From freedomarchivesnews at freedomarchives.org Wed Jun 6 11:52:24 2018 From: freedomarchivesnews at freedomarchives.org (Freedom Archives Events) Date: Wed, 6 Jun 2018 08:52:24 -0700 Subject: [Freedom archives news] =?utf-8?q?Los_Angeles_-_Strategy_and_Sou?= =?utf-8?q?l_Theater_-_June_29th=3A_Symbols_Of_Resistance_A_Tribute_to_the?= =?utf-8?q?_Martyrs_of_the_Chican=40=C2=A0Movement=2E?= In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: *Symbols Of?Resistance* ** *A Conversation?with the film-maker?Claude Marks * *Eric Mann, Channing Martinez, Elmo Gomez, and Brigette Amaya * *from The Strategy Center* *Strategy & Soul Theater * *3546 W Martin Luther Kings Blvd. Los Angeles CA 90008* *June 29th 2018 @6pm Suggested Donation $10.00* *RSVP HERE:?http://bit.ly/2Ld0OgQ* Join us on June 29th for a Film showing of */Symbols of Resistance: A Tribute to the Martyrs of the Chican@?Movement. /*Following the film?Eric Mann will host a conversation with?filmaker Clude Marks from The Freedom Archives, Channing Martinez, Elmo Gomez, and Brigette Amaya from the Strategy Center. Symbols of Resistance illuminates the untold stories of the Chican@ Movement with a focus on Colorado and Northern New Mexico. This film engages the importance of student activism; the effect of police repression and how issues of identity, land and community still resonate in the Chican@ struggles of today. *Claude Marks*?is a former anti-imperialist political prisoner and is the Project Director of The Freedom Archives, a political, cultural oral history project, restoration center, and media production facility in San Francisco.?Under his direction, The Freedom Archives has released several recent documentaries combining restored historical materials and contemporary interviews. *Eric Mann*??is a veteran of the Congress of Racial Equality, August 29th Movement, United Auto Workers and League of Revolutionary Struggle. He worked at the GM Van Nuys Plant with 5,000 workers 2500 of whom were Chicano and taught in the Chicano Studies Department of Cal State Northridge. *Strategy & Soul Theater * *3546 W Martin Luther Kings Blvd. * *June 29th 2018 @6pm?Suggested Donation $10.00* *RSVP HERE:?http://bit.ly/2Ld0OgQ* *Strategy and Soul* *Powered by the Labor Community Strategy Center * 1506 Crenshaw Blvd. Los Angeles Ca 90019 Find us at Facebook.com/Fight for the Soul of the Cities , Twitter.com/FightSoulCities (213) 387-2800 info at strategycenter.org -- Freedom Archives 522 Valencia Street San Francisco, CA 94110 415 863.9977 https://freedomarchives.org/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From freedomarchivesnews at freedomarchives.org Fri Jun 8 12:38:55 2018 From: freedomarchivesnews at freedomarchives.org (Freedom Archives Events) Date: Fri, 8 Jun 2018 09:38:55 -0700 Subject: [Freedom archives news] Please support the Freedom Archives Spring Fund Drive Message-ID: Dear Friends: Since our last letter, we returned from a great trip to Cuba where we showed our latest film */Symbols of Resistance/* at the 39th Festival Internacional Del Nuevo Cine LatinoAmericano. It was an honor to share our work with an international audience. We also expressed our solidarity with the Cuban people and acknowledged the contributions of the Cuban Revolution and its influence on the Chican@ struggles of the 1970s and participated in on-air interviews at Radio Havana. */Symbols of Resistance/* will also be shown on *?Mesa Redonda? * (the Cuban version of ?60 Minutes?) and on Telesur ? Venezuelan TV. Please consider a *donation* to help us continue to engage in building international solidarity, to amplify subjugated voices and continue to build the spirit of resistance. Your *support* matters! *Ringing Freedom?s Bell* On Friday, April 27th, *Herman Bell*, a 70-year-old respected elder, was released after serving nearly 45 years in prison. Like thousands of other incarcerated older people, Herman was repeatedly denied parole after completing his minimum sentence. His release is a result of important and urgent changes in the criminal legal system and parole regulations that are part of nationwide efforts to end mass imprisonment. Herman is deeply humbled and grateful for the broad expressions of trust and support. We welcome him home and are particularly thrilled after being part of the efforts to free Herman for many years. Let us hope that Herman?s release brings inspiration for more change! *Kiilu Nyasha?Present?