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.
Documents
Free the SLA
This statement written from the "underground" critiques the current revolutionary groups and provides directions for how the Left should continue. Its idea to unite the masses includes building a non-racist movement, incorporating the ideology of feminism into all theory and practice, and creating organizations capable of surviving repression from oppositional forces.
Those Who Do Nothing Make No Mistakes
This pamphlet is a response by Martin Sostre and the Weather Underground to the shootings of SLA members on May 17, 1974 in Los Angeles. Martin commemorates actions taken by the SLA and mourns the loss of those members. The Weather Underground also celebrates the SLA and pushes to continue the revolutionary armed struggle.
Some Thoughts on the S.L.A
This pamphlet by the Bay Area Research Collective analyzes the successes and mistakes of the Symbionese Liberation Army in chronological order.
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: 1976Volume Number: No. 6 JanuaryFormat: PeriodicalCollection: The Dragon
Table of Contents: BARC Finances, Shorts, Racism Among Prison Supporters, On Grand Juries, On Criticism, On Bio-Dossiers, Guerrilla Activity and Analysis, New World Liberation Front/Community Health Campaign, George Jackson Brigade, On and From the Zapata Unit, Red Guerrilla Family Bombs the Iranian Consulate, Poem: Prison Is, Women In Prison at North Carolina, Atmore-Holman Bros. and Inmates for Action, Nam Bros. Part 2, How Did the Dragon Get Its Fire?
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.
Dragon
Publisher: Bay Area Research CollectiveYear: 1976Volume Number: No. 8 AprilFormat: PeriodicalCollection: The Dragon
Table of Contents: Open Letter To the Movement: BARC, George Jackson Brigade, A Comrade on the Weather Underground, New World Liberation Front, Red Guerrilla Family, Black Liberation Army, Political Fugitives Statement, Graham and Allen Sentenced to Death, California Institute for Women