January 13th 2022
The Blast: What name would you like to go by today? And what organization are you affiliated with?
Darruti: At the moment I prefer to go by the name Darruti, which was affectionately given to me.
The organization that I associate with today is the Black Autonomy Federation.
The Blast: Is there anything that’s forcing you from being as honest today as you would like to be?
Darruti: I’m pretty much up front with everything, except for the obvious things that would incriminate other people or myself.
The Blast: Have you been in any other groups prior to the Black Autonomy Federation?
Darruti: Yes, the Industrial Workers of the World and south Chicago Anarchist Black Cross.
The Blast: Were you part of any authoritarian groups prior to these?
Darruti: When I was young, when I was a kid, I had no guidance, no paternal guidance. I didn’t have a father that lived with me, even though I respect him. And my mom, she was shot when I was ten. She’s a recovering quadriplegic, paralyzed from the neck down, but recovery still happened when I was 10. So I didn’t really have any guidance.
The street organizations, a street organization took me in when I was a kid, when I was 15, and showed me the ways of streets with things not to do, with things to do, how to socialize because I grew up as an only child. So I was involved with that. And then I evolved from that as well and became introduced to philosophy. Where being in the street organization introduced me to the ways of the street, philosophy introduced me to the avenues of the mind.
And that was another evolution. And it was more egalitarian in nature because it dealt from a more holistic viewpoint than a mere struggle for survival, which is understandable, in a lot of ways.
The Blast: Is this when you joined the Black Autonomy Federation?
Darruti: I joined the Black Autonomy Federation in 2012, beginning of 2012, and if not, December 2011. I was already conscious. The light bulb was already on from the literature, the zines and handwritten correspondence I received from a person who distros zine publications. And from that, through that resource, I’ve gained immense integrity within myself.
I was suicidal at the time before I was introduced to anarchism. I didn’t know what it meant, what it was about or anything. I thought it was about like white folks and craziness or whatever, like just a lot of folk in the hood, just so in America. So having this kind of new awareness vivified me. I became wide awake. That was several years before my becoming a member of the Black Autonomy Federation.
The Blast: How do you think anarchism must or should develop in Illinois or the Midwest?
Darruti: Organically. I think it should start where the person is rooted at the very moment and see what they could make themselves able to water the flower bed of resistance. There’s places everywhere we look at where help could be facilitated. Everyone has potential. And in the Midwest, in particular, there’s potential that’s not seen in places on the east, in the East Coast of the United States.
So I believe being that places such as Chicago, Kansas City, Missouri, and different places, you know, throughout the Midwest have an awareness already with the living legacy, spanning back to the Haymarket Martyrs in the 1800s and everything.
I think that education should be fed to low income communities, in the no income communities, and to the community of Self, within people, for people to nurture themselves with the vitriolic food that was raised through grassroots resistance since the time of the Haymarket Martyrs to Lucy Parsons, who was a co-founder of the IWW in 1905. Also having a working-class understanding which involves an acknowledgement and educational resource, which spans through many different facets throughout the Midwest. I think it’d be beneficial if people re-internalize and spread the knowledge and encouragement and upliftment that other people have found before our generation.
The Blast: If a Black compa[1] wanted to learn about the Black Autonomy Federation and they lived here in the Midwest, where should they reach out? What if they’re elsewhere in the USA? Where should they reach out? And what if they’re outside of the USA?
Darruti: Well, that’s a great question and because there’s a lot of people that are interested in getting involved. People can get involved with the Black Autonomy Federation by going on Facebook. You could google “Black Autonomy Federation”. You could also contact
South Chicago ABC Zine Distro
Attn: BAF Chicago Local Organizing Committee
PO Box 721
Homewood, IL 60430
The Blast: For Black compas who might reach out is there any sort of internal preparation that they should do before reaching out? Is there any sort of like internal reflection or transformation or any sort of internal readiness that they should do before they reach out?
Darruti: It’s basically just a human, open-armed invitation to gather together the lost people who feel lost in this world, Black compas who feel lost in this world and don’t really know where to reach out to. Where there’s authoritarian organizations at different places, where there’s hierarchies and top-down decision makings and all that, there’s no real feeling of a round table relationship, you know.