* *Kiilu Nyasha* would have turned 79 on May 22nd. Kiilu was one of the founders of the Freedom Archivesand was an uncompromising, revolutionary force from her days in the Black Panther Party onward. She broadcast ?Freedom Is A Constant Struggle? and special ?Black August? programs on radio and community television up to the time of her unexpected passing. We will forever miss her courage and strength of character, her determination, and her talents.We, along with many others, recognize her devotion to the struggle for human liberation and the freeing of all political prisoners. She was truly indefatigable! Kiilu Nyasha, Rest In Power. *Detroit and the Williams Legacy* In late March we returned to Detroit to continue work on the Williams Family Preservation Project. We evaluated and inventoried the uncatalogued media collection in storage and visited the Bentley Historical Library ? which holds the Robert F. Williams Papers. We also strategized with the Williams family on next steps to retrieve the full transcripts of */Radio Free Dixie/* broadcastsfor publicationwhich includes news and commentary broadcasts to the Southern US from Havana, Cuba from 1961?1965, while Robert and Mabel were in forced exile. We?re hoping that */While God Lay Sleeping: The Autobiography of Robert Franklin Williams/*will be ready for publication before the end of this year and plan to make significant progress on publishing a complete set of transcripts and recordings of ?Radio Free Dixie.? As with our last trip to Detroit, we are constantly reminded of what an honor it is to work with the Williams family and be part of preserving the legacy of such important, fearless and principled advocates for human rights, Black Liberation and the freedom of all peoples. Other highlights of this latest trip included trying to figure out what?s on the 16 mm and 35 mm films shot in China and Tanzania and discovering an audio recording of a 1962 interview with Mrs. Mabel Stegall in which she confirmed that Robert and Mabel Williams had tried to protect her and her husband rather than kidnapping them as the FBI and local police had claimed. This false charge of kidnapping is what caused the Williams Family to flee Monroe, NC, culminating in their exile in Cuba and China. *Thanks to You!* So, thanks to you, we?ve been busy! Our intern program for high school and college students continues apace and scholars come through doing research on many different topics. We and others have shown our */Symbols of Resistance /*film at many venues, with more scheduled. A DVD of the film is available on our website https://freedomarchives.org/publications/symbols-of-resistance/ As the Freedom Archives enters our 19^th year, we are overwhelmingly grateful to you for your consistent and generous support. *Please consider making a donation* to speed us on the way!THANK YOU! -- Freedom Archives 522 Valencia Street San Francisco, CA 94110 415 863.9977 https://freedomarchives.org/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From freedomarchivesnews at freedomarchives.org Thu Jun 14 18:09:12 2018 From: freedomarchivesnews at freedomarchives.org (Freedom Archives Events) Date: Thu, 14 Jun 2018 15:09:12 -0700 Subject: [Freedom archives news] Spring Fundraising - How you can support the Freedom Archives Spring Fund Drive Message-ID: Dear Friends: Since our last letter, we returned from a great trip to Cuba where we showed our latest film */Symbols of Resistance/* at the 39th Festival Internacional Del Nuevo Cine LatinoAmericano. It was an honor to share our work with an international audience. We also expressed our solidarity with the Cuban people and acknowledged the contributions of the Cuban Revolution and its influence on the Chican@ struggles of the 1970s and participated in on-air interviews at Radio Havana. */Symbols of Resistance/* will also be shown on *?Mesa Redonda? * (the Cuban version of ?60 Minutes?) and on Telesur ? Venezuelan TV. Please consider a *donation* to help us continue to engage in building international solidarity, to amplify subjugated voices and continue to build the spirit of resistance. Your *support* matters! *Ringing Freedom?s Bell* On Friday, April 27th, *Herman Bell*, a 70-year-old respected elder, was released after serving nearly 45 years in prison. Like thousands of other incarcerated older people, Herman was repeatedly denied parole after completing his minimum sentence. His release is a result of important and urgent changes in the criminal legal system and parole regulations that are part of nationwide efforts to end mass imprisonment. Herman is deeply humbled and grateful for the broad expressions of trust and support. We welcome him home and are particularly thrilled after being part of the efforts to free Herman for many years. Let us hope that Herman?s release brings inspiration for more change! *Kiilu Nyasha?Present?