Black and green background with text in yellow and red lettering
At the top, it reads:
“Anarkata Tradition, Freedom Week Kickback Series”
On the left column we have the following:
Day One – (On African political histories)
“We pour one out for the ancestors, the nomads, the priests, the pirates, the maroons, the rebels, the gworls, the shipmates…”
Day Two – (on Black feminism)
“We pour one out for all those forgotten and protected…”
Day Three – (On Queer/trans liberation)
“We pour one out for all those who cannot love or live as themselves freely…”
Day Four – (On Black militant formations)
“We pour one out for all who have fought and died for our freedom…”
Day Five – (On Pan Africanism and Black radical ecology)
“We pour one out for all our people, wherever they are, and for our homeland, and our planet…”
On the right column, we have the following:
Day Six – (On Afropessimism, antihumanism, counterhumanism)
“We pour one out for all beings, even those who aint human, and all those who are considered less than human…”
Day Seven – (On Disability justice)
“We pour one out for all those who brains work different and whose bodies work different…”
Day Eight – (On Abolitionism)
“We pour one out for all those in prison, and all those on the streets…”
Day Nine – (Black Anarchic Radicalism)
“We pour one out for all power to all the people…”
At the bottom it reads:
The last nine days of every month will be an opportunity to honor nine facets of Black Anarchic Radical tradition.]
Anarkata Tradition: A Freedom Week Kritical Kickback Series is an extension of our political education efforts from Black August.
Black August is a practice of study, solidarity, struggle, and spiritual discipline that began in the 70s to honor George Jackson and other Black revolutionary freedom fighters.
Our next Kickback Series is based around the practice of ‘Freedom Week’ which comrade Yahya Touré and Mali developed to bring Black August energy into the rest of the year. During Freedom Week, building on Y. Toure and Mali’s framework, we will use the last week of every month to fast, study, train, and fight. Life gets busy and yet finding time for community and radicalism, however short, is so important especially in this time.
In the spirit of Freedom Week, we invite you all to Kickback with us for the final nine days of each month. We will honor and commemorate our Black radical ancestors on each of those nine days, examining one of the nine historical frameworks that are referenced in the Black August Libation ceremony. This will be a light way of facilitating study, solidarity, struggle and spiritual care in our lives throughout the rest of the year. Pop in as we spend time orienting ourselves around a living legacy of Anarkata Tradition. Even if you can only attend a few or none at all, we still suggest keeping what we fight for and why at the back of your mind throughout the month.
Our final suggestion: we ask that during the time leading up to the final week of the month, please take notes of thoughts that come to mind as you study films, videos, music, and books that are relevant to the nine touchstones we focus on. Our Kickbacks are conversation based, but having written things to copy and paste in that chat for discussion will greatly increase accessibility for Deaf and Heard of Hearing sibs. Our goal is to find a platform that allows us to bring captions or ASL interpretations to the Freedom School experience. We will also continue the note-taking aspect of the Freedom School to keep in the loop those that those who cannot pop in, or who like to study alone, or who cannot access the information fully at Kickbacks due to these platforms’ exclusionary set up.
Day One – (On African political histories)
“We pour one out for the ancestors, the nomads, the priests, the pirates, the maroons, the rebels, the gworls, the shipmates…”
This touchstone is about the development of African political life, from precolonial times, until today. Let’s think about the methods, principles, understandings they give us. In the Anarkata Statement, these histories are invoked by the Anarkata Tradition section, which says:
“Nomadic African societies created non-hierarchical formations and intercommunal villages. Stateless Africans used decentralized methods to defy the reaches of African empires. Refugees of the Saharan and Atlantic slave trades migrated across borders and territories to avoid capture. Black captives in the gender segregated hold of slave ships foraged queer relationships with one another. Seventeenth Century Black pirates in the Atlantic sailed outside the jurisdiction of the law and bled empire of its resources. Slaves in the Americas fled from plantations and created their own localized maroon communities in their quest for freedom. Slave uprisings shook colonial society and constantly threatened the white power structure. Black trans people continued to transgress the colonial gender binaries imposed by white colonizers. Black/Afrikan spiritual leaders challenged the rigid colonial norms, defying modern gender constructs and calling forth earliest attempts at self- determination. Many Black Africans resisted European colonization through decentralized guerrilla warfare. Black women as a whole gave rise to the modern feminist movements that challenged white supremacist patriarchy. Black trans women in particular single-handedly birthed the queer liberation movements of the Twentieth Century. Race riots caused widespread damage to white property and contested the foundations of white power even in present day. The Black tendency to defy rigidity, borders, hierarchy, and enclosure are at the root of the Anarkata tradition.”
