entirety of the first floor is filled with Anarchists and Anarchist-curious people wanting to learn more about the movement(s). As you enter you are greeted with a flier which informs the reader, where each event is going to occur. The book fair had three different rooms with events occurring simultaneously.
You are immediately greeted with booths for different organizations dealing with animal liberation, freedoms, protests, anarchy, and so on. Further in there was a booth serving free vegan food. You could donate if you wanted to.
Upon reaching the center is where the seats were to sit down and listen to the speakers or music performances throughout the day. At the far end of the library were books and posters that were being sold for the book fair.
I arrived at the event close to 3 pm, the book fair had already commenced and was in full swing. I came in as Anarchist Rapper Sherman Austin was finishing his performance. He had a great presence and passion to send a message.
After Austin's performance was over Keith McHenry, co-founder of Food Not Bombs, was getting ready to start his speech. He was filled with joy and excitement as he commenced to speak on how the organization got started. He was talking about how he would be able to get the local grocery stores to give produce to his group. With this immense amount of food they were collecting, they would be able to feed hundreds of poor people.
He would continue on saying that the local government and law enforcement would get angry if they fed poor people for free. They would start making laws to not feed over an "x" amount of people at a public area. Policemen would start arresting them for defying them by feeding the hungry. They proclaimed that they were making a political statement, which was stirring up upheaval. This caused an uproar in awareness from people in other cities and states.This essentially caused the movement to spread like wildfire. They later made a book which described the fundamental philosophies of the movement. It also showed how they are able to get produce from grocery stores, how to organize, how to make vegan food, and how to setup to feed the hungry.
He went on describing an event when an immense earthquake occurred that they rushed over to the area where the damages had happened. They setup their camp to start feeding those in need. They assumed that the police would be busy working on other things to preserve order. They were mistaken, they were swamped by all these police cars and policemen. They thought they would be arrested once again, but to their surprise they showed up with plates and utensils. The movement spent that week feeding the victims of the earthquake and the officers who were on duty in that area. They had nowhere else to get food. His eyes lit up with enthusiasm as he spoke about how they were the only source of food during the disaster. That it was a great cause.
He later stated that the movement has no leaders, everyone has an equal voice. He made this distinctly clear, especially when a crowd member had asked. He stated that although he is a co-founder of the movement, it has no significance in terms of power. Everyone has an equal say.
The presentation ended with him presenting a video of the Food Not Bombs movement availing in Nigeria. The video showed the village's excitement and joy, when they were receiving food. How they were working communally to avail one another. It was an amazing video to end the presentation.
In the main room the next event was a musical performance by Aztlan Underground Unearthed (an acoustic expression of Aztlan Underground). Their musical was moving and inspirational. Their sound had an indigenous sound to it. They started off with a slow paced song to set the mood. On most of the songs the drums and the indigenous "recorder" were what attracted you to the performance. The steady beat with the mystical sound was magnificent. The vocalist grabbed your attention with his outspoken words about justice, peace, and equality. The last song they played the vocalist spoke about how it was banned in a state because of its lyrics. He spoke about how the song refers to the indigenous people who were being taken advantage of, but he made it clear it didn't only just refer to that. It meant how everyone needs to be treated equally and no one should be persecuted. An immense message that should be taken seriously. The song had strong drumming elements with strong lyrics and catchy chorus which was engrained in my mind all night "We didn't cross the border, but the borders crossed us!" It was a great end to the performance.
The followup performance was Breezy Rondilone. She played three songs. Her performance was soothing and relaxing. It was amazing to see a child dancing along with every tune she played. Although her performance was brief, it was an amazing sound.
After Breezy's performance, a couple speakers came up.The next two speakers were veterans part of a movement called March Forward! The first speaker was Chris Hellking voicing on how veterans are not content going overseas, since the government knows that the wars are not going to be won. It is just another Vietnam. The following speaker Kevin Baker was speaking about on how to prevent recruiting and what to do to not be sent overseas. He spoke about how a friend and fellow comrade was able to avoid going overseas on the basis of morality. He voice on how he didn't want to fight a war for the rich, when he would be killing other poor people in another country that have nothing to do with their struggle.
Both the speakers basically stated the movement is mostly about helping the people who serve. They are mostly those who feel like they do not have any other option. They are mostly the working class. They want to make sure the service men and women get treated properly during and after their time in the military. They want to get rid of bigotry, racism, sexism, homophobia, and economic struggles.
Once the March Forward! movement speakers concluded, they were followed by Rubén Martínez, Raquel Gutiérrez , and Joe Garcia. These performers did not only just play songs, but also told the story of the anarchist Ricardo Flores Magón. They commenced the story by showing how his ideals and principles are never forgotten. They spoke about how a banner was waiving proudly at L.A.'s Solidarity Park with the phrase "Tierra y Libertad" (translated Land and Liberty), over100 years after Ricardo Flores Magón's time.
They went on telling his story, speaking of how he was treated as a terrorist because of his outspoken voice against the dictatorships in Mexico. He was exiled and he would write to his significant other and spoke about how he had only two loves, the lover for her and the revolucion (revolution).
They told the story of Ricardo Flores Magón beautifully. Every time a major emphasis of his life was mentioned they would play their instruments and sing along. It was moving, and captivating. They ended with an upbeat song. They covered Woody Guthrie's "All You Fascists." Great way to the end the night.
Other events that occurred throughout the day were Matt Hart's presentation of the History of the L.A. Anarchist Movement, and a presentation by the Occupy L.A. General Strike Preparation Committee. There was also a workshop called Security Culture 101, which was hosted by Jordan Ezell who strives for total liberation of humans, animals, and the earth. Also hosted by Shannen Mass who speaks on various aspects of radical politics.
Another event in the book fair was Viva la Viva! Live foods for Life by Sirenita del Mar. It was a workshop showing you what to do on a raw food diet. You learn how to stay away from highly processed foods and embrace the organic fruits and vegetables.
There was also a p-aren't workshop. Rebecca Trotzky hosted this event. She is a family doctor, health justice advocate, member of RAC, and a single mother. She spoke about raising children and responsibility. Alongside this workshop there was also an event hosted by Kevin Baker and Mike Prysner who were speaking against the military recruitment in our schools and communities.
Those were the other events occurring in the other rooms, while I was in the main room.
Some informational links from the L.A. Anarchist Book Fair.
http://www.occupymay1st.org/
http://livefoods4life.wordpress.com/
March Forward!
http://www.foodnotbombs.net/
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