* *Kiilu Nyasha* would have turned 79 on May 22nd. Kiilu was one of the founders of the Freedom Archivesand was an uncompromising, revolutionary force from her days in the Black Panther Party onward. She broadcast ?Freedom Is A Constant Struggle? and special ?Black August? programs on radio and community television up to the time of her unexpected passing. We will forever miss her courage and strength of character, her determination, and her talents.We, along with many others, recognize her devotion to the struggle for human liberation and the freeing of all political prisoners. She was truly indefatigable! Kiilu Nyasha, Rest In Power. *Detroit and the Williams Legacy* In late March we returned to Detroit to continue work on the Williams Family Preservation Project. We evaluated and inventoried the uncatalogued media collection in storage and visited the Bentley Historical Library ? which holds the Robert F. Williams Papers. We also strategized with the Williams family on next steps to retrieve the full transcripts of */Radio Free Dixie/* broadcastsfor publicationwhich includes news and commentary broadcasts to the Southern US from Havana, Cuba from 1961?1965, while Robert and Mabel were in forced exile. We?re hoping that */While God Lay Sleeping: The Autobiography of Robert Franklin Williams/*will be ready for publication before the end of this year and plan to make significant progress on publishing a complete set of transcripts and recordings of ?Radio Free Dixie.? As with our last trip to Detroit, we are constantly reminded of what an honor it is to work with the Williams family and be part of preserving the legacy of such important, fearless and principled advocates for human rights, Black Liberation and the freedom of all peoples. Other highlights of this latest trip included trying to figure out what?s on the 16 mm and 35 mm films shot in China and Tanzania and discovering an audio recording of a 1962 interview with Mrs. Mabel Stegall in which she confirmed that Robert and Mabel Williams had tried to protect her and her husband rather than kidnapping them as the FBI and local police had claimed. This false charge of kidnapping is what caused the Williams Family to flee Monroe, NC, culminating in their exile in Cuba and China. *Thanks to You!* So, thanks to you, we?ve been busy! Our intern program for high school and college students continues apace and scholars come through doing research on many different topics. We and others have shown our */Symbols of Resistance /*film at many venues, with more scheduled. A DVD of the film is available on our website https://freedomarchives.org/publications/symbols-of-resistance/ As the Freedom Archives enters our 19^th year, we are overwhelmingly grateful to you for your consistent and generous support. *Please consider making a donation* to speed us on the way!THANK YOU! -- Freedom Archives 522 Valencia Street San Francisco, CA 94110 415 863.9977 https://freedomarchives.org/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From freedomarchivesnews at freedomarchives.org Fri Jun 22 11:35:10 2018 From: freedomarchivesnews at freedomarchives.org (Freedom Archives Events) Date: Fri, 22 Jun 2018 08:35:10 -0700 Subject: [Freedom archives news] Exploring the Walking Archives Message-ID: https://freedomarchives.org/exploring-the-walking-archives/ Freedom Archives | Exploring the Walking Archives ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Support this important work **HERE **.* Hello, In November I attended a presentation at San Francisco State University by Dr. Sonia Vax Borges, a researcher and educator from Guinea Bissau. Her research was on the linkages between revolutionary struggle and education as developed by Amilcar Cabral and the liberation movement of the PAIGC (Guinea-Bissau/Cape Verde). In her talk she paid specific focus on her concept of /?The Walking Archives?/ which afterwards made me question and re-imagine how I had previously see as archives and archiving. Part of Dr. Borges research is on the ways that the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) educated the people of Guinea Bissau during the liberation struggle against the Portuguese. Much of this education was conducted in areas liberated from the Portuguese yet often still affected by the fighting. These schools were hidden in the forest (to protect student from bombings), organized and staffed entirely by local people and guerrillas and specifically focused on developing the literacy needed to mentally, socially and politically break from colonialism. During her attempts to find primary sources and the stories of the students, Dr. Borges ran into some issues trying to access the archives. Firstly, she found that some of the archives had been damaged in transport from one location to another; had been lost or destroyed during a civil war in the late 1980s or were held