What we suggest is to spend time studying videos, movies, books, and other resources that look at these various aspects of African history, even if it is very briefly. Take some notes. Then, on the first day of Freedom Week, join us in a Kritical Kickback, or host a Kritical Kickback of your own to share what you have learned and to think about how we ground ourselves in Anarkata Tradition. If you like, a libation at the start or end of your Kritical Kickback, and honor the names of these ancestors that we are learning about and learning from.
Day Two – (on Black feminism)
“We pour one out for all those forgotten and unprotected…”
This touchstone is about the revolutionary feminist and other women’s movements that have been pioneered by Black women. Let’s think about the methods, principles, understandings they give us. In the Anarkata Statement, some core insights from these movements are invoked by the Anarkata Tradition section, which says:
“Black feminism has provided the critical lens for Anarkatas to understand how our oppressions as Black people intersect to leave some at the margins and very bottom of hierarchy, teaching us to center the overlooked and extremely vulnerable”
What we suggest is to spend time studying videos, movies, books, and other resources that look at Black feminist and Black women’s political history and resistance, even if it is briefly. Take some notes. Then, on the second day of Freedom Week, join us in a Kritical Kickback, or host a Kritical Kickback of your own to share what you have learned and to think about how we ground ourselves in Black revolutionary feminist principles. If you like, pour a libation at the start or end of your Kritical Kickback, and honor the names of these Black women ancestors that we are learning about and learning from.
Day Three – (On Queer/trans liberation)
“We pour one out for all those who cannot love or live as themselves freely…”
This touchstone is about the gender/sexual liberation, also known as queer/trans liberation movements that have been pioneered by Black trans women in particular as well as other Black maGes (marginalized genders). Let’s think about the methods, principes, understandings they provide us. In the Anarkata Statement, some core lessons from these movements are invoked by the Anarkata Tradition section, which says:
“Queer/trans liberation has taught Anarkatas to re-envision the way we inhabit and understand our bodies as Black people, beyond sexual and anatomical reductions forced onto us by colonialism and capitalism, pushing us to understand how/why our bodies should or could perform freer relations to one another and the planet”
What we suggest is to spend time studying videos, movies, books, and other resources that look at Black trans, nonbinary, queer, gender variant, LGBIA+ political history and resistance, even if it is briefly. Take some notes. Then, on the third day of Freedom Week, join us in a Kritical Kickback, or host a Kritical Kickback of your own to share what you have learned and to think about how we ground ourselves in Queer/trans liberation principles. If you like, pour a libation at the start or end of your Kritical Kickback, and honor the names of these Black trans, nonbinary, queer, gender variant, LGBIA+ ancestors that we are learning about and learning from.
Day Four – (On Black militant formations)
“We pour one out for all who have fought and died for our freedom…”
This touchstone is about the armed, underground, warrior, militant or guerrilla activities in Afrikan/Black political history in particular. Let’s think about the methods and principles and understandings they provide us. In the Anarkata Statement, one example of this is invoked in the Anarkata Tradition section, which says:
“the Black Panther Party inspires Anarkatas to organize around the survival, political education, and self-defense of our communities at a grassroots level, and to integrate a range of radical contributions into our quests for self-determination.”