A Solidarity Circle is a key thing to envision when picturing what it would be like to be in the Black Autonomy Federation. It’s all on the level. You could just talk as you are, come as you are. It don’t matter who you are, what you done did. As long as you’re not a police officer, you’re welcomed to come and check us out.
And if you are a police officer whose conscience is getting to you, seeing all the stuff that’s going on, how racial inequities pervade amerikan life, how for every one houseless person there are five habitable units here and the violence of poverties intersecting with these racist and class realities, it’s my hope you see the logic in, for example, the Paris Commune in 1871 when the defenders of the oppressive French government took off their badges and acknowledged the sovereignty of the People, arms now pointing in the direction of the People’s destroyers.
So you know, it’s different. No matter what walk of life you come from, you can change, you have the ability to change, to be the ideal self that you desire to be. You could be houseless, you could be someone who used to, who is sick of gang banging, you could be someone who wants more out of life, to want to leave a legacy that’s more fulfilling to you than the one that you would have left if you would have continued living your former existence. You could be someone who’s in solitary confinement, you could be someone who’s a quadriplegic, paralyzed from the neck down. There’s a place for you.
We need thinkers. We need people who are gifted with talents that are unacknowledged and exploited when they are. If you don’t mind, I’ll read the this. I usually go around with Let’s Organize The Hood Black Autonomy Federation leaflets recruiting, and it’s being met with considerable reception.
The ideas of the present Let’s Organize the ‘Hood (Black Autonomy Federation) go back to 1994, when the Black Autonomy Collective was created in Atlanta, Ga., by seven Black college students and five community activists. The collective soon spread to ten other cities in the U.S. and Canada and eventually involved several hundred people.
We believe that poor and working class people of African descent are the ones who can free us–not traditional civil rights leaders or politicians. Our first loyalty is to poor and working class Black people because that is who we are, but we defend the rights and liberties of working class people of all nationalities. We want a revolution by the poor against the rich.
Our local Chicago organizing committee is part of what is called a “federation.” A federation is a mass membership organization in which each member has an equal say in running the organization. There is no single “leader” or group of “leaders” in our organization. The membership is the leadership!All members work in their local chapters. The larger federation helps us to coordinate widespread strategy and tactics with each other and the people in each community in which we work.
Who Are We?
1. We are advocates for Black revolution worldwide.
Unlike some other activist groups on the scene today, we are not satisfied with fighting for hand-outs or reforms. We don’t believe that African and non-white workers in the U.S. or anywhere in the world will receive their freedom under capitalism. We work toward building a social and economic system in which all land and machinery is held in common and all goods and services are produced and distributed based on the needs of the community–not the profits of a boss, corporation or “socialist” state. We utilize many methods to achieve this end while at the same time defending the minimal rights of workers and poor people.
2. We are opposed to politicians.
We believe in the total liberation of all people from all oppressive social conditions in workplaces, in schools, in the ‘hood, and in our cities. Not only do we fight against the oppression of the Black community by the white power structure and those who support it, but also against the oppression of governments over people. It is for these reasons that we see no good in government. It is the government which is keeping us in prison and in poverty.
Poor and working class people are capable of running our own affairs. No so-called “leader” or politician has superior knowledge over us or anyone else.
Our opposition to Authority is what we call The Philosophy of Black Autonomy, which guides our thoughts and actions.
3. We organize poor people.
We believe that it is Black poor people and working class people who have nothing to lose and who can change things–not middle class leaders or politicians. The Black Autonomy Federation is a Black working class and poor people’s organization. We work toward building a society run by today’s “homeless,” “pimps,” “whores,” “gangstas,” “welfare moms,” “low income elderly,” “laborers,” “at-risk youth,” and “permanently unemployed”– basically anyone who does not benefit from living in the so-called “land of the free.”
We Need You
Black Autonomy Federation is always looking for talented people to join our organization and represent they hood. We are open to all people of African ascent. I say “ascent” because it’s about being on the rise, it’s about rising above. So instead of descent, you know, I actually prefer the word African “ascent”.
The Blast: So how should non-Black people support the BAF if there is a local in their area? And how should they support when there isn’t a local in their area?
Darruti: Oh, well, thanks for asking. Non-Black people, compas and people in general can support by first of all, studying and taking these things in consideration. You know, whether it’s sipping a coffee at your kitchen table, whether you find yourself looking for something to read on a train or in a bus, check out these things.
