(Copies of the calendar are available through Into Rebellion Distro)
From: www.certaindays.org
CERTAIN DAYS 2012: COINTELPRO – REPRESSION AND RESISTANCE, THEN AND NOW
Featuring amazing artwork and writings from Aric McBay, The Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid, Claude Marks, David Gilbert, The Denver Anarchist Black Cross, Emily Kantar, Favianna Rodriguez, Fireworks Graphic Collective, Gerald and Maas, Herman Bell, Jesus Barraza, Jihad Abdulmumit, Josh MacPhee, Kara Sievewright, Kevin ‘Rashid’ Johnson, Lynne Stewart, Ojore Lutalo, We Are The Crisis Collective, the RNC 8, Safiya Bukhari, Santiago Armengod, Shannon Willmott, Supporters of John Graham, Tim Groves and Tom Manning.
The term COINTELPRO has become synonymous with the ‘tricks of the trade’ of state repression: surveillance of organizations and individuals, the use of infiltrators and informants, frame-ups, harassing or disproportionate use of the legal system, and outright physical attacks.
While the term is widely used to describe repression of liberation movements, at least in North America, the history of the actual COINTELPRO program – its details and the lessons to be learned from it – remain relatively unknown.
Recently, we have witnessed growing awareness of state repression of radical organizing in North America, although it is difficult to judge to what extent repression is actually increasing, and to what extent this reflects the success of the work to expose it. Certainly since September 11, 2001, the state has new tools – and new social license – to go after social movements and marginalized sectors of the population alike, perhaps comparable to the Red Scare climate of the 1950s, when COINTELPRO was conceived of.
In some ways, this is to be expected. Effective movements beget repression. That being said, resisting this backlash – directly fighting back (rhetorically, legally, physically, but also via a more general resilience) – is fundamental to the survival of liberation movements.
In the wake of the repression associated with the summer 2010 G20 meeting Toronto, with several cases of infiltration in both the US and Canada coming to light in recent years, and with ongoing legislative changes giving government increasing power to surveil and disrupt us, the time seemed ripe to remind ourselves of the legacy of COINTELPRO, and resistance to it.
In putting together the Certain Days calendar, we always aim for a realistic balance between bringing to light social injustice and the challenges we face, and the inspiring work done to meet these challenges. It is important to speak of repression – to share examples so that we might learn from each others’ experiences, and see the patterns and trends in the state’s approach. But it is impossible to do so without also being struck by the many contemporary and historical examples of resistance. We hope that the information gathered in this year’s calendar can help teach the difficult lessons we need to learn to weather the storm and also provide the inspiration we need to do so.
Certain Days is a fundraiser. The proceeds from Certain Days 2011 will be divided among these groups:
* THE FREEDOM ARCHIVES
* THE NEW YORK STATE TASK FORCE ON POLITICAL PRISONERS
* ADDAMEER
THE FREEDOM ARCHIVES is a vital resource for documenting, preserving and promoting the history of radical movements. The archives contains over 10,000 hours of audio and video tapes chronicling the progressive history of the Bay Area, the United States, and international solidarity movements from the late 1960s to the mid-1990s.
The collection includes weekly news/poetry/music programs broadcast on several educational radio stations; in-depth interviews and reports on social and cultural issues; diverse activist voices; original and recorded music, poetry, original sound collages; and an extensive La Raza collection. The Archives features speeches of movement leaders and community activists, protests and demonstrations, cultural currents of rebellion and resistance. This oral history is available in a searchable database and the public can download programs and clips. The Freedom Archives is also committed to producing media to educate about the injustices of mass and political imprisonment as well as shedding light on the long history of resistance and liberation. freedomarchives.org
THE NEW YORK STATE TASK FORCE ON POLITICAL PRISONERS is dedicated to winning the release of political prisoners in New York prisons. All but one of these seven prisoners are past members of the Black Panther Party and Black Liberation Army and have spent about 30 years in prison. The Task Force includes representatives of the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, New Afrikan Liberation Front, Jericho Movement and Resistance in Brooklyn.
ADDAMEER Prisoners Support and Human Rights Association is a Palestinian non-governmental, civil institution which focuses on human rights issues (Addameer is Arabic for conscience). Established in 1992 by a group of activists interested in human rights, the center’s activities focus on offering support for Palestinian prisoners, advocating the rights of political prisoners, and working to end torture through monitoring, legal procedures and solidarity campaigns. addameer.org