in Portugal, the former colonizer of Guinea Bissau, making them incredibly difficult to access.?When some of the archives were put online for a limited time ? Borges extracted as much information from these archives as she could and then headed to Cape Verde with a handful of names to begin her search for the students from the schools. One thing led to the next and Borges ended up with 20 interviews with former school students. Though the physical archives had been destroyed, she found that there were still archives all around her ? the archives were the still living people. This is how she came up with the concept of the /Walking Archives/ ??? information is not static and it is never located in just one place. Focusing on the masses of people who made up the liberation struggle, in this case the students, rather than only on the leadership of Amilcar Cabral has allowed her to emphasize the importance of collective struggle and uplifted the education front as integrally important as the military front in the PAIGC struggle. In the process of conducting her research, Borges had to rethink the way she saw archives. We often seem to think that knowledge is only held in traditional archives (permanent buildings) and the information in these archives is considered unchanging. Engaging the ideas and work of /The Walking Archive/ opened up my mind to the fact that everywhere we go there are people that are in-of-themselves living archives, full of information, you may just have to inquire. Especially concerning history that occurred within 50-60 years ago is still alive and well within our reach, from people who have personally experienced this history. In my last post linked here you can read about how I had the opportunity to work with the John Brown Anti-Klan Committee. After learning about the walking archives and inspired, I looked to engage with the walking archives around me. I began my journey by picking the brains of two great organizers of with the John Brown Anti-Klan Committee (JBAKC). Its especially important in the Bay Area to access our walking archives of past social movements because they are everywhere! Check out some of what I learned in upcoming blog posts. -Helen -- Freedom Archives 522 Valencia Street San Francisco, CA 94110 415 863.9977 https://freedomarchives.org/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From freedomarchivesnews at freedomarchives.org Wed Jun 6 11:52:24 2018 From: freedomarchivesnews at freedomarchives.org (Freedom Archives Events) Date: Wed, 6 Jun 2018 08:52:24 -0700 Subject: [Freedom archives news] =?utf-8?q?Los_Angeles_-_Strategy_and_Sou?= =?utf-8?q?l_Theater_-_June_29th=3A_Symbols_Of_Resistance_A_Tribute_to_the?= =?utf-8?q?_Martyrs_of_the_Chican=40=C2=A0Movement=2E?= In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: *Symbols Of?Resistance* ** *A Conversation?with the film-maker?Claude Marks * *Eric Mann, Channing Martinez, Elmo Gomez, and Brigette Amaya * *from The Strategy Center* *Strategy & Soul Theater * *3546 W Martin Luther Kings Blvd. Los Angeles CA 90008* *June 29th 2018 @6pm Suggested Donation $10.00* *RSVP HERE:?http://bit.ly/2Ld0OgQ* Join us on June 29th for a Film showing of */Symbols of Resistance: A Tribute to the Martyrs of the Chican@?Movement. /*Following the film?Eric Mann will host a conversation with?filmaker Clude Marks from The Freedom Archives, Channing Martinez, Elmo Gomez, and Brigette Amaya from the Strategy Center. Symbols of Resistance illuminates the untold stories of the Chican@ Movement with a focus on Colorado and Northern New Mexico. This film engages the importance of student activism; the effect of police repression and how issues of identity, land and community still resonate in the Chican@ struggles of today. *Claude Marks*?is a former anti-imperialist political prisoner and is the Project Director of The Freedom Archives, a political, cultural oral history project, restoration center, and media production facility in San Francisco.?Under his direction, The Freedom Archives has released several recent documentaries combining restored historical materials and contemporary interviews. *Eric Mann*??is a veteran of the Congress of Racial Equality, August 29th Movement, United Auto Workers and League of Revolutionary Struggle. He worked at the GM Van Nuys Plant with 5,000 workers 2500 of whom were Chicano and taught in the Chicano Studies Department of Cal State Northridge. *Strategy & Soul Theater * *3546 W Martin Luther Kings Blvd. * *June 29th 2018 @6pm?Suggested Donation $10.00* *RSVP HERE:?http://bit.ly/2Ld0OgQ* *Strategy and Soul* *Powered by the Labor Community Strategy Center * 1506 Crenshaw Blvd. Los Angeles Ca 90019 Find us at Facebook.com/Fight for the Soul of the