What we suggest is to spend time studying videos, movies, books, and other resources that look at Black militancy, armed resistance, guerilla struggles, self-defense, uprisings and other forms of direct confrontation with oppressors, even if it is briefly. Take some notes. Then, on the fourth day of Freedom Week, join us in a Kritical Kickback, or host a Kritical Kickback of your own to share what you have learned and to think about how we ground ourselves in Black militancy. If you like, pour a libation at the start or end of your Kritical Kickback, and honor the names of these Black warrior, militant, guerrilla, armed ancestors that we are learning about and learning from.
Day Five – (On Pan Africanism and Black radical ecology)
“We pour one out for all our people, wherever they are, and for our homeland, and our planet…”
This touchstone is about the Pan African and environmental justice/ecology struggles. Let’s think about the methods, insights, and understandings they provide us. In the Anarkata Statement, some core lessons from these movements are invoked by the Anarkata Tradition section, which says:
”Pan-Africanism connects Anarkata struggles for freedom to all members of the African community including the diaspora, understanding Black liberation outside the confines of national borders, and tying our bodily freedom to the liberation of our entire homeland itself from the snares of neocolonial/military-imperial rule.”
What we suggest is to spend time studying videos, movies, books, and other resources that look at Pan African struggle and political history, as well as at environmental justice and ecology, even if it is briefly. Take some notes. Then, on the fifth day of Freedom Week, join us in a Kritical Kickback, or host a Kritical Kickback of your own to share what you have learned and to think about how we ground ourselves in Pan Africanism and Black Radical Ecology. If you like, pour a libation at the start or end of your Kritical Kickback, and honor the names of these Pan African and environmentalist ancestors that we are learning about and learning from.
Day Six – (On Afropessimism, antihumanism, counterhumanism)
“We pour one out for all beings, even those who aint human, and all those who are less than human…”
This touchstone is about the different critical frameworks that call into question the modern construct of what it means to be ”’human.” Let’s think about the principles, methods, and understandings we can glean from that. In the Anarkata Statement, some key insights from these lines of inquiry are invoked by the Anarkata Tradition section, which says:
”Afropessimism, antihumanism, and related frameworks help Anarkatas to understand the implications of our symbolic exclusion from the construct of humanity, and the way this affects who we organize with/for—ultimately challenging us to look beyond “humanity” as grounds for that which makes us as a people and our struggle liberation valid.”
What we suggest is to spend time studying videos, movies, books, and other resources that look at critiques of human-centrism, or look at the idea of “humanism,” even if it is briefly. Take some notes. Then, on the sixth day of Freedom Week, join us in a Kritical Kickback, or host a Kritical Kickback of your own to share what you have learned and to think about how we ground ourselves in either Afropessimism, anti-humanism, or Counterhumanism (depending on your preference). Pour a libation at the start or end of your Kritical Kickback, and honor the names of the ancestors who push us to question human-centeredness.
Day Seven – (On Disability justice)
“We pour one out for all those who brains work different and whose bodies work different…”
This touchstone is about the Disability Justice movements and frameworks that have been developed and pioneered in Black political history. Let’s think about the principles, methods, and understandings they provide us. In the Anarkata Statement, some key insights from these movements are invoked by the Anarkata Tradition section, which says:
”Disability justice calls Anarkatas to recognize all our corporeal and cognitive makeup as valid and whole, and to understand our lived needs as arising not because we are failures but because oppressive socio-ecological contexts have closed us out of access and therefore must be eradicated if we are to live our full unique selves and do so autonomously.”
What we suggest is to spend time studying videos, movies, books, and other resources that look at Disability history, theory, and Disability struggle, even if it is briefly. Take some notes. Then, on the seventh day of Freedom Week, join us in a Kritical Kickback, or host a Kritical Kickback of your own to share what you have learned and to think about how we ground ourselves in Disability Justice. If you like, pour a libation at the start or end of your Kritical Kickback, and honor the names of the Disabled ancestors who push us and inspire us.
