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
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The Dragon
Periodical in support of the SLA printed monthly by the Bay Area Research Collective.
Documents
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. 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. 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