Building a Revolutionary Anarchism

How can we build the popularity and influence of anarchist ideas in movements for social and economic justice in the United States? What’s the point in a specifically anarchist organization? What lessons can we draw from the anarchists of South America? What benefits would be gained by the development of a nationwide anarchist organization? What would that organization do and how can we get involved?
Building a Revolutionary Anarchism will share lessons and perspectives from activity in anarchist organization in the US and Argentina. Informed largely by the project and organizing model of especifismo coming out of South America, the presentation focuses on the necessity and current on-going efforts to build nationwide anarchist organization in the United States.
In 2007, Colin O’Malley traveled from Buffalo, New York to Buenos Aires, Argentina to learn from workers that were taking over their closing-down workplaces to run worker owned and operated cooperatives. Coming from a city devastated by the loss of industry and the decades long rustbelt economic crisis that followed, Colin wanted to know what was so different about workers and their organizations in Argentina that there could be a such a drastically different reaction to workplace closures. There he spent time with some of the members of Red Libertaria, an Argentine anarchist organization.
On his return to Buffalo, he helped to found Buffalo Class Action, and with them built the presence of organized anarchism in Buffalo while advocating the creation of a citywide tenants union. Through BCA, he joined Common Struggle/Lucha Comun regional anarchist organization. In 2011, he moved to Rochester, New York and helped to found Rochester Red & Black, another local anarchist organization. As part of these organizations, he has been involved in the Class Struggle Anarchist Conferences, the In Our Hearts Network, and has recently been advocating and helping to build a nationwide class struggle anarchist organization. He is also an active member of the Industrial Workers of the World.
Together, let’s talk about what it means to take anarchism seriously as a revolutionary force and what it takes to get it there!