Cities , Twitter.com/FightSoulCities (213) 387-2800 info at strategycenter.org -- Freedom Archives 522 Valencia Street San Francisco, CA 94110 415 863.9977 https://freedomarchives.org/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From freedomarchivesnews at freedomarchives.org Fri Jun 8 12:38:55 2018 From: freedomarchivesnews at freedomarchives.org (Freedom Archives Events) Date: Fri, 8 Jun 2018 09:38:55 -0700 Subject: [Freedom archives news] Please support the Freedom Archives Spring Fund Drive Message-ID: Dear Friends: Since our last letter, we returned from a great trip to Cuba where we showed our latest film */Symbols of Resistance/* at the 39th Festival Internacional Del Nuevo Cine LatinoAmericano. It was an honor to share our work with an international audience. We also expressed our solidarity with the Cuban people and acknowledged the contributions of the Cuban Revolution and its influence on the Chican@ struggles of the 1970s and participated in on-air interviews at Radio Havana. */Symbols of Resistance/* will also be shown on *?Mesa Redonda? * (the Cuban version of ?60 Minutes?) and on Telesur ? Venezuelan TV. Please consider a *donation* to help us continue to engage in building international solidarity, to amplify subjugated voices and continue to build the spirit of resistance. Your *support* matters! *Ringing Freedom?s Bell* On Friday, April 27th, *Herman Bell*, a 70-year-old respected elder, was released after serving nearly 45 years in prison. Like thousands of other incarcerated older people, Herman was repeatedly denied parole after completing his minimum sentence. His release is a result of important and urgent changes in the criminal legal system and parole regulations that are part of nationwide efforts to end mass imprisonment. Herman is deeply humbled and grateful for the broad expressions of trust and support. We welcome him home and are particularly thrilled after being part of the efforts to free Herman for many years. Let us hope that Herman?s release brings inspiration for more change! *Kiilu Nyasha?Present?* *Kiilu Nyasha* would have turned 79 on May 22nd. Kiilu was one of the founders of the Freedom Archivesand was an uncompromising, revolutionary force from her days in the Black Panther Party onward. She broadcast ?Freedom Is A Constant Struggle? and special ?Black August? programs on radio and community television up to the time of her unexpected passing. We will forever miss her courage and strength of character, her determination, and her talents.We, along with many others, recognize her devotion to the struggle for human liberation and the freeing of all political prisoners. She was truly indefatigable! Kiilu Nyasha, Rest In Power. *Detroit and the Williams Legacy* In late March we returned to Detroit to continue work on the Williams Family Preservation Project. We evaluated and inventoried the uncatalogued media collection in storage and visited the Bentley Historical Library ? which holds the Robert F. Williams Papers. We also strategized with the Williams family on next steps to retrieve the full transcripts of */Radio Free Dixie/* broadcastsfor publicationwhich includes news and commentary broadcasts to the Southern US from Havana, Cuba from 1961?1965, while Robert and Mabel were in forced exile. We?re hoping that */While God Lay Sleeping: The Autobiography of Robert Franklin Williams/*will be ready for publication before the end of this year and plan to make significant progress on publishing a complete set of transcripts and recordings of ?Radio Free Dixie.? As with our last trip to Detroit, we are constantly reminded of what an honor it is to work with the Williams family and be part of preserving the legacy of such important, fearless and principled advocates for human rights, Black Liberation and the freedom of all peoples. Other highlights of this latest trip included trying to figure out what?s on the 16 mm and 35 mm films shot in China and Tanzania and discovering an audio recording of a 1962 interview with Mrs. Mabel Stegall in which she confirmed that Robert and Mabel Williams had tried to protect her and her husband rather than kidnapping them as the FBI and local police had claimed. This false charge of kidnapping is what caused the Williams Family to flee Monroe, NC, culminating in their exile in Cuba and China. *Thanks to You!