And when you do, or if you do, feel encouraged to assist in our projects, for example, such as the erecting of liberation schools in the poor ghettos, such as here on the south side of Chicago, or anywhere else, it could be anywhere, a ghetto in Kansas City, anywhere. It could be a ghetto in any state or from anywhere. If you could support, if you could spread the word to radical presses that there’s an organization for poor Black folks who feel dejected and marginalized in this world, a place where they could gravitate toward at least a breath of fresh air, while at the same time exercising their creative abilities and becoming the ideal self that they desire becoming.
In the process it helps other individuals evolve as well, you know. I evolve when I read of other resistances, you know, being Black, white, Brown, you know, when I read of people making revolutionary changes, the have nots of the world, the people who suffer from mistakes that they’ve made, being in whatever situation they find themselves in, that there’s a place where they can find revolutionary redemption and a place where they can aspire to become who they want mentally to become.
The Blast: How can a non-Black person connect to support if they don’t know any BAF members in their locality?
Darruti: Yes, well, one thing you could do is call South Chicago ABC [Anarchist Black Cross] zine distro and send a request to the Black Autonomy Federation. You can feel free to contact the PO Box mentioned earlier and request a phone number and we got you.
The Blast: Could that cover people who are outside of the Midwest as well?
Darruti: Yes. All around the world.
The Blast: Should non-Black supporters support the BAF and their recruitment as individuals or maybe in the capacity of their organizations? If there is a way for non-Black supporters to do this, are there any good and bad practices?
Darruti: In membership meetings only Black people are allowed inside of our meetings. One of the reasons is, first of all, it’s not anything racist or anything like that. It’s just that, you know, there’s been a lot of subversion and things like that in the movements and a lot of racial subversion.
We believe that Black people are the ones who can best articulate and think of strategies most intimately to us and in the most effective of ways. While we do appreciate advice and consideration from anyone, of course, as human beings, when it comes to membership, it’s strictly Black, but we do work in solidarity with organizations and close solidarity, especially like our Brown communities, our Brown compas and other people of color, too.
It goes back to, you know, like even in China, the Chinese revolution and the Korean Anarchist Federation. Our roots go deep. People throughout the diaspora, the Black diaspora, and the marginalized diaspora, not just economically marginalized, but emotionally alienated individuals and people as well, come from fertile soil with strong roots of resistance.
Non-Black people can direct people like, “Yeah, check out the Black Autonomy Federation. Google ’em. Get on their Facebook and see what they about.” And it could be something as simple as that.
The Blast: Would it ever make sense for organizations to seek out collaboration by like writing a letter or making a call through the ABC zine distro mentioned earlier to seek collaboration and do things like once a month posting to help BAF recruitment through social media posting or something? And support the Black Autonomy Federation to make people aware of the Federation’s existence and their active recruitment?
Darruti: Yeah, I don’t see a problem with that.
I just want to state that the co-founders of the Black Autonomy Federation, Lorenzo Kom’boa Ervin, sister JoNina Abron-Ervin and, and Ras Munyiga, they’re remarkable, and they’re my revolutionary elders.
As far as me, it makes sense for resistances to, you know, let folks know, about the Black Autonomy Federation, that good things are going and that if they want to become involved, they can become involved.
The Blast: A lot of us are not going to be able to really retire. That’s how things are. I was wondering, like, should there be a pension for our elders, you know, like I saw there’s people trying to do a pension for like other Black Panthers. Should we be trying to make a movement pension for our elderly anarcho-Black Panthers in the BAF?
Darruti: Yes, that’s righteous, yes. It’s important to support our elders, yes. Like I’ve said, you know, without them, we wouldn’t be, for real, for real.
They’re the ones responsible for our development and our generational growth.
Yes, in my opinion, yes, and it should be like a grassroots pension by the people.
Remember that, one day, whoever is listening may become older, and when people get older, people start suffering from different ailments through the course of time. So having this kind of intergenerational solidarity is crucial and vital to empower the next generation and generations to come.
[The Blast will for sure post updates on a pension for elderly BAF members once the BAF gets one going. Email theblast [at] protonmail [dot] com if you have advice of the best way to do this in a way that is pro-Black Autonomy or if you need a personal update as the likeliest way you could get you and, or your friends to contribute to such a pension on an ongoing basis once the BAF finds a way to do this. -The Blast]
The Blast: The last question I have for today is, do you have any encouraging words to give to a Black compa who might come across this and feels powerless or feels alone, feels disqualified, you know, to take that first step, whether it’s reaching out to the BAF or trying to start something in their own locality?
