Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA)
The Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA) was a California leftist
revolutionary group active from 1973 through the mid 1970s. A primary goal of the organization was the
“gaining of freedom and self-determination and independence for all their
people and races.” The SLA utilized tactics of expropriation, direct action and
armed propaganda to stimulate public awareness and action around issues of
poverty, housing, racism, women’s rights, and prison issues. Despite undertaking
a number of controversial and sometimes polarizing actions, one of the foremost
successes of the SLA was forcing the Hearst family to give away millions of
dollars worth of food from Safeway grocery stores to impoverished communities
in the Bay Area.
Highlights of our collection include scanned copies of the
Dragon, a rare periodical produced by the Bay Area Research Collective in
support of the SLA; original SLA communiqués, statements and publications; and press
releases, flyers and statements from other Bay Area radical groups concerning
SLA actions and ideas. Additionally, we have hundreds of articles taken from
local Bay Area news sources, all pertaining to the SLA and the group’s
activities. Our collection of paper documents is supplemented by our media
holdings primarily derived from local recordings and programs. These include
memorial shows, audio from rallies and news programs and taped communiqués.
Subcollections
-
The Dragon
Periodical in support of the SLA printed monthly by the Bay Area Research Collective.
Documents
SLA Communiqué - 6/1/1974
Tape received by KPFK about the SLA leaving the Bay Area and the shootout at Mel's Sporting Goods in Los Angeles. References May 17th police murder of SLA members.
Why was Patricia Hearst Kidnapped?
This periodical is dedicated to the conspiracy that the SLA was colluding with the FBI and the CIA and uses many of Mae Brussell's conspiracy theories.
Is SLA's Cinque the First Black Lee Harvey Oswald?
This article includes an interview of Mae Brussell, a conspiracy researcher by writer Stephanie Caruana. Mae Brussell gives an explanation of why she believes that the Symbionese Liberation Army is a hoax by the C.I.A.
The Last SLA Statement: an interview with Russ Joe Bill & Emily
Authors: Emily Harris, Bill Harris, Russell Little, Joseph RemiroPublisher: Bay Area Research CollectiveYear: 1976Format: PamphletCollection: Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA)
An interview with Emily Harris, Bill Harris, Russell Little and Joseph Remiro who were all members of the Symbionese Liberation Army. The interview follows the history of the SLA from the formation of the group in August 1973 until its declared end in 1976. The interview comments on the assassination of Marcus Foster, the kidnapping of Patricia Hearst, the Hibernia Bank Robbery, and the shootout on May 17th, 1974. The members also comment on their views of future revolutionary movements.
The War for Patty
This article by Newsweek recaps the Los Angeles shootout of six SLA members. It outlines the day of the shootout and predicts where Patty Hearst may have escaped to.
The Dragnet Spreads for Patty
This article by Newsweek is an overview of the aftermath of the SLA shootout in Los Angeles.
Dragon
Publisher: Bay Area Research CollectiveYear: 1975Volume Number: No. 3 OctoberFormat: PeriodicalCollection: The Dragon
Table of Contents: BARC Finances, These Days, Statement from Bill and Emily Harris, Wendy Yoshimura, from Prison, Support from Martin Sostre, Network Against Psychiatric Assault: Demonstration, Communique: George Jackson Brigade, New World Liberation Front: Communique, Coalinga bombing, Poem, Front de Liberation du Quebec, Orphans of Amerika: Open Letter to NWLF, Four Trials, Psychiatric Assault, Behavior Modification = Mind Control, George Jackson Brigade Bombs Washington State Department of Corrections in Olympia
Dragon
Publisher: Bay Area Research CollectiveYear: 1975Volume Number: No. 5 DecemberFormat: PeriodicalCollection: The Dragon
Table of Contents: Letter from the Smybionese Liberation Army December/75, Our Back Pages: B.A.R.C., Letters, Nam Brothers: Ashanti, Black Liberation Army, The Weather Underground Organization film, Blurbs, Politics in Command: Weather Underground, Women's Gun Pamphlet: book review, New World Liberation Front, structure, New Worl Liberation Front, community health strategy, The Zapata Unit: B.A.R.C., An Open Letter to the People, the Zapata Unit, and New Dawn.
Dragon
Publisher: Bay Area Research CollectiveYear: 1976Volume Number: No. 7 February - MarchFormat: PeriodicalCollection: The Dragon
Table of Contents: BARC on Patricia Hearst, New World Liberation Front Bombs San Simeon Castle, Bill and Emily Harris: A Political Statement, Joe Remiro and Russ Little's Trial Ends, Attend the Trial of Eugene Allen and Ernest Graham, Analysis of the Weather Underground by: Ken Como and Anthony Bottom, Steven Soliah Stands Trial in Sacramento, Activity of the New World Liberation Front, NWLF Communique: Scumlords, NWLF Communique: PG&E, BARC: On Reprinting Arms Instructions, The Urban Guerrilla: Now Available, Emiliano Zapata Unit Busts, Young Dragon, a Poem.
Apocalypse for the SLA: The Revolution was Televised
