Welcome to the Lucy Parsons Project. Lucy Parsons was an African, Native and Mexican-American revolutionary anarchist labor activist from the late nineteenth and 20th century America. Emerging out of the Chicago Haymarket affair of 1886, in which eight anarchists were imprisoned or hung for their beliefs, Lucy Parsons led tens of thousands of workers into the streets in mass protests across the country. Defying both racial and gender discrimination, she was at the forefront of movements for social justice her entire life. She sparked rebellion and discontent among poor and exploited workers wherever she spoke, and her fiery, powerful orations invoked fear in authority nationwide.

This web site is a tribute to Lucy Parsons, her work, and the causes she championed. May she continue to serve as an inspiration in the ongoing struggle for justice, liberation, mutual aid, and self-determination.

Why peaceful protest does not work; an introduction to direct action and mutual aid; how to resist oppression without turning oppressive; the weakness of formal organization and the power of affinity groups

Sources:

Books and zines: (I suggest accessing all the books I cite on this channel through https://libgen.is/ or https://www.pdfdrive.com/)

The Failure of Nonviolence: From the Arab Spring to Occupy by Peter Gelderloos

Why We Fight: Essays on Fascism, Resistance and Surviving the Apocalypse by Shane Burley

In Defense of Looting: a Riotous History of Uncivil Action by Vicky Osterweil

Anarchic Agreements: a Field Guide to Collective Organizing by Kinna et al.

Why We Don’t Make Demands by Crimethinc: https://crimethinc.com/2015/05/05/feature-why-we-dont-make-demands

Demonstrating Resistance by Crimethinc: https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/crimethinc-demonstrating-resistance

The Weakness of a Politics of Protest by James Herod: https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/james-herod-the-weakness-of-a-politics-of-protest

After We Have Burnt Everything: https://www.sproutdistro.com/catalog/zines/organizing/after-we-have-burnt-everything/

Against Organizationalism: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3wzpFJtEmE

Red flags to know before joining an organization: https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/unsalted-red-flags-before-you-join-that-org

Affinity groups:

How to Form an Affinity Group: https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/crimethinc-how-to-form-an-affinity-group

Affinity Groups: https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/shawn-ewald-affinity-groups

Affinity Identity Tactics: https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/bonfire-collective-affinity-identity-tactics

Affinity Groups: Essential Building Blocks for Anarchist Organisation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upfiMNHADCo

Affinity: Beyond Friendship: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIvLJgYDp-8

The Future of Insurrection: https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/lupus-dragonowl-the-future-of-insurrection

Coordination and tactics: https://abolitionmedia.noblogs.org/post/2024/08/02/from-a-matter-of-principle-to-a-matter-of-tactics/

How affinity groups stopped the WTO in Seattle in 1999: https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/crimethinc-n30-the-seattle-wto-protests

Security culture:

What Is Security Culture? https://crimethinc.com/2004/11/01/what-is-security-culture

A Practical Security Handbook for Activists and Campaigns: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pWW3KJxG-A

Further reading:

How to get started by Vicky Osterweil: https://all-cats-are-beautiful.ghost.io/how-to-get-started/

Basic Community Organizing Guide: https://neighborhoodanarchists.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Community-Organizing-Guide-Imposed-v2.2.pdf

Black Blocs and Contemporary “Propaganda of the Deed” by Jeff Shantz: https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/jeff-shantz-black-blocs-and-contemporary-propaganda-of-the-deed

Direct action by environmentalists and animal liberationists and how the FBI has tried to crush it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zfki76bUza4

Movement for No Society: https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/movement-for-no-society-movement-for-no-society

My playlist on spontaneous order: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOV4fQRc2u4&list=PL3waFZldV-Y2NZuI-sQAtT_Y1CzXfwJHT

A transcript of this video is available at https://theruleoffreedom.wordpress.com/2024/08/10/toothless-protest-pointless-demands-and-effective-resistance/