Darruti: Yes. You know, no matter what, know that everyone and everything has potential.
All of us can change to be who we want to be, to be the way that we want to carry ourselves when we reflect on ourselves, to sculpt ourselves, and cut off a little bit of ourselves here that doesn’t fit into the paradigm of how we want our character to be and smoothing it out at other places. Maybe it’s to be more punctual. And these are things that can be perfected through the course of time and through practice.
Acknowledge yourself as a beautiful work of art, no matter who you are. Everyone is unique and is capable of uplifting someone else who feels the way you may have been feeling. You know how that feels like. I know how that feels like. Why not consider devoting your life to uplifting people and bringing them out of that torment that you yourself went through?
It’s a struggle against depression. If you struggled against it, no matter what you did in the past, and it’s all about now, living in the now.
You’re not a kid anymore who made kid mistakes. You’re not yesterday’s person who was late somewhere. You’re who you are now. And that’s something that the system or no one could ever take away from you. That’s something that no backyard bully, no sexist, no homophobe or anything could ever extract from you. Within you is an essence, an essence of power, of potential power that can uplift and raise everything, uplift anything that you look at.
You can help uplift, you can help decorate it into the thing that you desire to see it being in your mind’s eye.
If you’re feeling down, think of a song that makes you feel better, that’s an uplifting track, saying like, “Yeah, this song makes me feel better.” You know, these are these things that may seem miniscule and are not taught that much, really at all, in government educational environments. I should say miseducational. They don’t teach listening to your intuition, which in Kemet, or ancient Egypt, they considered intuition the most important quality to develop. So listen to your intuition, and vibe with it. Get in tune with it, become one with it, and carry out the way that you know will make you happy and make you feel better.
And remember that when you choose this kind of life, you’re a compa of mine, when you renounce allegiance to receiving or giving any type of coercive authority and becoming free, which is what we all want from the miseducational, destitute, corrupt, and anti-social environment that we were grown up in. Realize that you have someone now, which is yourself, you know, that you can depend on.
This is what autonomy is, becoming a self thinker. Think for yourself. Become inspired by yourself. When people try to make you feel low or whatever, dejected and maybe even try to make you feel like killing yourself, remember that there’s someone that you’re listening to right now who would definitely appreciate you using that energy into a way that will help me and other people uplift the vibrations of other outcasts and people who have been socially, economically marginalized and looked at as a misfit or been in the mental institution, have a history of mental issues.
Let’s help us lift each other because we outnumber them substantially. Even in the streets you can look it up in the almanac, the people outnumber the police, it says in the almanac, you can look at without a degree.
It’s important to realize that you’re on the side of mass resistance when you join, that you can alleviate yourself from the agony of regrets, from the agony of exploitation, from the agony of whatever it is that you’re psychologically, or emotionally, or socially, economically going through. And this comes through solidarity.
And solidarity with Self, becoming your own best friend is paramount. When the people who used to keep your mind, are knocking at the door in the back of your mind trying to get in, it’ll keep you rational and sane in a society that’s gone completely bananas around you.
And when you realize that you have this power, tap into it, tap into it more and more, every day, every moment. Whenever you get a negative, whenever someone tells you something negative about you, or if it’s you being your own worst enemy telling you something negative about you, replace it automatically with a positive thought. Get into that groove. Once you do that, you’ll start to do positive things and uplifting things, things that help things better, instead of making things worse. You don’t like to feel sick. You don’t like to feel bad. Who do? You know what I’m saying. So you can do it. Like Luigi Galleani once said, the great Italian insurrectionist anarchist, “Health is within you.”
Endnote
[1] “Compa” is short for the Spanish words “compañerx, compañero, or compañera”. Compa is a gender neutral term that is used instead of “comrade”. The term compa is used as an indication of awareness of our anarchist history and the mass murder of anarchists by authoritarian socialists and marxists who called us “comrades”. It means we remember the murder of our anarchist ancestors, and we will not naively relate to such people today who plan to do the same to us when given the opportunity. It is also meant to put other anarchists on guard from befriending the authoritarian enemy who uses us and shall murder us when the time is right. -The Blast