UMMA exhibit outlines history of protests, anarchism and political dissent in America

From The Michigan Daily by Audrey Shabelski

About 150 Ann Arbor community members gathered at the University of Michigan Museum of Art Saturday evening to hear a discussion between Julie Herrada, the curator of the Joseph A. Labadie Collection, and Julie Ault, a writer and artist specializing in the retellings of history. They detailed their collaboration on the new exhibit, “American Sampler: Activating the Archive.”

Bon Appétit Ruling Class: The Anarchist Poison Soup Plot

From Fifth Estate # 417, Winter 2025

This wild account of a plan to decapitate the Chicago ruling class in 1916 first appeared on the website of the Hoosier State Chronicles: Indiana’s Digital Newspaper Program. The Fifth Estate rarely publishes reprints, particularly if they have first appeared online. However, this story of extreme class warfare seems unknown to most of those interested in the history of the anarchist movement, so an exception is being made.

Black Cat Cafe Book Project

From Faythe Levine

Do you remember the Black Cat Cafe? Do you have any memories big or small about eating a meal, volunteering, cooking, washing dishes, going to shows, attending organizing meetings? What about show and event flyers, recipes, or photos tucked away in your personal archives?

Farewell, comrade! Frank Fernández

via email

Farewell, comrade!

Last Sunday, January 18, just as the sky was beginning to darken, our beloved comrade Francisco Fernández (1932-2026) passed away. Paco, to his family and close friends. Frank, in the avatars of the struggle of the anarchist camps against authoritarianism, fear, and exile. He died as a result of a pernicious infection that forced him to be rushed to the intensive care unit at a hospital in South Florida. He always maintained that Anarchy was nothing more than the constant struggle for life. Consequently, he remained in that battle until his last breath. At the age of 92, his vital organs ceased to function, which is why he was disconnected from all mechanical support and transferred to «palliative care». Incredibly, with the almost stubborn attitude that characterized him, his tremendous physical strength allowed him to fight death for 72 hours.

“Stalinism is a Marxist invention to save Lenin and Trotsky”

From Freedom News

Ignacio de Llorens is a historian and philosopher. We met with him to discuss his newly published book, a compilation of research conducted intermittently over several decades: Life Will Shine on the Cliff: Volin (V. M. Eichenbaum) published in Spanish by KRK editions. It is the first biography of this Russian anarchist, whose life is as fascinating as it is unknown.

December 2025 Bulletin of the Kate Sharpley Library

From Kate Sharpley Library

The Kate Sharpley Library aims to preserve what anarchists have written (published or not) as an essential way to understand the ideas and history of the movement. To the best of our ability we try to make those things available, which leads into publishing. Which may be less librarianly, but has always has always been a concern of the KSL.

The Anarchist Blind Spot

From Anarchistories by Tom Goyens

The transformative “new social history” that emerged in the 1960s was a boon to the historical profession, especially for labor and immigrant history—two pillars essential to understanding anarchism in America. Yet, despite its potential, anarchism remained a marginal topic in the history writing of the 1960s and 1970s. The reasons for this neglect are as complex as the movement itself, shaped by ideological biases, linguistic barriers, and internal dynamics among anarchists.

He Zhen, Qiu Jin & Anarchism

From Rethinking the World in East Asia 1850s-1990s

Feminism movements emerged in modern China since the lase decades of the Qing dynastic rule. He Zhen (also known as He Yin-Zhen) was among the most famous Chinese feminists during this period, while she was also very well-known for her anarchist ideologies. Qiu Jin, while was not usually recognised as an anarchist as He, was indeed a “feminist warrior” and radical in advocating of anarchism-patterned ideologies, as claimed by Louise Edwards.

Shifu: Can We Consider the Views of China’s Famous Anarchist ‘True’ Anarchy?

From Rethinking the World in East Asia 1850s-1990s

Born to an upper-class family as Liu Shaobin, Shifu (1884-1915) lived through the collapse of the Qing dynasty and converted to anarchism while studying in Japan. Known for his commitment to living anarchist principles, Shifu’s purist example and devotion to promoting the common good through his educational reforms influenced subsequent generations of Chinese anarchists, attracting others to the anarchist movement which reached its peak in the early 1920s. While Shifu’s early career mirrors other anarchists of the time in his support of assassination and revolution-driven violence, some argue that, because his later efforts depart somewhat and are marked by a renunciation of violence, he fell away from anarchy.

Anarchist Roots vs Authoritarian Reality of Maoism

From Rethinking the World in East Asia 1850s-1990s

Of all the ideological contradictions within Maoism, none is more profoundly ironic than its relationship with Anarchism. The core conflict between the two can be defined as a centralised vanguardism vs decentralised spontaneity. But the true irony lies not just in their methodological divergence, but in the complete reversal of Mao’s own stance. A central paradox is revealed, as Mao’s quest to destroy one form of authority became a reproduction of the very power it sought to overthrow.

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