John Brown Anti-Klan Committee

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John Brown Anti-Klan Committee
AbbreviationJBAKC
Formation1978-ca. 1990
TypeRadical left
PurposeOpposition to white supremacy and US foreign policy
Location
  • United States of America

The John Brown Anti-Klan Committee (JBAKC) was an

Puerto Ricans, and Mexicans to be oppressed colonial peoples.[1]

The JBAKC was started in 1978 by a group of white anti-racist activists with ties to the

prisons.[1] The JBAKC soon had chapters in several states, but was most active in New York City, Chicago, and San Francisco.[2] The group promoted itself by distributing fliers at punk rock concerts, and was supported by benefit concerts from punk bands like the Dead Kennedys, The Contractions, and Dirty Rotten Imbeciles.[3][4]

The JBAKC shared members with several other radical groups active at the time, and some have claimed that it was a

May 19th Communist Movement.[5]

Publications

In 1980, the John Brown Anti-Klan Committee distributed a pamphlet entitled "Take a Stand Against the Klan", which outlined the group's "Principles of Unity":

  1. Fight White Supremacy in All Its Forms! Death to the Klan! Support the Struggle of the Black Nation for Self-Determination! Support the Struggle to Free the Land!
  2. Follow Black and Other Third World Leadership
  3. Support the Struggle of Third World People for
    Human Rights
    ! Oppose White Supremacist Attacks!

The John Brown Anti-Klan Committee published a quarterly national newsletter, originally called Death to the Klan, and later renamed No KKK, No Fascist USA!. The paper had a circulation of 10,000 and focused on issues such as the racist nature of tracking in schools, homophobia, and political prisoners.[1] The New York chapter also published a local newsletter called Up South. In 1991 the JBAKC released a video about fascism and anti-fascism in the US entitled Behind the Burning Cross: Racism USA.[2]

Protests

Flier distributed by the JBAKC Los Angeles chapter in 1984

The JBAKC directly confronted white supremacists when they held rallies, and the confrontations sometimes became violent. In 1983 the group worked with the

neo-Nazis held a demonstration to mark "White Pride Day".[7]

When a group of KKK members protested at a

Gay Pride Parade in Chicago in 1986, they were met by counter-demonstrators from JBAKC and another anti-racist group. A crowd of around 2,500 Klan supporters chased the anti-Klan groups, leading to 17 arrests and minor injuries to eight police officers.[8]

In addition to confronting white supremacists, the John Brown Anti-Klan Committee also took a stand against what they saw as police brutality. In 1983, 20 members of the Los Angeles chapter demonstrated outside the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department to protest the shooting of a five-year-old black boy by a white police officer from the Stanton Police Department. The protesters passed out a pamphlet headlined "Stop Killer Cops!" and claimed that the officer overreacted because he felt threatened being in a black community. A police spokesperson claimed that the child had waved a realistic toy gun at the officer.[9]

As part of their effort to challenge white supremacy, the group worked to clean up

Jewish-owned businesses across Germany were vandalized. The vandalism was attributed to William G. Leinberger, a member of the neo-Nazi group Chicago Area Skin Heads.[10]

Despite their work opposing certain forms of antisemitism, not all Jewish groups supported the John Brown Anti-Klan Committee. At two California anti-Klan rallies, the JBAKC were confronted by protesters from the Jewish Defense League (JDL), who accused the group of antisemitism for their strong positions against Zionism. JDL spokesman Irv Rubin said of the Committee, "They hate Israel with a passion".[11][12] The Anti-Defamation League also criticized the JBAKC, claiming that the organization "actually promotes racism and advocates organized violence."[5] The JBAKC, for its part, referred to Zionism as "the enshrinement of white supremacy," accused Zionists of "work[ing] with the Klan and other white supremacist groups," and asserted that there was no inherent opposition between "Zionism and Nazism."[13]

Bombings

Between 1982 and 1984 a group of radical activists planted a string of bombs at military, government, and corporate targets along the

U.S. Capitol and two military targets during the bombing campaign.[17][18]

Footnotes

  1. ^
    ISBN 0-674-02352-8
    .
  2. ^ a b "U.S. Left-Wing Militant Anti-Fascist History V. 1". Insurgence Records Discussion Forums. Archived from the original on 2013-12-29. Retrieved 2007-11-28.
  3. ^ "Mike's Old School Punk Rock Garage Sale". Retrieved 2007-11-26.
  4. ^ Gattesman, Les (June 1984). "The Klan: The Face of Amerikkkan Fascism" (PDF). Maximum Rocknroll (14). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-07-05. Retrieved 2008-01-16.
  5. ^ a b "Adherents.com". 2007-04-23. Archived from the original on October 21, 2003. Retrieved 2007-12-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  6. ^ "Police Chief Says Anti-Klan 'Hoodlums' Caused Klan Rally Violence". Associated Press. 1983-02-24.
  7. ^ "3 Demonstrators Released". The Washington Post. 1983-11-07.
  8. ^ "Klan Violence Recalls King Era". Associated Press. 1986-06-29.
  9. ^ "no title". Associated Press. 1983-03-07. {{cite news}}: Cite uses generic title (help)
  10. ^ "Man Charged in Anti-Semitic Vandalism". Associated Press. 1987-11-14.
  11. ^ "Marchers Harassed by Militant Jews". Associated Press. 1983-10-29.
  12. ^ "Police Avert Clash Between JDL and Jackson Supporters". Associated Press. 1984-07-17.
  13. ^ Evelyn Torton Beck, "Next Year in Jerusalem?", in Nice Jewish Girls: A Lesbian Anthology (Watertown: Persephone Press, 1982), p. 194
  14. ^ "Bombings may be work of a single group". United Press International. 1984-09-27.
  15. ^ Rowley, James (1990-09-07). "Three Leftists Plead Guilty to Bombing the U.S. Capitol". Associated Press.
  16. ^ Gamino, Denise (2001-04-08). "Unrepentant Radical; Freed from prison by President Clinton". Austin American-Statesman.
  17. ^ Seppy, Tom (1985-02-12). "Judge finds four in contempt in bombing probe". Associated Press.
  18. ^ "Two men found in contempt in bombing probe". The Washington Post. 1985-06-29.
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