Day Eight – (On Abolitionism)
“We pour one out for all those in prison, and all those on the streets…”
This touchstone is about the prison movements, housing struggles, and modern abolition struggles, which have all converged in Black history, especially Black trans/queer history. Let’s think about the principles, methods, and understandings they provide us, some of which are echoed in the Anarkata Statement:
“Prison abolition teaches Anarkatas that we must destroy all forms of enclosure and tear down the very material and imagined need of them in the first place—and that we alone are the ultimate guarantors of our safety.”
What we suggest is to spend time studying videos, movies, books, and other resources that look at prisoners’ struggles, the abolitionist movement, and housing battles, even if briefly. Take some notes. Then, on the eighth day of Freedom Week, join us in a Kritical Kickback, or host a Kritical Kickback of your own to share what you have learned and to think about how we ground ourselves in prison abolition and houseless struggle. If you like, pour a libation at the start or end of your Kritical Kickback, and honor the names of the incarcerated and houseless ancestors who push us and inspire us.
Day Nine – (Black Anarchic Radicalism)
“We pour one out for all power to all the people…”
This touchstone is about the different Black Anarchic Radical trajectories, whether Anarkata, Anarcho-Pantherism, Black Anarcha-Transfeminism, Black Anarchism, Quilombismo, New Maroons, Fourth Worldism, and more. Let’s think about the principles, methods, and understandings they provide. The Anarkata Statement gives us a taste of lessons from two of the political formations that have directly inspired the direction of Black Anarchic Radicalism today:
“Formations like the Street Trans* Action Revolutionaries (STAR) or the Black Liberation Army remind Anarkatas that freedom can only be taken through grassroots organizing, mutual aid, and revolutionary struggle.”
What we suggest is to spend time studying videos, movies, books, and other resources that look at Black Anarchism, even if briefly. Take some notes. Then, on the ninth and last day of Freedom Week, join us in a Kritical Kickback, or host a Kritical Kickback of your own to share what you have learned and to think about how we ground ourselves in Black Anarchic Radicalism. If you like, pour a libation at the start or end of your Kritical Kickback, and honor the names of the Black Anarchic Radical ancestors who push us and inspire us.
The Freedom Week Kickback Series is amenable to your time zone. Our crew will be hosting Kickbacks for the last nine days of every month until Black August. You are invited to Kickback or co-host with us, but you are encouraged to do so on your own for your particular setting, even if we do not co-host or Kickback together. If you are unsure of what exactly a “Kritical Kickback” is we definitely suggest taking a look at We Out Here which is a zine about outdoor/in person Kickbacks and also We Live which is a zine about online/virtual Kickbacks.
Freedom Week One – Nine Day Kickback Series from between September 22nd, 2020 (starting at 12:00am) to October 1st, 2020 (ending at 12:00am)
Freedom Week Two – Nine Day Kickback Series from between October 23rd, 2020 (starting at 12:00am) thru November 1st, 2020 (ending at 12:00am)
Freedom Week Three – Nine Day Kickback Series from between November 22nd, 2020 (starting at 12:00am) thru December 1st, 2020 (starting at 12:00am)
Freedom Week Four – Nine Day Kickback Series from between December 23rd, 2020 (starting at 12:00am) thru January 1st, 2021 (ending at 12:00am)
Freedom Week Five – Nine Day Kickback Series from between January 23rd, 2021 (starting at 12:00am) thru February 1st, 2021 (ending at 12:00am)
Freedom Week Six – Nine Day Kickback Series from between February 20th, 2021 (starting at 12:00am) thru March 1st, 2021 (ending at 12:00am)
Freedom Week Seven – Nine Day Kickback Series from between March 23rd, 2021 (starting at 12:00am) thru April 1st, 2021 (ending at 12:00am)
Freedom Week Eight – Nine Day Kickback Series from between April 22nd, 2021 (starting at 12:00am) thru May 1st, 2021 (ending at 12:00am)
Freedom Week Nine – Nine Day Kickback Series from between May 23rd, 2021 (starting at 12:00am) thru June 1st, 2021 (ending at 12:00am)
Freedom Week Ten – Nine Day Kickback Series from between June 22nd, 2021 (starting at 12:00am) to July 1st, 2021 (ending at 12:00am)
Freedom Week Eleven – Nine Day Kickback Series from between July 23rd, 2021 (starting at 12:00am) thru August 1st, 2021 (ending at 12:00am)
Below we are dropping some resources to get started below in te
The Anarkade (Red Section): Audio/Visual Questions and Prompts
This is a series of open ended questions and statements for you to think about and come up with personal answers for yourself, or that you might want to share. Click the link to be taken to the Anarkade portal, where you can see the prompts in slideshow form, as well as listen to them in audio form.