* So, thanks to you, we?ve been busy! Our intern program for high school and college students continues apace and scholars come through doing research on many different topics. We and others have shown our */Symbols of Resistance /*film at many venues, with more scheduled. A DVD of the film is available on our website https://freedomarchives.org/publications/symbols-of-resistance/ As the Freedom Archives enters our 19^th year, we are overwhelmingly grateful to you for your consistent and generous support. *Please consider making a donation* to speed us on the way!THANK YOU! -- Freedom Archives 522 Valencia Street San Francisco, CA 94110 415 863.9977 https://freedomarchives.org/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From freedomarchivesnews at freedomarchives.org Thu Jun 14 18:09:12 2018 From: freedomarchivesnews at freedomarchives.org (Freedom Archives Events) Date: Thu, 14 Jun 2018 15:09:12 -0700 Subject: [Freedom archives news] Spring Fundraising - How you can support the Freedom Archives Spring Fund Drive Message-ID: Dear Friends: Since our last letter, we returned from a great trip to Cuba where we showed our latest film */Symbols of Resistance/* at the 39th Festival Internacional Del Nuevo Cine LatinoAmericano. It was an honor to share our work with an international audience. We also expressed our solidarity with the Cuban people and acknowledged the contributions of the Cuban Revolution and its influence on the Chican@ struggles of the 1970s and participated in on-air interviews at Radio Havana. */Symbols of Resistance/* will also be shown on *?Mesa Redonda? * (the Cuban version of ?60 Minutes?) and on Telesur ? Venezuelan TV. Please consider a *donation* to help us continue to engage in building international solidarity, to amplify subjugated voices and continue to build the spirit of resistance. Your *support* matters! *Ringing Freedom?s Bell* On Friday, April 27th, *Herman Bell*, a 70-year-old respected elder, was released after serving nearly 45 years in prison. Like thousands of other incarcerated older people, Herman was repeatedly denied parole after completing his minimum sentence. His release is a result of important and urgent changes in the criminal legal system and parole regulations that are part of nationwide efforts to end mass imprisonment. Herman is deeply humbled and grateful for the broad expressions of trust and support. We welcome him home and are particularly thrilled after being part of the efforts to free Herman for many years. Let us hope that Herman?s release brings inspiration for more change! *Kiilu Nyasha?Present?* *Kiilu Nyasha* would have turned 79 on May 22nd. Kiilu was one of the founders of the Freedom Archivesand was an uncompromising, revolutionary force from her days in the Black Panther Party onward. She broadcast ?Freedom Is A Constant Struggle? and special ?Black August? programs on radio and community television up to the time of her unexpected passing. We will forever miss her courage and strength of character, her determination, and her talents.We, along with many others, recognize her devotion to the struggle for human liberation and the freeing of all political prisoners. She was truly indefatigable! Kiilu Nyasha, Rest In Power. *Detroit and the Williams Legacy* In late March we returned to Detroit to continue work on the Williams Family Preservation Project. We evaluated and inventoried the uncatalogued media collection in storage and visited the Bentley Historical Library ? which holds the Robert F. Williams Papers. We also strategized with the Williams family on next steps to retrieve the full transcripts of */Radio Free Dixie/* broadcastsfor publicationwhich includes news and commentary broadcasts to the Southern US from Havana, Cuba from 1961?1965, while Robert and Mabel were in forced exile. We?re hoping that */While God Lay Sleeping: The Autobiography of Robert Franklin Williams/*will be ready for publication before the end of this year and plan to make significant progress on publishing a complete set of transcripts and recordings of ?Radio Free Dixie.? As with our last trip to Detroit, we are constantly reminded of what an honor it is to work with the Williams family and be part of preserving the legacy of such important, fearless and principled advocates for human rights, Black Liberation and the freedom of all peoples. Other highlights of this latest trip included trying to figure out what?s on the 16 mm and 35 mm films shot in China and Tanzania and discovering an audio recording of a 1962 interview with Mrs. Mabel Stegall in which she confirmed that Robert and Mabel Williams had tried to protect her and her husband rather than kidnapping them as the FBI and local police had claimed. This false charge of kidnapping is what caused the Williams Family to flee Monroe, NC, culminating in their exile in Cuba and China. *Thanks to You!