Bloomington Anarchist Black Cross presents five short films on militant resistance to the AIDS crisis.
In the Tradition of Stonewall (1994, 29 min)
A short documentary on the unpermitted breakaway march organized by ACT UP on the 25th anniversary of Stonewall.
Holding Steady Without Screaming (1995, 11 min)
A short film subtitled “I Can’t Scream Because I Have to Hold the Camera Steady”
…by any means necessary (1994, 6 min)
An angry experimental film based on a text by Kiki Mason.
The Ashes Action (1996, 29 min)
A short documentary on the October 11, 1992 action in which individuals held a Political Funeral for those lost to AIDS, throwing the ashes of friends and lovers on the White House lawn.
David Wojnarowicz (1994, 2 min)
A short piece on queer desire in a time of plague, from the No Alternative home video.
The Anarchist Movie Night is a free monthly film series on freedom and subversion. Showing documentaries, features, cult films, and experimental shorts of an anarchic sort.
For the annual Trans Prisoner Day of Action initiated by Marius Mason and his supporters last year, we are hosting a poetry reading event in which several local writers will read their own poems and creative writing as well as those of Marius and other trans prisoners. There will be refreshments, cards, and other materials for writing prisoners, and prisoners’ artwork. All money raised will be sent directly to Marius (and split with a couple other prisoners if we raise enough).
Breaking away from the jail demo tradition, we kicked off the new year with something fresh and exciting. At the stroke of midnight we dropped four banners and let five thousand fliers rain down from two downtown parking garages. United with friends, we reveled in the togetherness we will carry with us into the new year. 2016 was shitty and we expect that 2017 will be as well; however, we recognize the need to continue fighting. With these modest acts, we sharpened coordination practices that we will need in the coming months and years. Each of the banners reflects an element of our revolt we intend to strengthen and spread over the next year – combative memory for our fallen fighters, solidarity with our imprisoned comrades, determination to continue fighting no matter what is thrown at us, and struggle against immediate manifestations of power.
“Vengeance for William Avalon Rodgers & Kuwasi Balagoon. Long Live Anarchy.”As December ends, we also take time to remember the lives of our fallen warriors. William Avalon Rodgers was an Earth liberationist who took his own life on December 21, 2005 while in jail awaiting trial on arson charges. Kuwasi Balagoon was a former Black Panther, fighter in the Black Liberation Army, bisexual, and anarchist who died in prison from medical neglect due to AIDS-related illness on December 13, 1986.
December 2016 marks 11 years since Avalon’s death and 30 since Kuwasi’s. We will not allow those who sacrificed everything for freedom to be forgotten. As we continue our struggles against Power, we keep alive the memory of Kuwasi, Avalon, Alexandros Grigoropoulos, Sebastián Oversluij, Lambros Foundas, Mauricio Morales, Feral Pines, and all of our other comrades who have passed on. Memory, like fire, burns our enemies and keeps us warm.
“What would Marius do? For defenders of the earth and of the wild. For a local history of resistance. supportmariusmason.org”We are consistently inspired by Marius Mason’s spirit and take strength from each of his paintings, poems, and letters. In an attempt to return the favor, we also chose to highlight his acts this New Year’s Eve. For many years, Marius lived and took action in Bloomington and we intend to maintain the passion and fighting spirit that he once embodied here.
“Safe and civil for whom? No complicity with gentrification and social cleansing.”As a quaint college town and liberal bastion in a red state, Bloomington’s iteration of state violence often takes the form of closing off public space to undesirable populations to maintain a sterile, commerce-friendly environment. One of the primary targets of this cleansing is the sizable homeless population. The city has deployed social worker cops, signs discouraging giving money to people on the street, and several new security cameras in popular hangouts like People’s Park. Despite their language of safety and compassion, we know that the city government has no interest in genuine solutions to the problems of poverty, unaffordable housing, and addiction; in reality, it exists to manage and police the conditions that create these problems. We have made a choice to not fall for the soft policing of the non-profits and charities that are in the pocket of the city.
Bloomington People’s History is an ongoing project by local individuals that highlights the legacy of repression and resistance in and around Bloomington, Indiana. All of the posters can be found on to our poster page.
We encourage anyone who is interested to create their own People’s History posters and email them to us. Let’s keep the history of revolt alive!
JANUARY 22
![Vengeance for William Avalon Rodgers & Kuwasi Balagoon. [snarling wolf face] Long Live Anarchy](https://plainwordsbloomington.noblogs.org/files/2017/01/vengeance-close-crop-1024x683.jpg)
![What would Marius do? [flame image] For defenders of the earth and of the wild For a local history of resistance supportmariusmason.org](https://plainwordsbloomington.noblogs.org/files/2017/01/marius-1024x683.jpg)
![“Safe and civil for whom? No complicity with gentrification and social cleansing [crossed out City of Bloomington logo] [crossed out security camera]](https://plainwordsbloomington.noblogs.org/files/2017/01/IMG_0201-1024x768.jpg)