The above video is a quiet, more reflective slideshow featuring photographs of Freedom Fighters from modern day and times past; of historical happenings, artifacts, revolutions and of our planet and the space it occupies. Pictures included are of: 1) Bob Hicks, Deacons for Defense and Justice 2) Harriet Tubman 3) Angela Davis 4) Audre Lorde 5) Assata Shakur 6) Black Seminoles 7) John Horse, Seminole Fighter
8) Queen Has Asantewaa 9) Thomas Sankara
10) Martha P. Johnson, Street Trans Action Revolutionary 11) Korryn Gaines 12) Frantz Fanon 13) Herman Bell 14) Ms. Major 15) Fannie Lou Hammer 16) Toni Morrison 17) Sojourner Truth 18) Bell Hooks 19) Cece McDonald 20) Erica Garner 21) Kuwasi Balagoon 22) Josh Williams, Political Prisoner 23) Malcolm X 24) Queen Nanny of the Maroons 25) Polly Jackson 26) Lorenzo Ervin 27) Bobby Hutton, BPP 28) Mario Woods
29) Philando Castile 30) Ezell Ford Jr. 31) Aiyana Stanley-Jones
Marsha P Johnson Motion Picture Gallery
Anarkade (Red Section): The History of the Pan African Flag
Anarkade (Red Section): Statement from Josh Williams, Ferguson Prisoner
Anarkade (Red Section): Afrofuturist Abolitionists of the Americas
Anarkade (Black Section): What is the fugitive’s fantasy?
Anarkade (Black Section): Malcolm X – Ballot or the Bullet
Anarkade (Black Section): Black Lives Matter in School
Anarkade (Black Section): The Black Trans Travel Fund
Anarkade (Green Section): Treating Your Drinking Water
Anarkade (Green Section): Invasive Plants You Can Eat
Anarkade (Green Section): How to Start a Vegetable Garden
Playlist – Anarkata
Freedom Fighters (Link and Graphic) – 1) Dandara dos Palmares 2) Russell Maroon Shoatz 3) Yaa Asantewaa 4) Angela Davis 5) The Boukman Prayer 6) Seminole 7) Elizabeth Freeman 8) Harriet Tubman 9) Polly Jackson
“Reparations Realized” prioritizes dreaming and envisioning the future that Black people deserve. We can better manifest and actualize reparations for ours and future generations when we dream together. This is a collaborative playlist curated by Muse Dodd. While listening, check out some of the links here: 1) Ayo/Oware A Spiritual Connection 2) Sam Mbah on African Communalism and Anarchism 3) AID Feedback Loop 4) Black Feminist Anarchism 5) Haiti and the Music of Congo Square 6) Haitian Folk Dance 7) Games of Africa 8) Buzzard Lope 9) Mary Jones
Anarkata Tradition Freedom Week Resource Library (this folder can be updated to include any pdfs you have that build on this learning space)
Anarkade – Direct Action Portal
Afrofuturist Abolitionists of the Americas 