* So, thanks to you, we?ve been busy! Our intern program for high school and college students continues apace and scholars come through doing research on many different topics. We and others have shown our */Symbols of Resistance /*film at many venues, with more scheduled. A DVD of the film is available on our website https://freedomarchives.org/publications/symbols-of-resistance/ As the Freedom Archives enters our 19^th year, we are overwhelmingly grateful to you for your consistent and generous support. *Please consider making a donation* to speed us on the way!THANK YOU! -- Freedom Archives 522 Valencia Street San Francisco, CA 94110 415 863.9977 https://freedomarchives.org/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From freedomarchivesnews at freedomarchives.org Fri Jun 22 11:35:10 2018 From: freedomarchivesnews at freedomarchives.org (Freedom Archives Events) Date: Fri, 22 Jun 2018 08:35:10 -0700 Subject: [Freedom archives news] Exploring the Walking Archives Message-ID: https://freedomarchives.org/exploring-the-walking-archives/ Freedom Archives | Exploring the Walking Archives ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Support this important work **HERE **.* Hello, In November I attended a presentation at San Francisco State University by Dr. Sonia Vax Borges, a researcher and educator from Guinea Bissau. Her research was on the linkages between revolutionary struggle and education as developed by Amilcar Cabral and the liberation movement of the PAIGC (Guinea-Bissau/Cape Verde). In her talk she paid specific focus on her concept of /?The Walking Archives?/ which afterwards made me question and re-imagine how I had previously see as archives and archiving. Part of Dr. Borges research is on the ways that the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) educated the people of Guinea Bissau during the liberation struggle against the Portuguese. Much of this education was conducted in areas liberated from the Portuguese yet often still affected by the fighting. These schools were hidden in the forest (to protect student from bombings), organized and staffed entirely by local people and guerrillas and specifically focused on developing the literacy needed to mentally, socially and politically break from colonialism. During her attempts to find primary sources and the stories of the students, Dr. Borges ran into some issues trying to access the archives. Firstly, she found that some of the archives had been damaged in transport from one location to another; had been lost or destroyed during a civil war in the late 1980s or were held in Portugal, the former colonizer of Guinea Bissau, making them incredibly difficult to access.?When some of the archives were put online for a limited time ? Borges extracted as much information from these archives as she could and then headed to Cape Verde with a handful of names to begin her search for the students from the schools. One thing led to the next and Borges ended up with 20 interviews with former school students. Though the physical archives had been destroyed, she found that there were still archives all around her ? the archives were the still living people. This is how she came up with the concept of the /Walking Archives/ ??? information is not static and it is never located in just one place. Focusing on the masses of people who made up the liberation struggle, in this case the students, rather than only on the leadership of Amilcar Cabral has allowed her to emphasize the importance of collective struggle and uplifted the education front as integrally important as the military front in the PAIGC struggle. In the process of conducting her research, Borges had to rethink the way she saw archives. We often seem to think that knowledge is only held in traditional archives (permanent buildings) and the information in these archives is considered unchanging. Engaging the ideas and work of /The Walking Archive/ opened up my mind to the fact that everywhere we go there are people that are in-of-themselves living archives, full of information, you may just have to inquire. Especially concerning history that occurred within 50-60 years ago is still alive and well within our reach, from people who have personally experienced this history. In my last post linked here you can read about how I had the opportunity to work with the John Brown Anti-Klan Committee. After learning about the walking archives and inspired, I looked to engage with the walking archives around me. I began my journey by picking the brains of two great organizers of with the John Brown Anti-Klan Committee (JBAKC). Its especially important in the Bay Area to access our walking archives of past social movements because they are everywhere! Check out some of what I learned in upcoming blog posts. -Helen -- Freedom Archives 522 Valencia Street San Francisco, CA 94110 415 863.9977 https://freedomarchives.org/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: